End of the Year Report

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Wilsons!

It is hard to believe that as we go into the New Year, we will begin our 6^th month living and serving here in Ecuador. It has been a whirlwind as we started hitting the ground running when we arrived in July. We have been constantly working on improving the school, interacting with the Hacienda kids and growing in our own spiritual life. 
Words cannot express how much we appreciate all of you and how you have been a part of God’s work here. We are truly blessed by so many individuals, families and churches who have loved on us, prayed over and for us, sent us monetary support and words of encouragement. Since you have been involved in the work here, we wanted to briefly remind you of how God has worked at the Hacienda of Hope Christian Academy and in our lives over the past 5 months and about our plans for the future.

• Since we began school, we have been teaching our teachers classroom management skills and to be better equipped to deal with discipline problems. We are trying to create an atmosphere of involvement and investment among our teachers because when our staff is fully invested in our school and our kids, the students will learn and grow. 
• We, as administrators, are also trying to show investment in our staff. We have been working on balancing the school budget. With careful planning and lots of work, we have been able to give all of our employees raises. This will make us more competitive with the surrounding schools and help us keep turnover low. 
• We are working on creating more programs and avenues for the students to grow in their spiritual walk with God. A couple new programs include our students learning about serving others by volunteering at Camp Bellevue working with the kids at the after school programs and our high school students gaining leadership skills and roles by leading school chapel once a week.
• During the month of December, students collected non-perishable food to donate to needy families. On the 19th we broke up into groups (9 total) and went out into the community. The students sang Christmas songs, prayed over the families and delivered the food. Students and staff were able to see and serve the poor in their communities. We were also able to use this time to learn about how people, rich and poor, need God in their lives and that we need to be in constant prayer for others.
• For Christmas, we had the privilege of hosting the Hacienda’s Christmas party. We had our 17 Hacienda kids, plus 3 more kids and 6 adults sleeping in our house! Justin and Jauna Reeger (Directors of the orphanage) along with Courtney Hard (Case Manager) planned a spectacular 24 hour extravaganza that involved: hide and seek in the school building, Christmas cookie and gingerbread house decorating contest, hot cocoa and movies, Christmas morning with full breakfast, Christmas stockings and presents after breakfast, games outside and a Christmas luncheon. It was amazing to see the joy in the kids’ faces as we spent time together and as they opened so many Christmas presents that were donated by you.

God has blessed us enormously by leading us here to Ecuador. We couldn’t imagine being anywhere else at this point in our lives. We pray that God can continue to use us in growing His kingdom here in Ecuador. 
Here are some things that we are looking forward in the coming years and some hopes/dreams we have for the Hacienda of Hope Christian Academy. Please join us in prayer for these things.

• We are still in need of personal support. We are short about $1,000 a month. We continue to work knowing that God bought us here and He will provide for us so we are always looking for more people to partner with us.
• One day we would love to be able to raise enough money ($150,000) to expand and update the school. We currently are in need of a gymnasium for large events and to have a place for the students to have recess when it rains. We currently have them cram into classrooms if it rains during recess. This gets to be a bit chaotic for our students and teachers. 
• We would also like to tile all of our classrooms. All our classrooms currently have old carpet in them. To try to preserve the life of the carpet, students have been taking off their shoes before entering any classroom. This takes up time and space and caused a lot of inconvenience. 
• We have recently updated our internet capabilities and bandwidth. We have dreams that our school can become more up to date in technology. Currently we have a lab with about 20 nice computers, however we really need our teachers to have technology available to them in their classrooms.  Laptops or Ipads would be ideal.
• Right now we are in need teachers for our English curriculum, Ecuadorian or volunteers from the States, to help out. Both of us have been helping teach class because we are so short staffed. This has kept us so busy that we have not been able to take Spanish classes yet. We are actively seeking English speakers- preferably Christian volunteers to join in our efforts.
• With more staff, we would like to start offering elective classes and focus on building skills students can use later in life. Horticulture, agriculture, art and technology are among the list. With more staff we also would like to be able to plan more service projects and afterschool clubs and groups for our students to be a part of.
• We are trying to grow our school. Our total enrollment for this school year is about 170 students, many of them come from Tabacundo or neighboring Cayambe. However, we have a large community just up the mountain from us in San Jose Chico that we haven’t really touched. We dream the school being able to reach out to this poorer village and be a light into their community.
• We sometimes can be so caught up in the whole school aspect of our work here, but we are always striving to focus more on God in everything we do with our students and staff. Please continue to pray that we can be a light to those around us.

