Political Unrest in Ecuador

Hey all!

I don't want to scare any of you, but you may have heard about the political unrest in Ecuador today. I wanted to write a quick note and let you all know that despite everything going on, I am safe and doing well. Don't worry, I'm not joining in the riots. We are staying behind locked doors. :) Prayers for the country of Ecuador would be greatly appreciated. Police began rioting today and are trying to remove our current president from office. He was attacked earlier today and has declared a national state of emergency. Who knows, we may have a new president soon. This nation is greatly in need of peace, and we know that our God is the only true source of peace! So please, beseech Him to reach out His hand to this hurting nation.

The following is a letter sent out to many people by the head of Alliance Academy International (the missionary school here in Quito). It contains a lot of great info about what is going on. I love you all, and please don't worry!! God is always in control! :)

Date: Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 2:16 PM

Subject: EMERGENCY - Ecuador destabilized!

To:

Supporters and friends:

 

URGENT NEED FOR PRAYER:  Details are not completely clear, but this morning Ecuador's national police went on strike, and apparently even attacked the president when he went to talk with the strikers.  This has seriously destablized the nation for the first time in several years, and has added to the danger we face on the streets.

 

WHAT WE KNOW:  According to various news reports, the national police decided to strike (leave their posts, protest at their stations, burn tires in the streets) to protest an impending reduction in their performance bonuses and promotion schedules.  Dissatisfaction with Ecuador's president has been building in recent months, and this latest move apparently was too much for the police.

 

The total absence of the police force means that there is little or no "law presence" on the streets; in the cities of Quito and Guayaquil, particularly, this can mean that criminals roam freely.

 

Quito's airport is closed until further notice, stranding about 700 outbound passengers this morning at the airport, and preventing travel for an indefinite period of time.  Some of our students' parents are in other parts of the world, trying to get home.

 

All schools are closed until further notice; we implemented our strike plan and methodically evacuated the campus beginning at noon; all but a handful of students (whose parents are stranded in various places) are now gone.

 

WHAT WE HEAR (which may or may not be accurate):  Several banks have been robbed, and markets and malls looted--some near the campus.  Roads leading in/out of major cities have been blocked, though I have not--yet--heard of any of our families who live in the suburbs being unable to get home.

 

After being tear-gassed by the police, the president fled to a major hospital (not the one next door to us) to find safety from police who threatened his life.

 

The commander of the military claims that the military supports the president; however, we also hear from inside sources that such support is not necessarily the case.  I have not yet read any news as to action by the National Assembly (congress) or the Supreme Court in this situation.

 

PRAY FOR:  God's plan to be realized...sanity to prevail...safety for our entire community...stability for the nation...an orderly resolution of the power struggle...wisdom for the Alliance Academy leadership as we consider when to re-open...and more.

 

A number of us have been through this several times...in twenty years here I think it's been five times for me.  Personally, I am not anxious...just wanting more and better information (the TRUTH, not just rumors), and for stability to return so we can do what we're here to do.

 

Thanx!  Feel free to write...so long as we have internet I will try to keep in touch.

 

Cheers!

 

Greg Collord

Alliance Academy International

Quito Ecuador

Dios es Fiel (God is Faithful)

Hola Amigos!
Tengo mucho informacion por ustedes! Mi clase de Espanol es muy bueno! A mi me gusta la profesora. Estamos aprendiendo un monton. Tomorrow I will have been in Ecuador for two weeks. Can you believe it? I am absolutely loving everything about being here. Along with my Spanish class, we now have Spiritual Formation. I think it's going to be an awesome class, and I'm excited to dive into it like Spanish! This past week was a lot more chill than our first week. Orientation was a blast, and I'm not saying this week wasn't as fun, but it was definitely more serious. We are now on our own for meals, and we go to the market every other day or so for fresh ingredients. I'm so lucky the other girls know how to cook a lot of things from scratch! They're incredible. We also do just about everything else on our own now too. We catch the trolley to go to class downtown like pros. We've learned how to force our way on and off, and not be so scared of being smashed in tighter than sardines. (It's really a hilarious sight, and I've been wanting to take a picture, only I can never reach my camera to take one!)

 This week was filled mostly with classes and homework. I never thought I would be doing homework this soon after graduating, but I'm actually really enjoying it! Not having to worry about a grade is awesome. My goals are simply to do my best and make you all proud! :) I love this process of beginning to understand and communicate with the beautiful people of Ecuador in their own tongue. I've actually been surprised that almost no one speaks any English here. I guess my ethnocentrism got the best of me before coming, because I assumed a lot more people would know at least a bit. Despite only being able to communicate on a very basic level right now, I'm already falling deeply in love with these people. They are so precious to God and He loves them so much. How could I not adore them?

My internship begins in a week, and I am so incredibly excited for it to start. I'm so glad I've been able to have intensive Spanish first though, because I'll definitely need it. Also in a week, I will be moving in with an Ecuadorian family for three weeks. That is going to be so crazy and awesome and intense! I'm looking forward to it.

Prayer requests for this coming week would definitely include patience for me in Spanish class. It's definitely like trying to drink from a firehose right now. There's so much it kinda hurts! ;) I want to know everything, but I know it has to be a long process. Also, prayer would be greatly appreciated for continued safety for my whole team. I am so humbled and grateful for all of your prayers so far. Know that they are being tangibly felt and are having a huge impact here!

Amor para ustedes,
Jenni

Week #1 Pictures!

My group in La Plaza Grande

The Basílica del Voto Nacional

More pics to come!

My First Week in Ecuador!

