It has rained everyday so far... a number of times during the day!
I have to remind myself that it "IS" the Amazon and it does rain quite a bit! Today we worshipped at the local Nazarene Church.
The pastor's wife lead the service and preached. All of it was in Spanish. For us Lutherans the hour and half service was longer
than we are use to.

This afternoon we went to the Nate Saint House. We have learned quite a bit about about the five missionaries who went into the jungle
to share the Gospel with the Auca (OW-Cah). They were killed and their wives continued their mission. If you want more information about the whole
story there are a couple of books you can check out: Mission to the Headhunters by Frank and Marie Drown, Through the Gates of Slendour by Elisabeth Elliot.
She is one of the wives of the missionary men.

Tonight we are going to a chinesse restraurant for supper. Food here is wonderful! We have tried many fruits! My favorite so far is the Mora jelly and berries.
They look a bit like raspberries.

It has been an amazing experience so far. It is easy to see why people fall in love with this place and come back year after year.
Tomorrow we begin work at Casa de Fe. It will be good to have a focus and place our energy in the children!

Blessings,

Rebecca Breddin

Photos to follow

Well we finally made it to Shell , of course not before we made our stop at Miko's for ice cream.
Quite a few of us were hoping we would see some activity from the volcano  that had been quite active before we came. Alas
no such luck. It was covered in clouds and quiet at that time. Maybe on our way home she will give us a show.
Made our first walk to Casa De Fe Saturday morning and saw our creature of the day.
We also saw the beginnings of the security wall.
The rest of the morning we spent taking a group of kids to the park having a grande time. Then treating them to ice cream, and ourselves of course before lunch!
As I tell all the groups as far as ice cream in Ecuador is concerned there are no rules.
Many in the group received their first Ecuadorian lunch. Large bowl of soup, then a piece of chicken or beef with rice and a salad and a glass of oat drink.
Followed with a stewed peach for dessert.

We have arrived in Ecuador and all is well. Was a long day yesterday - actually starting out at 3:20 am on the 6th ending up at 2 am on the 7th by the time we went to sleep in a guest house in Quito. Soon will be having a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon and of course juice.The team coordinator met us at the airport. We'd been in steady contact with her for some time and it was good to meet Christy face-to-face. She told us about some of the many changes in Shell and at Casa De Fe, making us all the more anxious to get there. After breakfast we will begin our 5 hour bus ride. Our driver's name is Edison. Maybe we'll see smoking volcano!

Jeff and Rae

Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

and we are off... Casa de Fe 214

We are setting out for Ecuador tomorrow morning, bright and early!!  This is my first trip overseas. I am pretty nervous but I am also very excited. Our bags are packed!

 Here is part of a letter one of our team members, Pat B. emailed out:

"You have probably noticed that Ecuador is in the news. Tungurauha volcano is blowing it's top.  This volcano is near the resort town of Banos. We are scheduled to stay here the last night we are in Ecuador.  Pray that it will cool down. The same volcano was active last year about this time. It is blowing away from the direction we will be going according to Patty Sue.

Then...I ask you for your prayers as the Trinity/Cormorant (MN) Lutheran joint mission team travels to Casa de Fe, Shell.  Pray for our safety both in our travels and as we work and play at Casa de Fe.  I can hardly wait to love over 70 of God's special kids - some abandoned, some orphaned, some handicapped. 

From just VC we have 5 50# bags packed with needs for the Casa de Fe family - 12 dozen diapers mostly made from all the donated t-shirts (thank you for all the donations),  bath towels, kitchen towels, journals, shorts and polo shirts (school uniform), BIC-donated pens, markers, dry eraser markers and jars of peanut butter.  Plus we have learned that we can buy croc-like sandals near Shell for 1/5 the price of crocs here so we will be buying sufficient sandals for the Casa de Fe family."

 

Yes, please keep us in your prayers. Pray for our safety and for our families here at home. Pray that God will meet us in unexpected places and that those we encounter experience God's grace and unconditional love through us.

 

Peace,

Rebecca B.

 Making a trench to divert water from flooding the playground. New placement of fence that expands playground area about 25 percent with a fresh layer of sand.

Grant Richardson and Patty Biel playing therapeutic games and hanging out during baby time at Casa de Fe.

Home again...

After a great Friday morning of a couple of last projects at the bodega, we took a hike into the rain forest - ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.  When we reached our turn-around point, we learned why they call it a "rain" forest.  :-) 

Friday afternoon, we said our farewells to the staff who supported and encouraged us, turned our backs on the kids (it's easier that way for both the kids and for us) to hide our smiles and our tears, loaded up our stuff and left Shell, challenged, enriched and tired.

We enjoyed an overnight at a marvelous inn in Banos where we had magnificent views of the waterfall, had a chance to see the sights, hear the sounds, and taste the flavors of the resort-type community. 

Then it was back to Quito for one last stay at the guesthouse there (the best showers in the world!).

We arose at 3:00 am Sunday so we could get to the airport, through customs and onboard for our flight to Houston.  There were a few delays there, waiting for our plane to arrive but we finally landed in Minneapolis at 7:30 pm - a long day.  When we arrived, we learned that a snow storm had closed I-94 so we got to spend another night in Minneapolis.

Roads on the way back were good in spots but a bit tricky much of the way.  We arrived home to more than a foot of fresh new snow.

Now bags are unpacked, clothes are in the wash, we've shown pictures to the family and it's time to reflect on what we've seen, heard, tasted, smelled and - most important - learned about ourselves, about the team, about the kids, about the VERY special place called Casa de Fe.

More pics will be posted soon.

A great group.

Standing L-R:  Dan Madson, Walt Fadness, Patti Sue, Rae Holte, Jeff Holte, Erling Opskar, Jordan Richardson, Jon Moore, Patty Beil.

Sitting on sofa L-R:  Estelle Hanson, Tammy Sadek, Pat Beil, Coni Horsager, Wayne Horsager, Grant Richardson, Sarah Pruett.

Sitting L-R:  Pastor Dan Forsberg, Tandy, Jonathon, Dwight (Casa de Fe staff)