More photos from PA team

Below are more photos from our past team. Craig and I don't often take many photos out in Sacha Runa when teams aren't here. One of the many perks of having teams is seeing all of the pictures that they take.

Thank you Manor Church for sending another team down to serve with us in Ecuador and for blessing our family and the ministry in so many ways. We pray you all were blessed as well.



Thank you Krissy and Meryl for taking the wonderful photos - you both are very talented!

leave a message in our guestbook

Valerie Grace, Kate, and Prayer

Last week, Valerie Grace was not feeling well. We posted that on Facebook, but not on our website (mainly because I don't like to worry my mom, and she is not on Facebook, but does read our website - sorry mom :)
Valerie was complaining of lots of head pain, some lower abdomenal pain, and knee pain. She was crying, unable to sleep....no fever, no runny nose - nothing but pain. When we would give her motrin, she would bounce back and fall asleep - then when it wore off, the symptoms came back. Later her teeth began chattering, like she was very cold. She had brief moments of smiling and wanting to play though and no vomitting.
With any of the other girls, I would have set them up comfortably in their room and encouraged them to rest, but having a child with a brain tumor get sick is a different ball game (ask any of the over 1000 members of the pediatric brain tumor support group. Thursday evening, Pastor Dan from Mars, PA (who we met last year when he led a team to Ecuador and has since become family to us) had organized a prayer vigil for our family and our ministry here in Ecuador. Jennifer Prior from our home church helped organize one at the same time in FL. My friend Amber and I talked on the phone for about 1/2 an hour earlier and I had shared more about Valerie Grace. She said that she would be sure to have focused prayer time on Valerie Grace.

The Lord has taught us so much on this four and a half year journey about who He is, about seeking Him. Honestly though, I really do not understand totally about prayer. I don't know why sometimes we pray with absolute faith to see a miracle (like we did before Valerie's first surgery), and yet it seems nothing changes. I don't understand why after the prayer vigil Thursday evening, suddenly, Valerie Grace was completely back to her normal, chatty, happy self. But I do know, that the Lord wants us to be praying - not just asking for things (whether it be material goods, safety, healing), but also spending time in fellowship with Him, worshiping Him, spending time listening, and spending time praying for the needs of others (just as so many of you prayed for our family last Thursday evening and so many times in the past).

I would ask you to please visit the website of another little girl who was just diagnosed with a brain tumor. Her name is Kate. If you feel led, please leave a message in their guestbook - a verse, a note of encouragement....but please, coming from another mom who has been there, do not leave messages about what type of treatment or dietary changes they need to be doing. It is so easy for someone who has not walked a similar journey to offer advice that seems right. Truly, each of our journeys is different. The path we each need to be on is the Lord's path - not a path that any person deems to be the best. Even if it seems like the "Christian" thing to do, as we learned, it is still following another man's idea of what a "Christian" should do.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us, with us, and encouraged us to keep on walking.

Love,

Celeste

Below are some photos of Valerie Grace on Friday :) Obviously feeling better as she walked home from Sacha Runa on a sunny day, uphill. (FYI for my mom - if you click on the photos, you will be able to see them larger :)

leave a message in our guestbook

Dereck

I received an email yesterday from my friend (3rd mom) Sue. She let me know that Dereck passed away two days ago. Please keep his family in your prayers as they process all that has happened this past year and pray that they choose to walk with the Lord during this difficult time.

Love,
Celeste

leave a message in our guestbook

Responsibility

Throughout our time in Ecuador, we have served on to totally opposite ends of the spectrum. For the first year, we worked to help provide an "American" life for the children of Ecuador. We came to work along side another ministry which had that as its goal (which at first sounded very good). Being an American, I think we tend to come into things with ideas about how life should be, how children should be raised, and what things are important. The Lord continues to teach us, to open our eyes, to help us see things in new ways.

