ONU Spends Their Spring Break Participating in a Film Production

We got to try something new in the way of ministry and I will try to explain it so you can understand. Brian and Lynne Utter are former missionaries to Argentina where Brian worked in the communications department specifically in the area of World Radio Broadcast. Brian and Leonardo Longo from our Communications department decided to have some of the communications film department from ONU Olivet Nazarene University come and partner with his team, Enclave to help with the filming of a video production of the fifth season of a women's ministries program called "Mujer Valiosa" The Valuable Woman. Brian and Lynne brought 17 college students to help with the filming and the Enclave team had 10 workers. By the team we had all the presenters and Doctors as guest speakers, we had as many as 50 on set sometimes. Some of the ONU students were not even communications majors but got to experience the field of film and production.                                                                                                         

The Work and Witness Center was totally transformed into three sets.  One set was a cooking show, another crafts and the other was a set where guest speakers came in to talk about different subjects such as fashion, child psychology, and health.  Things that concern women of today. 
The Students also went off site to different areas around Quito to spas and health centers.  One of the spas was owned by a christian lady and her husband that have a place where anyone can receive treatment but it was designed for children with physical needs that can come and get different muscle treatments. One is putting your feet in the water and the tiny fish come and nibble their feet or they can ride horses and participate in treatments that are available to to them free of charge.  

Two of the teams traveled to other cities to film ministries and testimonies of conversions to Christ. 

The students also attended other places of ministry such as a recycle ministry day care. The children's parents use to work in the dirty trash with the children on their backs but now there is a day care for these children so they are not exposed to dirt and insects while their parents work.  Another ministry was at the Rock Church which is a skateboard ministry to youth.  It is a place that is open in the afternoons for the youth to skate and then there is a short devotional presented.  

Since the kitchen was made into a set we prepared meals in our house and then ate outside.  The students were very helpful in setting up the meal, preparing the meals and carrying the food back and forth.  Filming is a tricky business and can be very long and grueling.  Sometimes we didn't get done filming until 9 or 10 at night and then we ate dinner but always finished out the night with a great time of affirming someone by something they did or said during the day and devotions. 

We are excited about this new ministry opportunity and it is already in the planning for next year.  

MNU Students Spend Their Spring Break With The Shuar Indians

During the second week of Spring Break, 4 short term missionaries from MNU Mid America Nazarene University came.  Krista, our daughter led the team and so that made it super special. We did a lot of traveling from place to place evangelizing and doing some construction.  

The first program was Chillanes, Ecuador which is two hours outside of Riobamba and took us pass the tallest volcano,Chimborazo, in Ecuador, on the way.  This little town does not have a Nazarene Church so we met with some other Nazarenes from Riobamba to evangelize children from a newly organized Compassionate International project.  There were over 250 parents and children that met in a school auditorium.

Harrison in Chillanes

Brittany with Child Sponsorship boy. 

 The students didn't have much time to prepare for a program but they did a great job acting out the story of the Prodigal Son and singing songs with them.  Thanks for the help of Harrison Guaman our construction worker that is also very good with children. We also witnessed the passing out of the Operation Christmas Child Boxes that are sponsored by the Samaritans Purse Project. The children and parents waited patiently while more than 150-200 names were called. If you have never seen a child or children open up their boxes be ready to be greatly impacted.  Operation Christmas Child passed out more than 100 million boxes globally this year and we just got to see a tiny part of what happens all over the world.   The future of this area is to build a Compassionate International After School Center and a Nazarene Church.

Amanda with Child Sponsorship girl

Checking out his big box

We then traveled to the jungle area of Macas but sometimes the road was pure mud, because they were still building the road.  Here we worked in a Shuar village called Cumbatza where we do have a Nazarene church but it is meeting in a small room.  We helped to start their new church building made out of bamboo, huge rocks from the river for the foundation and bricks. This area brings much history of the shrunken heads and the chicha drink.  The shrunken heads is not practiced anymore and the chichi drink is made with yucca, which is somewhat like a potato, that is chewed up by the ladies in the community and then spit it out into a gourd to ferment for several days and then water is added to it.  They were very gracious and offered their special drink to us.  We evangelized to more than 150 kids that afternoon in a neighboring school.  It was hard looking in to their big eyes and telling them good-bye.  We stayed in Sequa where there isn’t much but we found wifi in the plaza in the middle of town!

Working in Cumbatza

Next we did more driving and met District Superintendent, Mario Paredes at Chinimpi a different Shuar area outside of Puyo, Ecuador about an hour.  We looked over a new property for another Compassionate International Project and met the leaders of that area.

Then we got into our new what seems like "home on wheels" and drove to Riobabma about three hours, the shortest trip yet.  The next day we went to an area outside of Riobamba called San Pedro to help them put up a portable chapel.  We could see two different

learning how to mix

volcanoes while working.  The people of this area had cleared a small patch just big enough for the chapel where they had cauliflower and cabbage growing.  We evangelized to children in the neighborhood in the new portable chapel and to our surprise not many attending were from the church.

Chris playing a new game

Through all the many kilometers that we traveled we got to take in some beautiful scenery and eat some great food prepared by church people and some interesting foods in restaurants.  God bless you Amanda, Brittany Chis and Krista, thank you for giving of yourselves.

Brittany, Krista, Chris and Amanda standing on the bridge. 

No one wanted to ride in the van crossing the bridge. 

Amanda, Krista and Brittany showing love

The chapel in the cabbage field

going up

A chapel in a day, almost done.