Hello, Thursday Morning readers! I’m so glad you’re here and it’s actually Thursday, not Wednesday (like last week). November is here, and the whirlwind of activities begin for some as we prepare for the holidays and the end of another year.
I have a very special story to share with you today from my friend Leah Diaz, missionary in Cuenca, Ecuador. I first met her when I visited Cuenca a couple of years ago. She’s managing director at Unsion Plus. Unsion is a television station in Cuenca. Her efforts there include a program called The April Project, to help those struggling with addiction.
So, this is what getting lost looks like, or is it? Let me share a story with you. 
A couple of weeks ago at the construction site for our new church plant and counseling center in Jima, one of the locals walks by and asks why we were there. Among the reasons, one thing I shared is that we hope to help families struggling with addiction.
He then points to the mountains to an area that from a distance appeared to be a bunch of trees. He said “there”! You must go “there”. He shared with me that the entire community struggles with addiction in a way that he has never seen and that there is no one to help them. He then told me the name of the community.
Every day since, that name has been on my heart and in my prayers. So today on the way to Jima I got lost, really lost. It was the no GPS, no phone signal, no people around, also fun, but also scary kind of lost.
Well, to my sweet surprise the first sign I see just happens to have the name of that same community on it! I could NOT believe it. I somehow stumbled upon the trees of San José de Raranga!
It was not part of the plan, or was it? I just love how God leads us even when we are lost. Found. Loved. Chosen. We can completely lose our “way” and find our “why”!
Found. Loved. Chosen. We can completely lose our “way” and find our “why!” #travel #adventure #Ecuador [Click to Tweet]
This is just another reason WHY I am here. Today was a reminder of that. 
Please pray for freedom in San José de Raranga!
If the trees and mountains are this beautiful, I just can’t wait to meet the people! It’s the difficult roads that lead you to the best destinations!
Find out more about Leah Diaz, Unsion, and the April Project here:
https://www.facebook.com/Unsion.Ministries/
Betty Thomason Owens 