It has been a great three months

This post is more of an announcement.

This past Tuesday made it three months since I've been volunteering with Extreme Response at Por Amor Foundation. God has done great things. It has been awesome to see Him at work. It wasn't always easy for me, but God has taught me so much and He has transformed me. I'm a different woman, now.

As many of you know, originally, my plans were not to come to Ecuador. I wanted to go to either Africa or China, but God didn't give me peace about it. The opportunity to come to Ecuador came and God made it clear that this is where He wanted me. When I came to Ecuador for the first time in October of last year, our mission team's eyes were opened to a hard reality. There is a great need for a ministry to reach out to children who work in the fields in the town of Paute. One afternoon, a few of the team members and a few locals sat down and talked about how awesome it would be to start a ministry that would help abandoned, orphan, and working street kids. It sounded pretty, but it was just that a dream.

Seven months after that conversation, I find myself making a trip to Ecuador in order to serve as a volunteer at a children's home. My idea for coming is to serve and at the same time to research. I wanted to see what it takes to run a children's home while helping out at the same time. I worked at Por Amor Foundation helping with the children at them home, helping the work teams that have come, taught a bible club, taught English at the local elementary and High School.

The month of July was coming to an end, when I felt that the Lord was leading me in another direction. For some reason, I felt that it was time to go to Paute. My original plan was to go to Paute Sept 5th and help the church there for a month, yet I started to feel that God wanted me there before. At first, I didn't understand, but God gave me peace about making that decision. I continued to pray and called the church in Paute. They asked me to come and help them for those two months. There, I will be working with the youth group especially with girls. The idea is to start a girls bible study and leave someone who would lead it after I go back to the States. I will also be helping with church activities, and evangelism. I am looking forward to what God has for me to do there.

The decision of leaving Manta and the orphanage was hard. I love the children and the people I work with, and I will miss them, but it is exciting to see God continue to change my plans. It's not about my plans anyway. It's about Him! I just have to be obedient.

I actually left the orphanage last Wednesday August 5th. Since then, I have spent time shadowing Pearl Jackson. She is the administrator of the Foundation. This past week, two new girls were admitted into the home. I had the opportunity to witness the admittion process and what it all takes. I have been to the children's police (kinda like DSS, I think) and to the judge and doctors who had to examine the girls, etc. It has been crazy, but very cool at the same time. I have been to countless meetings with people in the community to help the foundation, the hospital, and I even met with the Manta mayor. It takes so much to run a place like this. Please keep the Jackson family in your prayers.

I don't know what God has for me in the future as far as a ministry like this is concerned, but I know that I will continue to do research in Paute about what the needs are and what it would take to start a children's ministry there. Pray for God to continue to lead me and pray that I am willing to allow Him to lead. I want His will for my life not my own.

So, here I go. I leave for Paute tomorrow, Friday 14 of August. I am excited about it! Just pray that God will prepare the hearts of those I will be ministering to and continue to pray for me.

Thanks for all the support and prayer! I can see God answering!

Love,
Raquel

Mommy for 9 days!!! AHHHH!!!

As part of my schedule as a volunteer at Por Amor Foundation, every other weekend, I join a local mission team from a church in Manta. We go to a town really close to the the Foundation called San Lorenzo on Saturdays from 930am-4pm, and Sundays we go to the countryside to a place called El Mocoral. This mission team is working on cell groups and children's bible club to share the Gospel and start a church plant in those places. God has given me some great opportunities to share the Gospel to people there. I have mainly helped with giving bible stories and helping with the crafts for the kids, but the Lord has also allowed me share with the parents about Him. It's been really awesome!

I get back from a great weekend. I arrived on Monday morning and find that the house mom of the house where I stay is not home. I ask what's going on and they give me the sad news that Nehemias, Pepe and Karen (the house parents) son is in the hospital with pneumonia. He had to be admitted into the hospital and was there for one week. The baby and mom had to stay in Manta for a few extra days because they were afraid Nehemias was allergic to something in the house. So, it was Hillary (another volunteer who was here for a month), Karina (the girl that comes and helps with housekeeping), and I who were in charge of the children. Pepe would dropped by occasionally and come home to sleep but he also spent most of his time at the hospital with the baby.

