Reflections

Nearly a week after returning from Ecuador with the 2022 EMT from Whitefield, I find myself reflecting on many attributes of the Lord that we saw while we were together.  

Protection: Psalm 91

One of the scriptures that the students have been studying at Amor y Esperanza this year is Psalm 91, "Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will dwell in the shadow of the Almighty ... under His wings you will find refuge ... you will not fear the terror of the night ... no harm will overtake you."  I encourage you to read the whole chapter -- it is a beautiful picture of the Lord's protection over us.  He promises that if we make Him our dwelling place, He will guard us, rescue us, protect us, answer us.  This was truly our experience this week.  The students embraced the Lord -- came to him again and again in prayer, worship, and song.  And the Lord protected us.  There were protests in the country, political unrest that affected many areas of Quito while we were there.  But we did not encounter any of the protestors, we were able to carry on with our mission, and we were returned safely home.  It was a beautiful picture of the Lord. 

"The trip for me was a truly amazing experience. I grew up seeing the chapels about the trip every year but I never expected it to have such an impact on my life. I grew so much closer to God on this trip, and despite the language barrier, I grew super close with the kids." -- Annie

"Ecuador was amazing. I felt the Lord working and experienced many great things. Working with the kids was a very fun time. I had a great trip!" -- Reilly

Love:  Luke 15

The song "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury says
   

 "There's no shadow You won't light up, 

    mountain You won't climb up, coming after me.
    No wall you won't kick down, 

    lie You won't tear down, coming after me."

As we sang this song together, which talks of the parable of the lost sheep -- how the Lord will leave the 99 to find the one sheep who has wandered away -- we knew that the Lord was seeking our hearts.  He truly seeks us out, when we turn away, He is still there.  When we stray, He comes to find us and always welcomes us back into His arms.  We used a projector to light up a wall with a picture of that great rushing river of life to paint our mural -- no shadow You won't light up.  The students climbed a mountain in the oxygen depleted air above 10,000 feet -- no mountain You won't climb up.  And we spoke of the lies that separate us from the Lord -- no lie You won't tear down.  We felt the Lord pursuing us, together.  And we planned to return home to continue to pursue the Lord, together.  His love for us is overwhelming, never-ending, undeserved -- the reckless love of God. 

"I got to Ecuador a day late, and my initial expectation for the trip was that I would not fit in because I had missed a bonding moment. I was so wrong. Immediately, everyone was so inviting, and I became friends with not only the team, but with the Ecuadorians too. Pancho and Pity did an amazing job of reminding each and every one of us of our worth in Christ and just how much the Lord truly loves us. Pancho also never failed to bring laughter to the group. Without a doubt in my mind, I can say that I’m leaving with not only a servants heart, but also family." -- Angela

Faithfulness:  The story of Joseph in Genesis

We had the privilege of joining in morning assemblies this week with the students at Amor y Esperanza as they are learning about the story of Joseph.  The Lord was faithful to Joseph.  Even when it appeared that all was lost by worldly standards -- Joseph thrown in a pit by his brothers and then sold into slavery -- the Lord was faithful, the Lord was in control.  We talked of how Joseph, when he was in the pit, may have had fear or doubts.  But he trusted the Lord, and he found favor in the sight of the Lord.  As we stood on top of the school building at sunrise, with the sun shrouded in clouds and fog, we listened to the song "Way Maker."

    "Even when I don't feel it You're working

    Even when I don't see it You're working

    You never stop, You never stop working

    You never stop, You never stop working."

We were so fortunate this week to feel the presence of the Lord.  To have pictures of his grace and His faithfulness. My prayer as we return home, get busy with work, life, and school, is that we will remember this time and allow it to encourage us that even when we cannot see the hand of the Lord in our lives, He is there.  He never stops working, never stops pursuing our hearts. 

"This trip was life changing and the best trip I’ve ever been on. Going into this trip I didn’t expect much. I expected to get some llama jackets, help build the school, teach some kids and then leave but it was so much more than that. We explored the country side and the culture there but also got to bond with the kids there not just teach them. We bonded with everyone there, even the lunch ladies. But the most amazing thing was God’s presence. Before this trip, I hadn’t felt His presence since before pandemic, but I felt it again here. It was amazing to actually get to know the kids and actually feel God’s presence because for me that was something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I’ll do all I can to go back next year." -- Nolan

"In the time that we were at Nono, I saw the mountain as a challenge to climb and to see how far I could go with everyone else.  But once we started climbing the mountain, I saw it as a representation of our path with God. The path was never a straight line up the mountain, and sometimes we even had to go down a bit to climb up further. As evening came, we turned around on the path because of the darkness that was to come -- we were afraid of the darkness and getting stuck on the mountain. But if we truly want to get to the top or at least further up the infinite mountain that is our path with God, then we have to push through the darkness at every point along the path and keep going to know God the best we can." -- Davis 

