We’re Back!

Well today is the day we return home after a whirlwind of life changing experiences in Ecuador! To recap, our time has been spent participating in a variety of ministry and recreational activities including work projects on both the El Refugio base and the city of El Chaco, teambuilding experiences at El Refugio’s climbing wall and high ropes course, partnering with ministries in two distinctly different regions of Ecuador, visiting two of the largest waterfalls in the country (El Malo & San Rafael), mountaineering the nearly 17,000’ Illiniza Norte, holding a campfire celebration for GOD’S unfailing faithfulness and the return of Jesus! Our time spent in Ecuador has seemed more like a month than two weeks. Needless to say it has been amazing! I wish that I could even begin to describe the impact the Holy Spirit has made in connecting the hearts of the ministry of LIFT 31, the churches, and the surrounding communities which the churches are located in. However such understanding is even beyond me!

 

Our last evening at El Refuigo was a night of lasting impressions as we sat around a campfire (fogata) and feasted on hotdogs and samples of roasted of Cuye (Guinea Pig), an Ecuadorian staple. Shortly after Arrelyo, a full time staff member of El Refugio appeared to us in his Native Cofan attire. He shared some of his cultural experiences in Cofan as Rick Borman translated, then he and Rick Borman delighted us with a guitar led time of worship. This closed with trilingual chorus of “I have decided to follow Jesus” in English, Spanish, and Cofan. Talk about unity among diversity! Following this was S'mores and laughs as myself and John (a fulltime staff member at El Refugio) demonstrated our impersonation skills of Presidents Barrack Obama and George W. Bush, in a debate. 

We ended the night debriefing our experiences in Oyacachi with one very crucial question dangling in our minds; if love and ministry is what we are called to as Disciples of Christ, then why did we find it was so much easier to love in Oyacachi, Ecuador than Speculator, NY (or anywhere home may be, really)? The bottom line for all of us seemed to come down to the low risk of not having that love returned. Some presumed that it is simply easier to love on kids than it is adults. Others highlighted the fact that we were only there two days. Still one person took it a step further by mentioning that loving back at home requires us to intentionally and continually pour into the relationships – an often times very difficult thing to do. As I mused over these questions, I think the answer may fall into a combination of all three and more at best. At any rate they only help to point out the deficiencies in our own ability, and highlight our need to depend on Christ to strengthen us with His love so we can in turn give His love to others. In essence abiding in Christ (John 15:4) is being dependent on Him. 

           

The following morning after breakfast and a couple of morning activities, we exchanged heart-felt goodbyes as we split from full time staff and interns at El Refugio. We became dear to each other through the tremendous deal of encouragement and hospitality we received from them. And despite knowing we would only be there for just over two weeks, they never withheld a readiness to invest themselves into our lives (friendship).

 

Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to you, the supporters, for your role in making this experience possible for all parties involved.

 

We will all be sharing more about the LIFT 31 Missions Trip during the Forum on Wednesday April, 9^th at 7pm. It will be held at Camp-of-the-Woods in the Buirkle Center.

 

 As we have a month left of the semester please pray that Christ continues to teach each of us to depend on Him.

Christien Jackson

Cuan Grande Es Dios!

We are back at El Refugio for our final full day in Ecuador.  Everyone will be serving in various work projects today and packing, then debriefing their experiences tonight and tomorrow morning. 

This past weekend we transitioned from the life-changing missions/ministry focus of the trip with the churches in El Chaco and Oyacachi to the adventure-side of the LIFT program by camping two nights and climbing one of Ecuador's big peaks - Illiniza Norte (at 16,818' it is the 8th highest). Early Sunday morning, starting out at 4 a.m. with headlamps, and hiking in 5 different groups, everyone was able to reach the summit between 8:45 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.  The groups moved slow and steady as they dealt with the effects of altitude and lower oxygen levels in their circulatory systems.  The last hour required each person attaching with their climbing harness to fixed ropes to ensure safety in high exposure areas. We were grateful that the conditions were amazing when we hiked and very rainy when we camped. 

The climb was a physical and psychological challenge for many as it was the first time to climb such a high mountain that is primarily rock and snow.  All the LIFTers who have been nursing tendonitis, ankle sprains, and knee injuries did fantastic.  Kate Trezise was also very thankful that she was able to climb again after two hip replacements this past year. We had 5 LIFTers that unfortunately could not climb due to illnesses (colds and stomach issues) that they acquired during the previous two weeks.  One LIFTer had to turn back within 15 minutes from the summit due to altitude sickness, but he maintained a great attitude through it all.  Overall, we had 40 people reach the summit - a pretty major undertaking of a combination of LIFT students and staff, El Refugio staff and students, and professional Ecuadorian guides.  We had the best sunsets and sunrises I have seen in Ecuador - being able to see the Andean skyline of all the big peaks of Ecuador within 150 miles.  The Lord was displaying his glory, majesty, and power throughout the whole experience.  "Cuan Grande es Dios!" (How Great is Our God) followed by "Let Us Adore!" was sung /declared out to the mountains and the valleys below as we departed basecamp on Monday.

 

After the successful mountain experience, of which they have trained hard and prepared for during the semester, the students were filled with joy, awe and humility from the experience.  God has been answering many prayers and lavishly giving us "good gifts" that show us his amazing love and concern for the smallest of details in our lives.  Last night, Asha lead the group in a devotional time after dinner, focusing on the coming of Jesus, our great and mighty king, and the promise of a new earth and a new heaven from the book of Revelation.  This spurred a time of more wonder and amazement of the greatness of God. We continued in that mindset and started celebrating our time in Ecuador with all we have seen God doing by having a worship service around the campfire (smores included).  Tonight we continue to celebrate as we feast on Cuye (Guinea Pig), a typical rural Ecuadorian meal.

 
If you would like to see photos of the Illiniza climb you can visit the LIFT XXXI group page on facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/438782246221589/


We will be posting pictures of our time in Oyacachi and El Chaco on the LIFT XXXI group page once we return later this week.  The pictures we would like to post will need to be edited and reformatted and will take a little time, but they are beautiful and a great representation of the experience.

Thanks so much for your prayers.  It has been evident in how God has been touching lives.  Please continue to pray, especially for safe travel as we depart Wednesday from Quito around 3 p.m. to arrive in JFK airport, NYC by midnight - then drive to Camp-of-the-Woods to arrive around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.