Wedding Photos

Aug 19, 2008

El Refugios Catapults

During our team retreat Juan Carlos divided us into two groups to create a catapult that would launch a baseball the farthest. Guess who won?

Their Catapult...


Our Catapult...



We had some disagreement on the definition of a catapult, so I looked up the word on dictionary.com:

cat·a·pult
–noun
1. an ancient military engine for hurling stones, arrows, etc.
2. a device for launching an airplane from the deck of a ship.
3. British. a slingshot. –verb (used with object)
4. to hurl from a catapult.
5. to thrust or move quickly or suddenly: His brilliant performance in the play catapulted him to stardom.
6. British.
a. to hurl (a missile) from a slingshot.
b. to hit (an object) with a missile from a slingshot.

Lorena's Latest August 19, 2008

This was my team's "catapult"
The other teams catapult.August Facilitator Training: New facilitators - Paul, Pablo A., Belen, Germanico, Esteban (Pucho - Danny's brother), Carolina, and Anita (Pablo M's sister). The others are current facilitators that came to help with training.
Learning how to rescue someone from the high ropes course (some get tired and can't finish the course, so we go out to help them back to the platform).
Summer is winding down at El Refugio. We are catching our breaths and preparing for September. The facilitator training went very well. We trained seven new facilitators and all said they were thankful to be there for the week. This group had great opportunities to build friendships and learn to live in community. We ate one meal with our wrists tied together and some of them complained about how they were going to eat (they were hungry!), but by the end they wanted to keep their wrists tied because they were having so much fun together.

The day after training our El Refugio team (including spouses and children) went on a retreat together. Courtney (Juan Carlos' wife) and I organized the retreat. Saturday afternoon Juan Carlos facilitated games and activities that encouraged team building. We split up into two teams and were given the challenge to build a catapult. I am going to try to upload some video and photos so you can see how much fun we had launching the baseball! That evening we camped at El Refugio at the most popular campsite Kadesh. We roasted marshmallows and made smores and had a great time of worship with Paul Recheirt.

Sunday we divided up into three teams and video cameras. Each team had the challenge to video tape at least one team member with a variety of tasks. For example: Group video doing a slow motion sport. The teams had a lot of fun ending at our mystery location San Jorge. http://www.eco-lodgesanjorge.com/ It is a beautiful piece of property with lots of birds, hot tub, sauna, good food, and lots of trails. We enjoyed worship and sessions with each member of the leadership team. Thanks to Geneva Baptist Church, Emmanuel Faith Community Church, Southern Baptist leaders, and others we were able to surprise our team with their favorite snacks both sweet and salty. We had so much that we decided to put it on the table for the weekend and still had lots of left over. Thank you so much for your donations.

We are in the process of training two of our facilitators to be hosts. They are learning how to run a retreat group. Pablo is going to host his church's youth group for the first time this Saturday. Please pray for him. He is currently an intern at El Refugio until the end of August. He has decided to go back to school to improve his effectiveness as a Youth Pastor. He wants to go to seminary, but there are no good programs for Youth ministry, so we are in the process of helping him plan for his education.

Carlos will be co-hosting a retreat in September. He is really excited to grow with us and considering being an intern. Please pray for him and the decisions he needs to make about his future.

Many of our facilitators are from Iglesia Evangelica Biblica del Iñaquito located in Quito. This week they are taking the youth to Los Cerros on the coast. Danny is in charge of the games and outdoor activities. Esteban, Vicky, Jeff, Diego and Andres are also helping with the leadership of their annual camp. Please pray for them this week, that they would be servants and open to opportunities that God has placed in their paths.

I am excited to say that we currently have 24 facilitators in our program!! I have decided to divide them up into three groups. Each group will come to El Refugio for one weekend a month with one (or two weekends) open for them to come again. My goals are to focus on three areas with them: Biblical study, Service, and Technical skills. Next month I hope to take them rock climbing at a local rock wall, read and discuss the bible (beginning with the book of John), and help serve by working on the completion of the tree house.

Quick updates: Vanessa got a job! I met with her about two weeks ago for an hour and she seems very content yet full in her studies and her new job.

Doris has been busy with seminary classes, the job as administrator for children and singles at her church, and family crisis. Her mom did have surgery and has significantly improved her eye. Thank you for your prayers!

Continue to pray for the development of the Outdoor Education, specifically the Birds class. I am in the process of developing a research plan with a budget and could use prayer! Not my strength, but God willing it will work out. :)

God reminds me every day it is by His grace and strength that I am here. My prayer today is: Mighty God, help me to understand that I've been called by You to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).

May God abundantly bless you, today. Thank you for your support and encouragement! Love, Lorena

PS. See more photos on my blog http:lorenaslatest.blogspot.com