God is blessing tremendously! Record numbers of children being served:

Through what cannot be called anything less than a succession of miracles, the FACES Ministry to child laborers and children at risk of child labor almost doubled in 2012, a year of budget cuts and frozen funds! With the help from organizations such as Fundación Telefónica, Cross International, SOW, and our ministry partners we are now providing direct services to 1,800 children!

OVERVIEW:

Our ministry involves these main thrusts:

(1) A day center in Quito where we receive child workers and children at risk of child labor

(2) 14 Prevention projects in targeted indigenous communities

(3) Education and counseling with the parents

(4) A specialized school for the working children and adolescents (New World Christian School)

(5) Special economic projects with families to generate income to apply toward education

(6) Community work in conjunction with local and national governments toward the creation of a functioning child protection system and the eradication of child labor.

(7) Assistance to public schools and continuing education for the teachers in schools where our children attend. 

(8) Active evangelism, discipleship, Christian values training and school follow-up.

THE NUMBERS:

Educational Support: 

“Pro Nino” Day Programs:  Over 700 sessions were provided all the children and adolescents in our Day Programs.

 1,200 children received a large bag of school supplies to assist them in their educational process.

1,800 children received school shoes and tennis shoes.       

As the program advanced 18 adolescents graduated high school, many of which had previously dropped out one or more years. Each year, the number of graduates will increase.

4 of the graduates of our program are currently studying in college.

96% of the children and adolescents in the program passed their school year, 2011-2012.

Eradication of Child Labor:

Hundreds of children and adolescents were completely eliminated from child labor while hundreds more reduced their hours of work.

Work with parents:

During the year we conducted 134 workshops for the parents of the 1,800 children in our program on practical topics. These teachings are based on the Word of God, with a time of reflexion and prayer.

Hundreds of follow-up home visits made to minister to the families, encourage their participation, and help deal with family crisis and hundreds of school follow-up visits were conducted.

Nutrition:  Over 14,000 plates of food served in our Quito center.

Thousands of nutritional refreshments served to parents and children over the period

Recreation:

 11 Ministry Centers held a Summer Bible Camp during school vacation, providing incentive for the children to stay off the streets and in a productive program of learning and recreation.

Each zone held at least one or more Soccer Tournaments and took the children on much needed educational and recreational field trips.

Spiritual Training:

The children and adolescents in each Ministry Center received 1-6 Bible lessons per week during the entire school year.

Economic Projects: 

Many families were provided with male and female animals to raise---pigs, guinea pigs, and cows. They were given initial training to better their skills and are given ongoing technical support. These families will share other pairs of animals with other families in the project until all have a viable source of cash income from their animals.

Community Work: 

We held events in honor of the International Day Against Child Labor, June 11.

 In Quito we organized a march through town with over 1,200 participating.

In Zumbahua we had a drawing contest and folkloric dance contest around the theme “Childhood is for studying and playing, not for working.”

 In Alausi we held the second annual Forum Against Child Labor, with over 400 in attendance including government officials.

We provided the County of Rumiñahui, where our main office is located, with various copies of a Community Resource Directory, assisting the community in organizing their efforts to construct a child protection system.

In all, we distributed over 6,000 pieces of literature to draw attention to the problem of child labor and to educate the public about child protection laws.

Intervention in the Educational System:

Altogether the FACES Ministry has relationships with 70 schools where our children attend.  In 2012 we provided workshops on the theme “Understanding Child Labor and Its Effects on the Child in the Classroom” 120 teachers and principals participated.

Most of all, lives are being changed by the power of the Holy Spirit!

Christmas 2012:

This year we outdid ourselves and delivered 3,700 Christmas Candy bags to the indigenous communities we serve. Our goal was to leave no child in our areas without something for Christmas. Thank you, partners for all you do and have done for the past nine years to put smiles on the faces of Ecuadorian children at Christmas time.

Church Dedication:

In the fall Dan and Teresa went back to the Indian Community of Cocha Loma for a tent revival, children’s crusade and the dedication of the church built there by Crossroads Church of Clayton, NC. We would like to continue to support the building of churches in remote areas with the help of our North American partners.

New Missionaries:

We are very pleased that God is sending more workers to the harvest.

In 2012 we were privileged to have Lisa Johnson and her daughter, Amanda come to join our team from North Carolina.  They are living in the town of Alausi and Lisa is assisting FACES as the Mission Trip Coordinator. She will be putting her years of experience at organizing mission trips from the U.S. side to good use as she is in charge of contacting and assisting missions groups with all of their needs.

A direct answer to prayer came in the form of Steve and Elaine Sumner, who began working here at FACES in November. Elaine is in training to be FACES Ministry Educational Coordinator, providing supervision and training for all our teachers at the New World Christian School as well as the teachers who work in our after school programs. 

Also working with us this year are Sandi and Andy Hirschi from Switzerland. They come to us with our connection to Latin Link, a sending organization out of Great Britain. Sandi and Andy help in our Quito ministry center with collecting donations, recreation with the children, helping in our Day Program, and in the area of health education, taking advantage of Sandi’s skills as a nurse.

^{FACES Ministry Update Video}

            Christmas in Ecuador - Report of a mission trip with a team from North & South Carolina.