sat • mar 12

I'm typing this last update on the airplane from Quito but by the time I sendi it we'll have landed safely in Miami. Before boarding the plane we said a very tearful goodbye to Pastor Ricky, Mrs. Caroll and Brittany. We'd only been with them for a week but they stole our hearts. We have family in Ecuador of our same heart as back home and it was terrible to have to leave them.

The team is pretty worn out from our wild trip but we're returning home with what we can only call unveiled eyes. God has done a lot of work and even healings centered around eyes on this trip. At the same time, He has also opened our eyes to so much personally in our lives and also to the people in Ecuador, especially in a small village named Paandin. We won't forget what God is doing there or the small boy name Daniel who was saved, heard us worshipping, and then asked to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Another piece of our hearts were left in Pandiin along with what we laid down before the Lord when we were baptized in the headwaters of the Amazon river. Our lives have been marked and changed. Just as Joil had prayed for us, God has truly messed us up on this trip.

I want to tell you one more story from our night in Banos. In the last update, we were planning on going to the hot springs. We ended up walking over to what looked like a large hot tub with 80 or so people in it. Some one, appropriately in my opinion, dubbed it 'old man' soup. We decided to pass up that experience and instead headed up one of the surrounding mountains in a party tour bus. We had a Holy Spirit party, but that could have been the first time that bus had a group in it that wasn't drunk.

At the top of the mountain we came to an overlook of Banos. I'm going to attempt to describe this surreal night to you but I'll hardly be able to do it justice. When we stepped off of the bus, the stars took your breath away. You'd fall over backwards trying to get them all in view. It was as if every square inch of sky was covered in star clusters. Those stars have probably always been there, but we became aware of them in that moment to such a degree that I felt like I'd never truly looked at the sky before.

We walked to the side of the mountain overlook to a wooden gazebo structure where we got our first birds eye view of Banos. The sight floored us all. The city looked like a glowing spider's web stretched out beneath the towering girth of the mountains protecting it. The sight was so beautiful that the more you stared to take it all in or to bring it into focus the more you almost forgot what you were looking at. It was like our minds couldn't take it all in or process what we were seeing so the images and the awe of that moment were just burned directly, uncomprehendingly onto our hearts. While our eyes are soaking all of this in, Kaleb was leading us into the presence of God with a guitar we got from the owners of our hotel.

We must have worshipped on the side of this mountain for an hour while random Ecuadorians passed us by. They don't know it yet but they were marked too. Heaven opened there over Baños. We prayed and interceded for that city and God is bringing his Kingdom there.

The next day was our last full day in Ecuador. We drove back to Quito where we would be flying out, visited the equator, and ate at a very masculine restaurant that served us nothing but a giant plate of succulent meat. It was a great last day but no one wanted to pack up all our bags that night for the flight out.

God has used us on this trip to touch people, but He has also blessed and changed us all in miraculous ways. We are so thankful for the opportunity to follow God to Ecuador and we are so thankful to everyone who provided the prayer and financial support that allowed us to be here. So thank you again! And for the last time... goodbye and we love you!

Team Ecuador

SUBMITTED BY REBECCA DECARLO - 12 MAR 2011

thu • mar 10

So I'm sending this update from the gorgeous place I've ever been in my life. Not only are there toilets, showers, and beds but the hotel where we're staying is "worthy of a Jason Borne movie," as Lindsey Lide said. Almost the entire team even embraced the awkwardness to admit that we would all consider this hotel even honeymoon worthy!

On every side we're surrounded by mountains I can't even begin to describe. There is a waterfall pouring out of a rock face down the most lush trees and foliage you can imagine. Almost the whole team was just standing on the roof staring in awe at how beautiful everything was. We're currently trying to talk Mr. Sam into letting us have a worship night up there but he's worried we might be loud. We will be eating dinner pretty soon before heading over to the hot springs. We're even more ready for them than ever, after an exciting day of shopping and walking around Baños.

Anyway, I need to finish telling you about Paandin. So before we finally got to get some sleep our first night after the hike, we filtered some water, strung up all of our mosquito nets, and sprayed down the rooms in bug repellent. The next day was our first full day in Paandin. We were woken up early by what sounded like easily two million chickens. After a quick breakfast of MREs, we headed over to the work site where we would be helping the nationals instal a water system.

It was hike through some dense nasty jungle to get to the spring head where we began clearing a path for the pipe that would be laid later. By clearing a path, I mean we hacked through the stinkin Amazon jungle with our bare hands and machetes, cleared logs, and encountered some nasty bugs that could not possibly have existed before the curse.

After the work was done for the day we started a huge soccer game with all of the kids and most of the adults. I probably don't even need to say that they obviously kicked our butts. We also brought in baseballs and a bat and a football that they had not idea what to do with. We did a church service that night too. Pastor Frank beasted it and presented the gospel with a magic trick.

