Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Ecuador Reflections




“You are not in Ecuador to climb a mountain—you are here to serve God.” Tim’s words echoed in my head as our bus headed down the El Refugio driveway. Up until that moment, the majority of our trip had been missions oriented. Many blessings had come from our time serving in this beautiful country. God had provided so many wonderful opportunities to serve our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters, from the work projects in Chaco, to the precious time spent playing and teaching the amazing kids of Oyacachi.

As our time in Ecuador drew to a close however, anticipation and excitement for the traditional camping/hiking trip began to grow. This year, the plan was for LIFT 35 to take on Sincholagua  Mountain, an epic 8 hour hike/climb. All of our fitness training had led up to this moment—every group run, the meticulous practice in repelling technique, and of course, all the insane power hikes up and down Oak Mountain. Initially, Tim had made this declaration to establish proper perspective. Our mission in coming to Ecuador was to glorify God by loving and serving others—climbing the mountain was merely an added bonus. My gaze centered on where the driveway met the road, the same road that would have taken us to our base campsite, where we would have spent the night and proceeded with the climb the following morning.


That was before the earthquake hit. Now, the bus had a new course. Our destination: Portoviejo, an eight hour bus drive away from El Refugio. The night before, we had received word that the city had sustained serious damage, and by God’s sovereignty, an opportunity had emerged for both LIFT 35 and the El Refugio staff to offer aid. Tim’s words had been unintentionally prophetic: we would not be climbing a mountain on this trip. It mattered little though. Frankly, hiking a mountain was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Instead, the idea had been replaced by a simple, yet powerful prayer: from Isaiah chapter 6: “Here I am Lord, send me.” In a matter of hours, every single person in our group had focused their prayers on one single objective: to serve God through the administering of relief to the people of Portoviejo.  

 

As a fellow LIFTer, it was pretty incredible to see how this decision impacted the rest of my team. Before we knew for certain that we could go, all of us met in the El Refugio chapel to pray. Being a part of that process was incredibly intense and powerful. “We were all there, praying together for God’s will to be done,” exclaimed my roommate, Vanessa Gottreux, “and it really strengthened my faith to see God answer our prayer.”

 

In Portoviejo we split up into several groups, each headed up by either an El Refugio Staff member or a LIFT leader. A few groups worked on cleaning and reorganizing damaged areas of the local hospital, while other groups went out into the city to help clear debris and assist the various search and rescue teams.  It was long, hard work in some pretty intense, nerve rattling conditions, but every single person rose to the challenge. God proved Himself to be so faithful in the midst of it all, providing a valuable chance to work alongside the people.  When I asked my fellow LIFTer Peter to recall a memorable moment in Portoviejo, his mind went immediately to his work with the fire fighters. “I remembered sharing my chocolate bar with a fire fighter named Antonio during our break time,” he said, smiling. “He was so grateful.” He continued to say how much he appreciated sharing the moments of laughter with the team, appreciating the moments of friendship in the midst of the chaos. This was something that I could definitely relate to. My team also assisted the fire fighters, removing large chunks of rubble and debris from a local church that had collapsed. It was amazing how God allowed us to work together, even bridging the language barrier, to accomplish so much. During our break, I also had the chance to share some of my food with them. Before they left, one of the fireman approached me, handed me a water bottle, and gave me a firm handshake. That will probably be one of my best memories of being here in Ecuador.

 

As I was writing this blog entry last night, a young woman named Jessica approached my table in the dining hall. “Are you leaving in the morning?” she asked. When I replied that we were, she asked me to pass a message onto the rest of the LIFT 35 team. “My English is not very good,” she said apologetically, “But on behalf of all Ecuadorians, I want to thank you for what you and your team have done for us in Portoviejo.” She smiled broadly, “God called you here for such a time as this.” I was overwhelmed. All I could do was praise God as I gave her a hug. “Please, do not forget to pray for us,” her voice trembled slightly as she spoke the words. “We will never forget,” I assured her. God had allowed us to literally “walk in their shoes”, to experience a tiny taste of their victories and their sufferings. We will not forget. Not ever.

