We celebrated Kaidan's third Birthday on the 8th of this month. I think we celebrated enough to last us a couple of years. We ended up having three birthday parties.......I don't think we'll be doing that again.:) Now everyday she wakes up and asks what time we are going to have her "party cake". She also got a special visitor from the States that came just for her birthday. Keith, Justin's dad flew in on Saturday night and stayed two days. If that doesn't make a granddaughter feel special I don't know what will. We loved having him here and I know it meant a lot to Kaidan.
Thank you all for your suggestions on names. Lindsey, I'm not sure our new little one can live up to the Rashad legacy...but we'll think about it! We might just take on the Ecuadorian custom of not naming our baby until a month after he's born. We'll just call him "Justincito" until we have to register him 30 days after he's born.
The weekend before last we had a men's conference here. About 160 men and 20 women stayed at the camp, plus we continued our kids program. It was a crazy three days, but I believe all went pretty well. The only major thing that happened was we got robbed. Someone came and stole our water pump and car cd player early one morning. We heard Max, our dog, but did not get up to check, thinking he was just a little anxious about all the men on the property. We learned later that day the children's home had also been hit and one of their dogs had been poisoned. Max also threw up a couple of times, but seemed to be ok after that. It seems the same people came back the next night and tried stealing from the children's home again. When they got up the next morning their big boxer dog was really, really sick. The vet didn't think he was going to make it, but after being on an IV all day and receiving several shots, he pulled through. To say the least we have been on the alert everynight and are praying these people don't come back. It's a little uncomfortable knowing people are walking around our house at three in the morning without us hearing them...... We would appreciate your prayers.
We had another sleep over for the kids program this last weekend and about 50 children stayed the night at the camp. It was quite the exciting night.....:) We'll post some pictures a little later.
Thank you all for your prayers and love. We look forward to seeing many of you soon. God bless.
The Reegers

Road Blocks

This is Max, our dog, watching the sunrise outside our kitchen window. He is out there every morning. Rough life, huh?!:)
Thank you to all of you for your support and love. We are excited about the new little one. All seems to be going well with him. We are still trying to decide on a name...it's hard to decide something like that...I mean this kid will have to be stuck with it the rest of his life....suggestions are welcome!:)
So, all has been going well here. We had a couple of exciting days with road blocks. The people here burn tires and put huge trees in the road when they protest. This time they were protesting against a government decision to not give them aid with a water canal. To say the least it made life interesting for three days. They put blocks up about every half mile on the Pan American highway and stood beside their baracades with rocks to make sure cars did not try to pass. We had to walk about four miles to get from the last bus drop off to our house. We really enjoyed talking to the protesters at every blockade. Half of them did not even know what they were truly protesting. Kaidan decided we just needed an airplane to fly over the blockades and "the mean guys with rocks!:)
The kids program has been going wonderful. We had 82 children here yesterday for our Saturday program. We've been really happy with the four women who help run the program and teach. Ulf flew back to the US on Friday. So Justin and I are officially on our own. We are excited and look forward to what God has in store. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. We feel like we are on a whole other planet at times so hearing from you all is wonderful.
We will be in the US from October 27 through the 3rd of December, making stops in Seattle, Pueblo, Dallas and Lubbock. We will be in Seattle from the 27th through the 8th of Nov, in Pueblo from the 8th through the 15th of Nov, in Dallas from the 15th through the 19th, and in the Lubbock area for the remainder of our time. We are excited to hug many of your necks.
God Bless,
The Reegers

