Hello friends and family!

Two days late with our ‘weekly email’, I am bending to the cultural Latin norm of tardiness.  They often joke here about whether one will show up on Ecuadorian time (at least 30 minutes late) or German time (arriving at the actual time that was agreed upon).  We vacillate between the two.

The last week has gone by in a blur, but has included time with friends, a holiday, ministry, a new baby (not for us, but for friends) and lots or work.

We spent St. Patrick’s Day at a local Irish establishment, and were happily surprised to see our Irish friend, Kevin, there.  It was a little daunting that he was sporting a kilt, but we like him anyway.  He is one of the owners of one of our favorite restaurants here, a Vietnamese-American styled restaurant named Uncle Hos (after Ho Chi Minh, of course!).  We left before the celebrating could get to rowdy, and we were all home by 10pm.

Rick tells me that all of the pictures for the yearbook have been taken, with the exception of a few seniors.  These should be done within the next week or so.  The yearbook is ‘coming along nicely’, the class is a very promising one, and I am pretty excited to see what it will look like when it is all done.  This is Rick’s first year teaching the class and heading up the actual creating/printing of the yearbook, so the learning curve is steeper than it will be this time next year.

One of the benefits of Rick’s job is that many of the areas he teaches are also areas of interest for him. This has forced him to learn more about these areas (so that he can actually teach them).  Photography, in particular, has opened up a new field of artistic expression.  Rick has been able to take many of the Senior Portraits this year and has really enjoyed the challenge of trying to capture the personality of each student.

Some of our friends here, Josh and Joy Greer, had their first baby at about 9 pm last night (Tuesday, March 24th).  Her name is Isabella Greer, she weighs 7lbs, and is 49 cm long.  Both mom and baby are doing well.  We are looking forward to pictures and baby stories soon!

I have been attending an exercise group of ‘Salsa Aerobics’ (not the dip, but the music) at the school.  It is led by one of my fellow counselors, Mari Hernandez-Tuten.  The group of women who attend continues to grow, and we have had to move from the weight room of the school to the cafeteria because we don’t all fit in the weight room anymore!  It is a great time to fellowship with other women, as well as enjoying some good music, too.

We have the possibility of some travel plans at Easter with our friends, the Blacks.  If the Lord is willing and our finances allow, we hope to return to Cuenca for the Spring Break / Easter holiday.  The bus ride there is about $8 per person, but it last about 9 hours…  Room and board is cheap, and it would be wonderful to get out of the city for a few days!

I am proud to report that our school director, Dr. David Wells, actually mistook one of Rick’s student’s class projects for Rick’s work.  This is not only a compliment to the student, but also for Rick and his ability to teach. The project is currently being used to promote the school’s basketball tournament.

As I have mentioned before, Rick and I are helping in one of the CSOs called Opcion de Vida, which works with street boys (ages 12-18).  Today, during high school chapel, the boys from Opcion de Vida joined the high schoolers at Alliance Academy.  Several of them quoted Scriptures that they had memorized.  Two of them gave their testimonies.  One of them closed the chapel time with a very impressive rap.  Several of them aspire to be preachers.  It is always amazing to see these boys (many of whom are still homeless) as they receive ministry and learn to minister in return.  Rick and I have not been able to be as involved as we would have liked in the last month, but hope that we will be able to be more consistent in the next few weeks.

As always, we thank all of you for your prayers and support.  We are always open to visits from friends, should any of you like to venture a little further from home for your holidays.

May God bless and keep you always,
Rick and Rachel Sams

Rachel has started writing a weekly update, which requires way more discipline than her slacker of a husband has.  Some of you have already been receiving them via email.  I’ve decided to start posting them here as well.  I’ve posted some “back issues” as well.

Hello friends!

May God bless and keep you all as you begin this new week.

Our work here in Quito continues day by day, and we find more and more things to be grateful for as the time goes by.  I am getting to know more and more of the students (in a non-counseling manner) and really enjoy the reality of working with teens most days. It is truly a blessing to see them grow, mature, and share.  It often brings back memories (good, bad, and bittersweet) of my high school years and all the things that I thought were soooo important then.  Some of them actually were important, and it is nice to see those same things in some of our students here at Alliance Academy.

One of our seniors came to my office this week, asking advice for a friend in the States who is facing an unplanned pregnancy.  Please pray for this friend, as she is 17 years old, lives with her father, has a history of poor decision, mother is not a good role model, and she has lost connection with many in her church.  Our student at Alliance has given good advice, talked with her (Alliance student’s) mother, and will talk with her friend this next Friday while she takes a home pregnancy kit.  Please pray that God will lead her (the friend) to the right resources, that she will grow in responsibility and her walk with the Lord, and that God will touch her father’s heart so that he will support and encourage her during this time.

