Houses – “Some houses were broken up, but some were not as broken.”

Food – “My favorite food was when we had the U.S.A. food.  I ate a bun with soda.  I liked a lot of the juice.  The chicken was good.  Some of the rice was good.  I liked some of the soup, and that’s it I think.”

Travel – “It wasn’t that fun.”

Language – “I didn’t know what to say to the Ecuador people.  I asked for help and they (older kids on our team) would tell me what to do or say.”

Anderson (Cal’s friend) – “I first saw him in church.  At church we couldn’t talk.  We played rock, paper, scissors.  We laughed.  I didn’t really talk to him but we played and stuff.  We played Frisbee, not really any soccer.  Anderson’s dad is in jail.  It makes me feel sad.  I liked playing with him.”

Fun – “At the beach, I made a sand castle.  I bodysurfed in the ocean.  Some time I want to do that again.  Is there an ocean in Wisconsin?  I think so.  We played soccer.”

Work – “I tied the rebar.  I helped move the rocks.  It was fun, fun, fun.”

People – “I worked with Bryan.  I hung out with Anderson.  I hanged out with daddy and mommy.  I hung out with God.  I played with Cheyenne.  Luke (Korns) is my favorite Luke Skywalker.”

Singing – “I feel good singing because I like it.  I sing to God.”

Prayer – “We prayed before we ate and before we went to sleep.”

God – “We learn about God through Jesus.  God wants us to be good.  The colors of the bracelet.  I made one in Ecuador.  Everybody else did too.  Black is sin.  Red is blood of God (Jesus).  God made our heart clean.  He made mine clean and yours.” 

Remember – “How we helped make the church.  How hard it was to speak the Spanish there.” 

Favorite – “My favorite part of the trip was playing soccer.” 

Least favorite – “My least favorite part was getting hit in the face with that big soccer ball.”

Cal Wenninger

The opportunity to serve on a short-term missions trip has been such a blessing and I appreciate all your prayers, financial contributions and kind words very much, so thank you Wausau Alliance and others!

In Ecuador, we experienced life in a simpler way; we didn’t have distractions like we do when we are at home. Also, the culture in Puerto Bolívar is much simpler so we had the ability to be completely focused on serving God. This made the experience seem more real, more real in a sense of caring about the things that mattered. It was very humbling because we were surrounded by people that were very fulfilled and happy with life, but had much, much less than you or I can imagine. At the same time the joy that I was filled with is like none I have ever felt. My purpose, which is to live out the truth of the gospel and share the message of the life of Jesus Christ, was at my fingertips at every moment and it was so very joyful.

Although the Ecuadorian people live simpler lives in a sense of having less “stuff” they still have many other places where sin can take hold. Many people deal with problems like drugs, alcohol and pre-marital sex to name a few. During the women’s bible study, two young women sat in front of me and each had a child in their arms. During and after the service I had the opportunity to talk with them and I found out each had a child, but one of the girls was 15 years old, lived with her parents and she was not attending school, but hoped to in the future. The other was 19 and I am not sure if she was in school or not. It was such a blessing to have them in the church, to hear the true message of Jesus and to renew their sense of hope. Please keep praying for the church and the community surrounding it.

Another experience in which God was present was with the 15-20 men who came to lay the concrete. In Ecuador culture, there tends to be somewhat of a machismo attitude which results in disrespectful attitudes towards women, objectifying women and thinking that women are not equal to men. With this said, these men did not want any women on our team to help with the concrete. However, that was some of our passions and desires in how to serve while we were there, so we waited it out. After two or so hours the men including our own team members were tired and there was still a lot of work to be done. So some of the women took the opportunity to start to help. After a while, the men were glad that we were all working together and realized how capable we were. I also think that it spoke to the women in the community, who were nearby or at the church, to see how God can use us all for a variety of purposes. At one point a young Ecuadorian girl maybe about 12 years old wanted to help me carry one of the empty crates and it was great to see how she felt empowered to do so.

Lastly, the people of the Alliance Church in Puerto Bolívar taught me the importance of food, being together, caring for one another, greeting each other, and loving God and each other. These people have it mastered! It was so amazing how wonderful and hospitable they were. Despite not having toilet seats, or toilets they knew how to make amazing food for almost 40 people everyday—their priorities ARE people!! Every house we went to had a stack of 10-20 chairs off of the living room so when large numbers of people or family came to their home everyone had a place to sit. The church has about 60 members and almost each one would hug and say God Bless You at every service!!! We went to serve and they served us in so many ways too!

God is so good and His presence was felt in Ecuador, so both our team and the Ecuadorians can strengthen our relationship with Him and continue to glorify His name.

Angela Wenninger

Aerial Thao