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MVA Ecuador Mission Trip 2010 Updates

Posted on Mar 23, 2010

Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010, 11:58 AM

Subject: Arrival

Dear Parents and Legal Guardians:

Greetings

After almost 24 hours of travel, we arrived at our destination. We landed in Guayaquil at 3:00 PM (1 PM California Time). Unfortunately, I was forced to pay custom duties on some of the items (computers) that were brought to the school. That process took about 1.5 hours to complete. By the time we were done, it was close to 4:30 PM. Th bus ride to the school took almost 6 hours. We arrived at the school 9:45 PM. By the time we had dinner, and had all the kids go over to their respective dorms it was almost 1 AM.

This morning everybody woke up at 8 AM, and had breakfast at 8:30 AM. There are 3 projects that the students will be involved with: building 4 houses for teachers, painting and reparing classrooms and cleaning up the Ecological Park.

All students are happy and healthy. Please continue to pray for us. Iwill keep up updated.

Sincerely,

Pastor Moises Guerrero

Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010, 2:32 PM

Subject: 1st Day of Work

Dear Parents and Legal Guardians:

Greetings

Our full day of work is over. Dark clouds cover the sky and it's about to rain. The temperature is about 90 with high humidity. Everyone was worked very hard. Our nurse station is set up and running, our 3 CRN's are ready to face any challenges. We are hoping and praying that we will not have to use their services.

Please be sure that we are taking care of your childern. Due to the high cost of calling the USA and our remote geographical location, it will be vey difficult to call home from here. I have been given a local number, but it is very difficult to get good reception. the number is 011-593-086-692-269. Please be aware of the fact that if you call (and you are luckly to get through) I may not be able to put you in touch with your child snice I do general supervision and students are in different locations around the school.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions, concerns or complaints. Rest assure that the safety of your child is our highest priority. I ask you to continue to pray tht this trip will be a blessing and a life changing experience.

Sincerely,

Pastor Moises Guerrero

Setn: Sunday, March 21, 2010, 8:19 AM

Subject: Sabbath & 2nd Day of Work

Dear Parents and Legal Guardians:

Greetings

We were blessed with a beautiful Sabbath day yesterday. the sky was clear, very comfortable temperatures and low humidity. During the morning worship, Mr. Hicks preached the sermon. He challenged the students to live a life of holiness and act like Jesus when faced with temptation. During the afternoon the students lead by Mr. Marxmiller and the local chaplain took a 2 mile hike to the Baba river. During the evening students participated in different social games and activites.

Today is a full day of work. However, the skies have open up and it's raining. Please pray that the rain will go away so that we can accomplish the work we came here to do. I am happy to report that all the students are doing well, they are happy and excited to be here. Besides the normal mosquito and bug bites, we have not had any medical urgencies or emergencies. We praise God for that, and pray it will be the same for the reat of the week.

Some of you are asking about the school address, this is where we are:

Colegio Adventista del Ecuador

Via Quevedo Km.14

Santo Domingo de Los Colorados

Ecuador

Feel free to email me if you have any questions, concerns or complaints. Please keep us un your prayers.

Thank you,

Pastor Moises Guerrero

Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010, 7:01 AM

Subject: 3rd Day of Work

Dear Parents and Legal Guardians:

Greetings

Thanks you so very much for your prayers. It did not rain after 8 AM and we were able to get a full day of work. the students worked very very hard today. The foundations for the houses we are building are now completed. The Ecology Paek is looking much better and the painting project is going well.

Students got a good taste of life in the 3rd world today. The electricity went off and with that the water also went off for more than 6 hours. This served as a reminder of how wonderful life is in the United States. It is my hope that all the participants will gain a greater apperciation for you and for all they have back home.

Our cooks are doing a great job in keeping everyone fed. We are blessed by having fresh fruit every single day. The pineapples here is just amazing. The mangoes are incredible, and the bananas are sweet to the taste. Everyone is eating well.

Well, it's late now, everyone is in their respective dorms, sleeping or ready to sleep. Please keep praying for our safety while we are here.

May God bless you all,

Pastor Moises Guerreo

Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010

Subject: Mission Trip Update

Were done with our work. We've dug, painted, scraped, mixed, patted, wash and cleaned up. We've has our closing ceremony and the school here is very thankful that we could come and be with them for a while and help out. In a few hours we'll be on our way to Galapagos. We request your prayers for a safe tranist.

Your prayers have worked. We have survived the frightening, bus driving and arrived safetly in Guayaquil.

We'll be having an early start. Buses leave at 6:30 am tomorrow. Prayers, again, please. Goodnight all.

We're now at the airport gate awaiting our flight. Boarding in 20 minutes. We'll be at Galapagos before noon.

Mike Youngberg

Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 @ 8:20 pm

Subject: In Galapagos

We are now safely in Galapagos in our hotel. We have visited the waterfall cave, seen giant tortoises, and visited the Darwin center. Picture, soon hopefully. We do have internet, but it's not too fast

Mike Youngberg

Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 @ 1:17 pm

Subject: Mission Trip Update

The week flew by very quickly. We finished our work on Wednesday afternoon. I am so proud of our students for working so hard and getting the job done. The last day of work, the school had a special program for us. It was very emotional to see what they did with the computers that we donated. They made this special video presentation for us that I  am sure you are going to enjoy.

We took the long drive back to Guayaquil on Wednesday evening, slept at the Hampton Inn (no complaints about the beds, showers and breakfast) and flew the next day to the Galapagos.

Now, I know some people were hesitant about our group coming to these Islands, Let me assure you that it is worth every penny. Special thanks to Miryam Castaneda for her encouragment  about coming to visit this place. There are no words to decribe how amazing this place is. It is simply wonderful. Your children were amazed to see the giant turtles, what a sight to see! The clear water and the fish around the bay. We are blessed to be here and this is a wonderful way to end our trip. We just returned from our morning aquatic tour around the bay.

We will worship at the Local Adventist Churhc tomorromow, have a baptism in the afternoon and go on a hike tomorrow. A full day awaits us, Please continue to pray for our safey. We return to Guayaquil on Sunday and will fly home Monday afternoon.

Many of you may have heard that we had a medical situation with one of the sponsors that came on the trip. We praise God that everyone is safe, our planning came in very handy to deal with the situation.As you have heard me say many times, the safety of your child is our highest priority. Our experience and planning is a great help anytime we face any medical inconveniences. Your prayers are deeply appreciated.

Its 2:07 Friday afternoon, its time for lunch. I will keep you informed about our activities here on the beautiful islands of the Galapagos.
May God bless you all.


Pastor Moises Guerrero

Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 @ 8:57 am

Subject: Mission Trip Update

Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2010 @ 12:43 pm

Subject: Mission Trip Update

Great church service today! Robert Hicks preached and Pastor Guerrero translated. Several kids chose to be baptized today---here in the Galapagos. That will happen after lunch. WOW!

Mike Youngberg