Day 3 (2023)

Hello St. John’s blog readers, I am Bella Cayer. Today in our Ecuadorian adventures we started the day at Carmen Bajo, a church in Quito, helping with a VBS camp! I was able to work with children between the ages of three to six. Today was filled with growth of language knowledge for both parties. We talked about the colors of the rainbow and the connection it has to our spiritual lives in God’s creations. We also played duck duck goose (aka pato, pato, ganso), parachute, and we taught the kids the hokey pokey. 

I was able to truly connect with two little girls and form a relationship with them throughout the morning. Our connection grew through curiosity about each other’s languages, when they asked what something was in English, I tried my best to decipher what they told me in Spanish. Overall, the morning truly exemplified that laughter and happiness break through barriers.

Hey St. John’s, my name is Emmie Klekamp. When our group went to our host church, Carmen Bajo, in the morning, we split into two different groups. My group was kids that ranged from seven to twelve years old. Everyone had an amazing time playing different games such as tag, rock-paper-scissors, and my personal favorite, “Little Sally Walker.” 

Even though I started my morning a bit nervous about the language barrier, the other St. John’s team members and I quickly felt welcome and ready to learn! I had so much fun dancing, singing, and running with all the kids and I made many friends that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

After games and Bible lessons, we ate lunch at Carmen Bajo and it was absolutely delicious. It consisted of cooked vegetables, rice, salad, chicken, and watermelon. Throughout this lovely lunch, we were able to debrief about our morning with our fellow youth and were joined by some people involved with the ministry at Carmen Bajo. After lunch, we were given a tour of the church, when suddenly it felt as if the church was being shaken like a snow globe. It was a category 3.3 earthquake, but no person was hurt or infrastructure damaged. Then after recovering from the shock of the earthquake, we were able to visit some of the homes of the children involved in the programs at Carmen Bajo. 

Our group got the opportunity to meet three boys, Alexis, David, and Miller, their mother, Nancy, and their grandmother. The other groups were able to visit other families that were generous enough to open their homes and share their experiences with us. Their stories are truly inspiring, and I will continue to pray for their families forever.

After our home visits, we returned to Carmen Bajo to work with the older children, who were around thirteen to seventeen years old. After playing some fun games in the courtyard, we retired down to one of the rooms in the church and both our St. John’s group and the people of Carmen Bajo shared time together. We had the privilege of listening to a young adult named Christopher and his little sister share their love and devotion to God through their talent of singing Christian rap music. After, we listened to a moving sermon by one of the leaders of Carmen Bajo about letting God into your heart and rejecting sin. Then, we got the chance to share an activity with the church by making collages.

I had so much fun sitting with some of the kids and bonding over our individual projects. We had some confusion talking to each other, but still shared so many laughs and smiles.

At the end of the day, we were able to have dinner with members of Carmen Bajo at a local restaurant. Not only was the food incredible, but the company was even better. I had the wonderful challenge and opportunity to speak to a young woman who sat across from me. At my end of the very long and bustling table, I was the only person who was able to speak a little bit of Spanish. So, through a lot of repeating, stumbling, and Google Translate, Margold and I had a wonderful conversation. I learned a bit about her life, including her job as a schoolteacher for young kids. She was so wonderful and patient and even asked me questions about the United States and my life as a student. This conversation, however hindered, has been my favorite experience in Ecuador so far (which says a lot because this entire mission has been fantastic) and will stay with me for many years to come.

- Written by Bella Cayer and Emmie Klekamp

Day 2 (2023)

Hello from Ecuador! My name is Collins Barton, and I am a rising Junior at Maclay School in Tallahassee, FL! Today was our team's first full day in Quito, and it was BEAUTIFUL! We woke up, ate breakfast, and met for an orientation at 9:15 sharp. Everyone met together in the upstairs room and we talked about the general history of Ecuador. One of our group leaders, Tripp, led this and it was very thorough. A few things we learned about were: when Ecuador switched to the US dollar, the four main parts of Ecuador, the meaning of the colors on the flag, the bird on the flag, and the major exports of Ecuador. We all loaded up on the bus and headed to the Basilica. 

