Experience Ecuador

2009-06-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

I hope you have been well. It has been awhile since I last wrote. I’m writing to you from the United States; my term is officially over and my search for a secular job has begun. Although, I have officially completed my term, Nicole and I plan on returning to the mission field within the next couple of years.

I want to thank you for your prayers throughout the past 18 months. I believe through your prayers God has protected me. I also want to thank you for your financial support. I know that many of you sacrificed so that I could go and I greatly appreciate it. I would also like to inform you that you may stop your monthly support as I am officially off the field. Please contact me if you would like information on supporting Phil and Deanna Barber (the missionaries I partnered with in Ecuador).  My last week or two in Ecuador was pretty bittersweet. I made my final trip to the jungle. Honestly, Phil and I thought this might be our last trip for good because we had a rocky plane ride and thought we would not be able to climb over the mountains. We had a couple close calls getting too close to the side of the mountain. The airplane ride from Quito to Lago Agria was the longest 30 minutes of my life. However, God is good and he protected us. Thanks again for your prayers for safety.

Our last trip to the jungle included a medical campaign. We brought 3 doctors from Quito to provide medical care to the Cofans and the Secoya tribes. We saw approximately 300 patients within 2 days.  This was a great trip as these tribes needed medical care but it was also a difficult trip for me knowing that I probably wouldn’t see these people for a long time or ever again. Fortunately, Nicole and I have plans to go to the jungle to help Phil and Deanna in January of 2010. They will have a similar medical team coming from the States. This will be exciting to see friends and familiar faces from the jungle. This will be Nicole’s first trip to the jungle and she is ready to go. I’m also excited for my friends there to meet her since they ask about her often.  The day before I left was very tough; I was able to go out to the church where I had worked for the past year. Our workers, William and Segundo, were there as well. They have become like family over the past year. It was pretty amazing seeing how the church had been transformed structurally since I first came. It was pretty awesome knowing that God chose me to be the vessel to help build and raise money for this church.

I have made lifelong friendships over this past year and I have learned a lot about what missions is and what missions is not. I also believe God has called Nicole and I into missions full time. Please be in prayer as we continue to pursue this call. I also want to thank you for all the sacrifices you made that allowed me to work in Ecuador. May the Lord bless you richly.   

Thank You,  

Adam

Condado Church Before Windows were put up.

With Front door and Windows.

Air Force Plane we took to the jungle.

Cabin was not pressurized.

Pilots after we landed.

The team on the Aquarico River.

Cofan Village of Dureno, waiting for

medical attention.

New Glasses.

Getting ready to see the dentist.

Cofans.

Entering into the Secoya Village.

I am with a village elder in the Secoya Village.

I am with Leoncio(Cofan) to my left, he is our boat driver and to my right is Benjamin (Secoya) Vice President of his community.

Secoyan Girl.

Our Wonderful Bathroom that double as our shower room.

Our wonderful "hotel". I promise you this was the hardest floor I have ever slept on.

2009-02-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I've posted, a lot of things have happened within the past few months. One of the main things that I'm really excited about is that I'm engaged. Nicole and I were engaged on Christmas Eve and will be married October 3 2009. She has been a great support to me even though she has not been able to be here with me. I look forward to spending my life with her. We are extremely excited.

When I came back to Ecuador in January, Phil had been in the hospital for a few days. He is doing much better but please continue to pray for his health.

We have had two construction teams in the past few weeks come and work at the church here in Condado. The first team was the Indiana Men's District team. This team was comprised of various Pastors and lay persons throughout the state of Indiana, many of whom had never been on a missions trip and many of whom said they are ready to come back next year. This was a great team and they accomplished a lot during that week.The next team we had was from my home church in Normal, Illinois. They have been a great blessing to our church in Condado, committing financially to the church. They were able to cover the front of the church with plexiglass, enclosing the front of the church and making the appearance of the church look 100% better. We look forward to the next team which is coming again in March.

