certainly a week to remember

The week started at 9 last thrusday morning atanding outside a outfitting g service in Quito. I was supposed to show up early for an appointment at 10 so I could get fitted for my gear. They showed up at 9:50 am so I guess they were only 50 minutes late so on time by Ecuadorian standards. I then got my gear in order and paid up with the manager. Hopped in a bus with our three guides and my other four companions. One was a Swiss guy who was 27 and the other three were older Germans. We drove up to the parking lot about 300 yards from the refuge. We put on our heavy gear and strapped on backpacks. The wind was unstabling with sleet coming in sheets. The 300 yards is steep and a lot longer than it seems. We made it to the refugio at 15,900 feet around 3 in the afternoon. The Swiss guy and I were going to be partners the next day for the climb and got debriefed on proper use of crampons, ice axe, and safety ropes. We got dinner at 5:30 and at this time the weather had changed to clear skies. Got to bed early around 6:30 pm with all my stuff ready to go for the next morning. The room was full of triple high bunks, full of people, and very cold. I managed to squeeze in about 2 hours of sleep until wake up time at 11:30 pm. Grabbed a quick breakfast and suited up. Walked about 20 minutes to the start of the glacier in the pitch black darkness only seeing the path by headlamp. We roped up to our guide Jose and put on our crampons. Jose led the way followed by Tobias, the Swiss guy, then me leading the caboose. We hiked like this up incredibly steep ice paths where side stepping was the only option for traction. We hiked over crevasses and wind swept ridges. We could see the distant lights of Quito indicating no clouds and good weather. The stars were brilliant and a good omen for the climb. At about 4 am, my partner got really bad altitude sickness and would have to go back in fear of worse illness past nausea. After regressing about 200 yards, I was able to join another guide because he only had one climber attached. It was the older German gentleman from our group named Peter. We went a bit slower but it looked like we would still be able to reach the summit. At this point, the cold was really starting to get to me. My nose was frozen and ice was forming on my mustache. I couldn't feel my right hand very well so I took a look and it was beginning to turn darker towards black. I called for a break and put my hand in the warmest place I could think. Ill spare the details. We then headed up an ice wall using the ice axe to climb the last 50 meters. We had hit the summit at 6:30 am just as the sun was rising. Ill never forget the views above the whispy clouds of the surrounding mountiains. The best way to describe it is to imagine looking out a plane window but instead of a small hole its a panorama with a large crater. We then descended back down with aching quads back down the mountain past sulfur fumes and cliffs we could now see. We got back to the refugio at 9 am having completed a successful summit. That day I climbed the volcano Cotopaxi which is the 3rd highest active volcano in the world and 2nd highest point in Ecuador. It stands at 19,347 feet and towers over the surrounding landscape. Truly one of the most exhausting and rewarding things ive ever done in my life. I thank God for great weather (no one had summitted the previous week), strength for the journey, lack of any altitude sickness, and the opportunity to embrace his beautiful creation in a manner only a few will ever experience. It wouldn't be a good adventure if there wasn't a little blood ay? On the way down from the refugio, I was chasing a mitten an older man had dropped that was probably worth 40 or 50 bucks. I slipped on some gravel and fell about 12 feet onto more loose gravel. I got some pretty nasty cuts on my hands and legs but nothing broken and the mitten was found! About 4 hours later, I found myself coated in dry sweat, exhausted, and sleepy at the doors of the Santiago church in Quito. I was meeting a team there to head out into the jungle for a short mission trip. The team was half ecuadorians and half Koreans from Orlando. I showered up in an old shower in the back of the church which had windows to the main hallway. This meant a lot of awkward eye contact with people from the Korean team whom I had only briefly met. This got the ball rolling and comfortability around each other off to a good start :) we then got on the school bus they had rented and headed out for a night trip to the jungle. We got in at around 2 am to a town called lumbaqui which is near the beginning of the jungle. Caught a few hours of sleep then woke up to head out to a remote village near Cabeno. This was the sight of a tragedy a few years ago where a young man from their church past away drowning in the river during a leisure swim. The church has been coming back ever since ti co Timur to work he started reaching out to these unreached people groups. We took a canoe across this river to the village on the other side. We ran a small VBS and handed out we needed clothes. We were the typical Americans giving out handouts. We were being led by a local missionary who is able to follow up with these tribes so I guess that is better than what it could be. This is not how I would do missions but hey this wasn't my trip to lead. We saw lots of bamboo houses propped up on stilts around small plots of workable