Apologies for not being able to get this blog post out on Monday when we left El Chaco. We tried connecting to four different sites but it just was not happening that morning. So here is Adrielle's post which was written last Sunday night. Katie Jickling will be writing our next post which will be up in a day or two. (Tim Trezise)
Hello from the jungles of Ecuador to all the friends and family of LIFT
35!
After asking
around to several of my fellow students about what their families would like to
hear or know about our adventures the general consensus was, ‘Just tell them
we’re still alive!’. So I’m very happy
to inform you that we are all very much alive and well! It’s been a great
blessing that none of us have gotten sick. It is very typical at this point in
the trip that people start feeling the effects of the new diet and other
factors that play into ones immune system. Praise God for our health and please
continue to pray for good health as we head into our second week.
We moved into a
small hotel in the town of El Chaco late Thursday afternoon and were warmly
welcomed by the church. El Chaco has been one of the main stopping places for the
LIFT teams over the past seven years so our arrival in town once again is a big
highlight in the life of the church! During the beginning years when LIFT
started supporting the church of El Chaco there was only a small handful of
members with little or no leadership to guide them. Now seven years later it is a beautiful thing
to see how much the church has grown and how God is working in the church and
from the church throughout the community.
Here in El Chaco we are surrounded by the splendor of
mountains; the therapy of crowing
roosters and yapping dogs; a new culture and language to embrace and plenty of
opportunity to show Christ’s love to the people we come in contact with; and of
course the rain. The rain is a daily part of our routine, without it El Chaco
wouldn’t be El Chaco! We’ve been blessed with an awesome three days in this
place! Friday and Saturday morning we spent doing work projects for the church,
getting our hands dirty cleaning up the courtyards, digging through dirt,
moving an innumerable amount of rocks, weeding and re-plumbing a bathroom. On
the adventuring side of things we had the privilege of being able to experience
an epic one hundred foot waterfall that surged over a cliff with the sound of
deafening thunder and mighty winds. The power and glory of this small part of
God’s creation made my heart full and it was so hard to leave. The highlight of
this adventure was the joy of getting to see two of my fellow students get
baptized in the outflowing waters of this awesome place! The beauty of seeing
what God is doing in the hearts and lives of His children made the experience
all the more rich and memorable. White water rafting through the Ecuadorian jungle and jungle hiking/cliff jumping were also opportunities we had to explore and experience this amazing part of the world!
Saturday afternoon
into Sunday we dove into our first real interaction with the community and were
able to start putting into practice on a deeper level what we have been
learning and preparing for all semester. All the time and energy we spent putting
into preparing for our ministry teams was given an outlet and it was time for
action! We held an open air service for the children in a small neighboring
town which included, playing active games to break down walls and initiate
interaction, singing, dancing from our dance team, skits from our drama team,
bible stories and a gospel message. LIFT was also responsible for the Sunday
service at the church, teaching Sunday school for the kids, worship and
presenting a lesson/sermon for the adults. Ecuadorians love soccer and so competitions
against the Ecuadorians and Americans adds to the life and fun of our
interaction with the community.
As we prepare to
move on and I reflect over the past couple days the thing that sticks out to me
the most is how two different cultures and languages can come together and even
though we are so different we can unite through a common love for God. If we
are willing to step out of our normal and our comfort zones God will use us and not only will we be a
blessing but we will be incredibly blessed as well! It’s been an honor to be
here and experience Christ through the people of El Chaco!
Monday morning we will
be saying goodbye and heading to Oyacachi until Thursday to see what God has
for us there. Thank you so much for your prayers and interest in what is
happening in our lives. You all are a huge part of the reason we are here, we
couldn’t have done it without you!!!
For the LIFT 35 family,
Adrielle Zuck
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