Needless to say, my role in the house changed. I was no longer only the fun tia who would get the board games out and watch movies with them. I had to set my foot down and become the disciplinarian who would make sure things are getting done. You have probably heard your parents say to you, "this hurts me more than it hurts you" before they would spank you or put ground you, and most likely you thought just like I did, "Yeah, right!." Well, let me let you in a secret. My parents and your parents are RIGHT! I did not spank anyone, though I wanted to at times, but I did have to put kids in time out and take away privileges. It was hard for me. I love to be loved so having to be a disciplinarian was no fun. They looked at me different, and honestly, I didn't like it. Kids are interesting though. They respect authority, but at the same time, they will test their limits and try to get away with whatever they can get away with. For example:

There is an understood rule at the house about food: You are to eat everything you get served. Well, that didn't happen, and not only that, but they were also asking Karina and I (who were making the meals) to make their favorite foods. The first couple of days, we let them have their way, but soon realized that somehow the roles were switching and we were doing what they wanted not the other way around. Hmm, I've got so much to learn about parenthood.

Also, homework was not getting done completely and the chores, yeah right! So, I found myself in a very hard situation. I had to sit them down and have a talk. It was not pleasant at first, but they seem to understand and began to behave better. My relationship with my 7 children changed. I earned their respect and that felt good. We started to communicate better, too. I didn't have to yell as much and they begin to do better. I was pretty proud of myself until the day before mom came home. For some reason, it seems like all of them started to rebel at the same time. The girls were arguing over who would shower last. Usually, they fight over who will get in the shower first, but that day they argument was the opposite. I don't get it! Leiton was whining because I didn't let him use a big knife to peel an orange. Alex would not talk to me, and Justin was crying. So, I did what any other mother would do, get in a corner in the hallway and cry my eyes out. Nick and Hillary (the other volunteers) came to my rescue and pat me on the shoulder as I cried. I went back and talked to the girls first and then with the boys and all of them apologized to me. That was sweet! It was hard, but I guess I'm getting so parenthood training.

On a glorious Tuesday afternoon, mom and dad returned home! I was relieved and had never felt happier to see Pepe and Karen. It was cool to see the kids excited to see their parents back and the baby come home healthy. It was a great moment.

So, during that week, I experienced what being a mom is like. A single mom for that matter. It was HARD! but rewarding at the same time. A mother of 7 children ages 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10. One thing is for sure: Yes, I want to be a mother in the future, but I think 3 children would be my max. Maybe 4!

Raquel

Happy Birthday Alex?

I wake up on the beautiful Tuesday morning; it was an unusually sunny day at this time of year in Pacoche, Ecuador. It was a normal work day. A work team from Detroit, Michigan in working on building a wall on that week, so I was getting my boots on to go lay some bricks with the team while the kids were in school. I had read our monthly calender the day before, and it said that is was Alex birthday. I asked Alex's oldest sisters Yamileth and Brenda and they said it wasn't his birthday. Ok, maybe they have the wrong date in the calender. Then, I asked Susan, the missionary who oversees what volunteers do, and she confirmed that indeed it was his birthday. I come downstairs to have breakfast with the kids and scream a loud and overentuthiastic HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX! when everyone just looked at me and said "Tia, we told you already: It's no one's birthday" I didn't pay much attention to that and ate breakfast and saw the kids leave for school. Then my work as a construction worker began. It was an interesting day, especially because the Maestro or construction expert, knocked down one whole row I built because it was not done right. Oh well, I tried! lol. And I have earned a respect for construction workers. That is hard work.

After lunch, I am summoned to Paul and Susan's house to work on some preparations for the birthday party we would have for Alex later on. At this time, I was just confused! Is it Alex birthday or is it not? That was still a mistery, yet we made a banner for him and had cake and games ready for the celebration. At about 4pm, the celebration began. It was lots of fun! The kids and adults played musical squares (drawn on the ground with chalk) and other fun games. Alex and everyone had a great time. Then, it was time to have some cake, but before then, we sang about 5 different birthday songs including the traditional "happy birthday to you" both in Spanish and in English. And of course, you cannot forget the traditional Ecuadorian biting of the cake. It was great and Alex was a very happy kid.

It really was Alex's birthday; he just didn't know it. This was Alex's first birthday celebration ever and after that he finally learned when his birthday is. After talking about the birthday confusion with Susan, she explained to me that non of these children know their birthday and that prior to coming most of them had never celebrated a birthday. Leiton, our hyper and sweet 9 year old, took advantange of birthday confusion and made everyone believe that his birthday was in March when it really was in April so he had two birthday celebrations this year. He was making up for lost time.

It was really fun to see Alex smile as much as he did and being so happy to have all the attention that day. I have celebrated most of my birthdays in my life. Birthdays are special for me. It made me happy to be able to be part of Alex first birhtday celebration. He's is 7 now.