Bethany Hess        Network 21 Missions
 
i am thinking back to a few nights that caused such sadness, and so many questions.
as i said before, we are staying at the YWAM base. while here, we are doing some outreach with a team here ...
they invited us out on a prayer walk though town.
first meeting, and praying together, and then going out on The Streets.
so we walked, prayed, and listened to what God had to say ...
a few nights later, we went out to walk and talk now.
We made our way to the famous red light District. I had seen parts of it during the day.
a few ladies standing in the windows ... but i realized now, there is no way to mentally prepare yourself for this!
we walked down a street, took a turn, and stood in the middle of a bridge, looking down at the ladies, the windows, the lights, curtains, and the mob of men.
it was so strange!
we walked the street lined with windows. The best way I can describe it is like a storefront window, only the ladies are what is for sale. the men, taking there pick, asking how much is this and how much is that?
so strange, so far from what the heart of God for His people!
the team we went with had gone many times before, they had become friends with some of the ladies, so I was able to meet a few of the ladies in the windows.
they are women just like me, most of them in the midst of desperate circumstances.
it was such a hopeless feeling to walk by a window where the curtain was drawn (that indicates they are busy).
i went home asking God, what can we do? there is so much darkness. so much hopelessness in that place. so much loneliness. so much hurt.
what can we do?
i went to bed with the question heavy in my heart.
You see, I have realized something about myself ... I am opposed to injustice in any form! Can you imagine what God thinks about this injustice?!?
some women are trafficked in, some women so desperate, with no hope, having to sale themselves over and over again!
men, seeking some sort of pleasure or love, trying to fight loneliness ... out there settling for something that is so much less than what God has for them!
God what do we do?
after struggling with this question, God reminded me of His heart for all of us .......... The affluent, the lonely, the desperate, the self-centered, the religious, the greedy, the poor, the corrupt, the sick ...
He loves us oh so dearly, and He desires for us to be with Him.  
He will burden hearts for different people groups, or countries, or issues. He has not forgotten any of us! 
We must pray, and we must be active ... however that looks for each individual!
and we must always remember, it is not them, or i, it is US..
We are God's people. and we must act accordingly!
on those streets lined with red lights, I saw so many tourist walk by the ladies in the windows saying remarks that oozed with superiority! this is not God's heart.
We are his people, and we must act accordingly.
He loves us, Oh how He loves us.

 
it is now march, and there is so much to tell you all!
First i will start with where we are staying ...
We are staying at the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base building called The Gate. it is a massive building that houses people on staff with YWAM, YWAM people in schools and people passing through. We have been here from amsterdam to our second week now. it has been a very nice stay. so many new people, so many lives to learn about new! We continue to hear from some real faith building stories of the people on staff here. I know God has provided and I lukus with our needs, but it is so encouraging to hear of all that God is doing and providing for others in the body!
these last two weeks or so, we have been volunteering with a lady, bianca, here at the base. she is a wife, a mom of four, and she is trying to redecorate some rooms here at The Gate. needless to say, she needed some help. so the three of us painted some rooms for her, built some furniture, sewed some pillow covers, and so on. The base now has a big family room (living room) for everyone to enjoy living here, as well as a bright new dining room. The dining room was a dingy yellow on bottom, and dirty white on top. before being painted ... now it is beautiful! The more I thought about it, i realized how much of a gift it was for her to redecorate .... the families living here in this building just usually have bedrooms, kitchens and shared ... just no place to live. so bianca has provided them with a nice place to eat and live together! there are definitely perks to living in community, but also many sacrifices! so it is nice to see something fresh and pretty for all here to enjoy!
 
well, it has been quite some time since i last blogged!  but i am still alive and well.  
two days ago, we arrived in amsterdam safely with luggage and everything.  while we are here, we are meeting up with some different contacts that we(network 21 missions) might work with in the future.  we are seeing what God is doing in europe and where we can be involved.  thus far, we have met a couple people that we are praying about working with while we are based in amsterdam.  we met one man who has such a heart for amsterdam, and truly believes that God loves this city, and will do what He has promised.   we will be meeting up with him again, to hear more of the needs here, and how we can help!  i am very excited to see such hope in a place i had heard hope was hard to come by.  
as for reading dutch...i am horrible, thank goodness God is good with directions! we have somehow found our way to every place we needed to be!  as for the weaher, it is stinkin cold!  layers, layers, layers! 
well, i better get going.  please be praying for the three of us! 
 
Day after thanksgiving…

The four of us spent our thanksgiving in Santiago, Chile. We did the usual, got ingredients, cooked majority of the day, ate a lot, but all of this was a bit different in ChileJ .

