weekend, and football, american style!

Hey all,

i had a great weekend filled with adventures in Ecuador, and more ministry opportunities!

a bunch of friends and i went to Papallacta....if you remember, i've been there before, but considering i get in free (with my HCJB id) i was up for another trip to the hotsprings. it was sort of a little reunion for Kara, Bonnie, and i. Bonnie's been posted out in Shell until the end of November but she returned back to Quito to hang out with the gals for the weekend. it was a relaxing Saturday.

Sunday was another wonderful day! i went to church at English Fellowship Church for some spiritual food in english, and was given an opportunity to FINALLY help out at Pan de Vida. you guys remember way back when, when i was planning on coming to Ecuador, i said i'd be involved in HCJB in the Internet Ministries Dept, Extreme Response at the Quito Dump AND Pan de Vida? well, it's taken up till NOW to get in contact with Oscar, the head guy of Pan de Vida. long story short, there were some major communications issues between me and him and we never got in contact with each other until yesterday...yipee!! well, Pan de Vida is basically the equivalent of a soup kitchen back home. they've just recently moved into a new house across the street from English Fellowship and have been working on renovations. i got there, and instantly fell in love with the ministry, and the people there. these four kids found me and got super attached right away! there was a short sermon, then the people got to eat sandwiches, chocolate milk, fruit salad, and a lollipop. hey, i fed another kid :) i think im getting used to this. i had a meeting with Oscar today to see how i could get involved in the short time remaining here (trying to hold back my tears...) and he said that they really wanna get a website up....WAHOO!!! my face lit up and i'll be starting up yet another site! oh man, i think i was giddy in his office as we were talking bout stuff to go on the web.... did i mention that i LOVE my job in the web department?? my job is to help mobilize organizations that wouldn't otherwise be known and give them an identity on the net. one of their hugest supporters and partners is Samaritan's Purse in CANADA!!! so with the site up, and tech stuff in the background, we'll be able to get the word out about Pan de Vida, and hopefully get people to come help, give, pray, and support this amazing ministry. Oscar went to school in the states and has a masters degree in both economics and some sort of business marketing thing. and with all that education, he's completely convinced that THIS is God's call on his life...to help his less fortunate fellow brothers and sisters in Ecuador. truly inspirational.

i was pretty beat when i got home around 1pm. i had barely slept the nite before cos my bro Cristhian had a rap party...ON THE PATIO RIGHT OUTSIDE MY ROOM till 4am. yah...but it was really good rapping in spanish...i didn't know whether to stay up and listen, or to try and sleep. thankfully the music stopped around 4am...after having been awake since 3am. anyways...after a short nap and lunch, we headed off to Uncle Edwin's house in La Armenia Valle - a valley...and hung out with the rest of the huge family, as always. things got interesting at nite, when Gaby and Cristhian were teaching me salsa. little cousin Dominique (12) was teaching me too. man, latins can move their hips in a way that i just can't. it was so much fun though! we had quite a workout, and sooner or later, my mom was dancing with us too. yah, it was a good ol' dance fest in the valley.

with these experiences, the big trips, the ministry opportunities, and just plain ol' silliness with my family, this is exactly how Ecuador has found a place in my heart, and continues to with each day i am here. hey, maybe you guys can start praying ahead of time...that God would prepare my heart for re-entry back into Canada. not just the cultural differences, but that i would be reminded that God can and will work thru me back home in Canada to make a difference for Him....no matter where i am.

some pics, it's been awhile.



left to right: Kara, Paul, Bonnie, Rony, and me!



me, and two girls from Pan de Vida.

also, this afternoon we had our practice for the Turkey Bowl. did i mention this yet? im playing in an American Football tournament on Oct. 29. so yeah...you need a minimum of 2 girls on a team of 15...but only 7 people showed up for practice during the lunch hour and i was the only guy playing with men 35 and older! after James gave me the run down on how to actually play football, i got to try it out for real on the field. and while i do laps 2-3 times a week here, i used muscles today that i didn't even know that i had. running laps and building stamina is quite different than sprinting, and killing your muscles. wish i could lift some weights, but i'll just tough it out for now. american football is fun...AND i caught the ball twice ... the first time i forgot to keep running though...cos i was so excited that i caught it. and the second time, i ran like Forrest Gump!

yeah, good times.

dL