…i’ve been trying to think of the way best way to catch you up and it’s really just starting from where i left off…so this really just a bunch of logistical details ending with talking about how absolutely incredible this past week has been.
the end of peru was good – we had a few days of downtime – which after such a long month in Bolivia the month before, was appreciated. it was also good because we knew it was our last week together as a team – so we took advantage and took a really really quick little trip to a wonder of the world – machu picchu! coming from someone who doesn’t appreciate history AT ALL, even i have to admit it was a little cool.
so after saying goodbye to the really incredible and hospitable hosts we had in Arequipa, we headed off to Lima for a few days of debrief with the whole squad. we knew that we would arrive as the 6 of us but leave with a new team, but we unsure of what exactly that meant. (month 4 is when new leaders of the squad, all 46 of us, are brought up and then they have to replace people to lead the smaller teams of 6 – so every single team changed completely) debrief was good…i was sad to leave the 5 girls who i had spent the last 4 months with and found really good friends in, but knew that this next season would bring about change which i knew was good and something i was ready for.
the last night of debrief they announced new teams – most of my team ended up on a team with someone else from our team…i didn’t. I ended up on a team with 3 boys and 3 other girls. i was expecting it to be really hard and sad…and it wasn’t. the transition was okay and my team is good.
then we found out that 4 of the 6 teams were going to be staying in the same place in Ecuador and the fifth would be in the same city just sleeping somewhere else – but we were going to be 8 hours away in the jungle for the first 10 days of the month.
new team! (please ignore my missionary skirt)
and that brings me to here….
and how lucky i feel that we got to be that team. we are working at an orphanage 30 minutes outside of Manta. we live next to a monkey reserve and we can hear and see the monkeys in the trees next door. there are 8 precious kids and we live with a missionary couple that has a life that I can only wish and dream was mine. we have done a lot of cleaning and grounds work and have gotten to play and hang out with the kids a fair amount too. the orphanage was in danger of being shut down, so the missionary couple was sent here to try and revitalize. we have done our best to put a dent in their to do list.
i feel so incredibly blessed to be able to have spent these past 10 days at this place and i am praying that He put us here so i could see a glimpse of what maybe i could one day get to do.
all i know of for the rest of May is that we’ll be at a church an hour south of Quito, the capital of Ecuador. so far this month the Lord has shown me that even in the midst of the unknown, like team changes or being in the middle of nowhere, He knows what He’s doing. He knows my heart, my needs and where and when to challenge me…and i am so thankful for that. so, i look forward to whatever else is coming our way this month…He is good and His plans are good.