Living in this part of Ecuador is difficult. Many families are made up of single parents or of households where the dads are in the military (living far off) or working in the jungle for the Italian oil company. Thankfully, there are some Ecuadorian programs to help these parents (cash payments to single moms, local day care centers, goverment help with building new homes). But, how would you feel seeing a 10 year old care for a house of children? I admit, when I first came, that just didn't seem right. I think we have this idea in the US that childhood should be fun - that it should be full of entertainment and should not involve much work or responsibilty. We tend to think that responsibility should come gradually, too gradually. As parents, we tend to want to keep our children from facing any trials in life, but so often those trials shape who we are and shape our faith as well.

Yesterday, as our team was playing with the children and youth in Sacha Runa, the family so dear to my heart was there. Their mom was up in Shell, working hard to earn money to help her family. The oldest daughter was out playing in the river while the baby and others were playing beside the river. They knew their limits, they knew the area, and we later found out they knew how to navigate the long winding path to their home in the jungle. I went down and sat with the younger children (not that they needed me to do so). I called the older sister over, I asked if she was having a fun time swimming with the team, and her smile was so big. I told her that I would keep an eye on her sisters (to which she seemed a bit confused). As I took tiny rocks out of the babies hands, the two year old beside me corrected me and showed me that I forgot to brush the remaining sand off of her hands. This two year old continued to display for me all she had been trained to do (clean her sisters hands, wipe noses, and help her sister know her limits).

Later, I asked the sister if she could use help getting the children home. I had been wanting to know where they lived for some time as I have seen all of the girls passing my home for months. I asked a few of the team members if they would be willing to come along and help. I still have issues from my hernia surgery and didn't think I could make the walk while carrying the younger toddler. The rains came pouring down and the 4 year old offered our team a cercropia leaf to use as an umbrella. We chose not to use it and she used it as she ran at more than twice our speed through the muddy, rocky path with scattered bridges along the way. The oldest sister was going about 4 times our speed at times while carrying the baby. After about half a mile of this beautiful trail, we ended up at thier home. Their grandfather graciously invited us in, but we had to be back to get cleaned up for dinner. We were all soaked and tired (with muddy feet, some with ant bites) by the time we got back to the bridge in Sacha Runa. Each day, these little girls make this walk together (stopping at our home on the way up to play with the monkey). I was so humbled, so touched by this sweet family - and continue to be as we spent time with them again tonight at a community dinner. The mom served our team so sweetly, so joyfully.

In this culture, if you do not know how to work hard you will not thrive. It is so easy to be tempted to give hand outs....but yet, how much better to share about God's love, while allowing the people to continue to live in such a way that is necessary for future generations to thrive here in Ecuador. The importance of family is huge in this culture. People sacrifice for family members here, and now the believers in Sacha Runa are sacrificing also for others in their community - helping their own people in a way that does not create dependance, but rather in a way that demonstrates sacrificial love. They are encouraging those in difficult situations not to chose a path that may look easier, but which will lead to losing all important family bonds that exist here. They are encouraging and equiping people with God's word, with His promises.

I am so excited about what the Lord is doing in and through this small, jungle community. We are responsible for the way we raise our own children and also we have been given a responsibility through our ministry involvement here in Ecuador. I am so thankful for the way the Lord continues to open our eyes to how He would have us serve and lessons that He wants for us to learn

Love,

Celeste

leave a message in our guestbook

More photos

Celeste and Marili

Rainbow over the church in Sacha Runa as we prepared for dinner

Wonderful meal purchased and prepared by the church body in Sacha Runa for their guests

Just three of the many sweet and special girls who live in and around Sacha Runa


leave a message in our guestbook

Some photos from the past two days

leave a message in our guestbook

Joy

If you have been following our last couple of posts, you can see why I titled this Joy.

This sweet lady laughed when I told her that there was a way she could stand and get around...

