Work Day 1: "Caminando en la Luz de Dios" by Doug Collins of Albany FCC

We are walking in the light of God with the people of Cachimuel.  Day one of working at the daycare center was a big success, thanks to our guides, Sebastian and Jim Cure of Murray Hills Christian Church.  Today, our group spent most of the time grouting the tile floor in the newly remodeled building while Emily Killin, Lauri Morris, Carol Cure, Blanca Puma, Marilyn and her husband Glenn, Audre Bratcher and Helen Thomas spent the afternoon with children of the community just up the hill for Vacation Bible School!  We ask for prayers of healing for Christy Knox, who stayed at the hotel today due to some bug bites which have turned red and begun swelling.  She will be making a trip to the hospital tomorrow to check and see if antibiotics are necessary.  We are hoping to find a solution to the bites before any possible infection could make things worse.  Christy remains positive and upbeat, but we'd sure like to see her getting better very soon.

Today's devotion was lead by Audre Bratcher of Portland First Christian Church.  Audre read an article from a New Day magazine issue featuring the lives of various women throughout Ecuador.  Tonight, we heard the story of a woman whose life had been turned upside down in 1999 when a volcano eruption forced her community to flee the town, never knowing if they would return.  This, and many other stories within the issue highlight strong women's will to be brave in the face of adversity as economic, social-cultural and environmental issues have created many obstacles in their lives.

Perhaps we find it easy to create a caricature of what a day in the life of a rural Ecuadorian may be like.  It seems that in doing so, we miss the piece of common struggle which we ourselves are not free from.  From a death in the family to an economic hard time, we too are put in situations in which we must rely on the goodness of a stranger, exposing our most vulnerable, sometimes most personal hardships in order to seek the help we need.  The people of Cachimuel have blessed us by allowing us to help them expand their daycare center so that parents may work during the week day and contribute to their family's and foster a healthy upbringing.  Truly it is an honor to do this work with such kind, good people.  We are walking in the light of God - caminando in la luz.

A video taken at the beginning of our work day by Steve Knox of Silverton FCC

Tomorrow will bring day two of our construction project.  We will begin painting walls, a mural of Noah's Ark which Carol Cure is designing and more grouting.  On the surface, it is easy to overlook the significance of these simple tasks our group can accomplish.  On the other hand, it is also so easy to overlook the significance of this holy exchange which is encountered when people of different cultures can get together and be one body of Christ - one language interpretable through three.  God is at work with us and for this we give thanks.