The phrase ministry is life is something that has been displayed for me my whole life by my parents. At the beginning of April my parents flew to Ecuador for PVT which is Parent Vision Trip and we got to walk out this phrase together. They got to be “Racers” for a week! This time was super special and meaningful.
(We got into our current teams and those are the groups we did ministry with together for the week)
Day 1
We met them at the airport and we had a few hours to sit and catch up! They also bought me some food and brought me some cookies and my favorite snacks- so bonus points for them haha!
Day 2
We got to go to the Equator! We got in late the night before so day 2 was a day of rest and a little adventure. We went with my squadmate Brie and her family! We had such a great day!
Day 3
We went to Covi which is a program for children that have limited resources. They can come here before or after school for food, homework help, and many other things. We got to help clean. We scrubbed all the tables and chairs and wiped down all the windows and walls and floors and finished with the bathrooms. After we finished that some of the kids were there and we got to play soccer with them. We had so much fun! At the end of the day we were able to purchase some supplies for this program and the looks on their faces were priceless. It was such a blessing to be apart of a program like this.
Day 4
Adventure Day!! We chose to go trout fishing and then to a spa which had hot springs. We started with trout fishing and we caught so many. It was freezing cold but we had such a great time. So after we finished fishing, the workers from the place we were at took the trout and said they would cook them for us. So, while they were cooking the fish we went to the hot springs for a couple hours. On the way back we stopped and ate the fish and they were delicious!! (*I have pictures but they are not loading so i’m going to try and upload them later*)
Day 5
On this day all of the parents and racers went together to Pan de Vida. We got to serve around 200 Ecuadorian families. We helped set up, prepare food, hold babies, play with kids, serve food and clean up. The families come here on Sundays for a church service followed by a hot meal.
A really cool story from this day- A friend of mine, Kat, had her family bring her some little light up rings for the kids. Well while we were handing them out we were a few short. But GOD! On the way to Pan de Vida we bought a bag of candy from a guy selling them on the bus. At the time I was thinking in my head why do we need all that candy and then this happens and I was like this is why we needed them! Good thing my parents were obedient in buying that extra bag of candy!
Day 6
I don’t have any pics from this day but we started out at a special needs home. We were painting a couple different rooms in one of the buildings there. My family ended up leaving early because we had the opportunity to meet with a family we knew from back home. We got to go to the seminary that they work at and my dad got to share his testimony with the class there. It was a really awesome time that we got to spend with them!
Day 7
This is only part of group on our last day outside of Pan de Vida with Jefferson! We got to go back to Pan de Vida! This time we just helped them with whatever they needed. We cleaned from the ceiling to the floor and helped finish up staining the swing set as well as many other things. At the end of the day we got to bless them with some food and other supplies. I always felt so blessed after going to this ministry. The volunteers serve all the families that come through there like they are their own family.
That night it was time to say good-bye. The only thing that made it easier was knowing at that point of saying good-bye we only had 10 weeks until we see each other again. I can’t even begin to put into words how awesome it was to have my family here. My parents are absolutely amazing, Godly people and I miss them already! Several nights while we were together the Races planned worship nights and those nights were so special. We just had time to spend together and be intentional with our time and our discussions and it was exactly what was needed. We didn’t have as long as we would like but I definitely felt like we spent our time together well and with a purpose.
I’m just gonna throw this out there- if you are looking for a program to donate to- I highly recommend one of these:
Covi- http://www.stgallenhaus.com/covi-volunteer-program/
Pan de Vida- http://pandevida.org.ec
*Pan de Vida has several feeding programs throughout the week. They also serve the Venezuelan families twice a month. Each time they serve food to Ecuadorians or Venezuelans they serve approximate 150-200 people. And they provide a church service as well as having lawyers come in and discuss the newest laws with the Venezuelans. They really do things well here and I loved working at this ministry.
Side note: Just got to Peru! Month 10! Whoop Whoop! 🙂 Working with Cru this month and doing evangelism at Universities. This is actually what we did last month in Ecuador as well!
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