For now, our home provides a respite for some of the children from Sacha Runa. These three girls were on their way home today. The oldest pictured (Britany) stopped by our house with her mom earlier today (her mom goes to our church and recently accepted Christ). Her mom went on to work (which she does each weekday) and Britany went to pick up her two youngest siblings in town. On their way back, they were covered in sweat as Britany carried the baby and Joseline carried a bag of their things. It is always a pleasure to open our home as a safe place for these girls - provide them with ice water (to drink as well as to take home) and to allow them to play. People passing by that know them stop by to tell me how sad it is and what poor little children they are....but to us they are treasures - precious children, just like our own, who just happened to be born into different homes. They are our children's friends and we have so much respect for their mother. Living alone, working full time during the week in town and running her own business in Sacha Runa on the weekends (selling food to the people down swimming in the river), supporting six girls. Given the opportunity, she always offers to give us what she has (food on the way back from church, a jungle bird today). She is not a project, she is our friend, our sister.
I hope you enjoy some of our photos from today. The older girls were out in the jungle area behind our house with Britany for part of the afternoon...they were too far away to get good photos.
We had a big box of stuff for Maria to distribute in Sacha Runa on Monday, so, deciding to be chivalrous I offered to drive it over for her. Brooke and Valerie rode along because it would be culturally inappropriate for me to be alone in the car with Maria. When we got to the bridge I asked Maria if she thought I could drive across it (which I have done many times). The water was low so she said she thought we could cross. After six months, the river bed has shifted slightly, so the path I normally drive across didn't look right - just a little too deep. So, I wisely decided to drive to the left of the "deep" spot...right into the really deep hole that the kids jump off the cliff into. The car didn't go all the way in, the engine choked out long before that, but I was worried that the car might slide in, so I got the girls and Maria out the high side quickly. My next concern was rain. It wasn't raining at the time, but cloudy. Even a moderate rain will significantly raise the river, and when the river really gets going it could roll my car right down the river. Thankfully, that didn't happen.
You ever get that feeling when everything seems to be going wrong and you and all you can do is stand there hoping to wake up soon. It was one of those. I had no cell phone with me (there's no AAA anyway), the car is quickly filling with water, the children are all standing around laughing at the free entertainment, and I'm standing knee-deep in ice cold water staring at my half-submerged car. We finally walked up the hill to Maria's house and got Agusto to come have a look at it. His plan was to dive underwater with my car jack and try to get the front end and wedge rocks under it until it was level enough to push out or restart the engine. None of those things was going to work, but the deal was sealed when my jack decided not to work (never had problems with it before). Agusto called a friend who had a truck, but it wasn't strong enough even to get it out of the hole, let alone up the steep bank. The driver went to go call a guy with a volqueta (big truck). It turned out to be the guy who I use to deliver rebar and cement a lot. He pulled the car out and towed it to a mechanic he know.
The mechanic wasn't there, but he
borrowed some tools, pulled the spark plugs, jacked up the back left tire (using his jack), put it in 4th gear and hand-spun the tire to pump the water out of the cylinders. After that we were able to get it started. I ran it for a while, thinking that the heat would drive out any remaining water. Maybe not a good idea. There was also a good amount of water that had gotten in the oil pan through the dipstick hole. Either the heat or the churning turned it into a foamy white mess (as seen in the picture). Anyway, the next morning it wouldn't start. I changed the oil and pulled the spark plugs again, but no dice.So this morning I took the bus into Puyo to try and see if I could get a tow truck. On the way in I stopped at my favorite mechanic's shop to see if he knew someone who had a tow truck. I told him my story and he said he would come out this afternoon and see if he could get it running at my house so we could drive it in. Only in Ecuador to mechanics make house calls.
Sunday was challenging in a different way. I ended going to both church services in Sacha Runa and another one in Puyo. My brain just wasn't ready for all that Spanish. I enjoyed getting to go to another one of Paster Sely's congregations. The worship music was much more sophisticated than Sacha Runa's and I really enjoy's getting to meet some new believers. This may end up being one of the churches I will be working with in the future.
Please pray for the people of Sacha Runa. They are still struggling in the aftermath of Maria's brother's death. Pray that they will not succumb to fear but will seek the Face of God and His comfort with new vigor.
Craig
We are here safely. Our friends, Dave and Cheryl, drove us to Miami. It was a wonderful trip and great to have 5 hours of fellowship before flying down. The flight went well. LAN gave us 8 seats, which allowed us to spread out some. We arrived in Quito around 9:30. It is always interesting to see mothers holding their children's hands as we get ready to land. The runway is short and you can see inside people's homes (because they are so close). Everyone seems relieved when the plane is safely on the ground. We made it to Shell in record time (4 hours). We drove through the new and improved tunnels, came to a screaching stop because someone broke down in one tunnel, and also passed by the devistation at Manto de la Novia waterfall. The picture with Brooke is from 2008. It is now two waterfalls and small homes are now gone. People lost their lives - yet another reminder of some of the difficulties faced here (landslides, flooding, etc). 
Out of all of my returns to Ecuador, this time has been the most difficult. I know we are supposed to be here, and I am not upset or unhappy....I am just so sad at how difficult life is here. I could point out all of the things that are inconvinient, but my heart cries out for the people here to know the Lord, to have a personal, rich relationship with Him...doing that in a community that has been hit so hard by drug and alchol abuse, sexual abuse, lies, home burnings, and death is beyond challenging. The longer we are here, the more invested we become in people and the better we understand the culture and reality of life here. This isn't some fun week long trip, this is real life, this is hard. I had no idea the depth of all of this 3 years ago, I had no idea - serving a people that don't have the opportunities we have, bringing hope to those without hope. It is like the reality has just hit me in a whole new way. We are invested in these people's lives, these are our friends, our family. Please pray that the Lord will use our lives to touch the hearts of the people we love and all those we meet. Pray that we are emptied of ourselves, of our own agenda and that we are led by the Holy Spirit in all we do and say. Please join with us in prayer. 
We Are Separated
He Is the Only Way to God
This was one of our busiest return visits. Monday and Tuesday were both very full days. St Jude does a great job of fitting appointments in together, and since most everything is there on campus, there is rarely a reason we needed to even walk outside, other than to go to our room in the evenings. We were thankful for this, as it snowed 4 inches within twelve hours of us arriving in Memphis. It was pretty, but I think I have seen more snow in the past two years than in my previous 35. 
That works out great because Valerie Grace was invited to be the flower girl in the wedding of one of her favorite "boys" in July. This way we can fly back once and have both her follow up MRI and let her share in the Joy of her Boy's special day.
The next two weeks should be busy - praying that we will have sweet times with family and friends before we leave. My mom will be flying down next week to spend 5 days with us. This has been a relaxing time back in Florida. I have become quite comfortable with having clean water come out of the tap, reliable electricity, smooth sidewalks, a drivers license, good dentists nearby, air-conditioning and heat, privacy, quiet, blue skies, fellowship in English, convenience foods, and a big bathtub. But, as Beth Moore said so well.... "Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, "'Wow! What a ride! Thank You, Lord!'" I am looking forward to being more thankful for when we do have electricity and water, becoming more observant again while walking down the street, walking more often, opportunities throughout the day to talk with new people who come by our gate, the sounds of parrots and children, rainbows, the richness of hearing and reading God's Word in a different language, cheap fresh fruits, vegetables, and beef, and being able to learn new lessons in humility and gratitude. 
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