Thank you for all your love and support,

Jake and Tanya Wilson

The Hands and Feet...

Sometimes I feel like Jake and I get caught up sometimes… caught up in "school" and all that it involves. We can get to the point of wondering that if anything we are doing actually means something. And I'm not talking about making changes to the school and improving our curriculum. I am talking about truly affecting our students for Christ. However, today I saw something in our students that made me remember that God is working here at HOH Christian Academy.

Over the past couple of weeks our kids have been collecting non-perishable food to donate to some needy families. This afternoon the students split into groups and went to deliver the packages. I had the privilege of joining the 8th graders. We visited an elderly woman by the name of Maria Torres.

 Maria has a house in a barrio of Tabacundo. However, she sleeps in a small shack just outside her house (in the background of the photo) because she is afraid of robbers. Both her sons and her husband have passed away and she is very lonely. However, when she saw us, a large group of kids and a couple of gringos, she gave us a huge smile.

The students sang a few Christmas songs, we listened to her story and then we prayed over her.

On the bus ride home Courtney and I decided to deepen our visit with Maria. Courtney told the kids more about Maria and about all the other people like her: the needy, the hungry, the lonely. We talked about how we can serve those people, to meet their physical and emotional needs. Courtney then asked what else we could do to help Maria. One of the students shouted out, "She needs Jesus!" and another said "we can pray for her!" Courtney then asked HOW do we pray for her. A student replied, "with faith". We then challenged the kids to pray, with faith, for Maria and those who are like her… everyday for the next week. They all accepted the challenge. We also agreed to try to visit Maria again sometime in January and see how we can continue to serve her.

Today I saw how the school, the teachers, the Christians in this area and you…. yes you who support the work here in Ecuador… are changing these kids. We are teaching these kids about Jesus and how to become more like him. We are teaching them to be the hands and the feet.

I ate a bug…on purpose!

We know its also been pretty exciting for a lot of you in the States lately, with the crazy weather and all. Many of you have been out of school/work because of such bad road conditions. 

Well, we've had our own excitement here. Actually, things are always exciting here. 

We have gone, once again, about 4 days without water. However, this time we were not able to hook up a hose to our outside tap because there was no water in the outside tap. So on friday we had a half day of school (since our bathrooms are out of commission along with our kitchen). 

We found it fairly ironic that many in people in Texas and Oregon were also out of school that day too. 

Thankfully the water returned Monday and we are back to "normal" operating conditions. 

The School of Hope is gearing up for the Christmas season! It is an exciting time around here. Each of our 6 Learning Centers are decorating a Christmas tree. The Learning Center with the most creative ornaments receives and cookie and hot chocolate party! The traditional Ecuadorian curriculum teachers are working with their students to create skits for our Christmas program on December 20th. I cannot wait to see our kids in action and post pictures for all of you guys!

We also are getting in the Christmas spirit at home with our own tree. I know quite a few people who will appreciate our sense of style!

We recently had a large PTA meeting to talk about Christmas time and also our procedures manual. There was a large turn out! We are blessed to have parents who want to get involved in the school and in their kids' futures.

 Jake and I have been spending some time down at the Haciendas in the afternoons. We have a lot going on on the property (school and orphanage) so we try to help out when needed. Last week we were with the boys, playing foosball and watching movies. These kids are so sweet and fun to be around!

Since the Directors of the orphanage are in the States for a quick visit, we have been spending a lot of time with the orphanage's volunteer case manager, Courtney Hard. She has been a lot of fun and also very adventurous. We were eating lunch in Cayambe after church on Sunday and ran across a street vendor selling fried and seasoned Catzos. These are bugs that come out once a year and are common snacks in Ecuador. So of course, we all had to try some!

Yipes!

 The mountain peaked out this morning for a few minutes.  The sunlight was hitting on the clouds and hills so beautifully, I couldn't be but in awe of our wonderful Lord's creation. Unfortunately, photographs just don't do it justice!

"The whole earth if filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy."