Days 8-9: Nono

        With our last farewells to the students behind us, we woke up early on Saturday morning to go up to the top of the building for the sunrise.  As we stepped out on the top floor, we heard dogs barking, roosters welcoming the morning, cars as they passed, and a continuation of the music from the all-night party down the street.  But instead of seeing the sunrise peeking up over the horizon, we were shrouded in clouds.  There was a thick layer of fog hindering any view of more than 30 feet.  Nevertheless, we gathered, sang, prayed, and welcomed in the day.  As we looked toward where we knew the sun was rising in the sky, we recognized the picture that the Lord was giving us of faith … believing in that which we cannot see. We knew for sure that the sun was there!  We could even see some of the signs of the morning – a soft lightening, the sounds around us, and ever so slowly a lifting of the fog.  But the sun was hidden completely from our view.  Sometimes in our walk, there are times that we must follow the Lord when we cannot completely see or feel his presence.  Even in these times, He is right beside us, guiding, leading, and even carrying us along the path.

I didn't get any photos during our morning foggy 
sunrise time, but here are a couple from an evening 
on the roof with the moon rising.

Nolan and Reilly were giving Pitty quite the scare by juggling 
the soccer ball on the roof. 

        After a couple of hours of early work on the mural (for a few of us), we had an amazing breakfast of waffles, fruit, and bacon (yum!!) and boarded the bus for Nono.  We visited the Wells home where Annie, Megan, and Will took a trail ride down the mountain.  The others rode horses in the ring, played with the rabbits, and took in the beautiful scenery.  

Nolan in the ring. 

Annie with one of the rabbits (and the beautiful
scenery in the background!)

First time for Davis on a horse!

Megan with Belle. 

Will ready for the trail.

Photo credit to Davis for taking this shot of 
a hummingbird in the wild.  

 

We were treated to a wonderful lunch in a little restaurant in “downtown” Nono, a small town of 800 or 1000 people, and we then arrived at Pitty’s family home near Nono to celebrate Matteo Zola’s graduation from high school (virtually) and Danny Zola’s birthday.  The students took a two hour hike up the mountain and enjoyed smores by the fire before dinner. It was a full day of activity (and for me rest as I took a long nap during the hiking and smores part of the day), fellowship, and celebration.  

Apparently the students developed characters for a possible movie script on their way up the mountain.  Here the students are posing "in character" on their hike. 

Celebrating Danny's 20th birthday!

Pancho giving Matteo an exhortation as we celebrated his
graduation from high school.

It is hard to express the experience we have enjoyed together through words and pictures.  There has been an outpouring of the Holy Spirit as we have served, fellowshipped, eaten our meals together, and gathered for prayer and devotional.  My hope is that these life changing experiences and this depth of knowing the Lord will carry these students forward with changed lives and with a new bond of brotherhood/sisterhood.  

Day 7: Final Goodbyes

Jon and Reilly's 5th grade class. 

One of Daniel and Davis' students
presenting his artwork. 

Hey, this is Daniel Johnson taking over the blog! Friday the 17th was quite the eventful day at Amor y Esperanza. Per usual, we got up for breakfast with high hopes for a successful last day of teaching. Once the kids arrived, we sang my lighthouse one last time following a powerful devotion led by Pancho and Pitty. The schedule changed numerous times throughout the day causing us to lose an entire teaching block with the students; none the less, we made the best of our time. Entering the classroom was quite the challenge knowing that this may be the last time I ever teach these precious children. Davis and I have been tasked with teaching the fourth grade an art class this week. From the first time we entered the classroom, our children have brought a majority of the energy to the class. Although I wasn’t able to connect with the children as much as I desired, they grasped all that Davis and I threw at them. In fact, they worked so quickly that we were forced to come up with side projects and activities to maintain their focus and energy. To our misfortune, the children were a little “too” energetic today. In a failed attempt at a fun trivia game, we had a less successful class than the previous days. Block 2 led to a much more successful ending to the week. 

Cake to celebrate the pre-K!

Susan Justice here taking back over ... unfortunately, Daniel wasn't feeling well and was unable to finish his blog post. Our last day of teaching was, as Daniel said, quite eventful. We were supposed to be having the pre-K graduation ceremony, but due to political protests in Quito, the event had to be canceled. Instead, our group treated the pre-K (which is caled Inicial in Ecuador), to a party with cake and "diploma -style" papers with Bible verses. The children were so very cute as they practiced their graduation songs for us!