Summer

I want to begin by apologizing to all of you who have checked our blog over the past few months and have found no new post. I am not good with this kind of thing, but I know it is important and I am going to try and do better.
Our summer was very full of lots of events and people. We had six groups come, a two day youth conference, interns from the Bible school in Quito stay for the summer, the kids program, and a wonderful visit from Justin's family. To say the least each day was filled completely. Thank you for your prayers. It was a wonderful three months of learning the ropes and getting to know all those we will be working with here at the camp.
This last week we began preparing for the new school year. We are excited to see where all God leads us. Kaidan also began school this last week. We decided it would be good to put her in a school in order to help her learn Spanish and also have time with other children. She wears a little uniform and everything. So far she has liked it a lot. She will only be going 3-4 hours a day and I have the liberty to keep her at home if I want, so that is good. I wasn't ready to commit to five days a week just yet. Justin is still advancing in Spanish and doing wonderful. He will hopefully begin classes again soon. It was hard for him to travel and study with all that took place this summer, but he should now have more time to dedicate to that. I have been pleasantly surprised with how rapidly he is learning....... I am doing great and loving it here. For those of you who we have not been able to tell. We are expecting a new addition to our family in December. We decided to wait until the end of the summer to spill the beans just because of all that was going on. But, now it is no secret. I am not able to hide it any more, I believe I am showing much more this time around...not sure why. But, we are excited and Kaidan is ecstatic. She makes sure she tells everyone she has a little brother in Mommy's tummy. I think a sibling will be good for her and she will make a great big sister.
Please know we love you all. Thank you for your prayers and your patience concerning this blog. I promise I will try and do better. God bless.

First Week of Camp

We survived our first week of camp last week. It actually went rather well. We had two different groups here at the same time so that made it exciting. We were blessed to host a medical campaign for two days and I believe all were happy with the turn out. They saw 700 plus people of our community in the day and a half they were open. It was wonderful to see the facilities used by so many. We had passed out around 2000 fliers in the weeks before letting people know about the campaign, so we were excited some decided to show up. That same week we also had a group from Tennessee stay at the camp and they worked hard helping with the medical campaign and the orphanage. It was a crazy week, but one in which we pray God was glorified. Thank you to all of you who came and showed Jesus' love to those who live here.
Our family is doing wonderful. Justin just got back from a jungle trip with my dad and some of the people who came down for the medical campaign. Justin came back with some good stories. They had to cross a bridge like the ones you think only exist in the movies, a very narrow plank with a thin cable on each side, dangling over a strong river. The trick was getting Max, our dog, to cross. They attempted having him swim across the river below with the horses, but the current was so strong it swept him down stream three different times. So, Justin and another man ended up carrying him across the "bridge" while balancing themselves. I'm just glad I wasn't there to watch. He returned safely with a bag full of clothes literally covered in mud. I had to wash them four times before I could see the colors again. Justin said they hiked through shin-deep mud the majority of the time. It sounds lovely doesn't it?! I promise we won't take any of you there on your first trip down. It guess it was the perfect "manly" adventure.
Justin's parents, Dana and Keith, will be coming to visit us next week. We are so excited to see them. Kaidan is counting down the days. Thank you all again for your prayers and words of encouragement. I'm sorry I don't have pictures this time. God Bless.

Field Trip

Last Saturday we went with the children from the after-school program on their end-of-the-year trip. There was a total of 55 children on the bus and 9 adults. We sat three to a seat, which wasn't bad considering many of the children are tiny, but it still made for an eventful bus ride. The trip took about two hours to get to some natural hot springs up in the mountains. It was beautiful and I believe the children had a wonderful time. It took some heavy persuasion to get me in the pool. Something about swimming with 50 children in a pool without chlorine made me think twice. I think Kaidan was the only child who felt the need to get out and use the bathroom the whole three hours we swam. I guess it's best not to think about such things and just have fun, which is what we ended up doing. Overall, it was a wonderful day and the children did great.
This week we are preparing for the medical campaign and another group that will be here next week. Ulf is showing us the ropes on how to plan meals and shop. It has been fun so far. Justin is still pushing on with his Spanish classes, I think he is really enjoying it. Kaidan is doing great. She went to a Birthday party the other day and they were playing a game where two teams were racing to see who could fill up a small bucket at the other end of the room first. The catch was they had to use a big spoon to carry the water from one end of the room to the other. Well, when it was Kaidan's turn she ran over to the counter, grabbed a big glass, dunked it in the water and proceeded to the other end of the room to fill her teams bucket. I was so proud! :)
That's about all for now. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. God Bless.

