Day 5 - Tuesday July 2

An update from Cheryl:

 What a joy it is to serve with our brothers and sisters in Christ in this beautiful city. Cayambe is at 9,500 feet elevation, but is surrounded by Andes Mountain peaks of 10,000 to 19,000 feet. The highest, Mount Cayambe, is the highest point on the equator and is snow-capped year round. It snowed in the mountains last night, so it was even more beautiful.

Our team is spread throughout five cabanas (cabins) that are rustic, but nice. We wake each morning, not knowing whether we will be the lucky cabin(s) with hot water. It seems to be different each day. And just because we may have hot water doesn't mean it will be more than a trickle. But, on the plus side, our beds are very comfortable with warm wool blankets, the proprietors are very helpful and accommodating, and the breakfasts are to die for.

We drive through the center of Cayambe on our way to and from the church several times a day. It is a bustling city with a vibrant business district and a lot of foot traffic. Cayambe is growing (about 40,000 people), due in large part to the large rose industry. Cayambe is the largest supplier of roses to the United States. If you look up Cayambe on Google Earth, you will see hundreds (or more) of green houses surrounding the city. Chances are, the roses you buy at your local florist come from here.

Our work time on Tuesday was spent pretty much the same as Monday--mostly painting, concrete work, and working on the mural. The ladies of the church once again cooked us a delicious Ecuadorian meal. We headed back to our cabins for a couple of hours to rest and clean up before the English club.

Our English club began with jump roping and basketball. The Ecuadorians got even with us in the sports tally by beating us in basketball. A different sporting event is planned for each day. We had more students today (25). Most of the students were teens, but there were a few younger children and even a couple of dads taking part. The boys seemed to enjoy the vocabulary exercises today and the girls played games and did friendship bracelets. It's fun to see our Chatham teens interacting with the teens and children.

We ended club with Abby giving a testimony. In her testimony, she talked about prayer partners. This concept was really interesting to David Meyer and he encouraged the Ecuadorian youth to consider finding prayer partners. 

It's encouraging to hear the work that Christ has done in this church. Everyone here has a story--many of which would be hard for us to fathom. But, the work of the church and the work of Christ has turned many lives from despair to hope. It's such a blessing to hear about.

As we ended (at about 8 P.M), it was a clear, starry night. It was awesome to be able to view both the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross constellations in the sky at the same time. The Southern Cross can't be seen from the northern hemisphere. I realized that I was seeing a part of the sky that I had never seen before.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God, and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands."   Psalm 19:1

Mixing concrete on the roof

This cow is staked and grazes in the yard by the church.

Nikki is mastering the art of stuccoing.

More concrete work with some of our Ecuadorian friends, David and Marlon.

Our lunch is being prepared.

Work is beginning on the children's room mural. Abby is painting the "sky".

Giselle and Vicki (both Ecuadorian) are working as well.

Sam surprises the kitchen crew. But, being his mother, this doesn't surprise me.

Noah's ark is taking shape.

Antony loves to jump rope.

The Ecuadorean team had a ringer--Laura, who played basketball in college.

Boys from both countries love their sports.

Andrea made a new friend.

Laughter is universal.

Vocabulary practice.

One of the girls' groups playing "Spud".