L.I.G.H.T. team travels to Ecuador: Ministry prevails over sickness and delays
By: Jon Harris
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: News
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Staff Writer
A 23-person light team spent their spring break in Ecuador working alongside a missionary couple, discipling the believers and evangelizing the lost.
The group's trip began in a small village in the jungle and at Camp Chacauco, a high school youth camp.
The team stayed in the village for two days.
In order to get there, they rode a bus two hours to a river where they canoed to a trail, which they hiked for two hours.
"It was pretty hard to get to, but those kids were amazing," said John Petty, sophomore music education.
There, they ministered to the Quichua people at the Huachiyacu Chico village. The team played with the children and assisted in a worship service.
"We had a great time ministering to the 30 plus children in the village as well as the adults," said Gracemarie Rosario, sophomore biology. "We had lots of games, songs and some crafts that helped us share the gospel with the kids."
The worship team performed songs in Spanish, and each member shared their personal testimonies throughout the week.
"Sharing my testimony in Spanish with the villagers during the worship service was really significant to me," Rosario said.
The team went to jungle campgrounds two nights and a jungle community another night.
Then, they stayed at Camp Chacauco for the remainder of the week. They led Bible studies and built relationships with the youth.
"Wednesday, when we were traveling, we stopped at a restaurant for lunchtime and it was chicken and rice and mash potatoes. We were like 'yeah, good meal!' And it was probably that meal that got us sick and not the other stuff," said Cindy Nooe, NGU Student Mobilizer.
An unknown bacterial infection started to affect several members of the team on Wednesday. Rosario said 20 out of the 23 were sick by Mar. 7. The intensity of sickness varied among the members.
"Some of us were more sick than others. Katie, Mimi, Ruth, Rachel, Lauren, Cindy, Andy, Erin, Jaime, and April were among the worst because of fever and throwing up a lot," said Rosario.
By the afternoon of Mar. 6, six were taken to a hospital because of dehydration. The six were put on IVs for hours to hydrate them.
"Andy Hack went through two IV bags and was there for nine hours," Petty said.
Other members suffered from diarrhea and upset stomachs.
A mix up in scheduling delayed the group's return on Mar. 7.
Then, the flight on Mar. 8 was canceled due to a clogged toilet. Delta put them up in the Marriot, and they left Sunday evening, Mar. 9.
The group arrived at North Greenville Monday afternoon, Mar. 10.
"God showed me how desperate people are for His love and comfort, how much suffering there is and how we, as Christians, should share in that suffering and express Christ's pure love with everyone we encounter," Rosario said.
The Ecuador light team was Grace Twitty, Gracemarie Rosario, Katie Freel, Anna Ruffner, Andy Hack, John Petty, Josh Black, Anna Goff, Jaime Lyons, Rachel Bass, Brett Rhye, Leah Hawkins, Erin Wolfe, Lauren Foster, David McWhite, April McWhite, Jonathan McWhite, Amy McWhite, Cindy Nooe, Mimi McWhite, Elizabeth McWhite, Ruth McWhite and Allen McWhite.
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