Today, she looked up while standing.....and smiled

Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them."

leave a message in our guestbook

Pictures from this month (for our family)

leave a message in our guestbook

Transportation

Tomorrow morning, Craig will head over to Sacha Runa to help transport the lady who had her leg amputated to the mission hospital to have her stitches taken out. We will also hopefully be purchasing her some crutches. Craig has also purchased wood to build a better bridge to her house. Craig ordered the wood to be cut to the right size yesterday, then carried it to our house today (some he hauled on his back weighed way to much for him to do what he did with them - but he is sort of stubborn that way :). He will treat the wood this weekend, and then the team will help carry the wood to Sacha Runa and build the bridge next week.
The lady's husband will most likely be carrying his wife on his back (much like they carry babies here) to get her to the road where Craig will have the car waiting. We are praying that the river is low enough to drive over tomorrow morning. Today was nice and dry - lots of blue sky -but the river was still a little high.
Natalie Joy said she had the 'best birthday ever' and is now 7 years old. I can't believe how quickly my girls are growing up.

We did get news today that Brooke's EEG showed some abnormal activity and that they believe she has a benign type of epilepsy that normally goes away when she is in her late teens. We have never seen her have anything that would even look like a seizure -but we had taken her in due to blackouts. She is fine in Ecuador, but complains of the problems when we go back to the US. Anyway, no meds are needed.

Valerie Grace continues to do great, we are still waiting to hear from St Judes about whether or not they can fly us from our home here for followup MRIs.

Courtney is doing well. We just put all four girls back in the same bedroom - which we all like better. It seems they get along better when they all share the same room :) That frees up space for a guest room. We already received an email that cousin Steven might be visiting in July!

Love,
Celeste


leave a message in our guestbook

A difficult path

I received a phone call this morning. I really didn't listen carefully to everything that was being said - I just heard the words snake bite, cut leg, and can you come visit. I called the hospital just to find out what to do if someone needed to be seen, and then walked out to Sacha Runa. Today I walked farther back than I had previously. I wasn't able to look around at the houses and such because the walk there was so muddy and I was nearly certain that I would be returning home with my backside covered in slimy brown mud.

The final approach to the house where I was to visit included a bridge made up of two very long, very thin branches. I was told to cross with my feet parrallell to the river and walk sideways. This would have worked even better had the bottoms of my shoes not been covered in that slippery mud.

I took off my shoes and stepped up into the humble home. I walked into a back room and saw an older lady sitting on a mattress on the floor. I began to ask questions and came to find out that she was bitten by a snake some time back, had her leg amputated all the way up (which she proceded to show me without the least bit of self consciousness). I was asked if I would like to take a picture of her leg. I thought it would be good to have if she wanted to have me ask one of the doctors a question. She then fixed her hair so that she would look 'more beautiful'. Her family then pulled out tons of medications that the hospital had given her - all unused including some rather strong antibiotics. She asked questions about why she would need antibiotics and why she needed the bags of hydrating fluid and why she needed the pills to rid her body of parasites. I explained to her what I knew, but offered to take her to the hospital so that the doctors there could more fully answer her questions and take a look at the large still stitched up area where her body had been closed up after the amputation. The area did not feel warm and did not hurt to the touch and the stitched area did not look infected. She said that she would prefer to stay put for two more weeks until it was time for the stitches to come out. Then the whole reality hit me - how was this sweet grandmother going to walk to and from her home. I cannot think of many American women her age who could make that walk even with two legs. All I could do was silently pray and ask the Lord to bless her with a deeper understanding of His love. Maria and her sister had been by the night before and had prayed with her and spoken with her in Quechua (she does not speak Spanish). Tomorrow, I plan to head back over and bring some fruits and vegetables that I have washed.

Imagine your self having one leg, having no clean water, no bathroom, being separated from a road by a mile of muddy paths and river crossings. Imagine then what it would mean to have 'strangers' come and give you their time and their love....that is what the believers in Sacha Runa are doing - they are reaching out to those who cannot even leave their homes, they are looking for ways to help these people - not looking for anything in return, just looking to share the Lord's blessings and love with those around them.

May you all take time today to thank the Lord for all of the blessings in your life and find a way to reach out to someone in need....it might not be comfortable at first - but it just might turn out to bless you in ways that you never imagined.