land. We then headed to Puerto libre. There we had 6 baptisms and a church service with lots of Korean style prayer over the believers and new believers in this village. It was amazing and a little surreal. I really felt God putting on my heart that even though I'm a sinner and certainly not the best follower of Christ, God uses me too and I should be praying openly for these people and walk up to them and pray with them. I usually let the "better " Christians do that stuff but I realized that God uses everyone particularly the weak like me so why not just jump in all out for Him? We got 6 hours of sleep about every night and headed out to the next place in the morning. We were heading to Lago Agrio for a church service. We worahipped in the hot sun in front of someones house while chickens and ducks ran beneath our feet. This was the real church. The people here knew that church was the believers not the building. They had it right from the get go. Something about singing in the hot sun makes the pain and suffering of Jesus that we so often sing about a little more real. It was uncomfortable but that's the way it should be. Next stop after worship was a village called Charupi about 2 hours deeper into the amazon past lago agrio. This area has been unreached since missionaries pulled out in the 1980s. When we arrived, we found out we were gong to be monitored by local police to make sure nothing got ugly. We showed up to about a 100 people in a few small buildings. I felt a bit strange here more than others as they face us normal greetings in Spanish and didn't really smile or make us feel welcome. This was probably the first time these people had really got the lowdown on who Christ was. We did the normal VBS for the kids but the men wanted to have a legit futbol game. They brought their uniformed team out and had a referee out on this muddy tall grass field. We brought a bunch of Koreans who don't play, me, and our bus driver Carlos. Needless to say, we got hit hard. 4 to 1. But after the game we took pictures of us in our church clothes and the uniformed team intermingled out in the middle of nowhere. We shared Cola (nothing says good game like a sugary dehydrating beverage) and I saw hard faces beginning to smile. I think the futbol game did more than anything else we said or did to soften their hearts to God. None of them may be believers now but hopefully the seed has been planted and the team will return again next year and the missionary will stay in contact. An unreached group has now been reached and that's pretty amazing. Next day we headed to a place called Dashino. The year before the village was hostile towards the gospel and the group. They resisted any form of worship and stole from many backpacks. They only wanted the free handouts and nothing more. This year we walked in and were immediately welcomed by leaders of the community. That day children were running around laughing in VBS and people were being prayed for as they went I to the dentists chair. I worked to translate for a dentist who had cone down with the team and was doing primitive dental work for these people. He was pulling out rotten teeth and filling in huge cavities. I saw more than one tooth disintegrate as the dentist pulled it out leaving him to dig our he fragments from the bloody hole where the tooth was. It was so cool and people were starting to open io a little more in the prayer time before any procedure. It was really cool. We saw one family get baptised in the river and commit ti starting a house church for the village. We had a church service took communion with a few believers in the communiy. The Korean team couldn't believe this was the same village from before. God had truly come ti work and change lives in Dashino. I pray only more growth would come to Dashino and people would come to know the Lord and all He has in store for them. That day I are a tilapia from the river cooked in a leaf and a Japanese Korean curry over rice in the evening pretty cool I think. We then headed back to the hotel for the night. The leader of the trip had lost $500 that day in Dashino to pay for the hotel rooms. It looked like some people of Dashino really hadn't changed as it was taken from a backpack on the bus. We woke up the next morning to the desk clerk telling us that the $500 was returned that evening. This was such a relief not only for the money but for the peoples hearts in the village. That morning I headed out with the people from Santiago church to return to Quito. The team was going to stay 2 days more to visit a tribe for half a day but to also do touristy things on the way out. The road we took was riddled with mudslides and car wrecks all the way to Quito. It was a miracle we didn't hit more traffic or something worse. This area has been having unseasonably high rainfall causing really precarious conditions for driving. That ks be to God we returned safely. I found out yesterday that the team got stuck by a landslide and missed their flights back. They only made it out today after an extra 1.5 days of waiting. At least they made it out safe and are now returning home. One after thought I had tron the trip was the lack of unity from the two teams (Santiago and Korean) . Yes there is a language barrior but that shouldn't prevent anything. The Santiago team refused to participate in reflection or sharing team and instead went to bed early. They didn't eat meals together and never sat on the