After church the team went out to the end of a plot of land that jetted out over the jungle. The stars were innumerable over us and on the horizon we could see the valley we had walked from the day before. If you listened you could hear he headwater river just below us too. It was a precious time of worship in English with the family plus our missionary guides Mr Ricky and Josh. Kaleb grabbed a guitar from the Shuar church and we went after it.

The Holy Spirit was so sweet but the coolest thing was a Shuar boy heard us worshipping and came to check out the commotion. Pastor Ricky spoke to him in Spanish and then told us that he said he had prayed to receive Christ in church that night. Pastor Ricky told him about the baptism of the Spirit and he said he wanted to receive anything that would help him grow in Christ. It was amazing! We prayed for him and nothing specific happened but seeds were planted and God is working in the Shuar.

The next day we had another morning of hard work on the water system. After work we began a huge war of mud, paint, 300 water balloons, and who knows what else. Everyone had to walk to the river at the end of it to achieve any semblance of "clean." For church that night Chip gave his testimony and then the team went outside with all the kids so the adults could hear Pastor.

We made up a new version of duck duck goose called perro perro gato because those were the only Spanish animals we could translate. We then bedded down for our last night in the jungle. In the morning, we dumped everything we could to lighten our backpacks for the trip back. We said some very tearful goodbyes and then headed home.

We love you all and thanks for your prayers,
Team Ecuador

SUBMITTED BY REBECCA DECARLO - 10 MAR 2011

sun • mar 6

Our Ecuador has been able to check in via International SMS Text Messaging. The following update was provided this morning by Operational Director Sam Glorioso:

"We are headed off into the jungle, let everyone know that everybody is great and so excited to begin the adventure."

As these small updates become available, we will pass them on to you. Thank you for praying for the Ecuador team as they minister in the jungles of Paandin.

SUBMITTED BY DUSTIN SILBEREISEN - 6 MAR 2011

limited contact

While our Ecuador team is serving in the jungle of Paandin, they will be unable to communicate with us to provide frequent updates. While communication "goes dark" for that portion of the trip, we trust the Lord's protection and guiding of the experienced local missionaries they will be with.

While the team is in the areas of Sucúa and Quito, they will strive to relay updates to us. In the meantime, please see the post below which outlines what our team will be doing while out of contact with us.

Thanks for praying and supporting our teams as they minister.

SUBMITTED BY DUSTIN SILBEREISEN - 3 MAR 2011

thu • mar 3

Hola, from the Ecuador team!  The team is pumped up, prayed up, armed to the teeth, and ready to depart for what has been generously labeled the most "physically beneficial" hike some have ever seen.  We are pulling out Friday morning at 5am headed to the Charlotte airport.  We will make a stop in Miami before making the jump to Quito, Ecuador.  We are staying one night in Quito at Hotel Sol de Quito followed by an 8 hour bus drive south to Sucúa.  In Sucúa, we have one night to make the final preparations for our trek into the jungle. 
 
Sunday morning at 4:30am begins the hike that will give us bragging rights for the rest of lives.  We are headed to the village of Paandin about 6 hours from our hotel in Sucúa.  We will be on foot pushing up steep trails on the side of mountain ridges, fording through rivers and streams, and sloshing through mud like peanut butter up to knee deep in places.  And we will be doing all of this with everything we will need for the next four days and three nights strapped onto our backs.  By "everything," I mean our sleep gear, mosquito nets, clothes, work gloves, towels, bug spray, and 8 pounds worth of MRE rations; not to mention candy, soccer balls, and pens for the kids in the village.  Before the parents scroll through a worry list of "what ifs," we will be taking the hike slowly and no one will be left behind.  We have a motto for this hike to protect us from danger: “Touch nothing. Punch everything” – courtesy of Lindsey Lide.  We have a hard headed team that is determined to beast mode through whatever dares cross our path. 
 
Once in Paandin, we will be spending our time working on the first stages of a water well for the people there.  We will most likely be doing a lot of digging and piecing together the piping.  Most of this work will be done in the morning during the cooler part of the day.  In the afternoons and evenings, we will be playing with the children and ministering as much as we can to everyone in the village.  We are hoping to bless largely ignored women in this culture by washing their feet and painting their nails.  For the men, we’re bringing note pads and pens that they love to write with. 
 
God has already been working ahead of us in Paandin.  They have had services in the evenings that have been maxed to capacity with hungry souls wanting more of Jesus.  One girl even testified of being healed from a snake bite that should have taken her life.  Our team is going into this trip with expectant hearts for God to work miracles.  We are praying big that God will even give us the language to speak directly to the people and that God’s power and love will be displayed in healings that will bring people into the Kingdom. 
 
After our hike out of Paandin, we will spend a free day enjoying Ecuador and one last night in Sucúa.  We will then begin our journey home spending one night in Quito before the flight back to South Carolina. 
 
We love you all and thank you for your prayers!
 
SCSL Ecuador Team

SUBMITTED BY REBECCA DECARLO - 3 MAR 2011