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Mission Projects
Ecuador - 2008
We are continuing to work with our projects in Ecuador. We have three mission church starts and a program for kids living in the streets that we work with continually. In Cheka, we have been able to provide some funds so they can start on the first floor of a church building. Like everywhere else, costs of construction materials continue to increase so we are always looking for donations to continue growing God's kingdom.

Inside the cathedral at Zipaquira are various chapels and passageways.
You can see salt "flows" on the walls in various places and the caverns are large enough that you won't get clastrophobic.

Information Update

The parrots like to look from a distance but I can't get them to the balcony!

May continued with the daily rains and we have determined that there is only one season here, rainy. Fortunately, the weekends seem to get a reprieve and the worst of the rain is at night. We saw something we had never seen before on Mother's Day and that was a Mariachi band at church! They had the usual flowers, poems read by kids, and message to moms, but then up the aisle came the Mariachi band and they played Christian music with a Mariachi beat for the rest of the service. It was definitely a new twist on Mother's Day!

Steve had to prove that it really was salt! (it is!)

We got to visit Bogota for a weekend in May and went to visit the famous Catedral de Zipaquira. It took about an hour and a half to meander through the caverns and passageways and see the various altars set up and built in stone by the miners. When the mines were mined out of the salt, the miners wanted to do something with the mines and came up with the idea of a place people could visit and enjoy. Today, they have weddings and concerts in the main chapel.

You can see a huge "waterfall" of salt behind me in the Cathedral

We are still finishing up at school and will be there until the 27th of June. Our summer plans are just to see what happens and what opportunities come up. It's funny when Steve and I travel separately at the airports because they all know him now and when I show up without him they will say, "Oh, you're with Mr. Carpenter!"

Our school campus at Gimnasio Ingles

The view overlooking Armenia (when it isn't raining!)

You can't have too many hummingbird pictures

We will be in Ecuador this summer to check on our projects and working with our church in Armenia on finishing the construction on their children's area. The kids now are all crowded in one row that has outer walls but no electricity, facilities, or interior walls. We will keep you informed of what God has going on in our part of South America!

Cathy and Steve

- the funding for our church planting projects in Ecuador

- team building and partners with our mission friend in an area of conflict in the world

- Steve's job situation to be defined so we can make general plans for the future

- stability for the country and guidance for the leaders of Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezula

- traveling safety for Steve as he is working throughout South and Central America and Mexico

- continued success in obtaining the paperwork necessary for the church to own the donated land

- the other foreign teachers at our school for health and opportunities to share

- children living in the streets and at risk around the world for safety, love, and hope