Hi again,
First I want to apologize! I think two weeks have passed since I´ve written in blog (or talked to my parents- sorry mom and dad! I´ll call you soon, I promise!) SOOOO many things have been happening. On the 3rd the three other members of the group showed up. Only one family here in Guayaquil knew that Anna Cousineau was coming, and it was a surprise for everyone else. When Pastor Dario saw her he jumped from his seat and huged her so hard he lifted her off the ground. While the group was here we talked about the foundation with Pastor Dario, and with my friends Rosa and Victor. We visited some of the families that we would like to see be part of the foundation. One afternoon we contacted a lawyer to sit and talk about legal issues with the foundation. However, he said he didn´t know too much about legal work with foundations, but would contact some friends and get us the information. When we asked how much it would cost for this he said $100. Unfortunately we had to decline that offer... And in turn, the next day I found out I could get all of the information myself at the Oficina de Bienestar or something like that. I went there with Victor and copied all of the requirements that we need to start. However, it´s a little more complicated...
I have to be honest, this trip has been a little discouraging... Not so much for the foundation work, but for the church. There seems to be a lot of disunity within the church, including tons gossip and talking negatively about one another. It only proves our imperfections and humanness. I would really appreciate prayer for this church. I really want to work with the church on this project, but some things need to be worked through and cleared up before that can being. I hope you´ll pray me to have wisdom and discernment as we work through these issues. The next decision that really needs to be made is whether we are going to have the program within the church, or if we need to rent a place and have it outside of the church...
An update on the other things that have been going on. I forgot the mention the first week that one of the girls here graduated from school (to start going to high school). I had the privilege of giving her her certificate as her ¨madrina¨. Last saturday she turned 15 years old and had a Quinciñera- sort of like a sweet 16 in the US. They threw a big party for her which started at midnight and went through the night. Because of safety issues we were only able stay until 1:30ish, but I´m glad we were able to be there for her. That´s all I´ll say for now.. I may be able to write more about it another time.
Yesterday I went to the beach with Bre, Isaac, Michelle, Ronny, and Alex. We took the bus, swam in the pacific, ate fish for lunch, sang a bit with the guitar. It was a fun day! Interestingly... I put sunscreen on when I got dressed in the morning. It was a cloudy, cold, rainy day. And Bre and I still burned pretty bad. haha.. We were super red faced the other day, but strangely it doesn´t burn. We had been complaining that we went to the beach and didn´t even tan...ha!
Tomorrow is Rosa´s birthday. I´m going to make pizza for dinner and we´ll probably have cake. Saturday the church has a special youth service. And I think I may be dressing up nice and going out on Sunday with Alex, although those plans aren´t totally confirmed yet... =) This morning Bre and I made apple pancakes for the fam. They liked them a lot! The house we´re staying in is a pretty humble place... but I feel right at home!
I have so many things I could write... if I only had more time! Hopefully the time won´t pass as quickly before I get my next update up. Please remember to pray for unity and healing within the church. Until next time...
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Here we go!
Hi again!
Tomorrow will complete a week since I´ve arrived. It is SOOOO good to see everyone again. The family that I´m staying with lives right near the church that our group always worked at and I´m constantly being greeted by people I know when I walk down the street. It makes me feel like I´m right at home.
It´s been fun staying with Rosa and Victor. Rosa has been teaching me how to cook Ecaudorian food and gives Bre and I chores to do..haha. But I like it because I´m learning a lot. She´s very wise and understands North American culture better than my other friends, so I look to her and Victor for advice, or they answer my questions when I´m puzzled by their culture. Their kids are a blast as well. They love to tease and joke. Last night around midnight all of us girls were in our room trying to go to sleep, but we were so tired we had the giggles. Michelle is 15 and last night she was trying to teach us to say a word.. I think is was ¨orthoringoonthologo¨ or something. But we couldn´t say it and we just laughed and laughed and laughed! Sarita is 4 I think, and she is quite the character.. she loves to get into our stuff and climb all over her brother Isaac who is 17.
Late last Friday night I was flossing my teeth and the crown on my tooth fell off! The first thing I thought was "ugh, why did this have to happen here??" I would rather be at home and go to my own dentist. However, I called my cousin who lives here and he got my in touch with a dentist that studied in the US. I called my dentist who said it would cost $1150 to fix. I went to the dentist here and it cost $50. HA! What a blessing! If it had happened in the US I would have spent soooo much more money... Thank you Lord!
