Cotapaxi...the volcano

These pictures were taken from the airplane as we were taking off to come home! Yes that is snow on top of the volcano!!! Pretty awesome pictures...aren't they?

Sister-to-Sister sewing machines

Here are 2 of the sewing machines we were able to buy from the very generous donations made by a lot of you! These were in the homes of 2 of the Sisters we visited. Two of the pictures actually show one being used to make some of their back-packs! Thanks to all of you who helped make this dream a reality!!!

Adam at the wall

Hhhhmmmmmmm....he should be about here! This is where we kept telling Adam that John was saying..."no son, a little higher and to your left"

Pictures of John becoming a wall

These pictures were taken when we were adding some of John's ashes to the concrete used in making the wall....notice Glen's shirt!...it was not planned but couldn't be cooler even it had been!!!

Home safe and sound

Well, we made it home! Had a few suitcases not make it back with us but they did show up on Sunday so all is well. As usual, it was a long day (had to be in the hotel lobby by 3:50 am so got up at 3...between flights and layovers and turning in lost luggage claims, it was about 7:00 pm by the time we actually got to the house.

All in all it was a good week! We accomplished a lot....the doctors and dentists saw about 450 to 500 kids of the community for much needed immunizations and dental work....it was very hard to see the little ones having teeth pulled (or whatever was needed) but we all know that in the long run it will be the best thing for them!

We said farwell to John while there although he will be there every time we go...you see we put some of his ashes in a batch of concrete that was used to build the wall....so John will forever be a part of Mama Yoli's! A fitting place considering that if not for him, we may have never made it there ourselves! We had a more "traditional" type service on Sunday when we actually scattered some of his ashes from the roof of Mama Yoli's but saved some for the wall! That part was actually done very quietly without a lot of fuss....exactly how John would have wanted!!! It was a very fitting farewell to our beloved John!

The trip was more tiring and stressful this year due to a number of additional situations....way more people than normal (50+ as opposed to our typical 25 to 30)....the construction was harder than normal (hauling and pouring concrete for a wall that is probably 12 feet tall and 25 or more feet long)...the VBS had an extra component due to the medical and dental part (kids coming and going when it was their turn to see the doctors)....however, it was well worth the extra stress and work! As always, the only truly important thing is to spend time with the people of the community....show and spread the love of Jesus....and hopefully leave a little something of ourselves behind! I know we all brought back many different thoughts and memories with us! Again....we are already talking about next year....I will keep you posted!!!

In the words of the "sisters"....Dios le bendiga....God Bless!

p.s. I actually saw one of the sewing machines....and saw it making a back-pack! Too cool!!!

I would have to say it was a successful trip!

Thursday Night

I have finally got some more pictures posted! Today was a killer...we saw another 130 to 140 kids...almost everyone sick!!! We had (during the afternoon VBS) nothing but sick kids....screaming...crying...throwing up and going to the bathroom (both 1 and 2) on the floor....not my kind of day but they were at the right place....getting treated and hopefully well. Of course we all hope we do not catch anything! It was a difficult day but well worth it for the sake of the kids. It is heartbreaking to watch the little ones getting their teeth pulled and then the doctors probing and sticking...but again...so much better for them in the long run.

The construction was lighter today so most of us either did VBS or helped move the kids from doctor to dentist to VBS. That is where I met my buddy Estaban...he was the 1st and one of the only kids NOT sick....just look at his smile....I guess you can tell he didn't need the dentist either! The ones doing construction were moving dirt....doing the back fill on the wall once it was finished. I have posted a picture of the wall so you can see how tall and how long it was....we hauled and poured the concrete for the whole thing.

The week is flying by as it usually does when we are down here...tomorrow is about it! We fly out at 6am Saturday morning so it doesn't count. We bought a bunch of Sister to Sister jewelry and backpacks Wednesday...they are bringng more on tomorrow so we'll see!

Been a long hard day so signing off....talk to you soon...Love...s

Tuesday

Today we hauled concrete...taught VBS for 50 little ones and had another 100 go through the medical and dental clinic.

Monday

Well....we have finished our first day at Mama Yoli's and I must say we are exhausted! We shoveled and hauled buckets of sand all morning and then in the afternoon we had 50 2 to 3 year old kids for a 3 1/2 hour VBS! Not easy! We had been told we would have the older kids in the afternoon so had planned our crafts and games based on that.....we had to quickly regroup and come up with something they could do!

We had 50 kids go through the doctors and dentists in the morning and then another 50 in the afternoon.

Tomorrow appears to be another day like today except that of course it will be 100 different kids and instead of sand...we will be mixing and hauling buckets of concrete. The kids we will have tomorrow afternoon are to be babies to 5 years old....that one will be interesting to try and get through....we are trying now to try and figure out 2 crafts instead of one....one for older kids and one for younger ones....same thing for the games!