Love,
Celeste

leave a message in our guestbook

Let their be light!

No one in the church body knew how to put in the electrical system for the church. Craig spent yesterday and today putting in the wires/outlets/switches and hooking it all up to the main supply. Two men also had the opportunity to look on and learn a new skill. This is much better than the previous exposed wires on the cement floor of the church....it all makes sense now as to why those who have lights in Sacha Runa just would put the exposed wires together when they wanted the lights on and pull them apart to turn off the lights. Hopefully now, these two men will share their new knowledge with others :) - apparently putting in outlets is very costly here in Ecuador when you have someone else do it. The church also has beautiful wooden doors now.

We are very excited to be able to continue serving here in Ecuador. We are looking forward to the two teams we have coming this summer and also for the additional time we will have to focus on building more relationships with those in other communities due to our lightened team schedule this summer.
We are so excited that the church in Sacha Runa has lights - but more than that - we are looking forward to continuing to share the message of true Light with more of the beautiful people of Ecuador.




leave a message in our guestbook

Day with friends

The girls and I have really been enjoying school time lately. The girls even played a story on their own during quiet time about the Stamp Act (which helped me know that they really are listening to what I read :)

After school time, we almost always have girls from our street or from the street where we used to live come over to visit. Our girls love giving tours of our "zoo" to local children. The children find it to be a real treat too. They love coming over and playing with the girls and also spending time feeding the animals and learning more about them.

Valerie has especially had an easy time of making friends. Today, she went to one of the local schools and was quickly surrounded by friends who have visited our home and by their friends who had heard stories about the little "gringita Valeria"

leave a message in our guestbook

Pleasant time after our failed road trip - and why I will always remember June 5th

We stopped to eat in Moravia on our way back home. The girls enjoyed the beautiful view. If only they had had our favorite mayonnaise, the meal would have been perfect....

but the size of Natalie Joy's tilapia made up for it for sure.

Valerie Grace wasted no time in making friends with one of the men of the restaurant...she enjoyed talking to the men at the tables, talking with the women in the kitchen and then as we were about to leave, she decided to join in on a game of cards.

The best part of Friday June 5th was yet to come. I was reading The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name to the girls. Natalie Joy and Courtney both broke down crying as I was reading. I spent time talking with the girls and praying with them. Natalie Joy made a decision to accept Jesus as her Lord and savior.

leave a message in our guestbook

Failed Road Trip

We decided to drive to Banos on Saturday. On the way there, we were passed by many cars. We rounded a corner and soon realized that our road trip would not be happening. We could have waited for the road to be cleared, but our car doesn't always like to restart after a while, so Craig just turned around. We missed this by just a minute (as there was only one car in front of us when we got to this point). Below are some photos of our trip back home (just to give an idea of the general road conditions between Banos and Mera.

We were so thankful for our safety and that we were blocked on the "home" side of the landslide.

leave a message in our guestbook

Preschool party in Sacha Runa on Dia de la Familia

Maria owns a small house in Sacha Runa. Each weekday, a preschool has met in her home. Last Friday was Dia de la familia in Ecuador. They had a party at the local tourist pavilion. Valerie Grace was invited and enjoyed the party, balloons, and chicken cooked on the fire.....and of course, the babies.

leave a message in our guestbook

photos from our trip to US

leave a message in our guestbook

Pictures from Saturday

While we were gone, Kelly and Emilia came over to visit. They remembered when Craig said we would be coming home and made sure to have their mom bring them by. They were so sweet and excited to see us back in Ecuador. They were concerned about swine flu though and also questioned us.....funny that they both had a runny nose as they questioned us :)
We played outside a lot and then came in to do some painting.
We are getting ready to ride our bikes over to Kelly's house now.