Last week, We had the opportunity to go back into the jungle. This time the team that went was a lot smaller, about 5-6 people. A pastor came down to look at a project in the jungle, so we had the opportunity to take him in. Also, Phil was able to purchase a boat motor for ministry use in the community of San Pablo. This community is comprised of Secoya Indians. They were very thankful for this motor, as it can enable them to do more ministry along the river.

My dad had asked me for some pictures that I had taken while I was in the jungle, unfortunately I had to tell him I did not take many pictures this time. The reason was that it rained and it rained. On that Wednesday we took a boat ride up to another community of Quechuan Indians that we work with. From San Pablo to Cuyabeno it is 2.5 hours, total of 5 hours. It rained for 5 hours straight. This was not your typical rain either, at certain points it felt like it was hailing on us. Of course, We all had our rain gear on, but our rain gear was really no match for this type of rain. Needless to say, we were soaking wet after we got back. The mosquitoes really liked me thistrip as well. I think a mosquito somehow got into my mosquito net and had a feast. When we got back to Quito, I counted all the mosquito bites just on my arms and I had around 114. But all in all it was a good trip, it was good seeing some of our friends in the jungle and catching up with them .

Please continue to pray for us as we will go back into the jungle in a few weeks for an extended period of time. Also please continue to pray for the upcoming teams.

Please be in prayer as my year term ends in May and pray that I will be able to find a good job when I come.As always, thanks again for your monthly support and your prayer support. We greatly appreciate all that you do for us/me.

Thanks,

Adam

Nicole & I engaged.

Indiana Men's Group.

Me.

Indiana Men's Group.

My favorite laying block.

Our wall was straight.

Normal, Il Team.

Preparing to place the plexiglass up.

Normal team putting the first sheet up.

Almost as fun as laying block.

The final product. Looks great.

Cuyabeno, no words to describe the rain.

Secoyan Indian Church.

Cofan Kids.

Cofan Indian Church.

It was pretty muddy.

2008-12-12T19:22:00.000-08:00

It has been awhile since I have written. First and foremost, I trust that you all are having a blessed holiday season. We have been busy in the past few months taking trips to the North and taking a trip to the jungle. We have also been very busy getting things around the church ready for Christmas time. I had the opportunity to go with Phil and Deanna to a town called Atuntaqui where Phil and Deanna had started and helped build a church, but they have had no chance to go back to visit the church. So, Phil had the privilege of preaching there, and we got to see the church. The church has been well maintained and looks great.

I also helped with our churches' Christmas tree. They want a "living Christmas tree" to be built so that the kids from our church could stand on it and play Christmas songs with bells. So we did our best to make the structure look like a tree.

And last, but not least, we had the opportunity to go to the jungle. I had been looking forward to this for several months. We began to prepare a few days before we went. I bought some supplies that I needed: a big backpack to hold everything I needed for 4 days, ponchos to protect me from the rain, and bags to contain everything , such as jeans , shirts , etc, just in case things got wet.

The first day, we left from the airport here in Quito. The Air Force flew us into the town where the boats were. So, after we arrived, we loaded up all our supplies packed them in the boat and headed out. Six hours and two rainstorms later we arrived at our destination.

We had the opportunity to give each child in all four of the communities we visited ( Zabal, Cuyabeno, San Pablo and Dureno) a bag of candy and teddy bears. We also showed a video of Christ's life from Christmas until His death and His resurrection. We visited Quechuan , Cofan and Secoyan tribes.

As we traveled up and down the river, we saw a few monkeys and 2 fresh water dolphins. There were also plenty of mosquitos. We slept in mosquito nets at night, and bathed in the river. It was also really hot, but it was a good time, and I look forward to going many more times.

The pictures from the trout farm on, are pictures from when Phil, William, Freddy and I drove back from the jungle to Quito. This is the reason that it was so cold because we were in the mountains. The drive was suppose to be 7 hours , but with Freddy stopping at every monument and national park it turned into about a 11 hour drive. Anyways, we got to see some cool stuff out of it.

