Chapter 3: Set Forth Thyself Unto Thy Full Extent

"We cold and careless are, and scarcely think, Upon the glorious spring whereat we drink, Did He not love us we could be content: We wretches are indifferent. Tis death, my soul, to be indifferent; Set forth thyself unto thy whole extent, And all the glory of His passion prize, Who for thee lives, who for thee dies" - Traherne

Me with Wilmer from Echandia

Me with Dr. Steven Pletcher and Dr. Harry Jang

Me with Dr. (Surgeon) Chris Alkire

Me with Dr. Chinenye Iwuji. I had a great time getting to know Chinenye and translating for her during the two week Banos project. Chinenye is Nigerian but lives in England.

Me with my friend and roomate Scott Mitchell

Banos at Sunset

Dr. Wes working on a community center that he is building for church services and outreach. He currently has church services with 70 people in his living room.

The pharmacy team during the second week (Geovanny, Nancy, Linnae, and Derek)

Me with a little friend from Rio Blanco.

Me with my friend Junior from Banos

He was so cute and loved seeing picture of himself

The East side of Banos as seen from one of the hills overlooking it

Some students in Illuche

Dr. Chinenye seeing a patient with Colleen Downs interpreting while I helped another Doctor

The dental team doing an extraction in Rio Negro

A volleyball court in part of Rio Negro. Rio Negro is an absolutely beautiful part of Ecuador.

Me and Geovanny infront of the El Pilon del Diablo waterfall

The Banos Ecuador Team 2009

I finally have the energy and a bit of time to write an update on the last couple of weeks. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to put anything up. I think I left off about the time that I lost my pictures of the monkeys...

During the second week of the Banos project we had about half as many volunteers because a few of the families of volunteers and other helpers only had time to stay for one week. The projects went well, though, and we were in Illuche on Monday, Rio Blanco on Tuesday, Jueve Chico on Wednesday, and half a day in Banos again on Thursday before heading back to Quito. On Monday after we worked in Illuche I hiked the mountains overlooking Banos with a few Ecuadorian, American, and Canadian friends. On Tuesday after the clinic I visited an orphanage run by an American man named Dr. Wes King. Dr. Wes worked for years as a doctor in the Marshal Islands and Zambia, but started an orphanage for boys in Banos, Ecuador about 10 years ago. I didn't get alot of time to talk with Dr. Wes becuase I had to get back to the rest of the group, but I have an invitation to return and spend a few days at the orphanage to get to know him and the boys better. I am becoming more and more convinced that, God willing, one day I will start an orphanage.

Skipping ahead a bit...

On another note, my roomate for the two weeks in Banos was 16 year old Scott Mitchel. In addition to being taller than me, Scott also speaks Spanish just as well, speaks some Russian and Chinese, is more socialable than me, does crew and plays hockey, and thinks he wants to be a Nuerosurgeon one day! Needless to say, he was an inspiring young man and I enjoyed getting to know him during the Banos project.

Another volunteer (Tyler Jefferson), was a Physician's Assistant from California whose wife is expecting a child in about a week. After reading Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" him and his wife have been considering how they might fit into the mission field.

After heading back to Quito on Thursday we got a little bit of sleep at the home in La Luz and came back to get the volunteers on Friday morning to take them to the Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world), Teleferico (cable car), market, dinner, and to watch a traditional dance in the colonial part of Quito. We got back to the house around 9 and Daysi and I packed our packpacks to leave at 11 with Nelson and about 10 other young men and women to Echandia, Ecuador...

From Quito there is no direct bus to Echandia, so when ended up having to take 3 different buses in the middle of the night in order to make it there. At first we switched buses in Ventanas, then Santo Domingo, then we arrived at part of Echandia and had to finish the trek to the church we were going to on foot. While switching the buses earlier in the night I found myself stumbling through towns half asleep across bridges, by homeless men going to the bathroom, past discotecas. We arrived in Echandia (a very poor town due West of Banos, but on the other side of the Andes and at the beginning of the costal region) at about 7 in the morning and had a devotion and ate a breakfast of rice and meat before starting painting the sanctuary of the Iglesia Evangelica: Jesus La Luz Del Mundo church. We painted till around noon, then took a break for lunch (about the same as breakfast, but with some soup), and to play soccer, and bathe in the river (which I was strongly warned against--so I just walked in a bit and poured some water on my head.

That night we had a meeting at the church with about 4 other invited churches. The small room was packed, but there probably where no more than 50 or 60 people there. Claudio (a Chilean member of our group) shared a number of practical ways to share the gospel and used different visual aids that he had designed. That night a few of us (Nelson, Josue, Simon, Me, and Daysi) were invited to spend the night at the farm of the grandmother of a friend of Daysi's named Andreita (who I met a month or so ago). We headed in a truck with Adreita's father out of town for about a mile or two until we came to the farm in the middle of forest and near a river. From the outside the farm looked like most of the houses in the area, but on the inside it was beautiful and several rooms for us to sleep in. I spent the night in a two bed room with Nelson. This was great not only because it was very comfortable and nice, but I also got a chance to spend some time talking to Nelson. Since I have been here and have been improving in my Spanish and spending a large part of my time with women, it has been great to form a friendship with godly man like Nelson--with whom I am continually able to talk about more and more spiritual and man related things.

