Today marks 10 weeks in Ecuador for us! Time has flown by! On Thursday, we joined the Latin Link Inspire Online event. We heard lots about how people are serving God across Latin America and it was such a blessing to see how God is working in everyone’s lives. The inspiring stories were such a testament to God’s love.

On Friday morning, we took our first early bus into the city at 6 am – which was quite the experience! We then spent the rest of the morning preparing for the Community Day next weekend. In the afternoon, we had a marathon of bracelet making for the children at school – we’ve now made 50 bracelets!

On Saturday we said our first goodbye of the trip. After singing a song with the kids at Gran Colombia, we shared a parting encouragement about how God will walk with them through the rest of their lives, no matter what they do or where they are, and thanked them for the blessing of the time we’ve spent with them. They then prayed for us which was so special.

On Sunday afternoon, we walked up Bomboli hill in Santo Domingo with the sports group and Pastor Rodrigo’s family. There was an incredible view of the whole city and it was amazing to think that we’ve lived there for the last 10 weeks. There was a bank holiday on Monday so we played Uno and Dobble with the children at the Orphaids. We had lots of fun spending time with them and seeing the joy and relationships between the kids there. When we returned to the camp on Monday, we saw the posts which are now up and painted! It’s so good to see the progress that we’ve made – from bending iron structures, to making cement, to painting the posts and putting them in the ground, we’ve enjoyed being part of the whole process. It’s so nice to see where the camp will be when construction of the buildings starts.

The last few days at school have been such a blessing. The kids there have started to run out of classes and hug us all as we come in. Getting to know each one of them and seeing them progressing each week is really special. We invited them to the Community Day this weekend which they are very excited for. We also walked around the village giving our invites to people in the town, and were so happy to be met with smiling faces and people who are eager to come along.

On Saturday 9th July, we’re holding a Community Day in the village near the campamento. It will be a fun-filled afternoon of games, songs, crafts, food, English lessons and a talk from the pastor. We’re hoping to share God’s love through spending time with the community. This might be the first time people hear of God’s word and mission, so it’s an amazing opportunity for us to be a part of! It really brings Latin Link’s aim of “community with a calling” to life and we’re so grateful that we’ve been able to organise this with help from the church.

Please pray for our boldness in faith as we go into this weekend and share our testimony and reason for being here in Ecuador with the community. Pray that Jesus’ love shines through us when we talk to new people and pray for our Spanish so that we can have meaningful conversations. We’d also appreciate prayer for peace as we come towards the end of our time here. There are lots of goodbyes to be said in the next couple of weeks – pray that this won’t cause too much sadness or anxiety, but that we’ll be able to see the way we’ve served God over the last three months and how that’s had an amazing impact here.

“You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the meaning of life: to boldly go” Philippians 2:15-16

¡Gracias!

Jessie, Lily, Charlotte, Kate and Abi

The Camp at sunrise 

Goodbyes at Gran Colombia kids club