EMT students with the pre-K or "Inicial" class.

These little ones are absolutely adorable!!

Following the morning assemblies, teaching blocks, and pre-K celebration, we had our final assembly with the students.  There were many tears flowing, lots of hugs, and emotional good-byes.  It is difficult to explain just how close the children at Amor y Esperanza and the students from Whitefield can become in just one short week.  It is a picture of the Lord's love for us and the bonds that we have with our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Many tears during our final goodbyes 
with the students. 

Lots of hugs too!

And of course, the final day at the school would not be complete without some healthy Ecuador vs. USA competition! We started with a short game of basketball where the USA demonstrated our dominance, shutting out Ecuador.  In "futbol" however, the US was not able to stop our Ecuadorian friends and we got down 0-1 early.  We looked competitive in the first half, scoring two goals (the second one was disputed by Ecuador, but Pancho actually had to admit it was a goal since there was video evidence), but the half ended with a score of Ecuador 4 - USA 2.  We couldn't come back in the second half, so Ecuador was victorious with a final score of I believe 7-3.  The US was quite skilled at launching the ball over the walls of the school, sending it into the street or neighbors yards and requiring a few stoppages.  

Reilly was not happy about Mrs. Justice subbing him 
out after he ran the lead up into double digits. 

Maria Victoria taking the ball up the court.

Daniel defending against Jesus.

We were definitely outmatched in soccer!

Nolan and Matteo going up to compete 
for a header.

After a little more work on the mural, the team headed out for dinner.  We were not able to go to Pim's due to the unrest and political demonstrations in that area, but we found a wonderful spot closer to the school called Lucia's and enjoyed a night out.  We have been blessed with the Lord's protection this week and have enjoyed celebrating His goodness together.  

"Taste and see that the Lord is good."  Psalm 34:8

Day 5: A Student's Perspective

Hey Y'all, this is Will Overstreet (not the one in the picture below) and I'll be writing the blog for Wednesday! In case you don't know who I am, I'm a senior and I'm the one in the gray shirt in the middle of the picture above. I just really like this picture.

Our day started with our morning rally as usual with us singing Mi Faro (my lighthouse en español) and a quick talk from Pitty to get all the kids started for the day. As the big kids moved out, we had another round with the younger kids and sang a few more songs before we ended it off with a student tunnel with them going back to their classrooms, where we shortly followed.

Back in the classroom, Nolan and I taught our first of two days of Bible Class. While we had a few different stories in mind, we ended up mainly focusing on the story of Joseph's Coat of Many Colors. The picture below is from Monday when we we're teaching English but I put it in because it's a great action shot and also has Ally in it, the children's actual teacher who teaches English and helps us translate. In all honesty, without her, Nolan and I would definitely be struggling a lot more than we are now, so we're very thankful for her. Not sure if we already posted this photo but I'm reposting it for this shoutout.

Later into the day after we finished teaching the kids and after we ate lunch, we moved onto VBS. I had a different group today but connected with them pretty well right off the bat. Danjo, Davis, Mavi (Mary Victoria, our translator) and I ended up having a lot of fun coloring the path outside of the building and playing on the playground with all of the kids.

After playing with them for a little while, we all grouped together and I read them the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den, with Mavi translating and Danjo and Davis asking some questions at the end and closing out with a quick prayer before we said goodbye.

We ended the day off by going to a surprise pizza place (Pizza Hut) and while we planned on going to see a movie after, we had some issues with timing so now we're going to go see Jurassic World on Thursday. We went back to the school and had a good night of planning and working on the mural, and we ended the day having some time with just the team outside before we headed off to bed.

Day 4: Strength for the Weary

Our fourth day in Ecuador may have been only the second full day of teaching for our students, but the fatigue of teaching kids for entire days has already set in. Our students wanted to sleep and struggled to show energy that they did not possess, but the Lord helped them through the day. God has been faithful in giving these youth the creativity and flexibility to pivot plans with little to no notice! It reminds me of the Bible when it says, "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and  young men stumble and fall."-Isaiah 40:29-30 

Here, our team is singing "In Christ Alone" to dismiss the morning assembly to their classrooms.
 

Fifth grade students, under the direction of Reilley Cullen and Jon Fairgrieves learned how structures are created to be both tall and strong. They learned basic science concepts to build their own towers with marshmallows and toothpicks! We even had an "earthquake" (also Jon and Riley) shake the tables to check for sturdiness. The group with the strongest structure won!

After classes finished for the day, we painted areas of the school that needed touching up! We had a beautiful two-hour devotional/worship/prayer session, and after that, our team went out at night with a projector and a bonfire to work on a mural designed by Daniel Johnson. This project will take many days, but will be a lasting memory for the students of Amor y Esperanza of this year's team. 

