Road to Lita

Day 5

Packed up the and hit the road about 9am, traveling the mountainous road from Cotacachi in the Ecuadorian Andes down to Lita at the edge of the Ecuadorian rain forest. Elevation changed from approximately 8000 feet to about 2000 feet. As we headed to lower elevations, the temperatures warmed up.

Scenery was beautiful, passing large waterfalls and spotting gorgeous views of the valleys along the way. It was an incredible display of God’s creation.

At one point in our journey, we were only 20-30 miles from the Columbian border. Passed through a security checkpoint, with heightened security since it was the end of Carnival. Ecuadorian police patrol the border region 24 hours a day for smugglers. Found out that drugs aren’t the only things being brought across the border. People also have been caught bringing in or taking out tools and construction supplies. Guess we didn’t fit the profile, because they just waved us through.

Arrived in Lita early afternoon. After checking out the site for the outdoor shelter we were putting up, we hand carried building supplies from the parking lot to the building site a few hundred feet away. Got started digging holes for concrete footers with shovel and picks. Needed ten holes approximately 48 inches wide by 39 inches deep. Finished seven of the ten holes by dark. A tired crew hit the beds by 9:30pm.

It’s a Small World

Day  4

After another fine dinner at La Marquesa restaurant in Cotacachi, we stopped into a convenience store across the street to pick up phone cards so we could call loved ones back home.

Started a conversation with Monica, the girl who was working at the store and who also spoke very good English. Monica asked if we were from the United States. We told her that we were, and then she asked if we were from Virginia. Wow…

Like most Virginians, I never thought we actually had an accent, so I couldn’t figure out how in the world she guessed that. I suspected she had met some of our crew earlier and they had told her about our trip and where we were from. As it turns out, Monica had attended VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) and had actually lived in Richmond. She came back home to Ecuador last year to help her family out when her mom passed away. She hopes to return to Richmond again one day and go back to school.

We told her if she ever made it back to Richmond, she would have to visit our church. I just happened to have an Atlee invite card with me and gave it to Monica. I hadn’t referred to Mechanicsville, thinking she wouldn’t be that familiar with the suburbs of Richmond. Wrong again… she told us, “My boyfriend lives in Mechanicsville.” Turns out he only lives a couple miles from the church. Hope they both will come and visit.

It’s a small, small world…

Stephanie’s Thoughts on Dating

Day 4

This morning at youth camp, Stephanie shared her testimony on dating. She comments:

Who knew that when I decided to go to to Ecuador that I would be onstage talking to teenagers about choosing a mate?

I gave a short testimony about meeting and choosing a mate. The core of the message was to seek God’s will in choosing a mate, to find someone who shares similar interests and will continue to grow in faith with you.

I was amazed at how attentive and polite the kids were since they had been up late the night before.

Youth Camp (Monday)

Day 4

On Monday after breakfast, Stephanie shared her experiences about dating gone poorly, and dating gone right. Cecil gave a message on living for God instead of living for ourselves. Pastor Eddie talked about how our lives should revolve around the Son (sun). We tend to think of ourselves as the sun (the center of our universe), but we are really more like the moon… cold, dark, and lifeless. However, when our life revolves around the Son, we reflect His light and warmth to the world.

After morning services, the youth headed to a nearby ranch to enjoy some water fun. Everything from swimming in the pool, to a game that involved pulling teammates on inner-tubes down a soapy sheet of plastic, to a game of soapy tug of war.

 

While they were having fun, the Atlee team was busy peeling potatoes and getting ready to serve lunch. We were a little smarter the second day… we had the youth line up to come and pick up the food (buffet style) instead of us trying to pass food to all of the tables.

Finally came the time to say goodbye to all of our new friends, and they parted for their various destinations. The youth camp was quite an experience, and you can tell from the photos that they had a lot of fun. It didn’t take us long to miss them.

After taking down the food tent, we packed for our trip to Lita. Paul’s missing suitcase showed up… a little banged up, but with all the contents still intact. We wrapped up our evening with a surprise birthday party for Pastor Washo. The ladies baked a cake and the team brought gifts from the US.

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VIDEO: Youth Camp Water Games

Youth Camp (Sunday)

Day 3

Every year during the Carnival holidays, there is a 24-hour youth camp at Amigos en Cristo church in Cotacachi. The Atlee team originally helped out with youth camp activities in 2007, and had so much fun that they planned the 2008 trip to coincide with this year’s camp. We assisted in everything from site preparation, meal preparation and serving, to hosting recreational activities.

The youth camp is called Cristival Xtreme 24h, which is derived from the words Cristo (Christ) and Festival (Cristo + Festival = Cristival). The camp runs from Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon with an overnight stay at the church. This camp draws youth from affiliated churches in nearby towns, and most of them are ages 12 to 25. This year they had 80 youth registered, but 130 showed up. It was a great turnout, and it was estimated that as many as 50 of these youth were not actively involved with any church.

Camp started Sunday afternoon with indoor services and games. Bethany competed in the cracker eating contest, where the contestants have to place a stack of Ritz crackers in their mouth and chew them up. The first one to swallow the crackers and stick out their tongue wins. Bethany beat out two boys to win her round. Randy competed in the strong man contest by holding a large bottle of water at arm’s length, with the winner being the last one to drop his arm.

Next came the outdoor games. The Atlee team had collected and purchased a number of sports related items that they brought to Ecuador. We set up seven recreation stations and one snack station, and rotated groups of 10-16 youth through each station. Our activities included the following sports, led by Atlee team members:

• Baseball – Larry and Bethany Johnson
• Soccer – Major Dement
• Football – Matt Terry
• Basketball – Tom Davis and Mark Alling
• Frisbee – Frank Walters
• Tug of War – Paul and Linda Warden
• Relay Races – Randy and Stephanie Cumpston

The Atlee team and the youth all had fun. One of the unexpected challenges was dodging cow patties in the field where most of the activities took place. We joked that Larry and Bethany could use them for bases.

After the recreational activities, we had the challenge of feeding all 130 youth, when food had been planned for 80. We formed an assembly line to pass out food to all of the hungry kids who were sitting patiently at the tables. It was another God moment, because we were able to feed everyone without cutting portions. It reminded us of Jesus feeding the crowd with 5 loaves and 2 fish… which also happened to be the subject of the Atlee drama for the 2 Sundays before our trip.

The theme of this year’s camp was Dating. The Atlee team was asked to perform a skit or a song for Sunday evening. We sang “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places” that ended up sounding like a cross between country, rap, and 50’s doo-wop. Thank goodness they didn’t get that one on tape!

Youth activities ran late into Sunday night with various teams performing skits, singing songs, and hosting game shows. The tired Atlee team went to bed on the first floor while the youth continued their fun on the second floor of the church. The youth boys eventually went to bed in the sanctuary while the girls spent the night at the house next to the church.

Youth Camp View Photo Album Play Slideshow