Thank you all for your encouraging words this week- it was great to hear from many of you!

We have had another crazy week at Montanita Verde! The beginning of the week started off rather quiet and uneventful- which Will and Amanda were grateful for. I started working on the mural with Will's sister who is visiting. Will went to visit Jacqueline who was still in the "observation" area of the hospital and seemed to be heavily sedated. Thursday we returned to the orphanage after running errands in Manta and came home to a mess- where Jose (one of the kids) acted in rage, broke some windows and held glass up to the other kids throats. Therefore, they pulled Jose out of the house and have been keeping him separate, while they are trying to figure out what to do. Unfortunately, the Eason's keep running into roadblocks in a country that offers little to no services to people with mental or behavioral issues. On top of the stress of dealing with Jose, the hospital where Jacqueline was staying (three hours away) called and told the Eason's they had to pick her up by the end of the day or they would put her on the street. When Will and crew arrived to pick her up, she was not better, but the hospital basically doesn't have the room or government funding to keep up with all of the patients. They ended up driving ten plus hours through the night to Quito to take her to a facility. However the cost are high ($1'000/month) and not something that can be a long term option.

Please pray for Jose, Jacqueline and the Eason's. Many tears have been shed this week and the Eason's are trying to stay hopeful but have been feeling like they are in the midst of a storm they are not sure they can bear. They have prayed and mentioned they are surrenderd to whatever God wants for this orphanage, even if it means shutting it down. I have been praying that God will give them wisdom, clarity, peace and the confidence to do the work he has set before them to do and the rest to trust that he will work it out for their good and his glory.

I'm heading into my last full week at Montanita Verde, as I have a friend (Angie) arriving from Austin next weekend and we will spend half a week here and then head to Quito for the final couple days.

If you would like to help with supporting Jacqueline with a one time donation, to help towards here month stay in Quito, here is a link where you can do so: http://incalink.org/ministries/montanita-verde/. Please shoot me an email if you do, so I can let the Eason's know and they can designated the funds toward her care.

Thank you all for your continued prayers! Keep them coming, as they are needed and felt:) Below are some random pictures from the orphanage, the next town over, San Lorenzo, and the beginning stages of the mural!

Much love!
Erin

Hola friends and family! Thank you for your patience in waiting for my first update. I arrived in Quito about two weeks ago and have been at the orphanage for a week and a half and this is the first day I have internet access! Hurray!

 While I was in Quito I was fortunate to visit a few of Inca Link's ministries including: a soccer ministry, an at-risk children's outreach and one of the women's prisons. The visit to the prison was the most memorable because I attended a bible study for English speakers where women from all over the world were present and shared from deep places of brokenness and honesty. I spoke in depth with two women, both of which asked for prayers for the lord's favor in their trial hearings and early releases. The prison was drastically different from our's in the states in the sense it was extremely overcrowded (800 + women in a 240 max facility), kids are present (about 100 currently), basic necessitates are not provided--so women have to have people bring them supplies or find ways for make money. However, it was encouraging to see God at work through the missionaries leading the studies and helping to supply the needs of the women, as well as the hope he is giving the women prisoners in midst of their captivity.

I traveled to the orphanage with a short term team and we thankfully survived the 10 hour loco (crazy) bus ride. The next morning we began working on construction/painting and settled into our schedule of manual labor in the mornings and putting on a VBS with the kids in the afternoons. The construction part of our time was much needed due to the quickly eroding buildings that have not been kept up over the years. The time with the eleven kiddos was my favorite each day, as we would share Bible stories, sing, play games and do crafts.

Now that the short term team as left, I am here with a college intern named Anna and the missionary family: Will, Amanda and their son Emory. It looks like our normal "schedule" will be cleaning/painting in the mornings and helping the kids with homework/playing in the afternoons. However, this past week was crazy and the saddest part of the trip so far has involved one of the kids, named Jacqueline. She turned eighteen this year and Will and Amanda (the Eason's) were working on placing her with her older sister because they cannot legally keep kids here past eighteen. The night we arrived, Jacqueline started acting strange and chanting things over and over and would not stop singing. The next day it continued and got worse, so Will drove her to the doctors and they said they thought she may have schizophrenia and gave her meds. Since then she has needed twenty-four hour care, which the Eason's are not staffed for. So Anna and I have helped on over night shifts, where we didn't sleep because she stayed up all night singing/yelling/gripping us, etc. it's been really sad to see, especially since the Eason's said she was relatively a calm and happy girl beforehand. We have prayed over her multiple times a day and have had lots of conversations regarding the spiritual and psychological battle we have witnessed. Everything came to a head Thursday night when Anna and I were staying with her. Even on her meds, she was getting worse and Thursday night, she seemed tormented most of the night. She got undressed and was climbing all over the room, and would not stop yelling/chanting again- and then she told Anna, "the voices are telling me to kill you, but don't worry, I won't- you're my friend." After we shared this with the Eason's the next morning they decided they had to take her somewhere for more care and treatment than we could provide. They found a hospital three hours away that treats mental illness and she was admitted yesterday and they diagnosed her with advanced schizophrenia.

On a more positive note, the rest of the kiddos are doing so good! Will and Amanda arrived in February with the intention of assisting in the running of the orphanage. However, they came into a mess that ended with them quickly discovering the director was involved in stealing money and therefore they became the new directors. They have done an incredible amount of work and improvements in the short time they have been here. They hired loving staff, a tutor for the kids and are setting up a continuation of groups to come and help finish the construction projects and love on the kids!

