#6 from Ecuador: Email from one of the kids to his family

Hello all!

I am sorry I have not been able to send an email until now; we are not staying in the same location as we did last year and there is no internet cafe nearby. This week has been absolutetly amazing! We have been working very hard at the first church, Carmen Bajo. Last year we were helping build the second floor and now one year later we are helping with the 4th floor! We have been doing worship every night at the seminary we are staying at which really helps get everyone recharged and focused on the next day.

The first 2 days we worked extremely hard all day. Wednesday I helped at a man´s house named Jose. He is in a wheelchair and barely has a shack for a home; one of the walls of his house was a tarp! He desperately needed help cleaning up his home and building some walls and a ramp so he could get to his workbench. It was very heartbreaking, but in the same breath he still praised God with everything he had!

In the afternoon I helped with a very crazy VBS. Thursday we got to spend a lot of time with our Compassion children, which was really fun. I was paired with Edwin and it was really fun because we played soccer and rented paddle boats. Friday we helped at a school and did some songs and skits. The children were very excited to see us and talk to us. All of the girls would come up to our guys and ask us our name in english and then run away giggling. It was pretty funny! Later that night we saw some of the city and prayed over all of Quito.

This morning we got to go on a tram that is way longer than the one at home in Albuquerque! We went to the top of a mountain that overlooked the entire city of Quito! It was amazing!! Well please continue praying for me and our team that God would work through us to reach the people of Ecuador!!

Keep our safety in your prayers as well as Quito is a pretty dangerous city. I am not sure the next time I will be able to update all of you, but I will do it as soon as possible.

#5 from Ecuador: Another one from one of the Leaders (from last friday)

Today was another great day, the kids were treated like ¨rock stars¨ while at the school and the program while shortened seems to have made a difference in many of the young childrens´lives. It rained a little today first time since we´ve gotten here. I must tell you that Colleen was simply amazing with the little kiddos her Spanish is improving with them everyday and she is so great about sharing the Gospel with the kids she was a crowd favorite. We have a few upset stomachs today but all in all it was another fine day. We are planning to do our festival at the Carmen Bajo Church tonight. So everyone pray that we can see many people come to Christ and that Perry Floyd´s message will be received and that God will speak through him. We all took some time this afternoon for a mandatory nap of an hour and half and no one seemed to mind we all needed the rest. We have been going and going and quite frankly it was needed and all the kids have a renewed vigor. Pray for strength as you know, Barry it is a marthon not a sprint here. God bless you all we love all of you so much and are so grateful for the prayers and support.
Mark Scales

#4 From Ecuador: Letter to all families from the Leader

Everything is going fantastic. We have spent the week with the church at Carmon Bajo. Our week has been distributed between construction projects in and around the church, and some in the neighborhoods. All of us are getting used to being covered in cement dust. The afternoons have been set aside for VBS that we have spent with the precious children there. Jocelyn and Taylor headed up two very good VBS´.
The kids love being picked up by a lot of the guys. Jonathan, Sam, Connor, Zeppi, we have had fun doing skits for them. The younger girls have fallen in love with the babies. Carmi, Rebecca, Maya, and Lydia have been swooning over the babies. Josh E and Evan have been nonstop shovelers of concrete and dirt. Some of the older girls have been mentoring some of the younger girls. Charlotte, Lauren B., Christina, and Holly have spent a lot of time with the middle age girls in the project. I have been most surprised with Allyssa. She has responded so well and is a great missionary.
We were able to go down to help a wheelchair bound man about a mile and a half away from the project. We built a ramp in his house so he will no longer be housebound. Mr. Floyd, Mr. Millar, Shelly, Andrew, Katie were instrumental in making it happen. Today we are going to a school in the Carmon Bajo neighborhood where we will be passing out gospels of John as gifts and inviting them to our program tonight at the church. This is purely an evangelistic opportunity and we are all excited.
The boys in my room have been great. Nick Connor has been doing great and is not sick this year. He is a great leader. Christian is getting himself set up to be a captain next year and I have seen times of brilliance. Zeppi gave a bible study during dinner the other night and everyone was very impressed how God has spoken to him.

We had a terrific time with the Compassion children yesterday. It was probably the most special time we have had with the kids. It has been fun watching Lisa trying to play soccer with the kids. They kicked the ball around her and she was going in circles. Stephen came back from the paddle boats soaked. Mrs. Stein has been a blessing to us as she has been capturing great photo moments. Mr. Schlenker is our steady constant presence. We have truly been blessed to have him with us. Jena, Mrs. Haggard have been spending a lot of time at Eloheim teaching the young kids. Barbara has truly become Mama Scales. The 2 cagey veterans Preston and Katie O. have really stepped up this year, this being their second year, and have become great leaders. They both have been really quick to serve in any capacity where they are needed.
Speaking of leaders, I have never ceased to be amazed at Aubrey´s leadership skills. She is always thinking ahead and keeps me on track taking care of the most minute details. Everyone is doing a fantastic job. I am so proud of ALL of them.
Please keep up the prayers. Most specifically, pray for our bus travels, our success in the school today. Pray that we have a large turnout for our evangelistic meeting. Continue to pray for everyone´s health.

This is a tired Mr. Scales signing off...
Blessings to you all and your families...

#3 from Ecuador: Email from one of the boys to his parents

Hola!

Sorry it took so long for my first email. It has been so much fun out here. The first three days we have been working at Carmen Bajo church. The first day was mostly moving bricks and getting up on the roof to move sand up there for making concrete. Tuesday we did a lot of shoveling and we also did our first VBS with the kids. It was so fun playing with them and even though I do not speak a ton of spanish, I could still communicate with them and it was amazing.