Psalm 65:8

We apologize

That it has been a month and a half since you have heard from us on this blog!

We have been busy busy with implementing new ideas and procedures at school and trying to make our house a home. God has been with us and has been blessing us enormously with His love and strength. Despite the fact that we've had many times of difficulty and frustration, we continually see how God has been working here in Ecuador. 

Currently, at school, we are beginning a new discipline procedure to help with classroom management. It has been a lot of paperwork, starting everything from nothing, and not having any sort of technology for our teachers. However, we feel like this will really help some of our teachers become more effective. 

At home, we've ordered some furniture so that when you come to visit us, you'll have some place to sit!  We've also been spending a lot of time with Justin & Jauna and the new social worker from Tennessee, Courtney. Ecuador is beginning to be more comfortable and like our home. 

Speaking of home. We are currently doing a fundraiser to raise money to bring our dog, Soup, to Ecuador. Her plane ticket is going to cost around $1,600 because she has to fly through cargo. A lot of you know how precious Soup is and how much she means to us. Please consider helping get our family member down to Ecuador. The Paypal account goes straight to Twickenham Church of Christ. 

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_sxclick&hosted_button_id=HAT668TZVAXBS

During the end of October/beginning of November, Jake made a business trip to Alabama and Tennessee. He got a chance to meet with Twickenham Church of Christ and talk budget with them (oh joy!). He also had the opportunity to tour Madison Academy in Huntsville, AL to talk curriculum and ideas for improvement of our school. 

Jake also made a quick trip to one of our supporting congregations, White House Church of Christ, in White House, Tennessee. That Wednesday night he was able to give the church a powerpoint update on us and the school.  After Jake's return we were informed that the elders decided to up their contribution by $100 a month. We are blessed to have such a loving congregation supporting us! Thank you White House CoC!!

Also, thank you to all of our supporters! We feel your love and prayers!

Here are some pictures of different events going on:

 Second graders are coloring.

 We made pinwheels in Bible classes to remind us that God is like the wind…we might not be able to see Him but we can hear and feel Him!

 The kids LOVED their pinwheels!

Our new student council being sworn in.

Chapel outside. The kids where in groups, planning a skit on being brave with David and Goliath being the example.

We have some very talented students and they got to show it off at a talent show…

Our beautiful and extremely shy Maria from the Hacienda got up and sang a solo… in English! 

She sang "Blessed Be The Name" very beautifully! We are so proud of her.

How to run a school with no water...

I feel like we are going to be experts in tutorials such as, "what to do when you find yourself in a ditch", "what to do when you have no hot water or electricity" and this weeks feature, "how to run a school with no water".

Something happened to the water pump at our house Saturday night that stopped the water flow to our house  and the school. Which means... no water for food or bathrooms. Hooray! You can probably only imagine what it was like! We connected several hoses together from the main water supply tap and ran them through the school and into the kitchen so we could have breakfast and lunch. Jake also filled up a trash can full of water and we had buckets so that we could refill the toilet tanks when someone flushed. Good times!

We had a guy come out and work on the pump this afternoon and was able to fix it. Now Jake can actually take a shower!

It was a dreary day today. They say it is the start of the rainy season. Oh joy.

Now that you know what to do when you don't have water... here is what has been going on this week.

Kaden Reeger had a birthday this last week. We got to celebrate in class with sandwiches, chips and of course...cake and ice cream! 

Cristian, Kaden, Eric and Nicolas eat and chat during lunch.

We then celebrated at the Reeger's with the Casa 2 girls and homemade pizza and cheesecake!

We mentioned in our last blog post that one of our volunteer teachers, Jill, had to go to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. Surgery went great and she is back at home recouperating. Jill is up, moving around and well on her way to a speedy recovery! We are so thankful that God was with her and the doctors working on her. We miss you Jill and hope to see your smiling face back at school soon!

While Jill was in the hospital, one of our teachers, Cathy Jones de Frances, went down to Quito to visit her for a couple days. This gave me the opportunity to babysit her ever so adorable kid, Raquel. Raquel is a wonderful 2 year old. So much so that after 24 hours with her, Jake's response was "this baby thing isn't so difficult". Moms...this is were you leave some nice comments for Jake.

 A kid after my own heart.... she loves to draw!