bus with the Koreans. They were supposed to be partner churches for Pete's sake. We had plenty of translaters to help but they weren't willing to get outside there comfort zone. It was really disappointing and embarrassing. I ended up in the middle of the two but certainly liked the attitude of the Koreans better. I even asked why they don't mix and asked if they would do it in the future. They said only the language. That is a lame reason. Ive been through into hundreds of awkward uncomfortable situations by these same people during my time here and that's why ive grown so much! It seems a little hypocritical if you ask me. Needless to say I wasn't pleased with then. My roommate for the week was really funny though. He was about 60 and really quirky. He wore heavy cotton long sleeve long pant pajamas to bed every night and was uncomfortable with the heat and humidity. I think I see the problem. He also watched really weird TV shows like ids American idol Ecuador and documentaries on Pluto late into the night. One night the electricity cut out mid shower for me so I finished up and headed to bed. He woke up a minute later delirious and stumbled to the bathroom. He sat there flipping the light switch on and off confused as ti what had happened. I told him the power went out and he responded with a puzzled look then a slight bit of anger. He thought I had purposefully cut the power and he demanded I turn it back on. I told him it wasn't me and chuckled as he grumbled during his midnight dark bathroom break. Just a funny guy that Andres. All in all, I learner a lot over this lat week about myself, God, Korean culture, the transcendence of the gospel, and just how important mission work really is. I still think to shout and scream of joy that a few new believers are now following Jesus and ill get to meet them again for eternity. Conversions are not numbers to validate the cost of a mission trip or supporting mission organizations or people. They are at the core of our calling in this world. I need to work harder, we need to work harderto spread the love of Christ. One seed planted in the name of God is worth any price. I don't think money even comes close to the importance of even one new Christian. This trip helped me learn just how awesome and joyful a new believer should be! Thanks for bearing with this long story. Be whimsical be bold be generous be kind. Stay strong my friends back home blessings

The Grand Tour

This last week, we traveled around the country viewing quite a bit. Went through town called mindo which is world renowned for its bird watching. Did some waterfall hikes and went ziplining. Saw that the women's world cup ended rather favorably for the US. Then went to atacames which is a crazy beach town with a big party scene. Its a common Ecuadorian vacation spot and not many gringos go there. We then headed down to a small surf town called Canoa. It was super chill and beautiful. Bought shawarma out of a truck which turned out to be really good. Waves are always big and beach is gorgeous. My favorite stop this week. We then headed to isla corazon and took a tour through the mangroves to see lots of the frigate birds that pass through this area. Saw Magnificant Frigatebirds and tons of others that stop by to mate. We then headed to the camp again in Santos Domingo for a night. Nice to see some familiar faces again. We then headed to Banos again. My host dad got pulled over for going 30km over the speed limit. Cop threatened to put him in jail for 3 days and impound the car and a months wages. He was strong arming looking for a bribe for himself. They then let him go for nothing because they didn't have any evidence. Slight corruption if you ask me. We hiked to a huge waterfall and was able to go underneath it. Visited puyo to go to a monkey refuge where we could pet and play with them. Also got to visit nate saints house in shell where Jim Elliot's headquarters were. Got really sick and threw up all over the hostel hallway because I couldnt get our key to work. All in all a fun trip. We traveled with a new volunteer named Jess who brought a fresh perspective and new look at issues and Ecuadorian life. I wouldn't say this was a particularly challenging week but a good way to get a nice overall view of Ecuador by travelling to all these places in a short amount of time. The police situation was eye opening for me. Joel could have simply given the guy $20 and we would have been on our way with no hassle but he did the right thing. Admitting that he was in the wrong and not giving a bribe. The frustrating thing really is that these policeman recently got a double in salary by the government and really don't need the bribes. Also because they sit around and do speed traps, a lot of the time they aren't doing anything productive like stopping worse crimes. Joel reminded me to be patient and stay firm to the truth. I think about how hard it is to stay away from these easy ways out commonly found in sin. That is something that God has certainly been pounding into my head pounding into my head throughout the trip. Following Jesus isn't the easy way through life but the most rewarding. Boy too much to talk about this week. Got sick again from some sketchy Chinese food. Classic! Thursday I go to climb Cotopaxi then immediately head for the jungle with a team from Orlando.should have plenty to talk about after that. Blessings and thanks for reading

youre in kichwa country now boy!

