50 Days: It all began with 26 cents....

     (Only 50 days until I begin my second trip to South America! Last year I spent an amazing three weeks in Ecuador and was privileged to watch God at work and to experience fellowship with His church in that country. I will be returning this year for three weeks and then hopping over to Guatemala for two more weeks - working with the deaf in that country. I am so excited!)

It all began with 26 cents.....
     Last year as we made the 8-hour drive from Quito to Esmeraldas for our second week of work, we newbies found much to capture our attention. The drive out of the mountains and down to the coast afforded some spectacular views.

All these images were taken from the window of the moving bus

     We sang to pass the time..... and some slept. We also found that bathrooms were few and far between! As we neared the end of our journey, it was evident that we needed to find one soon. :-o  Edgar (our faithful bus-driver) promised to go "rapido, rapido" in order to find one. :D   When we stopped a short time later, our team leader informed us that we needed to have money on hand to pay for use of the restrooms. (Common in Ecuador and something we'd experienced before.) What was funny though, was the price: 26 cents! "How did they arrive at that number?" I wondered. Ecuador uses the American Dollar, so we fished out a quarter & penny each and paid at the counter. It was a humorous memory to make.
     Fast forward to about a month later when I shared my stories of Ecuador at a joint service with my church and several others. This story was one of the many that I told. After the service, a man handed me 26 cents and said it was the beginning of my support for "next year". :) I put that 26 cents into my wooden box {a gift from the church in Esmeraldas} and prayed the Lord would add to it if it was indeed His will for me to return.

     And He has! The Lord has provided about one fifth of the funds I need to go to South America. I know He will provide it all because He has called. I covet your prayers for me as I prepare and as I go!