I will send you more tomorrow and hopefully will have pictures to add.....love to all...talk to you then! S

Almost time to go

We are all getting very excited! Today is Wednesday the 13th...we leave Saturday the 16th! We have several that are very excited and anxious since they have never been and then we have others that are excited and thrilled because we have been and know what to expect.

It has been a long haul and a lot of hard work getting us to this point but it was well worth the time and effort and we can finally say YES! It's done and we are on our way!!!

We want to thank all who have responded to the letters with financial support, all who particpated in any of the fund-raisers, and most importantly we want to thank all who have been and continue to keep us in your prayers! Without all of the prayers, we would most likely not have been able to get there but even if we did, would it be for the right reason? Probably not! Please continue to pray that we have safe journeys...that we show the love and spirit of Jesus to every person we meet....and that all our words and deeds are the will of God and not our own!

Keep watching...we will keep you posted with stories and pictures as our week in Quito unfolds!

Much love to all......Sherri & the Ecuador Mission team!

Dinner and a Show with a silent auction thrown in!

Well...the dinner and a show has been set! It will be Saturday, May 12th from 5:00 p.m. until it's over! We will be serving a full sit down meal with soup and salad, an entree with vegetables and desert. Brent Orth's group (Ain't Dead Yet) will be playing and entertaining during dinner...they have a real gig that night at 8:00 so will be leaving early. After they are finished performing, we will have a wide range of people providing different types of entertainment, finishing out the night with a stand up comedy routine provided by none other than our own Joe Hobby!

The tickets are on sale for $15.00 per person or 2 for $25.00....considering the amount of food and entertainment...you just can't beat it! If you would like to purchase some tickets...any team member will be more than happy to get them to you. Also remember to bring your checkbooks...or lots of cash...for the silent auction/raffle! We hope to have many cool items up for grabs! We hope to see you there!

BTW...an unrelated (sort of) item of information...on Saturday, May 5th at the 2nd annual Clay May Days (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)...Faith UMC will have a booth set up and the mission team will be selling hand made items from the Sister-to-Sister program! We have jewelry, purses, back-packs, hats and several other miscellaneous items. Send everyone you know out to buy some very unique and beautiful items!

The Sister-to-Sister products and tickets to the Dinner and a Show would all make great Mother's Day gifts!!! Don't forget the women in your life...Sunday May 13th!

Dinner and a Show with a silent auction thrown in!

OK...just for a starter...mark your calendar for May 12th! That is when we will be having the dinner and a show! We will begin pre-selling tickets soon...what you will get for your money is a full meal served by the Ecuador mission team, comic relief by Joe Hobby and many assorted musical productions...well...people singing anyway! You never know who might show up or what they might do. I'm secretly working on a command performance of the old Faith men and women's quartets!!! Don't know that I can pull it off but I am trying! I will get back with you soon with more details but for now...save the date!

A picture of Mama Yoli's in Atacucho

Many of you know that last year while in Ecuador, we helped build a daycare in Atacucho. This year we will be doing some finishing work on the existing building and starting on an addition to the building. The addition will be a church, pastor's living quarters, SIFAT office space and larger kitchen/cafeteria for the children of the daycare. This is a fairly current picture of the daycare (Mama Yoli's). Last year we were on the 4th floor building columns to support the 5th and final floor. As you can see, it is pretty high up there and extremely windy! When you are looking at the picture, imagine a fence around the top of the building and children playing on swings and monkey bars...kind of hard for us to do isn't it? In Atacucho, there is so little available land, they build their playgrounds on the roof. This year in addition to digging footers for the new building and finishing out the old building, we will be teaching VBS programs at home daycares in the morning and Mama Yoli's in the afternoon. Added to all of that, this year, there will be a medical/dental aspect to our trip as well. The team members who will be working with the medical and/or dental professionals, will also be at Mama Yoli's. They will provide dental work, give immunizations, perform minor surgical procedures and as many other needed health related check-ups as possible. We look forward to having that aspect added to our trip! I will send more later but did want everyone to see the picture of Mama Yoli's!!!

Getting Ready

As most of you are aware, getting ready to go any where can be a major undertaking. Add international travel to the mix and it gets even harder, you have to get shots, passports and fill out mounds of paperwork. Since we are going on an international mission trip, we need to add fundraisers as well. We have flipped and served pancakes at Applebee's, sold turkeys and M&M's, we are currently selling Honey Baked Hams for Easter and have written and mailed letters to family and friends. We are in the initial planning stages for a dinner/show/silent auction scheduled for some time in May and last night, as you can hopefully tell by the picture, we met the cow as we worked at the Chik-Fil-A in Leeds. Whew!!

We will keep you apprised of the dinner/show/auction...maybe you want to buy a ticket!?! Let me know....LOL...s

Creating a Blog for Ecuador

Well, we said we wanted to create a blog for our next Ecuador trip...here we go!