Ecuador - July 21 || Bryan
Today, July 21st, was our first full day in Esmeraldas. It was a beautiful day, a little hot due to the fact that we are by the equator, but it's bearable. We began our day with a tasty egg filled breakfast anticipating the following VBS at El Salvador. It's comforting to know that we have so many people back at home interceding on our behalf.The VBS went well and I got a pie in the face for the third time. I'm pretty sure that Daniel said we would be switching off the parts in the skit that required a shower, guess not. So John and I continue to get egged and pied every week. It's actually pretty fun. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to take a break before we went to Pastor Louis' church for lunch. The food at this place is insane, insanely good. I had no idea food could be this good and gluten free at the same time. It was steak, rice and fried plantains.After lunch we all went on a trip to the beach, it was absolutely beautiful. You could see the mountains off in the distance. Even the fine volcanic sand was gorgeous! We probably spent about 45 minutes there. Then we all went to the grocery store to get some water and plantain chips, the necessities.When we returned to the hotel, we had our team meetings. When John is leading, they basically consist of 5 minutes of discussion and 55 minutes of prayer. The prayer time we have together is powerful and the past few weeks bear testimony to that.That evening we all went to Luz y Libertad to train people and pray for the VBS that's taking place there on Wednesday. There was a training group and a prayer group, I was apart of the prayer group. We prayed for nearly 2 hours. It was full of prayer, worship and the reading of scripture. We even had some of the kids join us! When we finished praying we played a little soccer with a kick ball and then left to eat dinner. Dinner was phenomenal, it was mashed potatoes filled with chicken salad, with a side of white rice and vegetables. So good.Overall, today was a great first day in Esmeraldas. I can't wait to see what God's going to do throughout the rest of the week. I believe that God is going to bring a revival to the city of Esmeraldas; that it will no longer be a city of crime, hurt and pain, but a city of love, joy and peace. Please keep us in your prayers!Now the Law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord -Romans 5:20-21~Bryan