 

It’s hard to write conclusions to a trip like this. How in the world do you condense two weeks of non-stop adventure into a single summary paragraph?  In our time here in Ecuador, we have seen the mighty hand of God at work through His people and have been overwhelmed by their kindness and genuine love. “It’s amazing how generous they are, even though they have so little,” Lila Trezise remarked, reflecting back on her time with the Oyacachi children, “they have so much unconditional love to offer, even though they knew we would only be there for a short while. My time with them really has inspired me to show sacrificial love towards others, regardless of what happens. Being with them has also taught me the importance of having a thankful heart. Through thankfulness, we have the courage to love without fear.”

 

In addition to thankfulness, a lot has been learned about the concept of strength, and how God finds ways to manifest His strength through our weaknesses and areas of vulnerability. One of the biggest areas of weakness that our group encountered was language. “I came into our time in Ecuador thinking that I had a decent working knowledge of Spanish,” Brianna said, “Looking back on it now, I realized that it was a pride issue. It wasn’t long before I found myself struggling to communicate with the people. Once I surrendered it to God, things really began to change.” She went on to say that God actually used her vulnerability with language to help develop relationships with the people. “Even with the communication barrier, God provided me with the power to understand what they were saying, allowing me to establish friendships.”

 

As I write this, we are sitting in the Guayaquil airport, awaiting our final flight back to the states. For LIFT 35, there is still a lot to think on, pray about, and process through. Every aspect of this trip, both good and challenging, has the capacity to move our hearts, if we let it.  

 

“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.  If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11


Alexis Barnett

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Unity in Destruction

LIFT 35 just returned at 5:45 this morning (Tuesday) from the city of Portoviejo on the coast of Ecuador.  We were there for just over 24 hours and maximized our time by splitting into various teams.  Saturday night we helped set up the 2nd floor of the hospital with mattresses on the floor of every room to house teams that were coming from all over to help.  During that time the President of Ecuador arrived in Portoviejo to assess the damage and visited the hospital.  He saw a large group of gringos with helmets, headlamps and facemasks helping out and came over to ask where they were from and thank them for helping his country in what he claimed to be perhaps Ecuador's worst natural disaster.  Rick Borman and John Darnell from El Refugio and two LIFT students, Kevin Hebert and Carson Anderson let him know that we are just a group of Americans from all over and just happened to be here at the right time and were prepared to help in any way. 




After helping clean and prepare the hospital for more patients and housing rescue teams, we slept for 4 hours in a large sanctuary of the alliance (CMA) church in the city that we were partnering with in relief efforts. 




Monday morning we split up into teams again to aid professional rescuers from Ecuador and other countries in looking for anyone who may still be alive under the many fallen buildings and homes.  Another LIFT team helped with reorganizing all the hospital files that were shuffled and in chaos when filing cabinets and shelves toppled over during the quake.  Searching for bodies was a slow process of waiting for the heavy machinery to uncover tons of concrete and rebar to a point where holes were poked into cavities between multiple floors sandwiched together.  Sentimental and important items were also removed and given to the on-looking families hanging on in hope and prayer.




Late in the day a cell phone call was received by emergency personnel by a man trapped under a 6-story building saying he could here the machines digging above him.  All work in a 4-block area came to a screeching halt as rescuers silenced everyone to listen for tapping from a number of different recovery sites.  Within a half hour they figured out which collapsed building he was under then sent in dogs and a specialized rescue team from Bogota, Columbia to continue the work with hand power tools.  About an hour and a half later they pulled the man out who was trapped in darkeness for over two days.  News reporters and hundreds of rescue workers (including LIFTers) were there to cheer him on as he surfaced and was carried on a stretcher to the ambulance.  It was a pretty moving experience and the hope that rescuers needed to revitalize their searches.