As always, I appreciate your prayers and monthly support. Please continue to pray for us as we begin to step up our work in the Jungle and on the coast.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

Thanks,

Adam

Church in Atuntaqui.

Church Christmas Tree.

Tree with the kids.

Bear we took to the jungle.

View from our airplane.

Team in Lago Agria

Mosquito net, slept in here every night.

Jungle house.

Cofan man with all his decorations.

We stayed here in San Pablo.

A girl from San Pablo.

My Bathtub.

Phil, Freddy and I.

Sure beats the snow.

Trout farm.

"Fishing"

A trout I caught.

Freddy and I, man it was cold.

Lagoon on top of a mountain.

Deer.

Andes Mt. Range.

2008-10-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy last few months, I was able to go on a youth retreat with our church. I was asked to do a couple of sessions, we also did some service projects throughout the community. We flew into a town called Lago Agria, and this is the town that we will be leaving to go into the jungle. We also met up with the jungle pastors there. We met with two tribes, the Secoya's and the Cofans. I also had the opportunity to go with our Evangelism team up to a town called Carpuela. Phil helps support a church up in the town of Carpuela. This area is very unique to Ecuador because of the Ecuador- Africans. We just got back from a week with a construction team from Arkansas. They helped us in constructing a chapel for the youth camp on the Coast. It was also great to be able to have my Dad and my Pastor come down for a few days. They came to check out some projects for our church in 2009. Please continue to pray for us as we will be going into the jungle two more times and as we continue to work with the church here in Quito. Thanks again for your prayers and your support.

Adam

Phil, Pastor Ed, Me and Dad.

Chapel, that is being built on the coast.

Yes, I do work.

Marcos & Kathy came to visit us again.

First time welding.

Laying block.

Segundo & I bolting on the part of the wall.

View from the airplane, on the way to the jungle.

The boats we use to go down the river.

Playing guitar at church

Speaking at a youth retreat.

Working with the youth group.

Playing basketball with some kids on a youth retreat.

A boy from Carpuela.

Brian and his sister.

Another boy from Carpuela.

2008-08-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

The team at the Middle of the World.

Nicole and Deanna.

Phil and I, presenting a guitar to Benjamin, a Secoya Indian.

Nicole and I.

Working.

A girl from vacation bible school at the church.

Kyle Zehr working.

Steve Smith.

Segundo and I, preparing for the walls to be put up.

I would like to thank First Assembly of God, Normal, Il, for coming to Quito,Ecuador and working on the church in Condado. It was a pleasure to have my home church come and work with us, as many of them I had been on previous trips to Ecuador with. It was also great to have my girlfriend, Nicole come on this trip, as it was her first time in the country of Ecuador. The church was a great blessing, as they were able to paint rooms, tear down a retaining wall, put up some interior walls inside the church and cut some metal bars for the entrance of the church. Thanks again for your monthly support and prayers. Phil and I, will be traveling to the jungle in September for 4-5 days, this will be a short trip. Then in October we will be traveling back into the jungle for a longer stay. We will be having another construction team on the coast in October.

2008-08-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

School Assembly.

Eduarda.

A house made of bamboo. Area where we ministered.

The Group from Quito.

The Group.

Sunset.

Another sunset.

I had good intentions of posting a blog a few weeks ago, and I was able to post some pictures before my computer decided to completely die. We had a team coming in the next day so I didn't have any time to write. We just got back from Salinas on Tuesday where we worked with an Arkansas A.I.M. team, Ambassadors In Missions. The team consisted of several youths from the state of Arkansas and 15 kids from our church in Condado. This was a great opportunity for them to go with us and to be apart of an evangelism team. We were able to minister in various schools and parks throughout the towns of Salinas, Libertad, and Santa Elena.

As we continue to travel this summer, I have had a lot of time to think on long bus rides and in airplanes. I've been thinking about the grace and love of God. The verse in Titus 3:4-5 describes it perfectly, "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

Paul writes, "and he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." We are no longer our own but we are indebted to Christ, to do whatever he has called us to do. No matter how big or small the task, we are to do it because He saved us by His grace and love.