SO! You´re probably wondering how things are going in the foundation. Well, we´re off to a really good start. I sat down with Rosa and Victor to help them understand my vision for the foundation and what sort of activities and help I´d like to give to the families. Rosa is just finishing her degree in psychology and also has a lot of experience working in foundations. She even worked for Compassion International. Her and Victor were wonderful when we had our meeting. I would give an idea, Rosa would comment, Victor would say if he agreed or disagreed. They would drill me and each other with questions which helped us find better solutions. Anyway, we´ve organized quite a bit already- decided on what kind of staff we´ll need, how the programs will be run, etc. We´ve made a few changes from what we originally planned on. One being that we´ve decided to run the program outside of the church. Please pray for Rosa and Victor, as well as the leaders in the church that they won´t have hard feelings toward us for that. When we originally talked about the program in 2004 we were going to run it from the church, that´s why I´m asking for prayer in that aspect.
On Saturday a friend of Rosa´s came over and helped us make the budget. She´s an accountant and had some great input. There are still a few things that we need to investigate, but we should know more by the end of the week. The time is already flying by... We all have our own "homework". Rosa and I are going to walk around town to look for places to rent that would be good for the project. Victor is going to visit the other nonprofit organizations to get pamphlets and see what sort of outreaches they are already doing. We´d like to be able to network with these foundations so we can all work together. I´m very please with how things are going so far. Tonight the other 3 members of our little team arrive. The people here don´t know that Anna Cousineau is coming. They often ask about her and it will be a HUGE surprise. I can´t wait!
Well, I´m being summoned.. ha.. Michelle just got here. Until next time!
Emily
Tomorrow will complete a week since I´ve arrived. It is SOOOO good to see everyone again. The family that I´m staying with lives right near the church that our group always worked at and I´m constantly being greeted by people I know when I walk down the street. It makes me feel like I´m right at home.
It´s been fun staying with Rosa and Victor. Rosa has been teaching me how to cook Ecaudorian food and gives Bre and I chores to do..haha. But I like it because I´m learning a lot. She´s very wise and understands North American culture better than my other friends, so I look to her and Victor for advice, or they answer my questions when I´m puzzled by their culture. Their kids are a blast as well. They love to tease and joke. Last night around midnight all of us girls were in our room trying to go to sleep, but we were so tired we had the giggles. Michelle is 15 and last night she was trying to teach us to say a word.. I think is was ¨orthoringoonthologo¨ or something. But we couldn´t say it and we just laughed and laughed and laughed! Sarita is 4 I think, and she is quite the character.. she loves to get into our stuff and climb all over her brother Isaac who is 17.
Late last Friday night I was flossing my teeth and the crown on my tooth fell off! The first thing I thought was "ugh, why did this have to happen here??" I would rather be at home and go to my own dentist. However, I called my cousin who lives here and he got my in touch with a dentist that studied in the US. I called my dentist who said it would cost $1150 to fix. I went to the dentist here and it cost $50. HA! What a blessing! If it had happened in the US I would have spent soooo much more money... Thank you Lord!
SO! You´re probably wondering how things are going in the foundation. Well, we´re off to a really good start. I sat down with Rosa and Victor to help them understand my vision for the foundation and what sort of activities and help I´d like to give to the families. Rosa is just finishing her degree in psychology and also has a lot of experience working in foundations. She even worked for Compassion International. Her and Victor were wonderful when we had our meeting. I would give an idea, Rosa would comment, Victor would say if he agreed or disagreed. They would drill me and each other with questions which helped us find better solutions. Anyway, we´ve organized quite a bit already- decided on what kind of staff we´ll need, how the programs will be run, etc. We´ve made a few changes from what we originally planned on. One being that we´ve decided to run the program outside of the church. Please pray for Rosa and Victor, as well as the leaders in the church that they won´t have hard feelings toward us for that. When we originally talked about the program in 2004 we were going to run it from the church, that´s why I´m asking for prayer in that aspect.
On Saturday a friend of Rosa´s came over and helped us make the budget. She´s an accountant and had some great input. There are still a few things that we need to investigate, but we should know more by the end of the week. The time is already flying by... We all have our own "homework". Rosa and I are going to walk around town to look for places to rent that would be good for the project. Victor is going to visit the other nonprofit organizations to get pamphlets and see what sort of outreaches they are already doing. We´d like to be able to network with these foundations so we can all work together. I´m very please with how things are going so far. Tonight the other 3 members of our little team arrive. The people here don´t know that Anna Cousineau is coming. They often ask about her and it will be a HUGE surprise. I can´t wait!
Well, I´m being summoned.. ha.. Michelle just got here. Until next time!
Emily
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