We welcomed a team made up of three families from The Chapel in Akron and Green, Ohio, to serve with Extreme Response in Quito, Ecuador from July 22nd to August 6th. The team arrived in stages. Dr. Dave and Linda Hoff flew in on July 22. Dave and Linda are dear friends of ours from Akron, and having them here was like welcoming family. This was their sixth trip to Ecuador, and they handle it like pros! For six days we put them to work doctoring patients at the nursing home, working at the medical clinic at the dump.. On July 28th, the rest of the team arrived. The Lingenhoel and Miller families arrived prepared to conduct a Kids Program at Pan de Vida, a local soup kitchen serving about 1000 families in the Quito area.

The team was prepared for 100 children (Now where have we heard that before?) and we actually ended the week with 70 children in regular attendance. This was a good thing, as it allowed us to connect with the children (and maintain some semblance of control!). We ventured into new territory with this team, taking two field trips during the week. These are street children who would never have the opportunity to do anything like this. Both were to local museums…one of them was positively amazing. There is a new interactive “water museum” here in Quito. We arrived with 70 children and 15 adults. The guides were excited to see us. They talked to the children like they were real people. Our guide got down on her knees so that she could look our little ones in the eyes…at their level. Our kids were engaged from the moment we entered the building until we boarded the bus to go home. Throughout the rest of the week, the kids in my group chattered endlessly about how much fun they had at the water museum.
Many thanks, to The Chapel, for serving those in need here in Ecuador!
Submitted by Dan Maloy

A team of 24 from Omaha, Nebraska is hard at work in Quito, Ecuador helping out with many ER projects and partners. Half of the team is doing construction - building a house for Maria, Segundo, and Diana. They are a family that has been working at the Quito dump for many years. The home will really impact two families. The new home will allow the second family move into Maria, Segundo, and Diana’s existing house. Maria said each day seems like a dream. Their grandchildren are having fun with the team and are pitching in on the work. The house dedication is set for Monday the 10th of August. The team plans on buying beds, stove, sofa, dinning room table, pot & pans, and food for the dedication.

The non-construction part of the team has done a program at the Betania Old Folks Home, taken the children from the Zambiza Day Care Center to the Zoo, and will be doing a Kids Program at Nuevo Amigos. The team is being joined by the boys from Casa Gabriel (home for former street boys). These boys are doing a fantastic job serving with the teams; two are with the construction team and seven are with the non-construction team. The non-construction team will also do some painting at the Casa Gabriel house. It is awesome to see the boys impacting lives.