Please continue to pray for us as we still have a few teams left this summer. We will also be going to the jungle in September. Please be in prayer for my Grandmother, as they took a tumor out of her pancreas and it was cancerous. Please pray the tests come back cancer free for her 2 month check up.

Thank you for your continuous prayer and financial support. Without you this could not be possible.

2008-07-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

My first foul in soccer. He didn't come my way to much after that but, in my defense, he was a great actor.

The Church Soccer Team with our mascot.

The back of President Correa's head.

Marco's and Cathy receive a bike from West Memphis, Arkansas. This is there first bike.

Tiling.

Digging a trench.

Marcos & Cathy.

Working With Mr. Jimmy Dale Jones.

Whale watching, No, I didnt Take This Picture, But I tried...

2008-06-19T18:18:00.000-07:00

Well we made it through another week, and a few days of staying in Babahoyo without seeing any cockroaches in our hotel room. We had a good week with the team from Russellville, Arkansas. I even let some of them cut my hair into a mullet, and then we cut it off for the church service that evening.

We had the opportunity to do evangelism in various places throughout the cities; such as schools, on the street corners and at a few churches. I had the opportunity to do a couple of skits. As many of you know I'm not the fine arts man, but after a week I think I can do it. Haha.

One of the things that really struck me was the town of Montanita. We did our evangelism program there at the school. This town is extremely poor; the main source of income is fishing. We did our program for the school right in the middle of the town square, and I had to use the restroom. I walked through the school and out to the bathroom. They had to pour a bucket of water in the stool for it to work. As I continued walking, I noticed to my right a picture of Jesus in a stained glass window. I began to wonder here was a beautiful church and the presence of Jesus was right in the midst of this extreme poverty.

I began to get a bit angry as I continued to stare at the church and the picture of Jesus. The reason I became angry is because this church was not impacting these impoverished people. I believe Jesus will give them hope, a hope for a better future. As I began to talk to Phil about this, he said that in Ecuador the Catholic Church teaches that you should accept your lot in life. That you should just continue on in your life doing what you do. But at the end of the day, I believe that Jesus wants to give these people hope; not necessarily save them from poverty but somehow lessen the poverty that they live in and give them joy. I also believe he wants to give them eternal hope with salvation in him.

Please continue to pray for the upcoming teams that we have through the rest of June and July. Please continue to pray for the people of Ecuador. Pray that God would use us to touch them through our churches, outreach programs and construction teams.
Again, thank you for your prayers and your financial support.

The First Of Many.....

2008-06-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

The first team has come and gone, they had opportunities to minister in schools through skits and puppets in the towns of Salinas, Libertad and Palmar. One of the events that I really enjoyed was the opportunity to go a special needs facility. The team had the opportunity to do some skits and puppets for these kids, most of whom are ignored by society. We also had the opportunity on our day off to do some sightseeing. We were able to go swimming in the Pacific ocean which was nice because it was about 85 degrees. We also went to an old American World War 2 base, which contains the farthest Western point in South America. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to travel the country, with the different ministry teams. Also please pray for safety and for good health, and that our teams would impact lives. Thanks again for your prayers and financial support.

Ministry to children at a local church in Palmar.

Ministry to children at the special needs facility.

A little guy at the special needs facility.

Standing on the farthest western point in South America.

Finally Here!

2008-05-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

I have finally arrived in Ecuador. This first week, I have been finding my way around the city of Quito, with my missionary Phil Barber. On Tuesday, we went by one of the church's in Condando, the temporary wall around the front of the church had fallen and was laying in the middle of the street. It rained so hard the night before that all the water rushed down towards the wall knocking it into the street. Phil and I will be traveling to Guayaquil on Tuesday to prepare for the team from Arkansas that comes in on Wednesday.

I would like to thank all the churches and all the individuals who have supported me financially and in prayers. I would ask that you continue to pray for us as we will be traveling a lot this summer with teams from the States.