From Noele's Perspective...

Noele wrote this on Monday, September 13, and I just had to share it with you all! Enjoy.

"For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4: 5,6

A great big "Hola!" and abrazo from Ecuador!!

This morning my dear friend Kristin and I once again loaded our belongings onto a bus to travel to another of our homes here in Ecuador. We left Guayaquil (on the coast) around 9:30 and arrived here in Cuenca (in the mountains-ish) around noon. The bus ride through the mountains was INCREDIBLE. The past couple times we traveled at night, but this morning we got to look out the window at the clouds floating by. As always, every time we travel it's an adventure. We made it to our bus on time and got our suitcases loaded up. We found our seats and Kristin says, "I have to go to the bathroom." Now, in our travels together, I have learned that Kristin needs the bathroom often and when she needs it, she NEEDS it. So she trotted off to find the nearest bathroom which was not so near, and also stopped at the bank in the bus terminal. Meanwhile I am gazing out the window, and both buses on either side of us start pulling out. Odd, I mused. Then I realized that WE were moving. Our bus was pulling out and Kristin was still somewhere in the terminal. A million thoughts raced through my head, what do I do? What if we leave without her? I have no phone, no idea how to get where we're going! She will need another bus, maybe I should get off and wait! So I run to the front of the bus and yell "MI AMIGA ESTA EN EL BANO!" The driver and his assistant fella kinda look at me funny but they pull over and the side-kick runs back to find her. Thankfully, she made it on time and I didn't have to spend five hours on the bus in panic. I think I might need a cell phone...

The Lord is ever-present in our lives here. The reason we had gone to Guayaquil was because the CVI team was having a one-day discipleship activity there for the kids. It was a really great time, as always, to see our kids and spend time with them for Bible reading, arts and crafts, and prayer. The prayers of the team down here are POWERful. It really keeps me accountable to my own prayer life and how much of myself I am putting into my prayers. One of our campers, Flor, who is an orphan and is very near to our hearts, reacted to something (we're not really sure what set her off) but I mean she threw herself on the ground from her wheelchair and was just screaming and trying to hit anyone who came near. Kristin keeps saying, this is NOT the Flor we know. And it's true. There is some sort of spiritual battle going on within her and we don't know if someone has been mistreating her or what. It was a good reminder for us that God has placed these individuals in our lives for a reason, and we are responsible for praying for the young and innocent and asking for protection against the attacks of evil.

Kristin and I both had some health problems while we were in Guayaquil. One of our friends eventually told us that we had to go to this doctor friend of his, who told us we have bronchitis and sinusitis. Or at least, we DID have but now we are equipped with cough medicine (something like Ecuadorian Robitussin) and antibiotics. Whereas Kristin had a bad reaction to the medicine and experienced side effects, I am feeling quite healthy and happy once again.

There is a worship song here that I have been hearing a lot and it has been really powerful for me. The words translated into English say, "You loved me when no one loved me, You saw me before anyone saw me. You gave me a name, I am Your daughter. The daughter of Your eyes. Because You loved me, I love you more than my life." I just love these words.

I have been missing my family and friends up there a lot, I wish I could talk to you guys more! I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful Fall season, someone should take a picture of the leaves when they start changing colors so I can see them, ok?? I can relate to the weather changing to colder temperatures because here in Cuenca, I am wearing monkey slippers and two sweaters and huddling against my laptop to keep warm. The nights feel like Wisconsin nights, but during the day it warms up a lot. If anyone is interested in seeing pictures, Kristin has been posting a lot on her facebook and I can send you a link maybe, but I do not have my camera here so I dont have any pictures on my computer yet.

LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU ALL! Thanks for your prayers, you are in mine as well!!

Noele