I want to start off this blog by saying thank you to everyone for your prayers, words of encouragement, and financial support! This trip would not be possible without you! The Lord has provided for this trip in ways we didn't even imagine would happen! I should also start this blog off by saying that this is from my perspective, and I will be posting during the time we are in Ecuador. My hope is that after we return, other teammates will add their own posts and pictures so everyone can read and enjoy the blessings each of us experienced. So without further ado let me introduce you to our amazing team!
Emily has been making a wonderful monthly newsletter since we began our planning! I will post all of those here so that you can read the bios about each member!
This group of people has made this year of planning the trip fantastic. We have all started to grow our friendships and our camping trip really pulled us together as a mission family. It hasn't always been easy juggling vet school, jobs, distance, and life, but God never gives us more than we can handle and he provides us with friends to lean on when we need help.
On the trip up to Lake Arbutus, Dr. Oetzel and Morgan taught me a lot about the bovine embryology world and they let me talk about my zebrafish research. It was a lot of fun to dive into a different world of conversation. The amazing thing about veterinary medicine is there is always something to learn! Here are some of the photos from our camping trip!
 |
| This was the first time I had been on a water tube since I was little. Luckily David went easy on me in the beginning, but when I finally flew off I skipped across the lake. I don't remember being so sore after tubing when I was little. |
 |
| Candace was the Queen of Tubing! She held on through the craziest waves. There was one point where she was about 6 feet up in the air and she landed that tube with a perfect 10 and kept on going! |
 |
| Morgan and I working together on the lean. |
 |
| Morgan- Making falling in look beautiful! |
 |
| Pretending that I was surfing... |
 |
| Morgan's solo ride! |
 |
| Perfect night out on the lake! |
 |
| The team's very own viking. |
 |
| Team photo after a camp church service! |
 |
| Expert dino riders! |
 |
| David really wanted a picture on the dinosaur, but he couldn't seem to stay on... |
  |
| Flowers at the start of the hike |
 |
| David being a monkey and increasing all of our heart rates. This tree was pretty close to the edge of one of the cliffs we hiked out on. |
 |
| Even Micky is smiling for the photo! |
 |
| I am not the biggest fan of cliff edges, but David and Morgan got me to look over the edge. It was beautiful! Kind of scary, but still beautiful! |
 |
| Micky! |
 |
| Dr. O taking pictures of the cool rock formations! |
 |
| Taking a cat nap while Dr. O and I caught up. We were taking too many pictures. |
It was a perfect day for a hike. The few of us that were able to go on the hike had a picnic lunch before heading our separate ways home. It was a wonderful way to explore God's creation and just be at peace before starting back up on our busy work weeks.
Since then we have all been doing our parts to get things ready for the trip. We are getting the last few supplies gathered and bought. We have our big packing party on July 9th and then we fly out on the 10th. I am starting to get really excited. It is finally sinking in that we are going. I can't wait to meet our hosts that we have heard so many great stories about from Dr. O, Quigs, and Kendra! I keep praying that God will keep my heart and mind open and that he will use me to do his work while we are down in Ecuador! Job 12: 7-10 has been a reminder, a prayer, and an inspiration to me since I started vet school...
But ask the animals
and they will teach you,
or the birds in the sky,
and they will tell you;
or speak to the earth,
and it will teach you,
or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In His hand is the life of every creature and breath of all mankind.
As veterinary students and veterinarians, we are the advocates for God's creation. We care for animals great and small. It is a wonderful blessing to be given such a responsibility! During our years of vet school we learn God's animals from the cells up to the entire animal. Everyday we get to understand more about the miracle of life. Now we get to use that knowledge to help animals and people in Ecuador. The true blessing will be what we learn from them, and I can't wait to learn from them. When I was in Ecuador 4 years ago for a class trip I told a few of my classmates and my professor that I wanted to come back to Ecuador and help in animals of the country, little did I know that that was always in God's plan! The Lord works in mysterious ways, but sometimes I think he is down right logical!
Please continue to pray for us and our trip! I have also received some messages of people asking if they could still give financial support. Here is how you can do that!
1. Go to CVMUSA.org
2. Click on Give – Short Term Missions
3. Click on Group
4. Go to the Designation scroll menu and go to “other” at the bottom
5. Enter in University of Wisconsin Ecuador Mission Trip
Thank you all for joining us on our trip! I hope you will enjoy the stories to come! Please feel free to comment below! The entire team will love to hear your words of encouragement!
No comments:
Post a Comment