Guangopolo

Hello everyone once again. Now I would like to post some pictures from one of the towns that the volunteer team will be coming to next week from May 28-June 2. The 1st town I will be sharing about is Guangopolo which is located at the base of Mt. Ilalo and it takes about 20-30 minutes to get there from our house, depending on how many cows are in the road. It is a nice little town that we have spent a bit of time in. We have talked with the locals and they have told us quite a few legends and stories associated with Ilalo. The place was formerly a craft center for something known as 'cedazos.' These were juice strainers or flour sifters that were made out of woven horse hair. This used to be quite a big industry but now there is only one family that is still making these and other crafts made out of woven horse hair. The volunteers will be going there on Tuesday, May 30. They will be visiting the people there and then having a carnival for the kids in the afternoon. Now, for the pictures and prayer requests...
Here is an aerial view of the town of Guangopolo that was taken from the top of Mt. Ilalo. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you can see the spires of the Catholic church. Here is a picture of a view of Ilalo from town.

Here is a picture of the plaza or town square along with the Catholic church.
Here is a picture of one of the houses that is on the town square.







Here is a picture of the soccer field where the volunteers are going to host the kids carnival.

Here is a picture of our friend, Maribel. We met her last Friday at the cedazo place, where they make crafts from woven horse hair.
Here is a picture of the Christian Church. We have met the people here and plan on working with them.





Prayer Requests
1. Pray for the people in Guangopolo that are living their lives in fear. People fear spirits that live on the mountain, fear financial difficulties, fear health problems with limited medical care and fear not doing enough to appease God or the Virgin. Pray that they would find peace, freedom and joy in a relationship with God.
2. Along with this idea, pray that the people in Guangopolo would be able to have a living and vital relationship with God instead of following a religion. The idea here is that religion is man's effort at trying to reach God, but a relationship with God is when God reaches out to us and we respond.
3. Pray against barriers that have kept people from hearing the good news about Jesus.
4. Pray for the families of Guangopolo, that they would be united with the love of God. Pray against the problems that are common to many areas of Ecuador: alcoholism, adultery, men having to leave to find work elsewhere, desintegration of the family.
5. Pray for our new friend, Maribel and her family. One day last week, we had been praying that God would lead us to people who are seeking Him. While visiting a cedazo and handicrafts shop, I asked her if she knew of any stories associated with Mt. Ilalo. She went on to tell us several. After that, she admitted that she had been crying when we arrived and wondering if there were any point to life since she has been through so many problems. She said she was grateful to God for sending us to buy a couple of things because then she had enough money to buy her son a small birthday cake. We told her that our entering her shop demonstrates that God really cares about her situation. Maribel said that she is trying to understand God and would like to have hope. Christine spent more than an hour talking with her and listening. Please pray that everything we talked about will soon make sense to her so she can experience God's hope.