Rachel and I had such a blast with Brian and Brianna here.  We saw a heckuvah lot of Ecuador in 4 days.  We can’t wait until they come back, bring the rest of the fam, and stay longer.  (You hear that, Tracy?!)

At approximately 9:00 p.m. this evening, Brian Fischer and his daughter Brianna touched down in Quito.  There aren’t words for how excited I am that they’re here.  The next four days are going to be a blur of activities.  Thanks so much to all of you who sent “goodies” down with them.  They now have one very empty bag to fill with souvenirs!

At 1:10 this morning, we experienced our first one. I woke up to the sound of window panes rattling in the next room, while someone jumped up and down on the bottom of our waterbed, sending us sloshing around. Then I recalled that we don’t have a waterbed. We have a mattress that lies on the floor. “Earthquake!”, I said. Rachel, just coming to, agreed. By that time it was over.

I say we “experienced” our first one. According to official reports, there’ve been 7 of a magnitude of 4.0 or greater here just since the beginning of March. It’s just that we’ve never felt one. Well, now we have. It didn’t keep either of us up very long. Most people I’ve talked to this morning didn’t even notice it.

According to the Geophysics Institute, it was a 4.4, occurred at a depth of just over 8 miles, and the epicenter was about 29 miles west of Quito.

It’s been a process for me, reaching a point where I really considered what we’re doing “missions”. Some have you have been privy to my internal backs and forths on the subject. What I’ve finally come down to is this: we’re 3,000+ miles away from what we’d called “home” because we believe God to say that’s where we should be. I guess that’s enough of a definition, regardless of what we’re doing.

But then there’s what we’re doing. Rachel and I both work at a school that’s in a huge transition right now. Two years ago, the Christian & Missionary Alliance decided to end its educational ministry in Quito, and the Alliance Academy International began operation as an independent, Christian mission. What had historically been a school catering primarily to children of missionaries, began to shift demographically. The 2007-2008 school year is the first year that the student body at AAI has had more national Ecuadorians than all other nationalities combined. The cost of a private education in Ecuador automatically precludes all but the wealthiest of the wealthy families. What that means is that the staff and faculty at Alliance are in a position where they are being entrusted with the future leaders of this country, and parents are paying us to train their children in a Christ-focused environment. It has been surprising to me to realize how many of the kids we deal with day in and day out are effectively unchurched. Not only are there cultural considerations due to countries of origin, but matters of worldview thrust us into situations that are completely new. This is a much different gig than working with a church youth group.

I’m not going to go on and on. Here’s the gist: We need help. Rachel and I get paid about $700/month each. It’s not enough. Things are cheaper in Ecuador, but the economy here is anything but stable. Food prices are rising steadily, and of course skyrocketing fuel costs end up affecting the cost of public transportation. Global concern about the U.S. economy affects markets everywhere, especially foreign countries like Ecuador, who use U.S. currency. The school is still figuring out the whole “independent” thing, and is in no position to increase its support. I was talking this out with Rachel recently and said “If 25 of our friends would send us $20/month, we’d be able to make it.” I was half-joking, but then I realized that I’d never really asked for help. So that’s what we’re doing.

We need about an additional $500/month, or $6,000 a year. I know there are many of you that are in similar situations where all of your resources are being spent exactly where God wants them. What I ask of you is that you would pray that we’d be able to raise the support that we need. If there are others of you that God has blessed so that you could afford to support us, we truly believe that the work we’re involved in here is worthy of Kingdom resources.

A week ago, we had no regular state-side supporters. Today we have two. Both of them have committed to sending us $100 a month. That’s a huge blessing, and we’re overwhelmed by their generosity. Please consider partnering with us in our ministry here, and please keep us in your prayers.

P.S. - For those who are interested in supporting us financially, you can do so through RCE. Resourcing Christian Education International is the agency that we work under here. Due to our visa status, we can’t technically make any money from Ecuadorian sources. What makes the lawyers happy is an arrangement where the school makes a donation to RCE and RCE deposits funds matching it in our account in the U.S. RCE does this with missionaries working at Christian schools world-wide. They do take an 8% cut of any donation that comes in, and the benefits we get from them make that more than worth it. They also send out annual statements of giving for tax purposes. You can contact RCE directly (our account is #3922), or you can find forms to print out here. RCE does not have an online donation option yet, but there is a form for either a one-time gift or one for ongoing donations that they will electronically transfer from a bank account. Please let us know if you have any questions.

I accompanied Dave Tieszen and a bunch of the senior guys to the Basilica del Voto Nacional today. Its construction was started in 1892, and it was consecrated in 1985. It’s a great example of Neo-Gothic architecture, or so says a lot of websites. My fear of heights notwithstanding, I made it up the many, many, many stairs to the top of the bell tower (377 feet up). I couldn’t wait to get down, and sorry to those of you who are coming to visit, but I have no intentions of ever going up there again. It did make for some great pictures, though.

… at midnight last night.  The relief was immediate.  Enough so, actually, that I didn’t take my pain meds I was due for at 1:00 a.m.  The flu bug that I’ve been fighting concurrently with all the other drama has made it hard to eat and keep food down, and when I don’t have food in my, the pain meds don’t stay down.  It’s good to be past that.

I’d threatened to post a picture, but none of them are really turning out good.  So here’s a pic of the prescribed treatment Dr. Carlos Lopez gave me.  He actually told me that jumping would help.  (I didn’t do a lot of jumping.)

I didn’t sleep at all night before last.  The pain was simply unbelievable.  I sincerely hope I never have to go through that again.  I think I’m gonna put myself on a 5-gallon/day water regimen.  I’m stayin’ home another day from work, hoping that the flu is in it’s death throes as well.

Thanks much for all the prayers, emails, and calls.