Hello friends and family!

I wanted to take some time to thank you all for donating to and supporting me on my summer mission project with Let’s Start Talking. Here is a little update about the first month of my trip!

We arrived in Quito 4 weeks ago today, got settled into our home, and jumped right into our English reading sessions the next morning. Each one of my four team members has nine readers each day (we work from 9 to 7 every day). We have readers between the ages of 11 and 60, so sessions often look very different depending on who we are reading with. Many of our readers have no background with Christianity so within just a few days we started receiving a lot of questions about who God is and why we believe in him. These questions are sometimes difficult to answer, but it’s been really good for us to learn how to talk about our spiritual lives and relationships with God.

It’s crazy how close I’m getting to my readers and how deep our friendships have been, even though I have only known them for a month. Their curiosity and interest in learning about the bible has sparked so much more for me to think and learn about that hasn’t crossed my mind before. The conversations I have with my readers have been very transformative for me and my own faith and I’m learning more and more each day about who God is and how he’s working in the people here and in my own life. 

The church here has been so welcoming of us! An intern at the church, Pamela, is actually living with us and has become fast friends with all four of us. She’s been a great reference for us this past month. The young adult group here has been very inclusive of us as well and has been showing us around the city of Quito on our days off. We have also had time each week to fellowship with families of the church in their homes. They are such a loving and caring group of people, and it is such a blessing to serve God alongside them! It’s an amazing feeling to be able to worship with brothers and sisters from all around the world and know that we are a family, connected through Christ. What an encouragement they have all been to me. 

It’s hard to believe that a month has already passed and that I only have a few precious weeks left with these new friends of mine. I’m so grateful that I have had this opportunity to learn and share my faith and I’m thankful for all the growth that has come and will come from it! God is certainly at work in Quito and in the lives of the people I’ve met, and I’m glad that I have the chance to be a small part of His work here. All the glory is to Him!

Thank you again for helping me get to Quito and for all the prayers and kind words you’ve said to me. It is such a blessing to have family and friends who are willing to support and walk alongside me on this journey!

With love,

Tina Schrader

We pray for all those who lost their homes and loved ones, and for all of those helping others in need.

The 4th shipment of supplies from our Nashville operations center will arrive at the Chico Church of Christ tomorrow afternoon to be unloaded at the church building. Now that people have returned back to the area, more are coming to pick up these basic needed supplies so the majority of the supplies are being picked up in just a few days.
We’re ready to send more supplies when they tell us they need them.