Malone Service Learning - Ecuador

Welp! Today is our last day in Quito, Ecuador. We are getting ready to head to the airport in just a couple of hours. Today was bittersweet. The children from Nuevos Amigos performed a goodbye program for us. It was amazing! We sat in the middle of the church while each grade came up one at a time to perform. The children were adorable. They danced to songs, did a human video, and sang for us. At the end of the program, every single student stood in line to give all nine of us a hug and kiss on the cheek! Many of us cried. I tried so hard not to cry, to just be strong, and say goodbye to each child. Then one of the students that I was privileged to teach these last couple of days, said, “Chao, Tia Kristina!” And he held on to me so tightly. It was so meaningful and authentic. I could tell that he truly did care and was sad that I had to leave. That was when I started tearing up. I have really enjoyed this week. It has been heartwarming, heart changing, and (today especially) heart brea...

Hola everyone! I am writing from our 5 th day in Quito!  It’s unbelievable that we will be returning  back to the United States late  tomorrow night already. This trip came and went so quickly, and I sure am going to miss everything about this place. Today, we taught our second day of lessons at the school with our assigned grades. I think it is safe to say we all felt a little more comfortable in front of the class today! As always, recess was a blast! You have never really experienced a real recess until you’re sprinting up and down steep hills and stairs, trying to avoid the super fast kids of Quito (who are faster than you, even in their school uniforms :) ). As soon as we enter the school, it’s an immediate sense of belonging and warm welcomes, by both the children and faculty. The love that we all experience with the people of Ecuador is so overwhelming, and it is clearly a gift from God. We are all recognizing and thanking our Savior every day for this wonderful opportunity to ...

Hola! We are having an awesome time here in Quito, Ecuador! (Also, I'm starting to think in Spanish, so...here we are.) Today was our first day teaching in the school, and oh boy was it eventful! We had been pre-assigned to three groups and prepared inquiry-based science lessons prior to coming on the trip. Arriving in the classrooms, we came in with it all planned out. However, we are quickly learning that God doesn't care so much for our plans, especially here in Ecuador, so we put our trust completely in Him! Many of us adjusted our plans as we went and talked with the students and teachers through the translator, but all involved had a great time! I loved seeing the students' faces light up as they discovered new concepts and learned in brand new ways, and it was so satisfying! (p.s. This was each of our first times teaching a full day, and we taught internationally!) We also did a professional development meeting with the teachers, and I felt just as much satisfaction ...

Buenos Dias! Day “tres” in Ecuador has been quite the adventure. We conducted day two of our VBS with the kids of the Nuevos Amigos community. I had a blast singing worship song with the kids. Most were in Spanish, but the San Pablo Youth tried out singing a few songs in English. We also played games that had the kids laughing and screaming, and we made bead bracelets and necklaces, which happen to be the perfect adornment for my wrist. We also were able to go to “La Mida del Mundo”, the Center of the World, which was the equator line. We had a small tour about some historical aspects of Ecuador, such as gigantic spiders and snakes in the jungle or some of the native tribes. We also watched how the water swirls in different directions on the Northern and Southern hemisphere, and a few of us tried to balance an egg on the equator line. Tomorrow we start teaching in the classes at Nuevos Amigos' school Rey Sabio Salomon, and I cannot wait to meet the teachers and all the kids. -Jaime...

Hola! Today we woke up to an overcast city..but warmer temperatures than at home! After breakfast and morning devotions, we met the youth group at the church and set up for ourVBS games and crafts. At first not many children showed up for the day so we got to go out into the community in groups of 2-3 people to get more children involved. This was very interesting and exciting because we got to see our San Pablo friends in their community...see their way of living from their shoes. We actually got many children to come to VBS and had a blast with our games and crafts. The children really seemed to enjoy what we had planned for them and it was great to interact and come together. After VBS we got to take a bus ride with the youth group, going to an overlook with a beautiful view and sharing a wonderful lunch! The bus ride was fun and despite the language barriers, we got along great...singing and talking about our likes and dislikes. I cannot wait for tomorrow to see what God has planne...

Well here we are!! We landed safe and sound around 12:00 last night and didn't get to our rooms until about 2:00am. We were all exhausted from all the traveling and extremely long day of flying. We woke up this morning to a gorgeous view overlooking the city and mountains and that's when the reality sunk in that we were in ECUADOR!! The church service this morning was a great experience for all of us to observe and partake in worshiping our God with our brothers and sisters in a different language and a different style then what we are used to. All of the people are so welcoming and and so happy to see us. They walk right up to us and give us a hug and kiss on the cheek. The people and children here are so beautiful and we all can't wait to build relationships and interact with them even more as the week goes on! Currently we are preparing for a VBS tomorrow and Tuesday and teaching in the school for the rest of the week! -Cindy Jewel