-- Julie Flores, MS Spanish Teacher

Day 3: Work with all your heart!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23

On our third full day in Ecuador, the team from Whitefield met the classes that they will be teaching throughout the week.  The morning started off with an assembly with the students in third grade and above.  Our team presented two songs and joined in the worship and devotional with the students from Amor y Esperanza.  Whitefield students spent the rest of the morning with their first taste of executing lesson plans, dealing with classroom behavior, and managing the language barrier.  After lunch, we held a VBS for 70 children ages 8 and up.    At the end of the day, one student said, "Well, that is exhausting physically and mentally -- I guess I know now what it feels like to be a teacher!" 

I am excited to share that these students are truly working with all their heart!  When teaching plans didn't pan out, or material was covered too quickly, the students improvised and created new activities, lessons, and games.  Despite frustrations, I witnessed each teaching team finding ways to connect to the children and to share their hearts.  The Lord is at work here!  Please continue to pray for our week as we seek to follow the spirit and His leading.  

Evan playing soccer with the students during VBS
-- he is serving as a translator for the team
helping all the Whitefield teachers in their classrooms.

 

Davis sharing a devotional with the younger
children during VBS time.

Riley and Jon teaching 5th grade -- this is 
the class that was adopted by Whitefield this year!
They are learning science through hands
on experiments. 

Nolan and Will are teaching English to a combined
class of 6th and 7th grades with 40 students!

Annie, Angela, and Megan are teaching the 3rd grade using
dance and movement. 

Daniel and Davis are teaching the 4th grade through 
the use of art and color. 

Day 2: In Everything, Give Thanks

"Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."               I Thessalonians 5:17-19

We are learning about the River of Life, the Holy Spirit of God. Day 2 for the team brought some challenges, some highs and some lows, but in all things we are practicing the amazing gift of giving thanks.  We began the morning with empanadas for breakfast and a time of worship and prayer as a team.  During our visit to the equator, we learned about the history and rich culture of this country including the indigenous people of the four areas of Ecuador.  After that, we were able to celebrate together with a delicious lunch at Crepes and Waffles -- an EMT tradition!!

Our evening was a time to plan and prepare for our first morning of teaching.  The students are presenting songs during assembly time, teaching classes, and conducting an afternoon VBS.  Needless to say, there were many feeling overwhelmed and nervous about the day to come.  But I am so encouraged by this group of students!  They are walking out in faith, trusting the Lord to see them through.

Please continue to pray for health and energy for the team.  There are students facing various challenges -- we are learning to rely on the spirit, to forgive, to pray for those outside our team who are not following the Lord, and in all things, to give thanks.  When we turn our hearts to the Lord, and thank Him even for the challenges, then we see His hand guiding and leading us. 

We started and ended the day with views of the beautiful Ecuadorian landscape
from the top of the school building. 

Jon trying to balance an egg
on a nail at the equator.

Nolan -- successful egg master!

Daniel, Davis, Angela, and Megan

Whitefield EMT 2022

Please pray for members of the 
Whitefield team as they travel to Quito
to teach children at Amor y Esperanza!
Evan, Señora Flores, Nolan, Reilly, Will, Jon, Mrs. Justice, Annie, 
Davis, Megan, and Daniel 
(not pictured - Angela who will be arriving soon!)

    The Whitefield team has embarked on a new journey to Carmen Bajo in Quito, Ecuador.  After two years of the trip being cancelled due to the pandemic, we are blessed to be able to continue this partnership that has been in place since 2003!  This group of students is the 19th group of Whitefield students to travel to serve alongside Pancho and Pitty.

    The heart of this mission is to glorify Jesus Christ and to spread His love to the children and families in Carmen Bajo.  The students have been preparing lesson plans, afternoon activities, and projects to help the school. We covet your prayers for connection between the Whitefield students and students of Amor y Esperanza, for lesson plans to come together, and for students to be touched by the Spirit as they disconnect from life at home.  

    Our first full day in Quito took us to the market in Otovalo, to a traditional Ecuadorian lunch, and up to Cuicocha to hike around a natural volcanic lake.  The Lord's beauty and presence was radiant in our surroundings and in the hearts of our hosts here in Ecuador.  Praise the Lord for the opportunity to travel again to Amor y Esperanza!!

Annie has been wanting to join 
the EMT since she heard Pancho 
and Pitty speak in chapel when she 
was in kindergarten!!

The team hiked at Cuicocha and went farther up the
mountain than any previous Whitefield team

Dinner at a traditional Ecuadorian restaurant 

The students enjoyed the market, experiencing a 
different culture, learning to negotiate and purchase
items in a different language.