In the last blog post we also mention that Jake may have bruised ribs from a basketball game he played in. Turns out he actually broke a couple of his ribs. We took him to the doctor's office in Cayambe to get an X-ray and some pain medicine. He has been having a lot of difficulty moving around. Plus, it really hurts him to lie in bed so he has been very tired lately. So please say a prayer for Jake and a quick recovery of his ribs!

The doctor told Jake he could help heal his ribs faster by blowing bubbles in a cup.

To leave ya'll on a nice note. The farm land next door recently had some baby calves. They are super cute but also super vocal! Here are two of them right outside our bedroom window. We like to talk to them occasionally. I also will feed them some of the long green grass growing in our front yard!

Thanks for your continued support and love.
We miss you guys!

Nothing has happened...

At least it feels that way.
As I sit here, I am having a hard time trying to think of all that happened this last week.

It was kind of a quiet week and we aren't complaining!

This chicken comes to visit us every morning. She walks around for a few minutes and then walk back next door.

Jake has been working with the younger grades (1st-4th) the past couple of weeks. They are a bit crazy when it comes to procedures like walking in a line... or just walking in general! They like to run and scream in the hallways and during lunchtime. So Jake has given them an incentive of an ice cream party for the class who has the best behavior. Today he announced that 4th grade won and will be having a party on Thursday.

 Jake is eating lunch at the little table (with little chairs!) with the 2nd graders.

Another outside chapel with a great view of the mountain.

We had to take our car into a shop in Ibarra this week. It has the "hiccups". When we drive through the mountains (and when are we not?!) and we try to gun it to pass someone, the car shudders a bit. The mechanic said it wasn't the transmission, so at least that is good news. And hopefully we will get it back soon, fixed, because it is easy to get stir crazy being up the hill middle of no where.

On Saturday Jake played basketball with the Reegers, Jason Frances, Sean and Guillermo, a friend of the Reeger's. This was Jake's first attempt at any rigorous physical activity in Ecuador (at at high elevation). Everything was going good until Jake and Jason collided. Now, if you haven't met Jason, you should know he is a big guy! Jake ended walking away with bruised ribs. He has been having trouble moving and sleeping. I think he will be taking it easy for awhile.

Sunday we were invited the church in Cayambe. It was their first service in their newly completed church building. There were about 75 people in attendance. After service we enjoyed some fellowship with board games, a movie and then a delicious lunch.

The rainy season is upon us. This last week we enjoyed a bit of rain.  I however, always enjoy a nice sunny day, especially when the mountain peeks out. Here is a shot of the sun peeking behind Mt. Cayambe.

"I will always lift my eyes towards the Lord. With Him by my side, I will not be shaken. Therefore, my heart with be glad and my tongue rejoice. My body shall also be at rest." Psalm 16:8,9 

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LATE BREAKING NEWS:

One of our volunteer teachers, Jill Abbott, went to the hospital in Quito the afternoon with stomach pains. The doctors determined she had appendicitis and in currently in surgery. Please lift Jill up in your prayers as she has surgery in a foreign country and as our school will be without an AMAZING teacher for the next several weeks as she recovers. 

I ate too much rice...

...I will admit I have had a hard time convincing my main cook at school that I do not need that much rice with my meal.  The language barrier and me being the Director does not help the fact that I receive more.  Since I am not exactly exercising, my waistline will not handle this much rice too much longer...

It has been one day short of two months for Tanya and I living here in Ecuador.  In some ways time has flown by and in others it seems much longer than two months.  The cultural differences and structure of living in a different country definitely start to become much more real now that we are settling into life here.  I would definitely say that Tanya and I have gone through moments of frustration and joy in these two months.  Simple things like shopping for groceries, gas in the vehicle, and driving have become much more normal.  Our next step is to learn more language and conversation so that we can have better communication and more in-depth day to day living.

Tanya and I decided to not move in to Qutio to study Spanish.  We have decided to stay here on the property with the Hacienda and school and drive back and forth to another town called Otavalo to study Spanish throughout the week.  Our schedule will be determined by how much time is needed to study and practice Spanish along with the need at the school.

Speaking of school, we are definitely up and running!  We just finished the fourth week of classes and continue to progress though different procedures and organization.  We have had a good start to the school year and will continue to keep in contact so that the procedures established will become the norm at the Academy.  We have had many successes and compliments to the start of the year, but we know that there are many more things to do and it will take most of the year to establish and accomplish!
Friday was a holiday so our students and staff members (and us!) were able to enjoy a nice 3 day weekend.

