Days off

We enjoyed two days off this week, soaking in the sights of the Ecuadorean jungle. On the Monday, Hanna kindly took us to a waterfall. We explored, swam and were so in awe of God’s beautiful creation. We followed up the excitement with a steak lunch in Tena.

Our other free day was Saturday, the morning of which we spent rafting! It was such good craic, especially with the seismic waves and the humour of our guides. We then relaxed with pastries and hot chocolate in the afternoon.

Activities in Rukullakta

This week we lead morning activities in the area in which we are staying. This included teaching English, running music workshops and playing sports; such as basketball, football and floorball.These have been a fantastic way to get to know the local children and it has been fun to bump into them out and about town.The concentration and enthusiasm they have shown has been such a joy and we are looking forward to continuing these activities next week.

Holiday Bible Club

This week, we lead the Bible Club in our third location, Rukullakta. It was great to stay local and lots fun to see the same children in the mornings and again in the afternoons. Some children from the church we have been going to in Archidona came along as well and it was great to meet some of the children for whom we received prayer requests for from the previous week.
We have nailed the theme song, “Toma hoy mis manos Dios”, which has been a great way to start and end each session. The games have also gone down a treat with Duck Duck Goose, Bulldog and anything involving the parachute being firm favourites among the children.
This Bible club was slightly different than the others in that we had four days, rather than three. On the fourth, we invited all the parents and local people to come and join in. The children were able to display what they have learnt, teach their families the song and everyone joined in with some very competitive games!
The golden moment for us was how many of the children could remember the verses Julia, Kate and SJ had patiently taught them this week. Another exciting thing was that the president of Rukullakta came to this final, celebratory day. He gave an address and seemed very positive about the Bible Club and Hanna’s work in general. This was a hugely significant moment, to receive this formal seal of approval, as historically, this community has been fairly resistant to the gospel.

We helped Hanna with the Sunday afternoon children’s meeting again this week. The wife of the pastor from the church in Archidona that we have now been to twice came along too. Amelia taught on Matthew 17:20, Tori lead pipe-cleaner prayers and Julia lead us in worship.

Home life

We have continued to enjoy the company of our hosts, with the addition this week of their nephew Bruno. Bruno has kindly cooked for us a few times, whilst attempting to suppress his laughter after informing us that our cooking style is a new experience for him!

Señora Inés lead a group of us to harvest and plant a pineapple, a skill she learnt from her father. Pineapple is one of the many fruits we have been enjoying from the local area, alongside dragonfruit, lemons and sugarcane.

The kindness of the people around us has been such a blessing. Lots of our hosts’ relatives have come to say hello, a neighbour brought us some fruit and a child gave us some beautifully intricate necklaces as a thank you gift. We also had fun in the local offices, learning about their sustainability projects, tasting local chocolate and even receiving an invitation to appear on the radio!

The Northern Irish contingent have masted the gluten-free pancake, Tori whipped up some chicken satay as a Friday night special and Hannah knows how to revitalise any dodgy pre-made sauce. That said, the real treat were the maggots Hanna BBQed for us on Sunday night. As it turns out, maggots, when paired with tomato pasta, go down a real treat!

The friendship we have been able to foster within the team has made this adventure so much fun. It really does feel like an extended sleepover, with many sweet treats, hair braiding and late night laughter.

Prayer points:
– The running water has been on and off, so prayer for it’s consistent return would be appreciated
– The have been a few mild illnesses within the team in the last week. We would love prayer for health, rest and energy.
– Prayer for the children that we have met this week, that they will have seen something of the Lord and a seed of faith would firmly take root in their souls.
– Praise God for what He has done so far- bringing us water when we need it, drawing the children to His word, letting us see more of His beautiful creation…to name just a few!
– As we head into our final week, we would be grateful for wisdom and inspiration as to how we can best witness to those around us and leave well.

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