The ride there was gorgeous and bumpy. There were murals of animals that lined the roads, gorgeous art installations, and the blue sky was dappled with clouds while the mountains met with them. Seeing all the colorful signs in Spanish was interesting and I was surprised with how many of them I could understand! Many colorful signs and buildings of pink, blue, and orange caught my eye while driving in the bus! 

As were got out of the bus we walked up a cobblestone sidewalk to get to the basilica. After the Basilica we walked to Plaza Grande and saw more culture.

When we returned to the hostel we went to the Youth World offices to learn about Esperanzart, a ministry that makes organic beads from local Ecuadorian seeds. It is one of four branches of End Slavery Ministries Ecuador, which gives hope to women coming out of sex trafficking or harmful situations. After learning of the ministry and having a chance to buy some of their unique jewelry made from açaí berries and tagua nuts, we returned to our hostel. 

At the hostel, Caroline Allen led our partnership orientation where we learned how to do missions well and to know if you are doing it well. We don’t like calling it a “trip” because a trip has an end and a beginning. We also learned the Five F’s:  Fun, flight, fight, fit, fruit, and how those fit into the three parts of a mission: pre-field, on-field, and post-field. The fruit stood out to me. The “fruit” of your mission is gaining a life-changing experience from your time in Ecuador. It could be as simple as trying harder in Spanish class. It can be forgiving a sibling. Our ultimate goal is an authentic partnership that emphasizes giving and receiving!

After a break to recharge, we took a quick bus ride and walk to get to Casa Gabriel, which is one of the branches of Second Chances Ecuador. They help provide former street boys with income, routines, and an overall better life! We arrived with a WARM welcome and we quickly made connections with the boys there. 

We were able to speak with the leaders and the boys in a big group and over a lovely dinner! While making these connections we realized we may be different, but we are all still people. (Thanks Jack!)

After dinner, we had our daily debrief and went in a circle and shared our rose (high of the day), thorn (low of the day), something we learned about Ecuador, and a new word we learned in Spanish. My word was calzado which means foot ware! Today was an incredible first FULL day in Quito. It was full of culture, memories, laughs, and most importantly God! 

- Written by Collins Barton

Day 1 (2023)

St. Johns Youth started off our morning bright and early and headed to the Tallahassee airport. Our flight took off around 6 a.m. and we landed in Miami. We all had a fun time walking around the airport and enjoying each other’s company while we waited to board our flight to Quito, Ecuador. After landing we were all very happy to see John and Caroline Allen and to meet our other hosts, the Education Equals Hope staff. 

We got through customs and drove on a bus to an Ecuadorian Greek restaurant. We ate delicious gyros and had a great first lunch. After dropping off our luggage at our hostel, we walked to the Youth World office and had an orientation where we talked about the nine different partnering ministries of Youth World. 

Some of these ministries included La Red and Second Chance Ecuador. We can’t wait to learn more about these different ministries and how they benefit the lives of others throughout this coming week. Later that evening, we ate a traditional Ecuadorian meal of chicken and rice followed by a debrief with our whole team. 

This debrief included independently reading and annotating John 15 and then discussing what it means to us as a group. We discussed what we noticed throughout the paragraphs, words that were often repeated, phrases that we liked, and also things we may have disagreed with. Though exhausting, we greatly enjoyed our first day in Quito, Ecuador, and can’t wait to see what the rest of the week will bring.

- Written by Anna Blalock and Sadie Bowersox

Mission 2023 is Almost Underway!

