The First Week Is Over

We have now been in Ecuador for a week but somehow it seems timeless. It feels like we could have been here a month or a year or even that we never left! I don’t know why that is other than that we feel so far from Canada and that the distance between there and here is so large both in terms of miles and culture that we might as well be on another planet.

Over the last few days we have been slowly settling in to our new home. We have met and chatted with a few of our neighbours like Maximo, Michael, Santiago, Macario, and Carlos. We have also met the owner of the local “tienda,” or shop and are hoping to meet the young boy who keeps ringing our doorbell and running away. I was finally quick enough on Wednesday to see who it was and where he lives so I am going to make it a project of mine to meet him as that is probably what he is looking for.

We have also begun slowly to do what we believe we came here for. We had Carlos over on Wednesday evening and chatted with him for two hours over “un cafecito,” a little coffee. Carlos became a Christian in the summer and seems to be eager to learn more about his new faith. He also seems a little lonely as he is from Guayaquil and doesn’t have many friends here in Playas yet. We agreed that in a week or two it would be good to study the bible and learn together.

On Thursday we drove back into Guayaquil again and met with the three elders of the church in Bastion Popular Bloque 6 to talk about camp. Our goal over the next couple of weeks is to talk to all the missionaries and Ecuadorians who have a role to play or a legitimate interest in camp. We had a great conversation with Rolando, Jose and Felipe. They had lots to say about how the construction and early days of the camp have gone and were quick to point out areas that need improvement. We found them easy to talk to and knowledgeable about important areas of camp life such as the organization, finances, programs, participants, personality conflicts, maintenance, and the property itself. Once we have a clearer picture of what everyone is thinking we plan to pull together a larger group of people from the four key churches, Bastion Bloque 6 and 10; Sauces and Alborada and begin to plan for the future. So far the key issues that keep cropping are a lack of organization and accountability which is understandable as the camp has been without someone in a permanent leadership position up to this point.

Prayer Request: Please pray that the Lord would grant Kelly and I and the various leaders here wisdom as to how we move forward with the camp ministry.
Verse for the Day: Psalm 140:7,8