On Sunday morning we ate breakfast, had a devotion, and headed to the main park/square in Echandia to share the gospel and hand out some tracts. The park was packed with people and we had no problem getting started with a gospel presentation to about 20 people. Claudio presented the messager using a board he designed with a picture of a soccer player, a couple spots for soccer balls and a goal. In short, it symbols represented us in life, the only way to be saved from our sin(score the goal) is to recognize that we are sinners, hear what Christ has done for us, believe, and put our trust in his death and resurrection and receive his payment rather than our works as a way to earn salvation. The people where etremely receptive and many responded to the message. During this time I also walked around the square with Wisman handing out tracks to everyone that we could.

Wisman: sixteen years old (though he looks about 13 or 14), black, shy, very skinny, from La Bota (one of the poorest parts of Quito), lives with his mother and 4 or 5 younger siblings (his father died a few years back) in a semi-slum part of La Bota, first time on a trip with Nelson or the group, new friend of mine, and recently put his faith in Christ. During the weekend I made an effort to try to talk to Wisman as much as I could in my Spanish and to encourage him. Nelson and I are very excited that he came on the trip and have since been back to La Bota to talk to him more about his life, the gospel, and to give him a Bible (no one in his home owned a Bible). Only God knows Wisman's future, but Nelson and I are praying that he will grow into a leader in his community and help start a church there.

At church in Echandia on Sunday Nelson preached, I sang two songs (De Tal Manera and Halleluja--with some new words I wrote to it), the church sang in both Spanish and Quichua. After the service I spent some time greeting and saying goodbye to the members of the church--all very kind and very short (although I wouldn't consider myself very tall, I towered over the heads of most of the people in the church), and we prepared to head back to Quito. The experience in Echandia was definately an inspiring and moving one. To spend time with the church in this very poor community and see their joy and generosity was both moving and convicting. We saw almost a dozen people give put their faith in the Lord and seeing the love and the bravery of the people I was with in sharing the gospel was another inspiration to me.

As there was no bus from Echandia directly to Quito, about 11 of us rode in a truck about 3 hours to Santo Domingo de Los Colorados. I rode in the back the whole time and had couple aches and pains but enjoyed conversing with the other men in the back. We were also given 2 huge bags of plantains and 2 bags of manderines as a gift from the church in Echandia to carry back to Quito.

This week has been a mix of rest and productivity. On Wednesday we (me, Dr. Susana, and Geovanny) went to Latacunga to prepare for the project that we are beginning there next Sunday. We have only 8 participants coming for this trip, so we are going to have a bit more work to do. We will also be helped by a pastor named Felix and a few people from his church.

On Thursday, I went to La Bota in the morning with Nelson to hang out with Wisman. We ended up walking around with him for a while and got to share the gospel again with him and his cousin Oscar. The both were receptive and we left Wisman with a Bible and encouragement to begin reading John and Ephesians when he gets the chance. We talked and walked around for a couple hours invited children to La Hora Feliz this Saturday. We are also planning to play soccer on Saturday with as many teenagers as we can get in La Bota. We are hoping this will be a way to form more friendships and a bridge to sharing the gospel. After our time in La Bota, I spent lunch with Nelson, his wife Ester, and 3 year old son Ariel. After eating spaggetti alfredo, we went by bus to pick up a bucket full of Morocho (a creamy corn drink), cheese, and empanada dough and brought to a small cafeteria that Nelson and 3 other church members have purchased to try to raise money for different ministries and missionaries. I make empanadas for about an hour then heading back to the Andrangos house to get ready to go to the airport pick up three volunteers that came in early to do a Gallapogos Islands tour.

After the two week medical project in Latacunga coming up at the end of next week, I will be heading with Nelson and another group of young men and women (many the same as before) on a five day trip to Santo Domingo, and the Coast to do some more painting/work in a couple more churches and share the gospel as well. After that there is going to be a week long vacation bible school in La Bota. After that we have the medical project in Ambato with 16 volunteers.

At some point I'm going to have to renew my visa. After the projects are done, I'm hoping to spend a week in Tena (in the jungle) with a pastor friend of the Andrango's doing trips into the jungle by canoe. I am also hoping to visit Columbia and take a couple week trip through Peru by bus to Chile and back again seeing as much as I can during the trip and visiting friends of my friends here.

Wow, so sorry for the huge post! I hope that everyone is doing great and I will try to write again (with less words) soon ;)

With love in Christ,

Owen