Dec 23, 2009 - Ambato Bound!

Traveled from Salinas to Ambato and the home of the Arguello’s. We left Salinas about 9 a.m. and arrived in Ambato around 8 p.m. It should have only taken 5 hours but the mountain pass was fogged in and the road was being worked on in many places with only one lane available. We have some great pictures of the ride where we went through the really poor areas of Guayaquil , saw many farms, bananas (they have 7 varieties here) and cocoa plants. Beautiful mountains and we have an incredible view of Cimborazo which is about 4000 meters tall and...

Jun 29, 2009 - Final Trip Entry and Thank You!

Well, this is it. Our final entry for the trip. Bryce and I are back at home after a VERY long trip home. There is so many stories we could tell you. We hope to schedule a time for friends/family to come over for dessert and hear about the trip. But for now I'll just give one story to give you a taste of what God did. Im also including below some photos, links, and prayer requests in case you want more. On June 23rd we did evangelism in a particular neighboorhood. At the time of our karate show we were dissapointed when only 3 kids showed...

Jun 26, 2009 - Mission results

Greetings everyone, Yesterday was our last day of evangelism/discipleship. E3 does such an awesome job. The numbers at our debrief meeting last night had 12 churches planted, over 850 professions of faith, with about 60 people in our group!!! PTL!! The first couple days were dedicated to evangelism and the last couple including yesterday were discipleship. We were invited into the homes of two Ecuador families and took the new born Christians through lesson 1 of a bible study. The great part is that the "national" (Ecuadorian who attends...

Jun 26, 2009 - Photos from the Equator

Here are some pics from the equator on our tourist day! I balanced an egg on a nail...only place in the world where possible. Bryce and I put a foot in each hemisphere. The most amazing thing was watching a tub of water drain straight down when it was on the equator line and in circular motions when you move the tub just a few feet away from the equator. Hope you enjoy the pics. Thank you all SO much for the writing in our guestbook. We sure have enjoyed reading the mail from all of you. Thank you mostly for your prayers! Ill send a final...

Jun 24, 2009 - God is Good!

Finally have just a few minutes here in Ambato to update you all on the incredible past few days. After a dissapointing first day when our pastor didnt show up the past three days have been life changing and miraculous. Im estimating but the total number of people who have accepted Jesus for my team of 4 americans and 3 translators is about over 60 people! Ive been blessed beyond words to see my son lead an estimated 20 or more adults and children to the Lord. Bryce has loved doing the Karate shows as part of the evangelical message. Our...

Jun 21, 2009 - Off to Ambato

The team made it in last night! PTL. There is a total of about 60 north americans and Im guessing around 25 Ecuadorians making the trek (with all our luggage) from Quito to Ambato this morning. No more 5 star hotel! Yea. Last night we had dinner with our group and another group that was here with E3. Met a guy who is part of an organization that drills for water. They are going to drill a well in Ambato. Its really amazing to listen to stories from people like him on how lives all over the world are being changed. His ministry provides...

Jun 20, 2009 - Were Here!

Today is Saturday the 20th. We barely made it on our flight out of LAX and had a VERY long flight with stops in Guatamala and Costa Rica. The airlines were safe and we were picked up in Quito by a hotel employee. Id like to say we're here suffering for the Lord...but so far that hasnt been the case (other than a bad cold we both have). The plan was for us to spend just Friday night here at this five star hotel and then drive into Ambato for the remaining week for the mission work. But we learned this morning that our leader from Wisconsin,...

Aug 14, 2006 - Volcano Erupts in Banos

We traveled from Coca back to Banos before heading south to Riobamba. We left Banos early Tuesday evening. And, not even 48 hours after we left Banos, the volcano erupted!!!!!! We're not talking a little gound shaker either, we're talking red-hot lava, smouldering ash spwing forth, and fleeing locals in the middle of the night. Wow! This article below is from the AP. 30 Missing After Ecuador Volcano Erupts BANOS, Ecuador (AP) -- Rescuers searched Friday for 30 people missing after the devastating explosion of a volcano killed at least one...

Jul 31, 1989 - Ambato

MONDAY 31st JULY I had hoped to take a train to my next stop Ambato, but discovered that there is only one train per day, leaving at five o'clock in the morning. As I was not up so early, I had breakfast and took a taxi to el terminal, the bus station. Buses left every few minutes, so there was no problem. The bus was smaller than yesterday, seating about twenty people, but if anything, seemed to be in a slightly better condition. The road from Riobamba runs along a plateau, so the landscape was mostly flat and not very interesting. Also it...