Retrospective from Travis

"It was amazing how the first couple of days were blazing hot but the rest of the week was mild and breezy with clouds to protect us from the sun. It was almost as if God was showing us the normal environmental circumstances these Ecuadorians deal with regularly for the first couple days but then cooled it off to allow us to get all the work done that we came to do (while keeping joyful spirits to show His love to our new family). 

Along the same line, my sickness was also a show of God's ability to still work through us to go beyond our goal even when Steve, Claudio, and myself were gone from the worksite for almost 6 hours in total and I was out of commission for almost 2 days. But, by God's grace, I fully recovered and we accomplished a great deal of physical labor and formed some amazing relationships during our short stay." - Travis Crane

Link to Photos

You can find some photos that we uploaded by following this link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/105550590298337166557/6313222457330544433?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMPV47q7t97GrwE&feat=directlink 

Day 8 - Friday

By mosquito binge time on Thursday (about 6 pm), the team had started the final 4 latrines for this visit. Claudio had set a stretch goal of 15 for the week and he was ecstatic to be exceeding the goal! These last 4 were about 1/4 mile east of our base station. Sand & gravel had been delivered in bags by a truck, but the rest were walked back and forth so these had some built-in time delays. Even at that, we were finished by lunchtime with time to eat our final meal in our kitchen, debrief the week, shower and make some farewell visits.

Erik and his sisters Marilyn and Karina had returned from their responsibilities and sat with us after lunch. Pablo asked the team to share their highlights or memorable aspects of our time on the coast. After the team shared their thoughts with Pablo translating for our hosts, we asked them to share from their perspective.

We were blown away by what they had to say. To begin with, each one of them struggled to get through what they had to say without completely breaking down. Through tears, Marilyn told us how much physical need they had after the earthquake, then Christians started showing up and helping them with those physical needs. What surprised her though, is that they had even greater spiritual needs that they didn't even know about that these people began to minister to. She then told about how our team was so friendly and set such a good example of obedience and love for God and had impacted her and the rest of the family through our relationships. She recognized that she might never see any of us again, and she was finding that very difficult to think about that. Her brother Erik also spoke of strong attachment to our team and of a void that he would feel in our absence. Their mother spoke of shock and depression after the earthquake, and how the smiles of Christians were what encouraged her and caused her to start turning to God for encouragement.

Later, Claudio told me how much he has seen this family change in the 3 months that he has been going there. At first they had statues of saints all over the place, and several relics associated with various local superstitions. Those things are all gone now, and they are sending the children to Sunday school, and Alfonso and several others went with us to the mid-week service. He does not believe that they are believers yet, but he feels they are very close.

Day 7 – Thursday

The team continues to press on, but we are really feeling the exhaustion too. Work has been a little slow today for some because we are waiting for concrete to set up. We are also working in three groups, which makes tools in short supply for some of the teams.

The weather has been repeatable with some variation. We have been thankful that the skies have been overcast every morning, even looking like it might rain. By noon the clouds start breaking up, usually becoming mostly sunny in the afternoon. The air temperature is not very high, 70’s & 80’s, but the sun is very intense when it is out. Our cloud cover has stayed longer today than previous days, we are thankful!

Day 6 – Wednesday

Claudio, Travis and Steve took a bus into Bahia Caraques for his check-up. His platelet count was up, and since he has not broken out in a rash they have dismissed the Dengue diagnosis. Instead they are calling it a viral infection, probably from the plane ride down. He is taking pills to control fever, and is now taking an antihistamine to slow his sinus drainage. He is enjoying working with the rest of the team today.

Relationships with the village people are clearly warming as we become better known and trusted. People who had not yet met the prerequisite of digging their septic hole have gotten busy when they have seen their neighbor’s latrines finished and they simultaneously find that the prerequisites are really that. We were also planning to go to a mid-week service in Salinas, the next village to the east, so we knocked off early to shower and have supper.

A group of us were taken in the back of a small pickup truck a bit over 2 miles to an evangelical church in Salinas for a service that started a little after 7:30 pm. Our group was warmly greeted by individuals before the service, and acknowledged with thanks to our churches for sending financial support and physical labor. Claudio and Pablo both spoke briefly, and Pablo showed a Bible overview film from Mars Hill that presented the gospel. There is also significant earthquake damage in that village, including the church building.

The church building has also been damaged by the earthquake and has been designated as an unsafe building 

Day 5 – Tuesday

Travis was feeling better today, but he has some strong cold symptoms. He still wants to be out with the team, so we asked him to take Steve’s camera and become the team photographer. We will be taking him back to the hospital tomorrow for a follow-up exam. They will be testing his platelet levels again to monitor for improvement.

Today we finished 4 latrines today, made progress on the 3 and started one new one. Most of the morning was cloud covered for which we were very thankful. The humidity level was higher while it was cloudy, then the sun came out in the afternoon. The air is not so terribly warm, but the sun is intensely hot.

Our breakfast this morning included Corbiche, which is a bread made from green cooking plantains stuffed with Corbina fish and baked in a wood fired Dutch oven served with scrambled eggs. For lunch we had homemade shrimp ceviche with rice. For supper we had potatoes, corn, rice and breaded fish. We also have fresh homemade juices with every meal. As long as you don’t mind rice and lots of citrus, we are eating very well. 

Day 4 – Monday

We restarted our work on latrines today. We formed 3 groups, one of which did not have a full translator that worked with Claudio, our fearless leader. Mid-morning Travis was feeling poorly and went back to the bunk house to rest. He had been working with Chuck & Steve, and they stopped in to check on him. He was trying to sleep, but shivering violently under a light cover. He had been feeling a little off for more than 24 hours so we gave him some Cypro antibiotic to see if that would help. He was still not doing very well at lunch, so Claudio Pablo and Steve agreed that he should be examined by a doctor at the ER. We made arrangements to be driven into town by the same truck that move Edie and his family.

The hospital in Bahia de Caraques was damaged by the earthquake, and they have set up to treat people in a different part of town in tents and trailers. The doctor ordered lab tests that were done on site. From them we learned that his platelets are low, and that is an early indicator of Dengue fever. They gave him some medication for his fever electrolytes to keep him hydrated. Within a half hour he was feeling substantially better with his fever abated.

We finished one latrine and have seven more in process, five of which had the concrete poured. Claudio was very pleased with the progress and the quality of the work.

Oswaldo and Jenny, friends of the Perez from their church in Quito joined us this afternoon. Jenny is helping with the cooking, and Oswaldo has joined the work team. Our food has been excellent, and it even stepped up another notch with Jenny in the kitchen.