Announcer Goes On Mission Trip

WXAN DJ Ashley Apple,

with Jerry & Sandy Owen in Ecuador.

by Ashley Apple
This summer I was thrilled to be able to go on a mission trip to Ecuador. I really have no words to describe well enough all that took place and all that I saw. 
We stayed in Quito, a city in the mountains and maybe 3 to 4 times bigger than Chicago and over a million people. The streets are pretty dirty and there are people everywhere selling anything you can imagine. While some mothers are selling they just leave their children to play or sleep on the meridians in the middle of the busy streets. 
Here are a few facts: all cars are stick shift and there are no speed limits or lines on the roads. And there are tons of policemen everywhere. 
My youth group and I visited an orphanage. There were about 60 children ranging in age from 3 to 12. One little boy had bandages on his head from where his dad had beat him. He was the sweetest little boy you would have ever met. We did face painting and they loved it. They were also obsessed with our cameras. They would say to us, “Photo! Photo!” They appreciated everything we gave them and the things we did for them. 
There are many orphans in Quito. Many children do not go home at night because if they have not sold enough stuff they will get beaten, so most of the time they just fend for themselves on the streets. We also worked at the New Life Center, which in Spanish is “el Centro de Nuevo Viva.” That is the ministry base of our missionaries Sandy and Jerry. 
We did skits and showed a video. About ten women got saved that night and God did awesome things in the heart of our group that evening. 
On the Saturday night that we were there, we went to a crusade. We got to see the top Latino artist, Yuri. She is the equivalent of Madonna in the U.S., only to the Latin American world. Over 14,000 people were in the stadium, and thousands more were watching on the screens outside. There were 3,500 salvations and rededications that night. It was awesome and I will never forget that night. 
I also met three teenagers that have touched my heart forever…Josue, Stefanie, and Ralph. They helped me with my Spanish and I with there English. We had fun times together. 
I would love to go back someday. Maybe not just on missionary work but as a tourist. Ecuador is a very cool country. The people took my heart. I left it there with them. I do miss it so much already and think of that place and my friends often. God has blessed me greatly and I know we did some good for the Ecuadorians.