Natalie Joy's painting turned out beautiful - but the floor and curtains are also covered with her artistic stamp

leave a message in our guestbook

We made it back home

We are back in Ecuador. We started our journey down around 1am on Friday morning. Craig's parents drove us down and waited until we had our luggage packed. There is no way I could have done this alone as Craig's dad and Brooke had to haul my crates from ticketing to a special place where they would have to be screened due to their size. Going through security is always the most difficult part. Valerie needs to take on plenty of water (which all has to be screened individually). But we made it through with minimal meltdowns.
We all slept some on the flight to Panama. The breakfast wasn't that great, so the girls didn't miss out on much. We filled out our health screening and exited the plane in Panama. On the plane with us were a group of students (all wearing masks). I figured they were all from Panama since that is where the most people were masked up last time. The girls and I found a perfect corner with seats that did not have arm rails - so Valerie and I took a 2 hour nap (Brooke wasn't tired). We waited another half hour, then boarded our plane for Quito. The students boarded with us - all masked up still. It was a bumpy flight, and the landing in Quito is always interesting as they speed up right before landing and we can practically see what people are watching on TV in the nearby homes as we land.

We filled out another health screening, but no one took it when we exited the plane. We went through immigration (and LOVED being back in Ecuador where there are special lines for women with children). A man came up to me while I was at immigration and told me he was going to help me with my bags and to not lift any, but just wait for him to come. I thought 'wow, how nice is that'. We then realized why we still had our health forms. A masked up doctor questioned each of us (in Spanish). Then, one by one, we had to have our photos taken by two women (also in masks) - apparently, Ecuador is now very afraid of swine flu.

After that, we were free to get our luggage. I wasn't going to count on the man who approached me in immigration to actually help, so I went to the man with the carts and requested two men and two carts. Brooke then watched Valerie as I pointed to which bags were ours (and again LOVED being back in Ecuador). The men loaded all of the bags on the carts and then unloaded them onto the xray machines and loaded them back on the carts again. The doors opened to the crowd in the airport lobby and there was Craig! He told me he had a big plan to sneak in and get all of my luggage onto carts before we came through, but he was caught by one of the guards. He explained what he was trying to do, and they said they would send in a man to come and help me get my luggage (hence the man who approached me in immigration). We got in the van and I was curious where my other two children were. Craig said that was part of the surprise.
He told Vicente to drive to an address in Quito (and I was praying that part of the surprise was not staying somewhere in Quito as I didn't take my altitude medicine). We arrived at a beautiful home of some friends of ours. Courtney and Natalie Joy were over there playing with their children. All five children were EXCELLENT at keeping the surprise a secret. We get in the van and drive to another location. Everyone except the girls and I went into a home and came out with a squirel monkey. Our friends are moving to Shell in two months and they wanted us to house sit a monkey someone was giving them. Then, Craig told me to go in the house because there was a bird for me to look at. It was an Amazon parrot that greeted me with many "hola" "cookito" "corre corre papi". Apparently, the man who had the animals is moving and was giving them away for free. The bird got right on my hand and was super friendly. While I was in the house alone, Craig was out telling our friend that I might not want the bird....then I came out holding it. They strapped the cage to the roof of the van and we were off to Shell. I held the bird on my lap for the 5 hour drive (thankfully Craig brought a towel to put under the bird. The monkey did escape once. It went all over the van and even across the steering wheel as Vicente was driving - thankfully, Vicente has a good sense of humor. Craig managed to catch it and put it back in the cage (and then he cable tied the cage doors closed so we would not have a repeat once it was dark). We made it home around 8pm, unloaded people, luggage, and pets and went to bed.
Craig had more surprises in store, but I will write more about that later.


Love,
Celeste


















The most active volcano we pass on the way down....Courtney commented on all of those little homes below (the picture turned out to blurry to see them well, but below the clouds it is full of houses).

leave a message in our guestbook

Dereck

Tonight I met a friend. I met a young man who I have been praying for this year. A young man who moved here last summer to attend UF. A man who went in to the student health center and was treated by my friend Sue. A man who was told he had cancer only months after coming to Gainesville. I am not sure who I was expecting to see, but I was not expecting to see the handsome, peaceful young man I saw. Have you ever met someone for the first time, and you felt like you know them? When I saw Dereck, I felt like I was seeing someone I was destined to see.

