Our pastor, Leslie Somers is always the first one ready, first one to walk onto a site, leading the charge as we head anywhere. Quietly eager and interested, ready for anything, involved in everything. If you ask him, he laughs and poses with a shovel as if he has to pose to be caught actually working, but the truth is that he works as hard as anyone, unobtrusively, but with strength and determination. When it comes time to present the gift from the church, the box of food, the HOUSE to the new owners, you can see the sparkle in his eyes, the warmth and excitement in his voice as he speaks to them, prays for them, conveys our love for the Lord and the church´s love for them...our deep, profound love for them. He shakes his head and laughs out loud at the constant barrage of humour that starts with Tim, bounces off of Andrew or Joe or Adam or Julia or Sheila or Pam or Philip or Elsa or Beto or Carito, or Dalia or Konig or Jose Fernando or me, and splashes onto the rest of us. Les, or Reverend Doctor to you, is a great leader and an excellent sport. We´re so honoured to be led by our Pastor, our friend.
Julia is a WHOLE LOTTA WOMAN. A student, dancer, mentor and now my dear friend, Julia never thinks of herself but serves and serves, smiles and encourages, and works like everything depends on it. She´s strong, capable, energetic and kind, and her youth and beauty and spirit command the attention of the little ones. It´s actually funny to see her swarmed by them....they just think she´s their peer, and so her influence with them, I think, is that much greater. We´re all so thankful for Julia.
Philip is the strong, silent type. But you wouldn´t want to be a lizard in his room. It would NOT end well, and Tim would be forced to tearfully finish you off. Phil is always ready to serve, and he´s literally given the shirt off his back to help out a friend. He´s always thinking, so he´s often a step ahead, knowing just where he´ll be needed next or what tools will be needed, or what move he´ll need 10 moves from now to slay you in chess. His quiet confidence and thoughtful, pleasant manner are just a joy, and we all look forward to hearing his insights at the end of the day. Thank you, Father, for Phil.
I´ve never met anyone like Carito. She´s this spectacular package of kindness and big-heartedness and love and generosity and strength. She´s in charge of all the details, planned it all, and even gave us this colour coded itinerary that all of us are considering framing and mounting on our walls. You should see it. It really is a work of art. She´s coordinating the schedules, accommodations, meals, water, has to roll with it when things don´t go as planned, has to reign us all in when we´re scattered or distracted, and has to try to figure out our spanglish and translate it into something that won´t offend our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters. She´s SO AWESOME and we´re SO THANKFUL. We are blessed to be led by Carolina.
Adam, Carito´s husband is SO fun, so ready to help, so strong and so smart that we could not, absolutely could NOT do this without him. His love for the Lord shows through in everything he does, from pulling back the chair for his wife or carrying a wall over a puddle of pig poo or leading us in campfire songs. He´s steadily readily always THERE, smiling, laughing, helping and kicking butt at board games. We´re so proud of Adam. He´s an encouragement and example to us all.
Sheila is our Spanish expert. What´s amazing about Sheila is that she doesn´t let on she´s got these amazing gifts until suddenly she´s sharing her testimony in Spanish with other women or harmonizing along to a song or...yes, kicking butt at board games. Sheila had a heart for the Lord and it shows in all she does and says and people are drawn to her not just because she can actually speak the language. She´s right there in the middle, always, leading and learning, soaking it all in and giving back more than she receives. Sheila lights up the darkness.
TIIIMMMMM!!!! is this wonderful, deep, strong, kind man who´s broken hearted about leaving his wife and BEAUTIFUL children back in Nova Scotia, but who swallows it all down all day long to serve us with his gift for humour. Julia and I were worried that we hadn´t done an ab workout lately, but then we realized, with TIIIIIMMMM!!!! around, it´s just not necessary. We break weak when he opens his mouth. I´ve never met anyone who can put a funny spin on EVERYTHING. Not just funny ha ha. And not this fish tastes kinda funny funny. I´m talkin´thigh slappin´, rollin on the floor, pee your pants funny. But his depth, his love for people, his love for the Lord bring it all back into balance to make this man a pleasure to know, a delight to serve with. He´s just....BEAUTIFUL.
Elsa is such a lady, has such a wonderful heart, such a big, gorgeous smile that lights up a room, and I can´t imagine a world without her. She exudes all the fruits of the spirit...joy, peace, love, gentleness, kindness, self-control, patience, goodness and faithfulness. And she´s so much fun! Nobody laughs like Elsa, nobody listens like Elsa, and there´s no better sport on the planet. I love to see her holding the children, one in each hand, one pushed up against her side, swaying to the worship songs they´re singing. Elsa is my friend, my sister, and someone I´d like to grow more like. We´re so blessed to know Elsa and to serve by her side.
Joe is our professional builder and has been indespensible in the procurement of proper tools, in helping the local builders, in providing backrubs for tired muscles. His motto is eat, sleep, build, and he´d rather be building than anything, but still joins right in to the fun, taking on the biggest waves, verbally sparring with the other men when they start and don´t know when to end a joke. He´s got a passion for building and all things powerful and he´s just a tremendous asset to the team. We´re so thankful for Joe.
Pam is the quiet strength behind and right beside Joe. She´s right in the middle of whatever´s going on, be it work or fun, and her gentle spirit and tremendous work ethic are an absolute inspiration. She gave up alot to come. Her son Jordan´s last few days in Nova Scotia is probably the biggest thing she gave up to be here, but there´s not a moment of regret, just steady hard work, willingness and enthusiasm for what we´re here for. She´s strong in the Lord. We´re so blessed to be a part of her life.
Andrew is the BIG GUY. He very quickly made an impression as the guy who could lift anything, and the local builders, Machete and Placido knew pretty early on that they wanted him on their side. He´s humble enough to take direction and yet strong and decisive enough to just run with something he knows needs doing. Andrew´s so much fun and the kids are both cautious of at first and yet drawn to his pure joy. They´re attracted to the way both he and Tim aren´t afraid to tease and manhandle them. Between Andrew and Tim, we´re absolutely kept rolling on the floor, and he´s always ready to whoop anyone at any game, although I´m pretty sure he´s met his match at chess in Phil. I´m so honoured to be Andrew´s wife, and we´re all so thankful he´s on OUR team.
I just wanted you guys to know a little bit about my friends, my family, Team Ecuador, 2012. The Lord has been blessing our work and our play, no one is sick, everyone is happy and tired and we´ve just finished house number 4 today. More about that after I don´t look like I´ve been playing in the sand and dirt and muck. We love you all and are praying for you daily and for our safe return to you. Thank you so much for your faithfulness in prayer and your generosity in giving.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.- Galatians 6:9
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