Three months after coming home from Africa, work has been ramping up towards a period of intense work. Usually these times last between two and three months out of a year. A week before work was scheduled to begin this intense period, I got a call from the Youth Group that I volunteered for at University Baptist Church in Coral Gables called Roots. The call was inviting me to go as the photographer to their annual mission trip. Every year they take the students on a mission either locally within the United States or globally in another country. This year they were going to Ecuador. The mission was to serve the Foundation of Hope and Love, a privately subsidized school system for poor areas of Quito. Teachers from Miami were brought to Ecuador to have a week-long teaching seminar for the local teachers of one of these schools to learn new teaching techniques and gain tools for a more privileged learning experience. The high school students were to be substitute teachers for a week of the classes from Kindergarten to 5th Grade(about 250 students). We also did student portraits for all of the students, brought them new shoes, and new blankets were donated to all the nursery age children. The trip was a major success and a great blessing to all involved. Since the Foundation is subsidized by a locally owned tour company after school each day we traveled throughout the major tourist spots in Quito to learn about this beautiful country.
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