First, we took a taxi to the supermarket. We spent around two hours there because everything was in Spanish…imagine trying to find cream cheese and sour cream in Spanish. To our delight, we did find a turkey and even a turkey bag! A few ingredients were not found, but we made due. Now back to the church to cook! We immediately get in the kitchen(around 2pm, yikes!) prepare the turkey, and we are ready for the oven! To turn on the oven you have to turn on the gas and then light the bottom with a match. We did it, no continuous flame. We did it again, no flame, and again, and again. We had many new friends trying to help, but still no flame. Oh no! our entire meal has to go in the oven, the turkey, the stuffing, the corn casserole, the broccoli casserole, the crust for the desserts. It looked like our thanksgiving meal was going to be mashed potatoes and rollsJ .

Do not let my short, little sentences fool you, we were starting to hyperventilate, not really but the air was getting a bit thick! Praying over the ovenJ , in walks a lady we have never seen before. She found a way to rig the oven to have a continuous flame! Ok, now it Is 3:30pm and the turkey just found its’ place in the oven. Murtel, the turkey, was so excited!

We cooked and cooked, set the table, and sat down for dinner at 7pm. It was so cool, we were joined by a few new friends from the church. Massiel, a precious, young woman, who was so excited, this was her first thanksgiving! We were also joined by Rodrigo , who is showing us around town in a couple hours, and Andrea, the dedicated, and fun church secretary.

After we filled our bellies, we passed around a candle (one of my family’s traditions), and spoke of the last year, what God had done in our lives, what we are thankful for, and our hopes for the next year. That moment made the entire, frazzled day a blur….this is what thanksgiving day is all about! Giving thanks with friends and family!

 
our time away has been a good experience thus far...
i am constantly learning more about what the kingdom of God actually looks like. 
right now, i do believe that God has directied lukus and i to take this year to go and see what He is doing in different cultures and in different areas of need, and serve wherever we are needed. 
in order to continue doing this, lukus and i still need around $15,ooo to get us through the year.  i am asking you as my family in Christ to pray about giving a one time donation or monthly support to help  us finish what God has directed us to do. 
please do not feel obligated to give....i truly desire for you to pray to see where God would have you place the money....whether it be lukus and i, or else where!
thank you to  all of you who have given, and have been faithful with monthly support...we haven't missed a meal yet:)
love, love
bethany

you can make out checks to Network 21 Missions,
 and get sending info on www.cultureshocktrip.com







 
here in the galapagos we have been teaching english at the church.  we  have classes monday through thursday from 7-9 pm.  vanessas and i are teaching the beginner class, and lukus and estrellita are teaching the intermediate/advanced class.  during the days we  are usually planning for the classes...sometimes for vanessa and i that includes going to the interenet cafe and looking up many, many pictures to use for the class.  we then go back to our host home and make power point slides for the class.  and think up activities that apply to the topic.  we just finished our third week of classes.  it has been really cool to see the progress in their english.  some of our students only knew how to say hello when the classes begin.  they have been such hard working students.  our class usually runs around 30 people...varying in age.  we have one more week of classes here in the galapagos....we are sad to have to leave our faithful students/friends!  we have also been doing a few other things spread throughout the week.  every week people from the church go to surrounding areas to meet new people and establish relationships there.  last week we went to santa rosa.  lukus and i were grouped up with marialisa.  we went to a few different houses meeting the people there and seeing if they had anything they wanted prayer for.  one lady, luz maria, who is pretty up there in years, was so full of laughter.  it was wonderful to be around such a fun spirit! 
while here, we are also helping marialisa with the children's service on friday afternoons. 
the church here has been so welcoming and appreciative.  every time we go to a church service they bring us each a bottled water (which is really nice b/c it is pretty hot in there. no AC).  anyways, they are just really hospitable people!!!
something we are need to strive for.  hospitality was one of the main things the early church was known for. after  being here,   i think we need to get back to those roots.
well, i better be off.  love you all! 
miss you all!
Picture
Picture
Picture
 
 
The other day Lukus and I were walking along the beach. It was beautiful! The white sand and the multi blue ocean coming up to visit it. The weather was perfect, and the view was incredible!
We continued further along the coast than usual, and came upon a new beach, one that is a bit less trafficked. Sadly, the beauty of the beach was disrupted by the trash strewn all about.

I wanted to take a photo of the cleaned up beach as well as the disrupted beach…creating an ad that read, “ Stop destroying the potential! Pick up your trash!”
(Don’t worry, I’m not planning to pick up advertising.)

I was thinking…………this entitlement to use the land as our dumping ground is just not Biblical, it is wrong.
God created this land and said that it was good. He created you and I and said that it was good.
He has given us the responsibility to be good stewards of our bodies, our family, and among other things, good stewards of this land.
Since when did we start (or continue) to push this issue to the “liberals” or “hippies”?
Where have we gone?
God has called us as believers, to a different way or standard of living.
Just to name a few…

Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
We have to stop starving it of nutrition, stop feeding it with brainless entertainment.

