Day 28 in Ecuador

Another good day with the team, God is definitely moving in the hearts of some of the team members. We had a different agenda today. After breakfast, we walked to a place called Camp Hope. This is a place where kids with disabilities live and are cared for. The name is very appropriate because Ecuador does not have many places that take care of kids with disabilities.

Once there, we were given a tour of the place and then split of into various groups to help on some projects they had for us. My group was the "construction" group, but what we actually ended up doing was moving a bunch of supplies such as wheelchairs, tables, and crutches out of a room, cleaning that room and the supplies, and then moving those supplies back into the room. This took us all morning and it was cool to see the finished product and how much neater the room was after we were done. Other groups worked in the kitchen, helped weed, and also play with the kids.

We ate a packed lunch at Camp Hope and then proceeded to work more in the afternoon. My group did pretty much the same job at a different location. We were also able to talk a little to our boss, who works at Camp Hope. I always love hearing about the lives of Ecuadorians and it is so cool how open they are to share. While we were working, we got to watch some of the team members play soccer with the kids from Camp Hope. This was awesome to see them playing and so cool to see the joy in the kid's smiles.

Once we were done working at Camp Hope, we walked to Supermaxi so that the team could buy some snacks and also to a Panaderia close by. We then headed home and were able to have some time to rest for about an hour or two. This rest was very nice, especially since I had been feeling groggy earlier in the morning.

We then ate a quick dinner and headed off to practice with Cumbre Alta. We left in two cars, one car going earlier because Edgar had to get there on time for practice. Before the second car got there, which was the one I was in, Jason, the coach/leader for the Colorado team, gave a brief devotion to the team. I didn't get to hear or see this but I pray to God that it impacted the Cumbre Alta players and that God would continue to work through their hearts as they hear the Gospel.

Practice went well and we ended up scrimmaging at the end again, and ended up tying 1-1 again. Cumbre Alta seems very excited for their semi-final game on Saturday which is awesome to see. We then headed home and debriefed about the day before everyone went to bed. The debrief went well and it seems like the team is really learning the power of serving and how much better life is when we think about others first. Please keep praying that not only this team, but us leaders as well would lay down our selfish desires and thoughts and put others before us.

God is doing wonderful things with this team. I have loved leading them and have learned a lot about leading in the process. God has revealed leadership abilities in my that I would never have thought existed 5 years ago. God is so good. Praise Him for all the work He is doing down here and all the work He will continue to do in the future.

Dios Bendiga,
Nich