On the lighter side of life, I have become better at building bigger and hotter fires.  The temperatures here at the top of the property (10,000 ft.) are generally between 38-45 degrees at night so having some heat when at home in the evening is advantageous.  It will warm up into the 60s mainly during the day, but can be warmer in the valley and Quito during the day.  I have not had to help any more calves out of our yard lately.  They have been very audible along with the hogs behind our house.  I believe though we have come to an agreement and once the sun sets, we all are able to sleep peacefully....

We appreciate everyone thinking and praying for us and the people here in Ecuador.   We appreciate the support and thoughts you have given us!  I will be working on sending out the first newsletter this weekend as well.  Of course, we have pictures below!  Enjoy and we will be in contact again soon!

We had some problems with our class schedules the past couple weeks.  A couple of our teachers were being double-booked. So we had to have people try to cover last. Two weeks ago, Tanya covered a P.E. class. The next day she covered another class and did a quick art class. Here are some of the 4th graders coloring.

Great minds must think alike. The assignment was for the student to draw his or her favorite thing that happened this week.  Here is Ms. Tanya's drawing. Below is one of a student.

Thursday we had a special assembly for the presentation of the flag of Ecuador. Our top 13th graders received the honor of bearing the flags while a few of our staff members read the significants of the colors and symbols.

The presentation of the Ecuadorian flag.

The Ecuadorian flag, the flag of Pedro Moncayo and the HOH Christian Academy flag held by Nicholas Vargas, Pamela Sandoval and Patricia Sandoval respectively.

Thanks for stopping by!

MIA

We have been Missing In Action lately.
We apologize. It has been pretty busy between school, shopping for a vehicle, me getting sick (upper respiratory infection) and then Jake getting sick. However we are still be and alive....and so is the  school!

So lets catch you up on what has been going on!

While we had a wonderful time in Peru, learning more about teaching and our English curriculm, I did not have such a great time on the return trip. I ended up getting my tri-yearly upper respiratory infection. It did help however to be able to sleep and rest most of the 48 hours  back. The only downside to all of it is because we were in such close proximity most of the time, I got several of the teachers sick plus Jake when we got back. We are still sniffling but for the most part are getting better. A good thing about being in Ecuador and being sick is you don't need a prescription for anitbiotics. We can just walk into any pharmacy and ask for what we need. A little scary but good at the same time.

We had parent night last Tuesday. It seemed to go well. We had about 100-125 parents show up. They were very interested in being involved and helping make the school a better place for their children.

We've had a lot of problems with the vans here on the property and it was getting very difficult to get things accomplished without a vehicle. So, after several weeks of search we finally found a car we like! In fact, we went into Quito yesterday and filled out all the paperwork and drove home with it. Now, to clear things up for everyone. This will be our personal car but it was purchased through funds from Twickenham. So it is technically the school's vehicle. We were very blessed to be able to purchase a nice Ford Explorer (cars here are super expensive, even used ones) that will drive well through the mountains, up the terrible potholed road to the school and it can carry lots of people. Plus it is pretty! 

Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks:

The first couple days of school we had kids working on posters describing what it means to be: Ready, Responsible and Respectful.

 Juan David working on a poster.

 Erik made a cross.

 Pamela hangs the signs in Learning Center 5.

 A nice day to play outside on the playground.

The School of Tomorrow Lisoft in Lima, Peru.

 Conference in Lima.

Ms. Cathy, Ms. Jenny and Ms. Marcela happy about all the note taking at the conference.

 This picture was taken at Jockey Plaza in Peru....just for Jake.

Shopping at the market in Lima.

Driving along the beach in Northern Peru.

Enjoying some fruit smoothies (something VERY common here) on our travels back from Lima.

A statue of Jesus on the border of Ecuador and Peru.

These three sweet girls (Maria, Kaiden and Jenny) made some artwork during recess out of rocks and sticks.

 I just thought this was sweet... a couple kids holding hands during recess.

Mr. Hugo talking during Parent Night.

We had a few really nice days here so we had chapel outside. 

What a nice view to see and understand our wonderful Creator!