Welcome to our Youth Ministry blog, where we share stories, God moments, and experiences from our annual international mission trips. We appreciate the support of the entire St. John's parish this spring, as we prepared diligently for this mission. Our 2023 team leaves on Thursday, July 13, to serve alongside our brothers and sisters at churches in Quito, Ecuador. Please follow along with our team as we help at a VBS, run children's camp activities, visit with scholarship students from Education Equals Hope, and more. Most of all, please pray for these team members' safe travel to Ecuador, smooth travels around Quito, and safe return on July 21: 

• Collins Barton
  
• Anna Blalock
• Sadie Bowersox
• Bella Cayer
• Emily Garretson
• Evan Kile
• Emmie Klekamp
• Dan Manausa
• Jack Manausa
• Nicolas Mandolini
• William Proctor
• Kate Rayboun
• Mandy Schnittker
• Tyler Schnittker
• Bo Shippen
• Eric Smith
• Corinna Strayer
• Eli Strayer
• Ainsley Yarbrough

Day 10 (2022)

Hi All! This is Caroline Devitt! 

Today was our Sabbath day! We had a later start with breakfast at 9am and then got on the bus to visit the equator! After a lunch of empanadas and ice cream, we spent our afternoon and evening at El Refugio, a retreat center in the countryside of Quito. We had solo quiet/reflection time and ended the day with an emotional debrief around the campfire where we each expressed encouraging words to one another. It was a beautiful, restful, and emotional day. Since each of the youth have already blogged, I’ve asked each person on our team to share three words that came up for them while reflecting on their day.

Corinna - Grateful. Powerful. Love.

Emily - Reflective. Heavy. Joyful.

Chris - Culture. Llama. Love.

Ainsley - Refreshing. Comforting. Emotional.

Kate - Llama. Soothing. Emotional.

Rachel - Bittersweet. Family. Relaxing.

Tallulah - Relaxing. Memorable. Sweet.

Camille - Emotional. Educational. Inspiring.

Harrison - Equator. Tired. Relaxing.

Tyler - Refreshing. Fun. Stunning.

Eli -Exploring. Processing. Remembering.

Caroline Allen - Home. Fulfillment. Gratitude.

John - Affirming. Nourishing. Don't go!!

Willy - Family. Love. Joy.

Caroline Devitt - Reverence. Release. Thankful.

Day 9 (2022)

Today (Friday, 7/15), I woke up and we all met outside around 7 o'clock to get the bus loaded up. Since we’re switching hostels we had to get all of our stuff packed and ready to go. It was about a 20 minute bus ride to our site. Like the past three days, we walked up the half a mile hill which nearly killed me. But it was all worth it when we were served pancakes and eggs for breakfast. 

After we had breakfast we went straight into games with the kids, which started with 4 square volleyball. Surprisingly the kids we really good and it didn’t take much to get me out. After Kate and I taught some kids how to make friendship bracelets, we all went inside for chapel. We sang some songs and then the pastor talked to them. We then prayed for them and spread so much love and many, many hugs. After this I was sent back to play 4 square volleyball with our group from St. John’s while the kids were finishing up. After a bit, we were called to lunch which was, of course, amazing. Then, we walked down the hill to our bus and rode to the market. We got about an hour and a half at the market, and I think I gradually got better at bargaining! We all ate ice cream afterwards and then got back on the bus to drive to Quito. Once we got to our hostel we had a great dinner of soup, chicken, and rice. After that we did a collage project with the Freedoms! I really enjoyed this and I think it turned out really well. I hope we have an amazing last day tomorrow, I don’t wanna leave!

- Written by Rachel Hopkins

Day 8 (2022)

Today (Thursday, 7/14) we went back to the camp to spend our day with the second group of kids. We started the morning off with an amazing breakfast of fruit and eggs. After we ate we played with the kids outside, I made a couple of friends with the children which is always my favorite part. There’s nothing better than seeing them smile and run up to you, knowing you’ve made a relationship with them. 

After playing with the kids for a while we heard a testimony from one of the older girls working the Compassion. Her story was heartbreaking, but also inspiring. She discussed the hardships she faced in her teen years and how going to church saved her life. After hearing her testimony, we played with the kids some more and then ate an incredible lunch of empanadas and potato soup. I ate every bite! 

Then, I got to go to the lake with the second group of kids. The lake was absolutely beautiful and the kids were so excited to see the view and get some ice cream. After we returned for the lake we played games with the third group of kids and had a great dinner of hamburger and fries. We finished the night with singing worship songs with the kids.

- Written by Camille Resavage