I continue to spend time organizing the Counseling Summit, which will be a series of morning seminars for the high schoolers.  I have recruited 12 teachers, but could really use about 10 more.  Simultaneously, we will offer to seminars for parents to attend.  Please pray with me that it will be a success and it will meet the needs of those who attend.

I continue to learn more and more about students who deal with learning disorders, attention issues, and/or academic giftedness.  The teachers here have so much experience and knowledge, and are always willing to help me learn.

One of our school counselors, Cristina Orellana, has returned from maternity leave and has jumped back into the swing of things.  She has her ecuadorian doctorate-level degree in school counseling, and is much more qualified than I am for what we do here.  :)  It is our hope to begin a few elementary groups that focus on social skills, as well as one that focuses on issues of adoption.  It is a pleasure and a blessing to work with her.

I think I mention this every week, but it continues to be true…  Rick and I are steadily increasing our sense of community here, and God has blessed us with some very good friends.  We continue to hang out with people who are, predominantly, at least 10 years our juniors…  it could be immaturity on our part! :)  Our weekly, Tuesday (two-for-one), pizza-night has a group of regulars, and a few new people almost every week.  While many of us work at Alliance, others work with Youth World, Extreme Response, and other ministries here in Quito.

Rick continues to work on the school yearbook, and is beginning the process of getting pictures (mug shots) of all the students.  At this point he is mostly lacking pictures of staff and of the seniors.  Please pray that everyone gets to him on schedule, as delays can really make it difficult to get the yearbook out on time.

Rick is feeling much better, and is back in the school gym on an almost-daily basis.  He is also giving free jujitzu lessons to a friend and co-worker, Tommy Bowen.  If things go well, Rick hopes to be able to offer jujitzu classes to some of the other staff and, perhaps, upper classmen in the future.

As always, thank you all for your prayers and your support.  We are constantly amazed and grateful for the many ways in which God takes care of us, and one of those ways is though friends and family like you.  You are often in our thoughts, our conversations, and our prayers.  Again, thank you all!

Sincerely,
Rachel and Rick Sams

Hello to you all (or y’all, as my family has been known to say)!

The weather over the last week has been just beautiful!  The sun is shining almost every day, there has been very few rainstorms, and the temperatures are in the mid-70’s.  I hung up my first (ever) hummingbird feeder about a month ago and, this last week, had my first hummingbird come to visit.  I am hoping he tells all his little friends about it soon!  Ecuador is known for having the widest variety of hummingbirds of any country, although I don’t know how much variety I will see here in the city.  Even so, it always amazes me that God’s hand is on such tiny, fragile creatures.

Rick has recovered from his cold and cough from last week, too.  Thank goodness for cough syrup with codeine, available without a prescription!  We are still mourning the fact that we cannot find Nyquil here, though.  Even so, the cold has run it’s course and he is back to his regular routine.  While some of his students like it when he is gone, some of them actually say that they miss him and want him to come back soon…  maybe the substitute gives more homework?  Within the next week Rick will cease teaching the middle school computer classes (their teacher is currently out on maternity leave), and he is looking forward to having a little more time in which to do all the other things that he does so well.

Rick has committed to being on the worship team at English Fellowship Church on a regular rotation.  It is wonderful to see him be able to join in leading praise, and many people have complimented him on how much they enjoy his presence there.

This last Saturday was Elementary Fun Day (read - fund raiser for the seniors to go on their senior trip).  There was a dunking booth, a pillow fight/balance bar, face painting, a trampoline, various other games, and yummy yummy food (from TGI Fridays and DiSergios, owned by the father of one of our seniors).  They raised over $3000, the elementary kids all had a blast, and many of the parents had a chance to spend time with one another, too.

One of my goals for this school year has been to create a greater sense of community among the parents of our students.  In the past many of the students came from missionary homes, and they had a great sense of community among those from their missions as well as among the missionary group as a whole.  As our student population becomes less missionary based, we have more students who come from homes that are not connected to any particular ministry, and some from homes that do not know the Lord.  It is my hope that we will be able to foster a sense of community and belonging for those parents, as well as a real structure of support and encouragement for them through the school.

