{Originally posted June 20th, 2013}
The good news continues.
As you know, I am now back in Ecuador, continuing with the FEDICE team in our work with the communities, visiting them, telling them about my time in the USA, and sharing with them how blessed I feel to have been the voice of the people. I was able to talk with those whom we work with in churches, with groups of young people, and among all our brothers and sisters in the United States.
As I started out saying, the good news continues. THANKS TO GOD for this. One of the major accomplishments of the trip was obtaining $8,000.00 dollars to finish the Children´s Center "My Little Angels of Victor Hugo Vaca" from the churches of the Southern Conference of Illinois.
Last week we had our monthly meeting of the Executive Committee of FEDICE where I give and receive the reports and we plan the activities for the next month. With enormous happiness, we received news of the receipt of $13,000.00 dollars for Maca Atapulo, a community located in the province of Cotopaxi. They can continue their project with sheep. These funds came from the Office of Latin America and the Caribbean of Global Ministries.
Another of the activities in the United States was to visit Fort Worth and especially the Fort Worth Country Day School. This is an educational institution where Bill Arnold and Alison Robinson work, two of our great friends and ambassadors for FEDICE. How gratifying it was when one of the people there said she was ready to come to Ecuador. Alee Sable, with whom we had been communicating by mail and talking about the possibility of coming to Ecuador as a volunteer and working with FEDICE, said to me, "Blanca, I want to go and work with FEDICE, and I now have the tickets for June of 2013.” Once again, I said, “Thank you, God.”
Time passes quickly, and now Alee is here with us, working and sharing time with the people of the community of San Francisco, learning a little more about the work with the communities. Yesterday we visited with her, and we could see her work with the children and with the mothers. We visited some of our companions in San Francisco to see the different projects. With an enormous smile she said, "I am good, very happy. THANKS, Blanca, for the opportunity to know these fabulous people and to be able to continue with the work with the children from the Children's Center."
The one who needs to say THANKS is me! Once again, thanks for all these people who believe in our work, who are interested in us in FEDICE, and above all who believe in the children of our communities.
Alee continues with the English classes for the children and the mothers in the Children's Center. She is also participating in the work of construction of the center and, of course, getting to know a little more about our people.
After her time in San Francisco, she will visit other places: Baños, Cuenca, Macas, and Guayaquil. Then she will come back to Quito.
We hope that God will be with her, accompanying her in all her activities, and that she can enjoy and get to know a little more about our country so when Alee returns to the United States she will share many good stories about our people and our country. THANK YOU, ALEE.
Cordially,
Blanca Puma
Executive Director of FEDICE
Quito – Ecuador