Sunday, 16 July 2006

  • Sunday Post--Busy times in Ecuador

       Buenos tardes to everyone! Sorry for the lack of updating on the website this past week...things have been wonderfully busy and we were even off-site for two days this week where we did not have Internet. This week the medical team from St. Luke's saw hundreds of children in the south of Quito and helped them to receive medical care. For some of the children, it was their first time to see a doctor. For these children, ages two weeks to 17 years, it was a significant experience to receive medical care. We have much to learn from these children as we take for granted our ease and access to medical care.

       After the first three days in the Communidad de Fe Church we moved the medical team across the street to the Military base in south Quito. Dr. Roberto said that it is usually very difficult to get a site in the south and to get space on the Military base is most often very difficult--especially when you're serving the poor children in the area and not the families of the military base. Each year the military base leadership changes and each year Dr. Roberto has to ask a different person if we can gain access to the base for our medical teams. He said that this year it was a breeze to secure the location and it is the best place on the base that we have ever been allowed to use. The Military base even sent an officer in during the day to photograph the clinic and ask Dr. Roberto some questions. God was and is definitely all over that place and is, as usual, way ahead of us.

       Also this week God was ahead of us in other ways too. One such way was with Franco family--Carlos, Gabriela, Jasmine, and Carlitos. They are the bilingual family who helped us translate, take temperatures, and were pretty much amazing the ENTIRE week! It was such a blessing to have them there with us as our brothers and sisters in Christ. Carlos and his wife Gabriela, who is a nurse, are both originally from Ecuador. They met in the US, got married, and started their family there. They moved back to Ecuador about a year ago and live here in Quito. They were ever so gracious to help us and to obey the call God put in their lives to come help with the team. Many thanks to all the Franco's and we will miss our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters. Thanks!

       After the week of working in the medical clinics, the team took a couple of days of well-earned rest and relaxation. The St. Luke team opted to go to the cloudforests in Mindo, an area 2.5 hours to the northwest of Quito. We left out early Friday morning for a short stop at the Solar Museum at the Middle of the World. At the equator we listened to the tour and enjoyed the early morning sunshine. After that we headed on another 2 hours descending down 5,000 feet to the cloudforests of Mindo. We were honored to have the Franco family join us for our excursion to the forests. At the Hostel some stayed in A-frame cabinas and a few of us got to stay in the "Casas de arboles," yes that's right...tree houses!! So I have now fulfilled one of everyone's boyhood dreams...I have spent the night in a treehouse in the forests of some foreign country! We had a blast and enjoyed the food, the hummingbirds, butterflies, horse riding, tubing, and the amazingly green flora around us. Our God is an amazing Creator and the team enjoyed getting acquainted with some of the creation here in Ecuador.

       While in Mindo, little Carlos and I especially had a great time collecting some of the lemons and oranges from the fruit trees on the property. The team members also were given the opportunity to try fruit from the Guaayava tree. It is always fun to try a new fruit or two. The butterfly house was also a crowd favorite because of the Owl's Eye Butterflies and their skillful use of camouflage. The have a very large owl's eye on their wings and they can look like a snake, a convincing owl, or just a large, scary eye to ward off potential predators. They have a iridescent blue inside their wings that is simply a work of the Lord.

           On Friday night we had the chance to have a special Communion time and a hand washing service to serve and be served by our fellow team members. The occasion was especially touching and the presence of the Lord filled our small room and every heart inside. It was a neat time to tell the people around us how much we saw Christ in their actions throughout the week with the children, the medical exams, and with the general nature of the team members. The St. Luke team thoroughly enjoyed their time in Mindo and we returned Saturday afternoon. They flew out of the Quito airport that night and are back at home. For SIFAT Ecuador, thanks so much to the St. Luke team and thanks so very much for the medical love you shared here with the children of the south of Quito. You have all helped to share God's love in extremely practical ways! May He continue to bless and keep you all until you return again to Ecuador! 

    Please click here to see some more photos of Mindo and the team members of St. Luke: http://photo.xanga.com/SIFATecuadorAWF

     

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