Thursday, May 27, Second Day at Alliance Academy

Dear Parents and Friends,
Today has been a very good day. We had three chapel services for elementary school children this morning at the Alliance Academy, and we were in charge. I decided to utilize all of the students, so we proceeded as follows. First, I gave a team greeting, and then each student introduced himself or herself. Next, we led the audience in some songs - Allelu/Praise Ye the Lord (the children's version, with a little jazzing it up at the end), Lord, I Lift Your Name on High, and a chorus that fit the theme of the serve, Love, Love, Love, Love, the Gospel in a Word is Love.

Then I gave a 3-5 minute talk about how LOVE is the essence of being a Christian, but love takes practice - you can't just decide overnight to be a great lover. We start with small acts and work up to those that are bigger and harder.  Then the G.C. students came up, one group at a time, first the Football Players, then the Artist, then the Language Learners, then the Musicians. For each group, they would pantomine an activity (such as throwing a football around), and the children had to guess what the college students were acting out. Then I would interview the students about how to get good at that particular activity. Finally, at the end I gave a conclusion which incorporated Jesus' two greatest commandments (Love God, Love your Neighbor), and we talked about how to apply that to parents, fellow students, teachers, and then enemies.

While the students were painting, I worked this afternoon on finishing a summary of the NSO (New Student Orientation) evaluation that Norm Hall and his office want as they start their Fall planning.  Several classes also requested a few minutes of the students' time, so the students had fun visiting those classes and getting bombarded with questions.

Our hosts, Pancho and Pity, have been outstanding. They are warm and gracious Christian hosts, and our meals have been delightful. We almost always have fresh-squeezed juice of some kind, and not always of the standard juices either. Tonight, I think we had Passion Fruit juice, which they call "maraguiyo," I think. We had two different kinds of ice cream, one that looked like vanilla but was a fruit flavor called "guyabano," and then raspberry-chocolate, both topped with a swirl of chocolate syrup. Right now the students and Dr. Schmidt are playing a game in our spacious living room, the "sign" game, where each student tries to pass his or her "sign" (maybe flicking the hair back on one side, rubbing one side of the nose, etc.) while one person tries to guess who "has" the "sign" at any particular moment. They are enjoying themselves!

We have a fairly active itinerary. Tomorrow we go back for our third day to the Alliance Academy to paint the stairwell (we have already painted several bedrooms and hallway), and perhaps to give a demonstration of the Bible Quiz chairs to a class of Bible students. Tomorrow night our hosts have planned to take us out to the movies, a large Cineplex in the center of Quito, where they typically show American movies but with Spanish subtitles. Saturday we are going to a very large market for artisans, the largest in the world I am told, and then to church on early Sunday morning and then to "Mindo," a subtropical area where the equatorial line passes.  At least, I think that's the plan.  I'll let you know later how much of that transpires!

God is working in our group.  First, there were several "break-throughs" with Alliance students this morning, where, to give one example, a child with autism was actually persuaded by one of our girls to come up and sing and dance as part of one of the skits (with several other Alliance students as well), and a little boy from Russia who never opens his mouth in class gave an answer to one of my questions right in front of everything.  The way God used us to reach the kids brought visible tears to the eyes of several teachers.  It just goes to show you the truth of the Proverb, slightly paraphrased, "In our hearts we plan our course, but the Lord determines our steps."  We act out our plan, but God does the real work!  Peace to all.

Dr. Greg Sanders