On Wednesday, i had the chance to go to a man named Jose´s house to help out there. This was by far the most amazing thing. Jose is in a wheel chair and is paralyzed from the waist down. He has two kids and a wife but their house is in a spot where mudslides pretty much ruin everything. We built a wall to support it against mud slides and we also built a ramp for Jose to go up and down the different layers of his house on his wheel chair. This was the last day we could work with him and as we were getting ready to leave, he prayed for us. His prayer (what I could understand of it) was so tear jerking. He was praying for our legs and feet because he does not have that luxury and that no harm could ever come to us, among other things. He gave me one of the crafts he makes to sell for a living and I was moved beyond belief. I wanted to pay him but that would be considered very rude.

The food has been AWESOME here as well. Breakfast and dinner are always very good and lunch is awesome as well. We have gotten three course meals for lunch every day. That is about all the updates I have for now, I´ll be sending another email soon hopefully. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

#2 from Ecuador: IM Conversation with Maya...

I just wanted to share with you guys my conversation with Maya from this morning on MSN Messenger.

Maya says (7:48 AM):
MOMOMOMOM
AAAHHH
were here
Stephanie says (7:48 AM):
hi hi hi hi hi!
Maya says (7:48 AM):
and obviously safe!!
Stephanie says (7:48 AM):
hooray!
Maya says (7:48 AM):
its AMAZING!
Stephanie says (7:48 AM):
mr scales sent an email about you guy's 1st day
Maya says (7:49 AM):
i want to live here!
it was great
yesterday we got to play with the little kids!
Stephanie says (7:49 AM):
really? were they cute
Maya says (7:49 AM):
and i get to do my VBS on friday withh 500 kids at a public school!!!
yeah the kids would run to us and hug us and not let go
Stephanie says (7:49 AM):
NO WAY! that's awesome
Maya says (7:50 AM):
im so happpy to be here.
Stephanie says (7:50 AM):
that is so so so so awesome!
Maya says (7:50 AM):
we moved a million blocks to the fourth level on the church at carmen bajo
Stephanie says (7:50 AM):
good for you!
Maya says (7:50 AM):
i want anna to come. she would LOVE the kids!
Stephanie says (7:51 AM):
i bet you were tired!
Maybe your senior year when she's almost 9 we could all go
Maya says (7:51 AM):
oh my gosh mom this is ssooo amazing to see all this and be here. and how impoverished it is is so so sad.
that would be AWESOME for her to come!
in the mornings we drive to elohim church for breakfast
their food is the BEST FOOD!!!
Stephanie says (7:53 AM):
oh good! I'm so glad to hear that. That is a big thing for me ya know, as far as going on a missions trip...THE FOOD!
Maya says (7:54 AM):
its amazing mom you would LOVE it. its not weird or anything its got great flavor... pasta chicken. RICE!! uhm eggs... sweet buns haha
okay cool to know! will you tell anna hi for me__
Stephanie says (7:54 AM):
yum yum yum
and ok, i will
Maya says (7:55 AM):
hey mom i gtg i love you! times up! ill try to talk to you when i can i love you guys. call my mom and give everyoine my love!
Stephanie says (7:55 AM):
ok i will. and i will and ok
Maya says (7:55 AM):
haha love you!
Stephanie says (7:55 AM):
I LOVE YOU TOO! I'm so proud of you!
Maya says (7:55 AM):
bye!
Stephanie says (7:55 AM):
bye! have fun, be careful!

#1 from Ecuador: 1st Ecuador Update

Here is the email from one of the leaders on the trip:

Well day one on the field is in the books. It was a great day. Alejandro and Katy greeted us in the airport last night and we had a trouble free trip to our new camp where we are staying. It is a great compound and very secure. All of the boys are staying 5 to a room and the rooms are clearly able to accommodate twice that. The girls rooms are four to a room and they seem very pleased with the rooms they are in. We were served a great breakfast this morning at the Elohim Church and there was lots of coffee, so that made me very happy.

We got over to Carmen Bajo around 9:30 am and we got to see some old friends that we worked with last year and the year before that: Rueben, Magdelena, Sylvia and Naomi who is getting huge by the way, is she really three already?

Anyhoo, we divided up into four groups by strength and gifts of thoroughness and we went our separate ways in the neighborhood. One group worked in the church, down the street. One group worked in Rosa´s house. One group hauled bricks and sand to the 4th floor of the new building. And one group went down the hill to help a member of the church build a retaining wall to top mudslides.

I was very impressed with the teams. They all showed a great work ethic and I didn´t hear a complaint all day. As one group would finish a project, they would go and help with another project and they worked with the locals magnificently. Karen worked with Alejandro and Katy today and kept Josh Edwards with her to watch him. Josh got sick on the plane from Atlanta to Quito yesterday. We have been trying to keep him hydrated with liquids and he seems to have turned the corner of not being sick. He had some potato soup and is feeling much better.

All in all, it was a great day. I am looking forward to tomorrow where we can work hard again. We will be doing a VBS tomorrow as well as working construction, and having dinner at Eloheim. The kids are all tired, so we will probably go to bed early. We will try to get them to an internet cafe tomorrow evening.

HOORAY!

Ok, so I've raised all the money for the actual trip.

I had my doctor's appointment on Friday to start my vaccines or immunizations...that appointment cost $118. I still have to get my Malaria meds and some antibiotic to take along in case I get really sick. That will be another $110.

If you still want to donate money, it will go toward the medicine and shots.

Just click over on the right side where it says "DONATE".

THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR DONATIONS BUT REALLY REALLY MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR ALL OF YOUR PRAYERS!!!! Please keep on praying!!!