Jake and Tanya Wilson are leaving Ecuador after 5 years of serving as the directors at the Hacienda of Hope Christian Academy. Jerica and I host a goodbye party for them and their close friends. We have the party at the camp. It is a cookout. Following the meal, we have a time to share our thanks and words of encouragement as they embark on a new phase of life.
I get a few more days of lessons in with the boys before the next groups arrive. In addition, I am prepping for upcoming groups and continuing to work on our taxes. The after-school program is still in session until mid-June, and we are getting ready for our end-of-the-year events, including the final parent night and the field trip. A school group has their end-of-the-year dinner at camp.
Rusty travels into Quito one Saturday to help with a "minga" (community work project) at the Pisulí Church of Christ. The church is putting in a set of exterior stairs to make their recently completed meeting room more accessible. He also travels down to Pujilí to meet with the Christians there in preparation for the prison ministry conference that we will be doing with the Family Mission Trip at the end of the month.
Jake and Tanya leave Ecuador on June 13th. We have agreed to take Chiquito, their Great Dane, and give him a home with us at the camp. We bring them dinner on their last night, and then Rusty takes them to the airport. Adios, amigos!
June 14th is the final day for the After School Program until next school year! We finish out the year with an end-of-the-year parent night. Each class sings a song in Spanish and in English. After the program, we serve a snack and offer early sign-ups for next year.
The following day, our two EQEB interns, Jenny and Daniela, arrive. They will spend the next six weeks gaining some practical ministry experience by helping the camp. This is our third year to have interns from the Bible college. We enjoy having them, and they are a big help during some of our busiest weeks. Maranda, a friend from the US, also arrives. She plans to spend the next couple of weeks helping out at the camp as well.
We like to finish out each school year by planning a field trip for all the kids in the After School Program. This year, we have planned to take them all to the zoo on Saturday, June 16th. We spend a fun day with the kids seeing the animals and having a picnic. For many of these kids, it is their first time to visit the zoo.
A dental team from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center arrives late Saturday night. This is a group of dentistry students and a few professors / practicing dentists. This is their third year to come to Ecuador, and we love having them. They are a very professional and hard-working bunch. They will spend the next few days doing dental clinics both at the camp and a few off-site locations.
Two days later, another U.S. group arrives at the camp. Then two days after that, a small team of 3 teachers arrives to do some projects at the school and in some of the community schools. One of their projects is a mini teachers' retreat, which is held at the camp. It is a lot to juggle all at once, but we manage.
On Sunday, June 24th, I go to church at Pisulí while Rusty stays home to help take care of our remaining groups. Syndi and I have planned a baby shower for Veronica, the wife of one of the church leaders, which is held immediately following the service. I bring a cake, and we play silly games and have a time of sharing.
We get a few days in between this last batch of summer groups and the Family Mission Trip. Preparations are in full swing -- there is food to buy, housing and a million other details to figure out. Maranda decides to leave a few days early due to some family concerns at home.
The Family Mission Trip participants arrive late on Thursday night, June 28th. We spend Friday morning in orientation meetings. Rusty takes them to Otavalo on Friday afternoon to shop at the artisans' market. Saturday is "special project day." A small group does some painting at the church in Cayambe. There is also an all-day medical clinic at the camp and a prison ministry conference at the church in Pujilí, and preparations are being made for the camp's VBS starting on Monday.
And here are a few photos from June (clockwise from top left):
- Decorating the auditorium for VBS
- Prison ministry conference at the Pujilí Church of Christ
- Farewell to Jake and Tanya Wilson
- Quito zoo with the After School Program
- Dental team hard at work seeing patients
- Packing meds for the medical clinics
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