Serving with Diligence || Grace - July 17

Friday began like a typical weekday here in Ecuador; breakfast at 7:30 and the bus leaves for the church at 8:00. From 9:00-1:00 we were all busy with the children's program. I was on craft team #1, and one of the best things for me all week was just seeing the children grasp the concepts we were teaching.Today we were teaching about running the race of life, and how we have to follow God's Word in order to win it. Our craft was a medal that the children could decorate to remind them to run faithfully the race of life and that God rewards the diligent. I loved working with the younger age groups because they had so much enthusiasm. I also loved seeing how creative the children were in decorating their craft; it was neat to see different personalities being expressed through art. The saddest part of the day was saying goodbye to the children, many of whom we won't see again. I pray that the seeds planted this week will take root and produce fruit beyond what we could ask or imagine. One of my favorite things at the very end was singing, worshipping, and dancing with all the children to Spanish songs; it was so fun!In the afternoon the weather was beautiful, so Liz and Micah took us up to the top of mount Pichincha, We had to ride a cable car up 3,000 feet! Where we were on the mountain we were at 13,287 feet above sea level. The view was absolutely spectacular! Liz said she had never been up there when it was so clear. We could see three different snow covered peaks. One of the strangest things for me was watching large commercial planes landing below us at the Quito airport. :-)For dinner we ate at the amazing Crepes and Waffles! If you are ever in Ecuador you definitely need to try it out! When we got back to the hotel, Micah shared with us about the will of God and it was very applicable. Despite most of the team being pretty tired, it was a really good day and a very blessed week.- Grace E.