Malone Service Learning - Ecuador

Sometimes, pictures describe the words we cannot speak.

Today was a great day! My favorite part was getting to celebrate the hard work of the teachers! It was such a fun evening and was truly a blessing!

Today was bitter sweet. Sorry mom and dad but I dont think I am coming back. We said our goodbyes to the children and teachers. They have been such a blessing. I can't even put into words the love and joy they have placed in all of our hearts. Christ is so preset in these lovely people and this school.

Hola! I am having such a great time in Ecuador! I absolutely adore all the children. There has been lots of hugs and kisses. My lessons and acting out The Rainbow Fish book went so well. The 5th graders even wrote their sentences in English! I can't believe we only have two more days left! I'm just having too much fun teaching the children and teachers! I'll tell more stories later! :)

We have had an amazing week so far at Nuevos Amigos! Being an education major, I knew how much fun I would have with the kiddos. They hug and kiss and tell us how much they love us...they melt my heart. But what I wasn't expecting was the joy and excitement we would experience with the teachers. I have had such a fantastic time helping them learn English and rattling my brain trying to remember my four years of high school Spanish. These teachers are beautiful women of God. They have so much patience and love for what they do. We sang the Barney song for them in English and they sang it back to us in Spanish. Please remember to pray for the staff of Nuevos Amigos!

Well, so far this trip has been AMAZING, to say the least. There is no way to adequately describe our experience with words, but it truly has been life changing. We have served and been served, we have taught and learned, and we have loved and been loved. We now have just one more day with the students and teachers of Nuevos Amigos before we say goodbye--something that we are all already dreading. But, our time together has been so great and tomorrow we have the fantastic opportunity to take a small group of children on a field trip  and  thank all the teachers with a dinner on us. So, it is sure to be an amazingly emotional day, and the perfect way to end our time with the wonderful people at Nuevos Amigos.

So today was long.. And tiring. Also, it has been my favorite day so far because not only did we get to teach the kids in the classroom, we also got to teach the teachers English! I want to say so much, but I definitely can't do it all on here. Just know that the day was wonderful, and I cannot wait for tomorrow!

[caption id="attachment_75" align="alignnone" width="640"] Playing at recess with the children was an amazing blessing![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_70" align="alignnone" width="300"] This is what we wake up to every morning.[/caption]

Hola it's Jenny B. here! It's been a crazy day! We had our first full day at Nuevos Amigos and I loooooved it! This is my second year on the trip and it feels like I've never left! The kids are so energetic and happy when they saw us coming! We met with the faculty members and learned about them and the school. Afterwards we made name tags with the kids! Even though there is a language barrier the kids are so understanding and want to communicate with you! I know Spanish and I can feel it all coming back to me! It's awesome! Then we went on our community prayer walk and the mountain was INTENSE! Yes we actually climbed up this crazy steep mountain. The amazing thing is that the people that live here walk up and down it every single day. I'm exhausted and honestly can't wait to go back to the school tomorrow!!!!!

Ecuador is so amazing. I already know when I come back to the states I will be a changed person.

It has been an amazing trip thus far! We had a great experience at church and getting a first look at Nuevos Amigos. I am glad to report that lunch was amazing, having chicken, rice, and beans! We got some much needed sun after that and are now playing Phase 10. Dinner time and some team meetings will follow, and lights out will be early after a late night last night and an early morning this morning! God is already doing amazing things in all of our lives! Please pray for continued safety!   -Hillary PS I did fine on the plane mom and dad :)

Such a chill and relaxing day in Ecuador! It was such a blessing to be able to sit down with members from the church and our wonderful bus driver for lunch! The bus driver was teaching me many new Spanish words and the different sauces I should use with my dish. It was very humbling and encouraging to hear fellow believers speak on their passion for the gospel and the hearts of kids. I am now enjoying a game of Phase10 with friends with some sun on my face! I am ready for all of the awesome opportunities God has planned

Waiting in the airport and arriving at our destinations, I kept reaching for my phone to check the time or communicate with family. However, I did not bring any technology with me to Ecuador. I have realized how much I rely on technology  when walking, waiting, or when I feel like there is nothing to do. I have been going crazy not knowing what time it is, but I have realized that it truly doesn't matter. We'll get where we need to go whenever God wants us there. I might go through withdrawals, but this week will be a refreshing break from something that can be such a distraction my life. I was able to enjoy the beautiful weather today without anything getting in the way! Happy birthday to my Daddy today! Love you! -Kailee

picked up for church at 9:40 and went to churh.  Much of ecuador was already awake setting up sidewalk shops or playing soccer in the parks.  The soccer fields and small playgrounds are really the only open space around.  buildings are right up against the street.  parking on the sidewalk or practically on the road is perfectly okay.  Everything is on a hill.  When you look down from higher elevation you don't even see the roads because of how packed the buildings are together. we got a chance to check out the school before church. Playground would be marked unsafe to use a hundred times over In america.  There is a fence that surrounds the playground area, beyond the fence it drops 20 feet down onto the road church service was done all in Spanish except for the sermon that was interpreted for us by our interpreter Monica. They played lots of songs and prayed a lot.  I speak no Spanish whatsoeveve but was able to recognize "open the eyes of my heart" which is a favorite.

Most of the team is still snoozing, as we didn't arrive at our hostel until nearly 1 in the morning. But thanks be to God for our safe travels and warm welcome from our friends Jim and Jesse. We'll be blowing reveille soon ;-) and enjoying our first meal together in Ecuador before heading out to San Pablo for church at 10:00. It will be our hope to have team members post throughout our trip, and ideally upload some pictures if the wifi here stays on...a bit of a challenge. (it wouldn't hurt any of us to stay unplugged for a week, though!)

I am so excited we made it safely to Houston! The flight was great, flying high in clear blue skies! Ecuador here we come!  :)

We arrived safely in Houston and are grabbing "linner" at a restaurant aptly called, "Bubba's."  We  leave for Quito a little after 5 in Canton time. next stop: Ecuador!

We are excitedly awaiting the first leg of our journey to Quito.  The volume and energy in our corner of the gate at Hopkins has others around us wondering what's so special about us!  WE know....and we hope it shows! We should be in Houston by 2:30 and then a couple hour layover until we board the l-o-n-g flight to Ecuador.  By the time we get to our hostel it will be 1:00 Sunday morning.  It will be fun to see everyone waking up for church on Sunday....IN ECUADOR! Many thanks to everyone for the wonderful send-off and for the prayers! Here we go!    

I can't believe that we leave tomorrow! I have been thinking about this trip since May of 2012 and it is amazing that my dream became a reality! Please pray for my team and I as we head to Houston, Texas tomorrow, and then from there to Quito, Ecuador! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us!