Before Valerie Grace was diagnosed, I really felt like I had so many answers to life, and yet, I did not fully appreciate each day. As we have walked this journey with Valerie Grace, I am continually humbled as I realize how precious people are - how one persons touch or word can make a difference in your day and in your life. Tonight - the Lord used Dereck to make a difference in my life. Dereck so sweetly asked me how I get through things - what a blessing to be able to share my experience with him. What a blessing to share tears of understanding. I honestly don't know what Dereck has been through - but I can relate to some of the feelings, the questions. In this life we will all have struggles - but with the Lord's help, we can see clearly the eternal life available to us. When Valerie was first diagnosed, we would often hear stories of miraculous healings....quite honestly, that was never really encouraging to us (not to say the healings were not miraculous, but it made us question why our experience wasn't like that and left room for more questions). It was the assurance that the Lord would be with us, that He would uphold us no matter what happened, it was the people the Lord sent into our lives to comfort us that brought us the most encouragement. The Lord's love is amazing and mysterious - through relationship with Jesus, we have been able to sing, we have been able to be carried along - is every day easy? By no means....but with Him, it is glorious in the end.

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

Dereck's birthday is on Sunday. Dereck's family flew in to see him for his birthday - they were planning to go out and do some fun thing together. He is sad that he is in the hospital - but I pray that he will be able to have a fun day with his family (whether in the hospital or not).

Spending time with Dereck was another one of those moments that have made this trip back really special. Dereck, you are loved, you are prayed for, you are special in the eyes of the Lord and in our eyes as well.

Love,
Celeste

These all had faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them a far off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had the opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is a heavenly country. God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 11:13-16


leave a message in our guestbook

Packing up

For most of May, this is all Brooke, Valerie and I have seen of Craig, Natalie Joy and Courtney. It has been wonderful to be able to connect with them this way (for free :) but oh, how we look forward to being together as a family again. The trip down - well, I am praying that we will be filled with peace and joy in the midst of that trip. We have heard that there are people in Orlando at 4am who will be able to help us with our bags, which is great because right now, our bags weigh about twice what we weigh all together.

This trip has been really special though in many ways and I can see the Lord's plan in having just us three come back this trip. I was able to have a special night here at the house, just spending time talking with the Lord while our friends Ben and Sue had Brooke for the night. The other highlight had to be seeing Heidy and Elian at St Judes. St Judes was strangely empty that day (compared to when we were there earlier in the year). They were only in that waiting room a short while - our paths just "happened" to cross. There was so much more I wanted to say to Heidy, but didn't have time, so I wrote her a letter. I felt that I should go out to the lobby that I normally don't go to, and there she was again, waiting for a ride to their home away from home.

When I look at all that the Lord has done in Ecuador - there are so many things that make me think "if it was just for that reason - moving our family to Ecuador was completely worth it" - so many things that just show what an amazing Lord we have. Elian is just one of the many stories that have shown us that we serve a living God - the fact that He orchestrated everything from before we set foot in Ecuador, to when we arrived, to the years that have followed. We could not have planned any of it. Our plan was totally different - His plan is glorious - what excitement - Lord, live through us and use us.

Praying that this summer in Ecuador, we will be filled with joy, compassion, and love for the people we are there to serve. We pray that we are generous and not self seeking. Praying that we cultivate love within our family that will then overflow onto the people we are around.
We will have just two groups coming this summer. A group from Manor Church in PA will be coming in June (they brought a group of 39 down last year). The other will be from First Assembly/Gainesville,FL in August. Definitely a change from our back to back groups last summer. We are looking forward to building relationships with those who come and having time to spend together as a family and with the people we know and love in Ecuador.

Brooke is scheduled to have an EEG tomorrow. This is just to rule out more stuff from the 'blackouts' she occationally complains about - only expecting good news.

Love,

Celeste

leave a message in our guestbook