A Fantastic Visit

Well, the visit from all my loving support from the States was wonderful. We had a lot of fun just hanging out, and everyone was a great help in the school and around the property. Everyone helped in Learning Center for several days, and several of the men (and Ann!) helped to lay down pavers to continue paving the entrance to the school. That's been a blessing for us here at the Hacienda, as we don't have to walk through the mud in the worst part anymore :)

We were also able to spend a little bit of time in Otavalo and other surrounding towns one day, as well as have a fun evening in Quito on their last night, complete with a nice meal across the street from our hotel room. My grandmother generously paid for myself and Laura to stay in our very nice hotel another night after my group had left. We had a wonderful and relaxing weekend and were able to catch up on some sleep. Thank you again, Nana!

Throughout their stay here, my family/friends were able to love on all the kids, and the kids were able to love on them in return. Art could not go anywhere without several kids hanging all over him. The young ones were especially fascinated by his head :) The students also all greatly enjoyed the chapel that they organized.

We've had some wonderful answers to prayers! We did not have to go a single day missing the three professors we lost! We were able to find and hire four new teachers that started the following school day after the others left. What a blessing! Things are beginning to stabilize in the daily routine of the school as the students settle in and we have more sufficient personnel.  These students have just captured my heart. It's wonderful getting to spend my days with them.

Another answered prayer is the stabilized political situation in the country. After that chaotic day of unrest in Quito, things immediately stabilized and returned to normal, and we've not heard of any problems since then. Praise God!

Last, and certainly not least, is that we had three people join the body of believers two weeks ago! Ms. Elena, who takes care of Justin and Amanda's children during the day, along with her two precious sons, Holger and Juver, was baptized with great celebration. All glory go to God!

We're going to begin putting out a newsletter every month for all those in the States who want to know what is going on. Amanda made and sent out the one for this month, and did a fabulous job! I'm having trouble uploading it here, but let me know if you would like me to email you a copy!

Thank you for the continued prayers and loving support! Blessings!