Carnaval Camp

Last Monday and Tuesday the Paz de Dios church had carnival camp.  Everyone has time off for carnival, so the church takes advantage of it and plans a camp during that time.  Besides, it also provides a positive option for families instead of the partying and drinking that is normally associated with carnival in Ecuador.

 

The total cost for the camp was $13 per adult for the two days AND transportation.  Polivio has a real gift for organizing creative, low-cost retreats.  Polivio organized a public bus to make a special stop by the church to pick up all the campers at 7:30am Monday morning.  2.5 hrs. later we arrived in Oña, a small town south of Cuenca.  Due to poor road conditions, the bus could go no farther.  From there most of us climbed into a cattle truck for the 1.5 hr trip down narrow, winding roads into a deep canyon.  The cattle truck had no top on it, so by the time we arrived at the retreat site, we were all drenched.  The custom for carnival is to throw water on everyone, and the people along the edge of the road made good use of the custom.

 

The retreat was held in a small, village.  Most of us slept in the local "community center" and a few also slept in tents.  For meals, one of the local farmers butchered a goat and served us other locally grown food.  We had rice for every, every meal.  For eating utensils, every person brought their own along and washed their own dishes after each meal.  We washed the dishes at an outdoor sink, and very often came away with clean dishes, but very wet clothes.

 

The main activities of the retreat was exploring the nearby river.  Some crossed the river in a cable car, other swam or waded across.  On the other side we took advantage of the many tropical fruits.  We at mandarins, mangos, coconuts, oranges, lemons, etc.  The river was rather high, so I would usually cross the river first and help tie a rope so the rest could cross more securely.

 

The theme for the retreat was "Victorious living in Christ".  Different men from the church shared at one of the four devotional times.  They share on Nehemiah, Gideon, the armor of God (Eph 6), and I shared on David and Goliath.  What a blessing to see these godly men willing and able to share with the rest of the congregation from the Word.

 

I'll include with this post some pictures from the trip.  I tried the capture the size and magnitude of the canyon, but the pictures don't do it justice.  I also tried to get some pictures of the road down into the canyon as well, but they don't show the whole picture either.  Maybe that's a good thing.... especially for my mom.  :-) 

 

I'm very thankful for the safety the Lord gave on the trip and also for the many opportunities to fellowship, encourage, and share with the believers.  It is so encouraging to see their growth and hunger for the things of the Lord.  Thank you so much for your prayers and partnership in my ministry.  I am so overwhelmed with the many doors the Lord has opened.  He is so good!

 

The next trip planned in three weeks is a hike with the church youth up a volcanic crater.  Stay tuned...