June 6 - Day One at Amor y Esperanza

"I command you -- be strong and courageous!  Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  Joshua 1:9 Esto es el versiculo de Amor y Esperanza.

It is difficult to wrap words around the experiences of today.  There is no way to express in prose or even in picture the depth of the experience of God's vast love for us, the challenge of being immersed in a different culture and language, or the stark reality of the surroundings here -- both beautiful and tragic.  We have been enveloped by the voices and song of the children of Amor y Esperanza (Love and Hope).  We have shared meals together with laughter and prayer.  We have entered classrooms knowing little or no Spanish, tried to communicate math, science, chess or English to students eager and excited to learn, and walked away from the classrooms not sure what we said!  We have also sanded and scraped plaster, removed mold, and replaced roofing for a family displaced by the recent Ecuadorian terremoto (earthquake).

We have been encouraged, in everything, to give God first place.

The Lord is definitely at work here.  He is moving in the hearts and lives of the children who attend the school.  I learned today that La Fundacion de Amor y Esperanza also has a nursery school which serves 70 children ages 0-3.  We saw some of the little children leaving with their parents at the end of the day, and oh, how cute they are!  Emma and Maggie Leigh are dying to visit the nursery school and have a chance to play with the little ones.  Across the street from this school, which is about a 5 minute drive from the current school campus, is the land for the new school building for Amor y Esperanza.  We are praying with Pancho and Pity for the Lord to allow the work to continue on this building.  And we are giving the Lord Jesus first place, even in this.

The team began the day at Amor y Esperanza at a school assembly.

The students welcomed the team from Whitefield with songs
and prayers!

View from one of the classrooms while students were out at recess.

William teaching English in 9th and 10th grade
 using the lyrics to a song.

Adria (above) and Mariah (below) are enjoying 1st grade. 

Emma teaching 2nd grade.

Isaac is an excited 4th grader.

David y Roberto

Michelle y Allison

Maggie Leigh and Maddy with 3rd grade.

Danny is a teacher from Alaska who is
teaching with Amor y Esperanza for
three years.  She is a huge help with
translating for the team!

The boys unload materials to repair the roof
of the home.

Those not working on the roof sanded, scraped,
spackled, and painted the interior of the home. Mariah
is sporting her paint and spackle.

This is the other house on the property, where
currently, there are three families living -- one will
be moving into the home we are working on.

This playground was donated to the school and will be a
wonderful addition to outdoor recess which is currently
held in a concrete courtyard.

This is a view of the home that the team worked on to prepare for the new
family from the coast.  The building in the background is the start of the
new school for Amor y Esperanza.  Eventually, this home will be torn down
and this area will have fields for sports and recreation.

Pancho and Pity share with the team about the challenges they are facing
with the new building.  Construction costs have increased due to changes in
requirements to meet building code secondary to earthquakes in the area.

This little one across the street from where we were
working was just too cute not to include!

Back at the apartment, there was down time
for basketball instruction and of course, more
futbol!!

Jesus and William -- thumbs up, of course!!