Ecuador

It was with a mixture of fatigue and sadness that we said goodbye to Scott at 5am on a recent Friday morning.  He was off to Ecuador.

I say we, referring to me and Emma.  Toby, who was in bed with the rest of us refused to wake-up.  Literally - I shook him and said "Do you want to say goodbye to Daddy?" to which he responded "No."

It's always tough to say goodbye to someone you love, especially when they're the one going on the adventure!!  We are so thankful that we received enough financial support to cover his trip, and God provided enough overtime to cover the other costs

Scott drove with 7 others to Newark airport, for a flight to Houston, on to Panama, and then to Ecuador around 11.30pm that night.  

The next morning the team drove 8 hours to Sucua. 

They took a stop off on the way...

 

 

They got to Sucua, and were staying in a modest hotel, and the task at hand was to put a roof on the new addition for the Hope House, accomodation for 6 more girls.

This is the how it looked when they started:

 The team will gladly tell you that Scott was crucial in this work.  They first laid tongue and groove wood on the beams, for the ceiling.  Added plywood on top, to be covered by metal...

The missionaries had 5 days scheduled for the work - but they knew not who they were dealing with!!  The guys had it done in two days, and the rest of the metal they needed was not delivered in time!

Not to worry, they found some other projects, including Scott using the tiling skills he developed in Africa...

The team also helped daily with a vacation bible school in a local village...

And of course, there were some giant bugs...

Here's the team from the church, including Pastor Bob (front left).  It's truly great to have such an inspiring leader.  PB will always be the first person to volunteer and get his hands dirty, because his heart is to serve. 

On their way back to the capital and the flight home, they stopped off and saw an active volcano...

...and Scott "high-fived" baby Jesus!

Scott came home a new man.  He has new energy for serving God and reaching people who have not yet understood God's gift of forgiveness and new life.

He has shared many of the missionaries stories.  For example, the Hope House was born when a local woman brought her 8 year old daughter to the missionaries home unexpectedly, with the news that they could either take her in or she would be sold at the market.  Another girl came to them with nothing after her father made it clear she was to have sex with him and her brother or leave.

It's so easy to dimiss these kinds of stories as things that happen in uncivilized countries, but you'd have to live in a cave to not realize this is happening everywhere.  If you see a young girl in a nail salon during school hours, chances are she's not there by choice.

Yes, I wish there was something I could do for the millions of people living like this worldwide.  Maybe I can do a little.  I am recommitting my life (time, energy, money) to spreading the gospel, even right here in my suburban town.

As much as it would be nice to change people's circumstances, that's often not possible.  And at the root of the gospel, it may not be the most important thing.  This life is short, and we are not going to experience "heaven" on earth.  Instead our purpose on earth is to prepare for eternity.

We all have our cross to bear on earth, whether it's physical, relational, financial or emotional.  The question is how will we respond to it, and how will we respond to God's offer of a hope and future, with Him, in Heaven...

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Revelation 22: 1-5 

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Phillipians 3: 20-21

 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6 

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12