Self Care Made Simple.

August 2022

The Ezekiel Center is located in Chontapunta, Ecuador, deep in the Amazon jungle. Here Jonathan and Teresa Kiehl, with their 8 children and team of local missionaries, try their best to meet the needs of more than 40 surrounding communities.

Some of the greatest concerns found in this area are malnutrition, domestic violence, alcoholism, parasites, sickness, poor education and neglect. The children from this area are often left alone for days at a time, while their parents go to search for food in the jungle or are in an inebriated stupor. Even when the parents are present, often there is nothing more to eat in the house than rice, yucca (cassava), or plantains. The carb heavy, vitamin deficient diet has had a great effect on the local population. Diabetes is rampant, and the children are often sick and incredibly small for their age, and developmentally delayed. To make matters worse, the children are almost always infested with some sort of bugs. Lice and intestinal parasites are so common they are often not even treated! With no clean water to drink, it’s hard to believe one could stay clean of parasites for more than a few days at best!

In an attempt to meet the obvious needs, the Kiehl’s built their Ezekiel Center, named after their 6th child who passed away in 2014 during their second year in missions. This Center has a soup kitchen that provides healthy meals to the local children throughout the week. It also includes a classroom and meeting space where the Kiehl’s with their mission team offer faith formation as well as educational classes in English, guitar, hygiene, moral values, etc. There is also a gym so that people can stay healthy through exercise. From this location, those in need can come, have someone listen to them in love, and seek help in whatever form they need. Bags of food are distributed to the most needy families, and other needs are met as they arrive! God is so good!!! He ALWAYS provides!

They hope in the near future to build a technology center, library and pharmacy as well, to help serve the needs of their beloved communities, not just to give a hand out, but to truly make a difference that will last lifetimes and help this area thrive!

Thank you for helping make these ministries possible! Your contribution is feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to the thirsty, and often giving homes to the homeless, ministering to the homebound and infirm and even burying the dead! We can’t say it enough…..Thank You!

As a Rooted team, we are so grateful that we are able to team up with the Kiehl family this month and to be part of a gift that keeps on giving. We think it is a beautiful thing that the all natural products you’ve come to love and enjoy at Rooted, are not only good for you, but truly good for others! Help us spread the word about your favorite Rooted Product this summer and in so doing, together we can provide help to those who enter the Ezekiel Center in whatever form they need!