Love your enemy----
Anyone can love the loveable. Only God and his people can truly love the unlovable…..whoever that might be for you----the rich, the poor, the irritating, the ignorant…whoever! God’s love is the only love that will not burn out!

Keep your family God-centered.
Once again, this is something God created, and He said that it was good. We cannot continue to break it a part. Or no longer consider it sacred.

Our money is God’s, not our own.
We must stop using it as our motivation or delight. We are to delight in the Lord!

Be a good environmental steward.

God created this land and said that it was good. It is our responsibility, not liberals or hippies(although their help is appreciated), to care about this land and the effects our dumping has on it. Do we want the beauty God has created to continue being tampered with because of our trash/ laziness/ comfort?
Come on! We have got to wake up!
We can no longer ignore our responsibility. We must be true to the Word of God. We must be examples of God’s idea of not only living, but being alive in this world!

America alone has created an island of plastic that continues to grow in the ocean. Is this because of our lack of information maybe, or apathy?
We are all in this together. Right now we are contributing to the well being/ health of the next generation(s).
We are not entitled to anything. Why do we live as though we are?
We must stop waiting for someone else or leaving it entirely to someone else.

This is not God-centered,

it is self-centered.

God,

please give us the grace to be true to Your Word…to care for all you have entrusted to us!

Picture
 
 
 
  Last Thursday we met Pastor Lucy (who we later found, we would have many adventures with). She was our contact for our upcoming weekend trip to Canar. She went on to tell us what our Friday - Sunday would look like. Here it is: Friday at some time, we would leave for Canar (an hour and a half bus ride), arrive in Canar, and relax for the remainder of the evening. Saturday morning we would dress up as clowns, go to a park, and do some sort of children’s thing. Saturday afternoon at 3 we would be doing the churches children service, and then do an adult service at 7 that evening. Sunday there would be a church service at 10am, then to lunch, and then off to the bus terminal to head back to Cuenca.

Little did we know, there were protest starting to break out all over Ecuador!

We got on a bus Friday afternoon to head to Canar as planned. Arrived as planned, and then, the rest of the weekend was a constant surprise!

After arriving in Canar, we found out that we were learning a dance and performing it the next day, we also would be making some prizes for the children…we learned the dance, and oh…that is so not my gifting! But it got my heart rate up (yay for exercise)J . We then went on to learn how to make a clown holding a picture frame out of foam paper. Each little prize had about 15 different pieces to make it complete. We did that for a while with a cute, little lady from the church. Then to the dinner table with Pastor Lucy and her family. I have to say, I don’t know if I will ever get used to seeing a chicken neck or ankle in my soup! However, the soup itself tasting very good! Then off to bed. Lukus and I had a two person bed for the wk.end…it was a real treat! In Cuenca, we are sharing a twin size bed…nothin’ like being closeJ . In the middle of the night, lukus and I woke up to the sound of people yelling in the streets, glass breaking, and sirens.

Saturday morning over the breakfast table, our host, Pastor Lucy, went on to tell us of what we heard the night before. It was the indigenous people, or mountain people as they call them, protesting the fact that they have unclean water and the new president is doing nothing about it! Very sad news, but we had no time to ponder on it, we needed to start for the hour and a half walk to the park. While walking we came onto a pepsi truck and its’ driver….who we later found out was a guy from the church, but at the time, all we knew was that this guy was going to give us a ride up the mountain in the back of his pepsi truckJ . It was so much fun, and so random! Bumping around on the soda bottles, and then a quick stop…we were motioned to get out and look around. We were looking at the Incapirca…inca ruins. It was incredible! Then back on top of the soda bottles, they then kept one of the back doors open so we could see the viewJ . Once again, bumping around on top of the soda bottles, we came to another quick stop, and motioned to get out. Wow! What a view! A pond and then mountains, and more mountains. God is such an incredible artist! Back on the soda bottles…driving, bumping around, driving, and another quick stop. I was expecting another amazing view, but when rounding the front of the truck, I saw a 3 - 4 feet deep and 3-4 feet wide ditch dug out of the road, and on the other side, about 15 indigenous people sitting and watching our plans change. The driver of the pepsi truck could not complete his daily run, therefore, his livelihood is being affected, and we now needed to continue on foot. We said our good byes to our new friend, walked passed all the mountain people, who said good morning, and went on up the mountain road. While making our way up, we came on to many road baracades…some made of huge rocks, some of tree trunks. We saw many cars trying to get to their destination, but ended up, just turning around…the baracades won. Up ahead, we saw a truck backing up and then a smiley man motioning for us to hop in…another man from the church. We ended up going to his house for lunch. No one was at the park b/c of all the baracades. His wife made us a delicious 3 course meal, and then he took us in his truck a different way down the mountain. While going down, we came in contact with many more road blocks, but we were able to get by, but then we came to a bridge that had become unable to pass over, due to the protest. We continued on foot, were picked up by another truck, and then taken back to the church right in time to do the 3 o’ clock children’s service. I stayed down at the house, b/c my lunch had gotten a little to thrown around in my belly…my stomach has been quite moody lately! While the others did the service, I stayed curled up until the adult service at 7. We performed the dance we had learned, and then Estrellita delivered a wonderful sermon about the power of the tongue and how it is one way the fruits of the spirit can be exhibited. Pastor Lucy then expounded on the sermon and we all took communion together.

