ME TO WE TRIP 2019

i would just like to take the time to thank all of you for your donations for my mission trip to Ecuador. I can’t thank you all enough for all the support you gave me to have the opportunity to experience an amazing and life changing trip like this.

Now I would just like to tell you all about my trip starting from the beginning. 

The first night was in Quito, which is the capital city of Ecuador. We spent a full day there touring the city. We saw beautiful churches, heard old stories of the city and saw many amazing sites.  We also stood on the equator where we got the opportunity to try different gravity experiments, directly on the equator and on either side of the equator.  When directly on the equator, water flows straight down, however when standing on either side of the equator, water will flow in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

The morning after we traveled to the Andes mountains and stayed in a community called Chimborazo. Our time there was spent working in a school community called Sablog where we were building a school. The two days we were there we moved more than 5,000 bricks that would be made into walls, mixed a ton of cement, completed a beautiful garden, and dug holes for water and electricity.

We also visited a woman’s club where we were taught how to make bracelets, belts, and other accessories. We finished our time there with playing some soccer with the kids from the school. Another activity we did in Chimborazo was when he headed down to the busy market where locals were selling their livestock, fruits, vegetables, and other food items. We were given $5 and had to spend it accordingly so that the food we get could feed a family for a whole day. So, with not a lot of money to spend, we had to bargain with the sellers so that we could maximize the amount of food we got. my group spent the $5 on three pounds of rice, bananas, peppers, carrots, pears, broccoli, and apples. This was an impacting experience because we were putting ourselves into the shoes of an actual family with so little money trying to feed our family for the day.

Our next destination was the amazon rain forest where we stayed at the Me to We manga lodge. Every day we had to take a 5-minute boat ride to get to where the actual lodge was because the bus couldn't drive right to the lodge. The amazon was filled with lots of animals, over-sized bugs and great memories. A personal story I would like to share in the amazon was when I found a not so little critter inside of my shoe. I go to put my shoes on, and I feel something inside of my shoe. I assume it’s my sock, so I fix my sock and put my foot back in and I still feel it. So, I reach inside with my hand and throw my show and a 4-inch beetle comes out of my shoe. It was a terrifying experience, but I knew it would be a good story to bring back home.

a few of the activities we took place in at the lodge were morning and night hikes, planting banana trees, making our own chocolate, and learning to dance from a local school community. The community we helped out at was called Hatun Urcu. Our time there was spent in the 40-degree weather moving large rocks up a hill to create foundation for a water tower. The insane weather was tough to work in but we pushed through it for a better cause. With everyone’s help there we made a great start to something so great. 

My overall experience on this mission trip had a huge impact on my life and has made me realize not to take anything for granted because there are people all over the world in tougher living situations, but they still manage to live a happy life with so little that they have. This has been an unforgettable experience and I want to thank all of you for your help in helping me get there.

- Jared Fernandez-Brown, 2nd year kicker/punter