In summary, thank you again for your partnership with his orphanage and for joining me in praying for the needs here. We ourselves have needs and know of those that do in our own spheres of influence, so thank you for reaching out to another culture and bearing their burdens as well.

Please join with me in praying for:
The Lord 's continued provision and guidance for everyone involved at the orphanage.
The kids here to know the love of the Lord and be adopted by loving families.
Complete healing and wisdom for the doctors for Jacqueline.
Rest for Will and Amanda.

Much love!
Erin

 Jose and I:)

 Genesis!

 Annhalia

The Manta Mound!

The Journey Into Greater Trust

Many of you have asked what I will be doing while in Manta and that is a great question! The short answer is: I really don't know. Back in January, I contacted my friends Rich and Lisa Brown who live in Ecuador and oversee mucho ministries in South America. I explained I would have about five weeks free and asked if they could use an extra hand. They said "of course!" They asked me where I wanted to jump in and I told them- wherever they felt was the biggest area of need and where I would be a good fit. They quickly responded by asking me to pray about helping them with a new orphanage they opened this past spring. The Eason family (please check out their blog: Eason Blog) is still going through a very steep learning/cultural adjustment curve and could use an extra pair of adult hands to help with the five kiddos (possibly more by the time I arrive) at the orphanage. They also loved the idea of using art to help enhance the drab facilities (I am planning on painting some murals). 

So in less than a month (June 27- Aug. 3) I will be descending on Manta, with less of a set agenda and more an attitude of leaning into God and trusting that he is going to work through me (and you) in a way that is fruitful for his Kingdom purposes. I admit that having an agenda satisfies my need for control and pride of feeling useful/important while serving (an oxymoron). However, the Lord has been thankfully teaching me a lot about trusting in him and his sovereignty in the midst of my circumstances. Below is a quote from Henri Nouwen that has been rocking my heart and I hope encourages you:

"The root choice is to trust at all times that God is with you and will give you what you most need...God says to you, 'I love you, I am with you, I want to see you come closer to me and experience the joy and peace of my presence. I want to give you a new heart and a new spirit. I want you to speak with my mouth, see my eyes, hear with my ears, touch with my hands. All that is mine is yours. Just trust me and let me be your God.'" -Henri Nouwen, from his book: The Inner Voice of Love

Prayer Request:

• The Eason's have asked for prayer: "We are currently working to get a recently hired (last week) staff set up and trained. We are working to get through the files of the kids. We have the rest of this month to get everything correct before our government inspection. Pray that we can get everything done and get things running correctly here. Pray that God will continue to give us the strength we need."
• Pray that I create space for God each day and live in total dependence- so He is able to abide in me and produce fruit.
• Pray for fruitful work and relationships while in Manta.
• Pray for God to work in mighty ways and for amazing testimonies!
• Praise!- I have less than $300 left until total support has been raised for the trip. THANK YOU SO MUCH for those of you that were able to financially give. If you would like to donate towards this mission, please click here: Donate

The Manta Mission Low Down:

I hope that this post finds you well!  I am writing to tell you about an exciting opportunity that God has brought my way.  I have spent the past year living in Austin, TX and working as an art teacher at an elementary school. Many of you that know me know the Lord has continually placed a desire on my heart to serve those less fortunate overseas- specifically children and youth. Therefore, as summer draws near, I have been praying for God to direct my steps and show me how to use the time off- in a way that would be useful and glorifying to Him and the kingdom.

My friends, Rich and Lisa Brown, are missionaries and country directors in Peru, Ecuador and Columbia. They are connected with the Christian Missionary Alliance and also started a ministry called Inca Link International- that has the mission of reaching the 300 million youth of South America with the love of Christ through evangelism and discipleship, training leaders, connecting people, and compassion ministries. They are devoted to helping the least of these. The Tesoros (or “treasures”) ministry of Inca Link focuses specifically on providing safe, loving, Christ-filled homes to children in need and preparing them for their future as adults. I have the opportunity to serve as a missions intern under this ministry. I am incredibly excited to support the family and children of Inca Link’s newest orphanage in Manta, Ecuador through helping the full-time missionary family, working with the children and helping to bring color and life to the older buildings through art and murals!

We are all missionaries & kingdom workers in every sphere of influence where God has placed us. Therefore, I am asking for your help- as we are all part of one body working for Christ, in this short term venture. Most importantly, I am asking you to partner with me in prayer.  I ask that you would pray for me as I prepare to leave and while I’m in Ecuador – for safety and health, that the Lord would use me to bless the people of Ecuador and for God’s grace and peace as I adjust to a new culture and language, and that my heart would be open to what God wants to teach me this summer.  I covet your prayers during this time of preparation and service; would you be willing to commit to pray for me?

I also need to raise support for the trip.  I need to raise $1,500 for the little over a month I will be serving, to help pay for things like airfare, room and board, and transportation in the country.  If you would like to partner with me financially, you can do so online at https://incalink.donortools.com/my/funds/60392-INTERN-Erin-McElroy-2014 or incalink.org- under the tab donations.  All donations are tax deductible. If you would like to receive updates on my time in Ecuador or updated prayer requests throughout the summer, please let me know and provide me with your email address.

Thank you for your consideration of these requests.  Your support and encouragement mean so much to me!  Dios te bendiga!  (God bless you!)

Erin