Off to the highlands

Yesterday was our last day in the village of Shandia. It was very hot and rainy, with morning fog covering the jungle floor. We spent the morning interacting with the kids from the village; learning spanish, teaching english and giving piggy back rides. We also built concrete forms out of trees that were cut from the jungle and mixed concrete for a second floor in the pastor´s home. The concrete is mixed on the ground and moved by means of a bucket brigade into the house and up ladders. Others of our team were involved in digging trenches for a septic system as well as helping to paint the outside of the house.
In the afternoon we hosted another day of VBS for about 30 kids. They are so enthusiastic and ready to be a part of anything with the gringos.
After the VBS we walked down the river to the house where Jim Elliot lived while he was in Shandia. A local lady (who was there while Jim Elliot lived there) told us very emotional stories of his ministry while in the village...quite a sobering experience after knowing the story of his love and sacrifice for the people.
Now the dreaded time had come. Time to say goodbye. We all had at least 1 or 2 kids who have adopted us and wait for us when we get of the bus. More pictures were taken in the last 30 minutes than at any news conference in the U.S. Lots of hugs and kisses and sad hearts as we boarded the bus to drive back to Tena.
The people in Shandia have won our hearts, and we will not soon forget them.
When we returned to our hostal (as satan likes to do) we found that some items from our bags had been stolen while we were gone. However, our spirits are still good and we are focusing on people and not things!
Today we will go to El Refugio which is 6 hour bus ride into the highlands (11,000 ft) where we will be for the next few days.
The team has been amazing!! They have worked incredibly hard in whatever they are doing, and have all gotten out of their comfort zones in amazing ways. I can´t say enough about your kids and how proud I am of them. Thank you for letting us embark on this experience together. We have grown closer together and to a new appreciation of how God works.

Until the next post. Goodbye from Brian for the team!!