Daily Concern

After breakfast, Al and I drove his truck back to a small town about 15 minutes away. The highway was under construction but they had gone about it in an odd way. They were creating a nice concrete highway but they had chosen to start in the middle rather than on the left or right. So the middle was complete but steel rebar poked out on the left and the right. And since they weren’t letting traffic drive on the new part yet, the traffic was forced to drive on the asphalt on either side, dangerously narrow and close to the rebar shredding your tires. Everything from cattle herds to huge semi-trucks driving 70 mph were on that highway.

As we drove along the thing that struck me was the extreme poverty that existed so close to the camp. Outside one home a group of kids ranging from 2 – 6 years old were playing on the highway under construction. One of the kids had a huge butcher knife, peeling an orange. It was such a stark contrast from how we treat our children in the States.

I asked Al what more could be done to fight the poverty near his camp. He said that the problem is so huge that it’s beyond what one man can do alone. Al said that is why his mission is to use the Quizas Hoy camp to train others, to multiply the positive effect on the community and the country.

We arrived at the town and went into a small hardware store, no larger than a one car garage. Al negotiated with the manager of the store to have the manager’s Uncle Vera come pick us up the following morning to drive us to Cuenca.

Once we got back to the camp we finished up the work on the painting and sealant. Colton and I then helped Al setup a simple sound system and projector in the outdoor worship hall. It was primitive but would serve its purpose for an upcoming camp that was being held there. In the late afternoon Al took us all on a walk into the jungle portion of his property. They had cut a nature path around the perimeter. The sights and sounds were beautiful as you can here, here, here, and here.

After dinner we went out to the worship hall and setup the projector. Mercedes plugged in her Zune and played some bits from Brian Regan for Al and Rocio. It must’ve been a real joy for Al, I’ve never seen anyone laugh quite so hard has he did that evening. We then played a movie, Glory Road, one of the few Al and Rocio owned so they had seen it many times. It was very surreal to be on the edge of the Ecuadorian jungle, watching a movie on a projector in an outdoor worship hall.

It took a while but everyone finally fell asleep. The accommodations were not much different than any other church camp. Unfortunately, they were expanding the highway nearby so the truck traffic kept us awake, as did some dogs barking incessantly. Woke up with a huge headache, entering the 2nd full day with no caffeine, this is going to make for a long trip.

After breakfast we got right to work, Colton and I worked on water sealant while the girls painted Allen and Rocio’s home. After lunch we rested in the hammocks they have placed throughout the camp, very relaxing but surreal to know we’re so far from home. After a long day of working on the camp we cleaned up, had a nice and played cards with Al, Rocio, and our family. Rocio entertained us with stories of finding snakes and other critters in her home and even her bed during their time in Ecuador. She found a tarantula in her shoe this very morning. None of these stories did much to ease the kid’s concerns about going to sleep back in our cabin that evening.