Parent's Day

Last Saturday, we had a Parent's Day. All the parents of the children who attend the after-school program were invited to come. We played games, ate food, made crafts, had a time of Bible study, and received input from the parents on what they have enjoyed about the program and things they feel could change. It was wonderful getting to meet some of the parents. Many of them expressed their gratitude for the program and how it has helped them and their children. Several of the parents explained how their children's behaviors have changed at home since their participation in the program. God is working whether we realize it or not. I know this time was encouraging for Justin and I because we saw how much potential this outreach has and are excited to see what God will continue to do with it.
This coming Saturday, the 26th, is suppose to be our last day for the program until September, when school resumes. However, after speaking with Ulf and the teachers, we have decided to continue the program through June and part of July. Summer here in Ecuador is like anywhere else, children get out for the summer but the majority of the parents still have to work. Therefore, we would rather provide a safe place for the children to be rather than have them home alone or roaming the streets. Please pray for the planning of this time. Some of the teachers are a little nervous because we are throwing this in at the last minute. If any of you have any suggestions for additional activities for the summer program please contact us with your ideas. We want to make this time beneficial and fun for the children.
Our family is doing wonderful. Kaidan is learning how to greet people in Spanish and has begun to give a selected few a kiss on the cheek when she sees them. (Ecuadorians greet each other with a kiss on the cheek.) We are proud of her and feel she is beginning to enjoy her time here. Justin continues to press on with his Spanish classes. He is now having to walk 40 minutes each morning and each afternoon to catch a bus. We were borrowing a van that belongs to my parents. However, it is having trouble. We had to leave it in Quito with them and are without a car. It will be an interesting challenge. Besides that we are doing well. Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. I am still trying to figure out this blog thing. I need to learn how to respond to the comments you send. Any help would be appreciated!:) Oh, we also have a US phone number that you can call and it will ring here on our computer. Therefore you will only have to pay whatever your phone rate is to call within the US. We thought this might be easier for those of you who want to contact us but can't afford to pay international rates. It was very cheap for us to set up and we only had to pay a small one time fee. So, please feel free to use it. I'm not sure how secure this blog thing is, so if you would like the number just let us know and we can get it to you. Thank you again for your love, thoughts, and prayers. God Bless.

Kaidan helps me make a snack for the children everyday. She gets excited when we go down to the kitchen and make something for "the kids." It has been fun spending so much time with her.
Justin began Spanish classes on Monday and has been catching a bus every morning to Otavalo, a town about 30 minutes away..depending on how fast the bus driver goes. :) Justin is picking the language up fast...it is exciting.
We are loving being here. Everyday has been an adventure. God Bless.

First Weeks in Ecuador

Well, we finally made it to Ecuador! We are in our new home and doing our best to get settled. God has blessed us with a beautiful home and incredible surroundings. It is hard to describe the amazing view we have out our windows every morning. God is an amazing Creator and artist!
Our first days here were busy in helping with the children's after-school program and a slumber party. Ulf, decided Justin and I needed to learn to chop chickens. It was quite the experience. I can definitely say I took frozen chicken breasts for granted in the US!:) We are doing our best to learn the ropes, there is no doubt it will take some time.
Kaidan is doing well! The children that come for the after-school program love her. They all want to touch her hair and carry her around. She likes the attention most days however there are those days when the celebrity life gets to her. :) Overall she seems to be adjusting well and the language barrier doesn't seem to exist between her and the other children. They speak to her in Spanish and she says something back in English, they both laugh, and then run off to play. It has been exciting to watch her.
Our days here are spent preparing for the after-school program and then running it. We are doing our best to get to know the kids. There are about 25-50 that come for three hours every afternoon. We are planning a little get together for all the parents and kids the 19th of May. We are excited to meet many of the parents then. Please pray for that time.
Justin and Ulf have been working on putting electricity in the new clinic/meeting hall. Justin is amazed at the little support Ulf uses as a scaffold to run electricity in the high ceiling. I believe he has elected to be Ulf's go-getter on the ground rather than test the narrow boards 20 ft up. He has enjoyed learning from Ulf.
Justin has decided he needs to take some Spanish classes so we plan on getting those set up as soon as possible. He is doing wonderful with the people and is understanding more than most would with only being here a few weeks. Overall, our family is doing wonderful. We are excited about the camps that will be coming this summer and are looking for ways for them to encourage our surrounding community and shine Christ.
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. We will do our best to update this at least once a week. God Bless.
The Reegers