After just a short time of being in the midst of such vast destruction that happened in only one minute of time, many of us have been impacted by the loss but also by the unity of people from around the world coming to the aid of those in need.  There will be much to debrief tonight as we finish our time here in Ecuador and return to New York tomorrow night.




Tim



Sunday, April 17, 2016

Moving Mountains and Roadblocks

For such a time as this . . . The Lord has moved mountains for us in that we will not be climbing Sincholagua these next 3 days but heading to the coastal villages affected by the large earthquake that hit Ecuador last night. Instead of splitting up into hiking teams we will now be breaking up into medical, construction, and food & water relief teams. We prayed that the Lord would make a way for us to go despite literal roadblocks on the highways heading to these areas. The way has been opened for us just as we finished a very spirit-filled worship service pleading for God to use us in any way to help the Ecuadorians suffering from the effects of the devastation. We are leaving in less than an hour for an 8-hour bus ride. We don't expect to get much sleep or food in the next 3 days as we set up our basecamp of tents in the village we will be serving. Please pray for us and that the Lord works in mighty ways as we extend His love to our brothers and sisters. Pray for safety and restored peace, especially for the local people, in areas that are now in chaos and destruction.

Next update will be Wednesday. We are going to areas where all communication has been lost.

Tim

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Earthquake

Hi everyone.



We were just beginning our debriefing session this evening around 7 pm of our last week in Oyacachi and El Chaco when the earthquake hit.  We all looked to our right and left to see who was nervously shaking their leg and making our chairs shake when we realized it was nobody but the tremor of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the coastal city of Esmeraldas 4 hours away. The tremor lasted over a minute causing everything to shake inside the building we were in.  We all moved outside and continued to feel it moving the ground under our feet. 



Everyone in LIFT and El Refugio are safe.  Please pray for the residents of Esmeraldas who suffered this severe quake that had its epicenter 10 miles off the coast.  No news yet of damage or casualties - it all just happened.


We head out for our mountain climbing (Sincholagua) expedition tomorrow and will return to El Refugio late Tuesday.



Psalm 46!



Tim

Bevies of Children, Piles of Grace.



Before we arrived in Oyacachi, I was expecting something like the Altiplano: windswept, bare, cold and drab. Instead, the town is vibrant, cradled between lush green mountains. Dirt roads descend in hairpin turns to the village of 800. In Oyacachi, even the clouds look larger than life.

 

When our bus pulled up on Monday, a swarm of children had already came running; by the time we unloaded our bags, dozens more had emerged. We spent our  four days inundated with children; kids of all ages, asking to be carried and swung and held, peering in at us during meals, coming to shake our hands or sit in our laps during church, play clapping games, or braiding flowers into our hair.

 

Our time in Oyacachi was a flurry of activity. Our plans for the day weren’t announced… until we had half an hour’s notice to run a two-hour English lesson for the entire elementary school. Or when we were told to teach Sunday school without any warning of how long we’d be teaching or how many kids, or what age group. (Leaders in Flexible Training) We performed dances and worship, led lessons and Bible stories, and brought (we think) the first cello the town has ever seen. We went shower-less, ate plenty of rice, potatoes, and trout, and carried more children than I can count on our shoulders.

 

We also got a snapshot into God’s work and transformation. The pastor in Oyacachi had been leading his flock since 1975, 20 years before a road and electricity made it to the town. He continues to minister, and offered us a warm welcome with traditional Andean music and an overview of the history of the town.

 

We heard from Susana, the director of the Compassion International ministry there. She shared with us stories of the impact of the ministry on children and families: over 120 kids in Oyacachi, all supported by sponsors from around the world, receive lunch twice a week, medical care, birthday gifts, and Bible teaching. They showed off their (quite impressive) Bible knowledge throughout our lessons and games throughout the week, in a cacophony of shouts, reciting verses and recalling Bible stories.

 

We made friends with kids and saw the joy and openness of the townspeople, who would greet us with a “Buenos Dias” and a handshake, whether we knew Spanish or not.