Hola friends and family!!
Greetings from the land where a dozen roses cost two dollars, and toilet paper is thrown away, not flushed. :) I flew into Quito, Ecuador one week ago, and was welcomed at the airport by several of Youth World's staff members, the wonderful people who are my leaders for the next three months. I can scarcely believe it's been a full week since I arrived here and saw their faces for the first time. The time has gone by so quickly I haven't even had a chance to catch my breath since stepping off the plane and onto the 10,000 ft. high ground of Ecuador's capital.

I am so excited to share with you all about my first week here! I know many of you have been waiting anxiously to hear from me, so thank you for being patient! I wish I could include every detail of my experience in this blog, but that would mean no sleep for me, so I'll have to keep it simplified. ;)

From day one, after stepping off the plane, my director drove me to my team's apartment (which has an incredible view of the city!), and I met the other girls in my program. They are all wonderful and very sweet! :) Day two (Monday), in the morning I met the boys (also very nice), and we began orientation. We learned a lot about International Teams and Youth World, including who they are, what they do, and their impact in this country. We went over safety, and all that jazz as well. We were introduced to Quito itself, which was awesome. Phil, Matt, Marlow, and Bryan are the people in charge of our group, so they showed us around the city (You will hear a lot more about them in the future, and I'll be mentioning them a lot! They are amazing leaders.) We went to many different spots, taking trollies, cabs and walking a lot, and learned about the history and makeup of the city. While our legs and lungs burned walking the hills, we got to know each other a little bit more as well.

Day three (Tuesday), we continued on from Monday, sharing our life stories with one another, bonding as a group, and learning more about the city (this time the area closest to where we're living). We visited key places that are important to Youth World and places that will be important to us in the next three months. We ended our day at Matt and Marlow's house (they're married and have two kids). We ate dinner and had a devotional time, which was wonderful. Tuesday night, just like Monday night, I feel into bed around 12:30, exhausted from the whirlwind day.

Wednesday, we were sent on a scavenger hunt throughout the whole city as a group, to see if we had been paying attention to what our leaders had been sharing with us the previous days. Equipped with maps and cell phones, we spent the entire day walking around the city. When we finished, we went to Matt and Marlow's house once again and had a time of worship. (We will have a Bible study/worship time at their house every Wednesday.) Wednesday morning I had woken up not feeling the best. Throughout the day I increasingly felt worse, which was a bummer. By the evening I knew I was sick, but still tried to participate in everything.

Thursday was our first day of Spanish class! (It starts at 8:30, so I will be waking up at 6:30 on weekdays.) We took placement tests, and then jumped right in to learning. My teacher spoke Spanish the whole time! Talk about immersion! She is super nice and motions a lot and makes sure I understand the gist of what she's saying before going on. I was surprised at how much I was able to understand and how much I learned. I definitely had a blast. :) I was still sick though, and that made it hard to sit for three hours with major stomach pain. We had our first free time Thursday afternoon, so I took a much needed nap! After waking up and still feeling bad, I emailed my mom and let her know I was sick. She emailed many of you and passed on the word. Thank you to everyone who prayed for me!!

Friday was my birthday! I woke up that morning and felt great!! It was such an incredible blessing to get online in the afternoon and find emails from so many people telling me they were praying for my health and wishing me a great birthday. I am overwhelmed with gratitude. It made me feel so loved, and I was so thankful to not be sick anymore! :) In the morning we had Spanish class, and in the afternoon we went to the market. It was super fun! Bryan planned a surprise evening to celebrate, which ended up being dinner at a Crepe and Waffle place. Deliciousness! We even got dressed up for it. After dinner we played Silent Football and the girls surprised me with a birthday cake they had made! It even had candles on it and they sang happy birthday. Everyone is so sweet here and they made my day super special.

This weekend we were able to pack in a bunch of fun before our workload gets too crazy and we have no free time. Saturday (yesterday), we drove partially down the mountain (crossing into the Northern Hemisphere) and went to a zip line through the “cloud forest.” Then on our way back to Quito we stopped at a tiny butterfly farm and saw different species of butterflies. Both of those events were incredible, and I feel so blessed that I got to experience them!! :)

Today (Sunday) we all went to a Spanish-only church. It was great, but I could barely understand the service. Can't wait till I can understand more! ;) After church we went to the middle of the world – the equator! Well, not really, since they mis-marked it by a few hundred meters, but it was still cool. We straddled the line and took pictures. Marlow said we'll make it to the real equator sometime before we leave. It doesn't matter much to me since I've already crossed it. ;)

If you're still reading this, I'm so impressed! I just realized I didn't do a good job of simplifying. ;) Sorry about that! We did an incredible amount of stuff this last week and the group of us bonded like crazy. Though I feel like I just left the States, I feel like I've known my new friends and this city for years. Thank you to all once again for being excited for me, for the birthday wishes, and especially for your prayers. I don't know what made me sick this past week, but I don't plan on getting sick again! This coming week I continue Spanish, and more classes start. It should be just as busy, but much more routine. I love you all and look forward to keeping you updated on here!

With Joy,
Jenni

Farewell USA, Hola Ecuador!!

It's finally here!! The big day came soo fast. I leave for LAX in a half hour. I can barely believe it. :) My flight takes off at 6:25am. That takes me to Miami, where I have a four hour layover, and then a three hour flight to Ecuador. I reach Quito at 9:00pm their time, which is three hours ahead of CA.

I have to make this note super short, but I just wanted to thank everyone once again for everything. You all have given me so much support, encouragement, and prayer, and I am overwhelmed by your love. Thank you for making this trip possible.

I cannot wait to give you all my first update from Quito when I'm settled in! Know that I am taking you all with me in my heart. I love you all dearly. See you in December!

With love and joy,
Jenni

Ecuador, here I come!