This week has been one of many adventures, challenging experiences, surreal images, and encounters with the radical love that only Christ envokes. My week started on Monday morning at 10 am outside a church in cayambe. We loaded up three pickups with as many clothes, food, blankets, and mattresses as they could hold. Then we took the 1.5 hour winding road through the mountains to oyacachi, a distant remote village situated right in the middle of kichwa country which is an indigenous group in ecuador. This village was recently hit last Friday by a devastating landslide which destroyed over 25 homes and ruined much of the economy in trout farms and artisan workshops. Over 100 people have no homes or work which may not sound like a lot of people but they have nowhere to turn being located in a remote village. Our trucks brought materials that these people desperately needed. People swarmed the trucks and we distributed the goods to people waiting with desperate arms in muddy streets. It was incredibly humbling to say the least. We watched as the 100 or so people lined up with half a two liter bottle or old bowl they found in anticipation of a lunch being served from giant caldrons. It was something you see on commercials or movies but this was happening right here. I got a chance to talk with some people and often times they were smiling and laughing. They were grateful for just an extra set of clothes and food for the week. They talked about the ways God was already at work to restore the village physically and spiritually. They didn't complain about what they had lost or how long they would live without a home. Taught me a lesson on optimism for sure and truly trusting God. Houses were strewn everywhere typically just a roof or a wall. Check out the facebook page for covenant world relief for some pics and also the Santiago partnership. I worked there doing these things on Tuesday and Thursday as well. Working with various other local church's near cayambe who don't have much but give generously to these people. The church dropped work dropped chores dropped life for a few days to give and work for these people. I asked myself how many people would drop everything to help out another community in the States. I would like to think some but I really don't know. It was inspiring to see these people taking their faith seriously and truly putting it as the first priority. I could certainly do more. On Wednesday I worked at the medical clinic with Kim and played futbol with some kids at the local field. Friday I went to Otavalo which is close to cayambe and well known for its expansive market. It was really cool to wonder among artisan stands and meat shops wig Anthony you could possibly image inside an animal for sale. I met some cool Swedish people who were also staying with the host family I was staying with, pastor Jose. Some other experiences throughout the week: on Tuesday, we were driving back from oyacachi and I was talking with some of the guys who were in my truck. The leader of the kichwa district and a director of the covenant church and I were talking when the car started moving right like the covenant director did many times to avoid rocks but this time we kept moving right. All of a sudden we collided with a huge rock turned parallel to the road hit another huge rock and returned back to the road. The driver had fallen asleep mid conversation and we nearly died. If we had been about 6 feet back we would have shot a gap over the cliff into the river below. The only injuries were bruises and neck pain from whiplash for the directors wife. The car had a seriously busted up radiator but was functional none the less. :he directors name is Rolando and he is a good friend of mine. Hes an amazing man and had gotten only a few hours of sleep because he was collecting materials from various churches. Im not mad at all and very thankful for God putting that rock there. Definitely said many prayers of gratitude after the experience. On Wednesday, I went down the valley behind the house of the host family with a friend. There were no trails but it was fun avoiding creeks and cows along the way. I was walking along a small ledge when the ground gave out and I slid down into a thornbush. No major injuries but bloddy legs. These are the kind of adventure I love. A little danger no agenda just exploration. It was incredibly cool and fun to hop stones in the creek through the valley. On Friday, I climbed up the nearby loma or big hill/ small mountain. I climbed with my two swedish friends and one the daughters of the host family. We climbed through farmers fields, jumped creeks, hitchhiked when we could, and climbed a few fences. Not strictly legal but whimsical! And when we reached the top, we could see across the whole valley behind leading up to a the snow covered volcano cayambe as the sun set showing brilliant shades of orange and red. A truly incredible show put on by the One who made it all. This week has been full and amazing. I cant image a more beautiful week of Gods love and people living for Christ. I saw disaster up close but the more moving piece was certainly the hope found only in Jesus. Jesus plus nothing! Thanks for reading and I apologize for kinked autocorrect. Funny moment: the pope is coming to Quito on Monday. I was talking about how 1.5 million people were coming to see him. I was discussing the traffic rules and I said la papa which means potato not el papa which is the pope. The family cracked up for a good 10 minutes before explaining my mistake. So remember when the potato comes to your hometown "there are gonna be a lot of goofy traffic rules :)