 

We leave after three and a half days, but a LIFT/El Refugio legacy continues to develop and grow;  Cynthia developed a friendship with a LIFTer, Monia, six years ago, when she was 12. This week, Cynthia rode her motorcycle through the rain three hours from where she attends university to meet this LIFT group and catch up.  


In our final morning in Oyacachi, we visited with Maria, a disabled elderly woman. She told us her history, speaking out her window to us. We sung with her and promised to pray for her until we visit next spring. It is our relationships with those like Cynthia and Maria and our partnerships with the local churches leave lasting impacts—both for us, and for those we visit.  We also had a few children come up to us with pictures of LIFT students from years past - asking about them.  They do not forget the times they have had with the students that have taken time to befriend them.

 

You can join us in this ministry and partnership, with prayers for Maria, for the children and families of Oyacachi, and for transformational encounters with the gospel (for us and for the Ecuadorians we interact with). We left Oyacachi with gratitude and joy. Heaven, too, I believe, will have grandiose mountains laced with waterfalls, children in mud boots who run where they please, and—hopefully—the mystical praise music of Andean pipes and flutes.

Katie Jickling

Be sure to check out the updated photos on the LIFT  Discipleship Program Facebook page.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Unity Across Cultures


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

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Many Hands Make Muddy Work

Welcome to Ecuador!  We all arrived safe at El Refugio on Monday afternoon with no real problems. We were all a little sleepy and stiff when we dropped or backpacks in our rooms. Then Rick Borman, our host, took us on a hike around the grounds. El Refugio is a beautiful camp outside of Quito.  It is a conference and retreat center for groups to get away from the city and meet with God. They have three hundred acres of land complete with mountains, climbing wall, ponds, gardens, high ropes course, soccer field, four llamas, a beautiful tree house, and many more things. Their mission is to show the need for God, life-giving rhythms, community, missions, and bearing fruit. Their beautiful grounds help people coming from the crowded cities to relax and experience God in a new way. On our tour hike Rick showed us many things I found so interesting. He showed us a plant that looks like clover but you can eat it. It is so tart that your mouth waters. I love tart things and it made me pucker a little. All these new things make me so thankful for God’s creativity! When you are on top of the mountain you can see nothing but mountains for miles! The small mountains around El Refugio look as if they have been draped in a patchwork quilt. They are covered in fields of yellow, bits of purple, and green, all outlined by dark green hedges. The beauty God has made is beyond words or photos. I wish I could bring everyone here so that we could all praise God together in this place.



Tuesday we started helping the El Refugio staff prepare for the Todo Lodo race this coming Saturday (April 9th). Todo Lodo (all mud) is their version of a “tough mudder” they are expecting around 1,300 people. This high adventure 5K is a perfect open door for people to see what El Refugio is about.  Please pray that through this event seeds will be planted in people’s hearts and that the staff will show Christ’s love to everyone they come in contact with. Our work includes spreading clay for the mud, hanging signs, digging trenches, mowing, and other things to prepare the grounds. It is amazing how much work 33 extra people can get done. I feel very blessed to work alongside the staff and interns. We have only been here for one full day and I already feel home. All the staff have such big hearts. They are made up of full time missionaries, interns from around the world, and locals from the town. Tim told us to watch and learn from the missionaries while we are here. Hudson Taylor said, “Let the people be who they are but let God change their hearts and parts of their culture.” I can see this in the missions here. I have been watching the staff and can see how much they love the people and culture; they are simply doing life with the people. I love getting to share in a little part of that discipleship. It has been a new experience for me to work with a language barrier. I have learned that hand motions are very helpful and if you can’t get anywhere just laugh and smile. We have a work day again today after which we will be testing out the muddy course - to work on our fitness and to see if it works well (but mostly for fun)! 
Check out pictures of the LIFT students testing out the course on the LIFT Discipleship Program Facebook page.