We had a good dinner at Pastor Lucy’s house and went to bed….we were all pretty exhausted. The next morning, we found out that there was no service, we were going to go preach in the market! We walked to a nearby market, and set up camp. Pastor Lucy led the lesson, and later gave us tracks to hand out in the market. To be honest, I do not really like doing this kind of thing…it feels so impersonal, and so I don’t know, I just think Jesus might do it different…but that is what we were told to do, so I had to do it….I am only telling you all this, b/c this was my mental processing. I don’t know if I am right for feeling this way! After the market, we were shown a Cuenca museum were a satanic festival takes place every year. That was a different experience.

Then another lunch at Pastor Lucy’s house. Over lunch there was a lot of talk about how we would get back to Cuenca because of all the protest. The road from Canar to Cuenca was completely blocked! How were we going to get back??? It seemed like a different plan was presented every 5 minutes…so we were all pretty confused as to what was happening. Around 2 in the afternoon, we got news that we needed to pack our things, we were going to take a bus back to Cuenca! We quickly packed up, still not knowing how we were taking a bus when the protests are still going on and therefore, the road was still blocked. But, we packed and boarded the bus just in time to get a seat instead of a space to stand in the isle! The bus ride was double the price and double the time of travel…they were taking a different route. We were there experiencing yet another adventure! The road was the width of the bus for at least half of the trip, and it was usually lining a cliff! I happened to have the window seat…looking out, not able to see the road b/c we were on the edge, looking down and seeing the side of the mountain, I thought I was going to pass out! I’m super scared of heights! Anyways, I did not pass out, but we went over a big rock and it messed up one of the front tires. So we stopped for a half hour while the bus driver fixed the tire. We got back on the road, and faced quite a few more attempted baracades, and stopped a few times to let other cars pass b/c remember, we were on a one lane, dirt road up in the mountainsJ .

We arrived safely in Cuenca and were picked up by the missionary family we recently met. To our delight, they had prepared chicken and dumplings for our team and their son (who served as our translator in Canar). It was a wonderful ending to an adventurous, stretching weekend!

Thank God/Dios, for hospitable people, coco crackers, water, patient people and working legs!

 
Well I am back again with more of what has been going on with us as a team and me as an individual.

While out with the medical team from Indiana Wesleyan, we met a family that is living here in Cuenca. They are serving as a pastor to missionaries in Ecuador as well as surrounding countries.

You know when you meet certain people and you immediately enjoy being around them…you just like them from the very beginning? This is how it was with them. While talking with their sixteen yr. old son, we told him of where we are staying while in Cuenca. He went on to tell us that they live very close to there. (This conversation happened a little more than a week ago.)

While here in Cuenca we have had some people to work with, but we have also had quite a bit of down time… so earlier this week, we decided to start contacting some of the other ministries we had met while here. We really wanted to see this family again, but we did not have their contact info, and even worse, could not remember their names. Yikes!



Tuesday morning, Vanessa, Lukus and I were walking to the bus stop like every other morning, and Lukus spotted a blonde hair lady walking down the side walk. Lukus discretely ran after her…and yes, it is the family we wanted to see again! They live about a 3 minute walk from where we are staying.

We stopped by their house on Wednesday and chatted for a bit, and ended up going to their house for dinner that night. It was a great time of fellowship, and we had spaghetti! Yum, yum! My stomach has been a bit if-y while here in Ecuador, so it was nice to have something that was familiar to the tummyJ . This family is so hospitable and a lot of fun to be around. It was cool to hear about all that God has done since they arrived here last January. They actually invited us over for dinner last night as well. We had steak, mashed potatoes, and veggies…it was oh so tasty. They also have wireless internet at their house, so that is how we have been able to post our blogs! We have traveled to the center of the city many times, but the internet connection is just not very dependable there! So thanks to this loving family, you all are able to read these entriesJ .



Today is Friday and we are leaving to go to another city to work with a sister church this wk.end. We are preparing three or so lessons to do while there. Jordan, the families 16 yr. old son, is going with us to help translate the lessons. He is truly a God send!

I am not the best writer, but hopefully through all these words, you see God’s provision for our team. It was amazing how we found this family, how they helped us post all our blog entries, and how their son is a vital part to this weekend!