On April 3rd we will have a half day of seminars for the high schoolers, coordinated by the counseling department, called the Counselor’s Summit.  There will be numerous seminars for the students to sign up for, and a few seminars for parents to attend, too.  Our special speaker for parents is none other than Dr. Roy Rotz, Rachel’s post-graduate supervisor and friend from Mid America Nazarene University in Olathe, KS.  He has graciously agreed to fly to Quito and speak to our parents (and do a little sight seeing while he is here).  We are so excited to have him and look forward to spending time with him here.

Rick is already starting to take the student’s pictures for the yearbook.  He has taken all the pictures for the elementary classes and tomorrow will take middle school.  Next week will be the high school pictures, with the exception of the seniors.  Rick has set stricter limits for the Senior pictures this year (setting aside only a few Saturdays and limiting the different locations to which he will go to take them) as well as enforcing the dress code rules (no strapless shirts, no ’sagging’ pants, etc.).  Please pray that the students will comply with these (seemingly simple) rules and that the process will go smoothly.

Our greatest sadness this week was learning that our friends and coworkers, Dan and Emily Weatherby, will not be returning to Quito in the near future.  They headed up the Campus Ministries Department and Emily worked part time in the counseling department, also.  Due to the birth of their first child, some physical difficulties, and other family issues, they have chosen to stay in the States for the time being.  We felt like really really connected with them and, more than the fact that they will no longer be our coworkers, we feel the distance that will separate us from them as friends.  We are praying that God will open the door for them to return to Quito in a few years.

Peer Helpers this last week was very good.  We talked about Praying For and With Others.  We talked about how one of the most loving things that you can do for someone is to pray for them, and all that this will entail.

As always, it has been a very busy week!  There have been many good days and we have been so grateful.  We continue to build relationships with the students, the staff, and the families around us.

Thank you all for your prayer and support as the Lord continues to use us to minister (and to minister to us) here in Ecuador.

Blessings to you all,

Rick and Rachel Sams

I’ve said here before that there’s not a lot of Ecuadorian food that really moves me.  It’s mostly bland.  And while shawarma definitely doesn’t qualify as “Ecuadorian,” this is the first place I’ve ever had it.  And it’s everywhere here.

The closest thing to it in the U.S. is probably gyros, the lamb “sandwiches” that are cut off those big upright, rotating logs of meat that sit in those heater/cooker units.  Shawarma is cooked similarly, but it’s made of seasoned chicken breast.  Once they slice the meat off with a monstrous knife, they put it over lettuce and tomato on a flatbread/tortilla kinda thing.  Then they serve it with a creamy yogurt sauce and a hot pepper sauce.  I’ve gotten through 2.5 of them before.  They’re yummy.

Oh, and by the way … today is totally another one of those days.

I know, I know … “the next month or so” was highly ambitious.  I’m WAY behind on my things I love about Ecuador.  Here’s one that’s been reminding me of itself for the last couple of weeks.

You know that kind of day that usually falls in early spring or late fall, when it really should be colder and murkier, but for some reason just isn’t?  You wake up on a Saturday, full-on expecting to have to drag yerself out of bed because it’s grey, wet, and chilly … again … but then you roll over and have to squint for all the light that’s trying to force its way through the curtains and blinds on your bedroom window.  You stumble, blinking, to the door, open it and a cool breeze playfully tugs at the edges of your bathrobe while the morning sunlight screams through cloudless skies to fall across your face like a blanket of white-hot comfort.  It’s the kind of day where the sun’s visceral and relentless presence, unencumbered by even the hint of inclement weather, keeps the air warm enough for t-shirts and shorts long before (or long after) the season should allow for it.  All while the gently moving wind carries just the right amount of chill to both keep you from sweating and remind you what a gift these days truly are.  Bright, golden sunlight.  Deep blue skies that seem much deeper and wider than yesterday’s.  The sweet, tactile tingle of the heat on your skin.  The light, flitting, breezy caress of cool air moving and wrapping itself around your body.  These are days made for hours in a hammock in the back yard, or a drive in the country with the windows down.  They scream for a house full of open windows, for closets and drawers scoured for another season’s clothes, and for being outside as much as possible.  You know the kind I mean.

Where we moved from, there were maybe two months of the year where days like these were even possible.  At that, we counted ourselves fortunate as kings to have a dozen or so of those kind of days a year.  Consider how many of them we get now … living at 9,300 ft. high in the Andes mountains, 30 miles south of the equator.  As rainy season starts to sputter and draw to a close, we’re bracing ourselves for the onslaught of sheer awesomeness.