Chaos. Cacophany. Sweat. Christ. Tonight I experienced the power of Christ enabling, strengthening, and working in me as we started our ministry in Esmeraldas. We arrived early at the school we are using for the evening kids' program, prepared our classrooms, prayed, and then watched as the group of children we would teach grew larger... and larger... and larger...

Bienvenidos al Mitad del Mundo! (Welcome to the middle of the world!) What an incredible opportunity we all had today to visit the equator. After taking dozens of photos indicating our fascination with the fact that we could be in winter and summer at the same time. We completed our tourism escapade and took off for another fabulous day with the Ecuadorian ninos!

Amy Cook is packing suitcases today to start a new type of trip for her. After many short-term international mission trips, tomorrow she is heading out of the country for the entire summer. First stop: Chiapas...