New trip to San Lorenzo to help Colombian refugees

Well, here's our pictures from our latest trip to San Lorenzo to help with some Colombian refugees that are crossing over. We left on Mon. and came back today.

The first couple of pictures are of our police escort. I'm not sure how necessary it was on the way there but I'm glad we had it any way, especially when were in town. We stayed in Ibarra about halfway there and went to San Lorenzo on Tuesday with our police friends. We picked up some supplies in Ibarra and met the governor of Imbabura province as well. If you've read about the situation in San Lorenzo, it is that since last Friday about 1600 Colombians had entered San Lorenzo town, which had pretty well overwhelmed this city. They didn't have many supplies or food. We went to assess the situation and bring what we could, which turned out to be 100 blankets, 20 cases of powdered milk (makes 960 liters), 800 pounds of peas and 1100 pounds of potatoes. Our neighbor Angel and family provided a bag of clothes and 3 bags of food. We also had a case of medicine left by a volunteer team. Now, a plug for the IMB Disaster relief fund, which provides for emergencies like this one or the earthquake that just happened in Peru. http://resources.imb.org/index.cfm/fa/donation.worldhunger.cfm -Here's a link for the Disaster relief and world hunger fund, click on this link to find out info about it and see how you can help out as well...you can also call (800) 999-3113 or e-mail WorldHunger@imb.org. You can also make a donation by check payable to the International Mission Board and designate your gift on the memo line of your check. Mail to:International Mission Board, World Hunger & Relief Ministries, PO Box 6767, Richmond, VA 23230. Thank you for all this and God bless!

By the time we had gotten there, the situation had settled down some with some returning to Colomb. and others going to Ibarra, but there were still 1100 people there.
Here's the storehouse where stuff was brought. Want some fresh meat?

Here's Edwin bringing in the sheaves...everybody sing now! These are peas.
Here's Frank talking to the Police. We had an opportunity to share with them as well. We were able to leave them with New Testaments and some gospel material. The police dept here often gets a bad wrap but they really helped us on this trip. Their slogan of 'mas que un amigo/more than a friend' turned out to be true.

Here's Pastor German (who worked with us last month with the medical team in S. Lorenzo, he turned out to be another great help. He hooked us up with all the contacts we needed even before we went and went with us once we got there.) There's also Joselito (a pastor from Quito that accompanied us) and Edwin (another IMB missionary).

Here's Frank talking to Mayor Gustavo of San Lorenzo, who turned out to be a nice guy and a great help. We were able to visit with him a while and leave a copy of 'The Purpose Driven Life' by Rick Warren. This is a book that I would really recommend, Christine and I are reading it now. If you look in the background, you can see a picture of Jesus, with the words from John 14:6-'I am the way, the truth and the life...'
Here's Frank doing a interview for a radio station. He was able to share the reason why we went, which is we were doing what Jesus would do if he were here, sharing with people in need.

The next 3 pictures were taken where the refugees are staying. We were able to visit 2 out of the 8 places where they are staying. We were also able to pass out New Testaments, gospel materials and materials for kids at these places and visit the people there. We were able to leave some more materials with Pastor German to give out at the other centers later on.
I had a pretty good visit with these guys, Joel and Alvaro, l-r. I ask you to pray for them and other refugees in the situation that they are in. Pray that God will bless them and provide for them. Most of all, pray that they will know the love of God (especially in understanding Scripture and gospel materials that were left behind.) We also ask you to pray for wisdom for the police and leaders who are handling this situation.
Here's a picture of our team minus me (Ben) and Pastor German, Frank, Edwin, Christine, Joselito, l-r. If you want to see more pics from our trip and read more info, check out teammate Frank's blog- http://godlovesquito.blogspot.com/