For the next eight days we will be in two small Ecuadorian villages working with churches, schools, and doing work projects. We will be heading to El Chaco Thursday morning, staying there for four days, then heading to Oyacachi for another four days. Please be praying that we will keep our hearts focused on what God has for us to learn and how we can serve him.  We are all learning and experiencing many new things and that is exciting, but our goal is to serve and show Christ’s love. Also be praying for our team’s health. I thank you all so much for your prayers.

Annita   (Hannah Watson)

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Vamos a Ecuador!




Buenos Dias! (Good Day), and welcome to the LIFT 35 missions blog.  The buzz of excitement has been growing as we prepare for this mission trip.  Under all this excitement is always an immense appreciation to those who have made it possible.  We all extend our gratitude for your support and prayers.  We hope you will check back here often and stay with us as we travel and spread the good news.  The LIFT program has been going to Ecuador every spring for seven years now and the leadership has built great relationships with many local people and ministries with whom we will be partnering.  In supporting and praying for us you also are partnering with these great ministries.

We will be traveling down to New Jersey tomorrow afternoon to have a home cooked meal by a family (The Kuders) of one of our LIFT students and a little time to relax before going to JFK.  We will be spending the late evening with our TSA friends and plan to get to the gate with plenty of time to spare.  When traveling with a large group you never know when there is going to be a snag (especially with Tim's new titanium hip), or how long the TSA agents may want to visit with you.  We have to plan that time in.  If you wish to track us we are flying LAN flight # XL 539 to Guayaquil then transferring to flight # XL 1508 arriving in Quito at 11:15am.

 From Quito we are driving to Hacienda El Refugio http://www.haciendaelrefugio.com/ in Calacalí.  This is home base for our time in Ecuador.  We will spend a couple days here likely preparing for "Todo Lodo"  http://www.todolodo.com/acerca-de/ (a mud run event) that happens on Saturday 4/9 while we are in El Chaco.  Hacienda El Refugio is an outdoor retreat center which facilitates a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ through nature and outdoor adventure.  This event drew 700 participants last year and is expecting more this year.  Please keep this event in your prayers as you pray of El Refugio with us.

From El Refugio we will go to El Chaco and Oyacachi to serve with the churches there.  We will be providing manual labor, teaching English, teaching Sunday school, preaching, giving our testimonies, leading worship, dancing, playing games with the kids, and sharing the gospel in our day to day lives.

The final leg of our trip is back to El Refugio then off to the mountains.  What is a LIFT adventure without a good climb up something big!  Sincholagua is a 15,988 ft high mountain in the Andes.  After this adventure it is back to the USA.

Throughout our Holistic Ministry class we have been learning the importance missions.  We have been learning what works and what doesn’t.  We have been learning from the success and failures of Steve Saint, Richard Sterns, Rick Borman, and our fearless leader Tim Trezise.  We have been preparing our hearts and minds to minister to those in need.  Now is the time that we take this knowledge and put it to use.

Once again,  we thank all of you who make it possible to go on this missions trip and ask that your prayers would surround our work there.

Lord God,  We ask for your guiding hand as we journey to meet with your people in Ecuador.  We ask for safe flights and opportunity to share you with those we encounter on the way.  Lord we ask for your will to be done.  Lord we pray over El Refugio that their  ministry there would be full of good fruit.  We ask that Todo Lodo would be an opportunity for planting, watering, and harvest for your kingdom.  Lord we pray that our service there may be pleasing to you.  As we travel to El Chaco and Oyacachi we pray for the people there.  Lord, you know their needs.  Lord let us love them with actions and in your truth.  Let us be your hands and feat serving and guiding in holiness and faith.  Let the people in these communities see you.  Let our love be your love, our hands your hands, and our words your words.  Lord, we pray over our adventures.  We pray that our time in the mountains may show us glimpses of your majesty and grandeur.  May we be reminded how small we are and remember that we fit in the protection of your comforting hand.  Lord, we lift this time up to you and ask that your work be done thru us, willing vessels in your hand.  In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

Thanks for reading and please be praying,

Paul Exman