Gonna Take You Higher

One of the challenges the team faces in Ecuador is higher altitudes. We leave Friday from Richmond at an altitude of 157 feet (48 meters) and arrive later that evening in Quito at an altitude of 9350 feet or about 1.8 miles (2850 meters).

Abrupt changes in elevation sometimes have ill effects on travelers, known as altitude sickness. Symptoms include insomnia, headache, tiredness, nausea, dizziness, and shortness of breath.  In most cases, this can be remedied by drinking lots of water, getting lots of rest, and taking aspirin. For severe cases, there is a drug called Diamox that increases oxygen profusion. Diamox (or its equivalent) is available in Quito pharmacies.

Here are the various elevations during our trip:

• Richmond = 157 ft (48 m)
• Quito = 9350 ft (2850 m)
• Cotacachi = 7824 ft (2384 m)
• Ibarra = 9990 ft (3044 m)
• Lita = 1975 ft (601 m)

Luckily, we will have a day or two to adjust to the higher elevations before the work starts.

Feel the Power

One of the great things about a mission trip to Ecuador is their power standard. They use 120 Volts AC at 60 Hertz, the same type of electrical power that we use here. That means our power tools (saws, drills, grinders, chargers, etc) will all work without modification.

And our muscles will be feeling thankful for that…

DFW: Down For Whatever

The Atlee Mission Team has a term they use often: “DFW” which is short for Down For Whatever.

This term reminds us how important it is to be flexible while on a mission trip, how circumstances can change at any time, and the best way to deal with changes is to be DFW… knowing that God’s plans always win out over our plans, and He works everything out for the good of those who love Him.

One potential DFW moment will be our flight to Quito on Feb 1st. Since we will be arriving late in the evening, there is a good chance that the Quito airport will be fogged in. If so, we may be diverted to another airport to wait out the night, with an early flight to Quito the next morning.

Packing for the Trip

You might be curious what we’re taking to Ecuador…

As a business traveler, I’ve always packed light and made it my goal to travel with only a carry-on. Checking bags can be a headache… bags can get lost, and baggage claim can take forever.

However, this trip is different. In addition to our personal items, we will be carrying a number of things to Ecuador that we will not be bringing home. Our goal is for every passenger to have two checked bags and one carry-on. Each checked bag will be filled to it’s 50-pound weight limit (we even have scales to weigh them before we leave).

What are we taking (and leaving there)?

• Recreational Equipment: baseballs, bats, gloves, basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, air pumps, frisbees, water baloons, crayons
• Eye Glasses: reading glasses, prescription glasses
• Tools: drills, grinders, saws, socket sets, welding helmet
• Clothes: T-shirts, jeans, shoes, work gloves
• Books: children’s books in Spanish

How can you help?

Maybe you have some unused recreational equipment, eye glasses, tools or clothes taking up space in your house or garage. Why not get an early start on your Spring clean up? Bring those items to the church by Wednesday, Jan 30th, and we’ll take them to Ecuador.

Cool Map Feature

Did you know our blog has had visitors from all over the US, Canada, Ecuador, Romania, and South Africa?

If you’d like to see a very cool map of our visitors, click on the icon that looks like this (right side menu):

It will take you to the whos.amung.us website. Click on the ‘maps’ tab. You’ll see a larger version of the map below. Roll your cursor over each star to see the name of the location. If the star is pulsing, that means there is a visitor currently online from that location.