Ok, so I know it’s been a while since I last wrote a blog. For that, I apologize. I have a month of Ecuador to catch you up on!! Actually, to do that, I have to start a little before Ecuador…
So, while we were in Colombia, I took the spiritual gifts test again, for the first time in years. The times I had taken it before, I would typically get Serving, Mercy, and something (can’t really remember at the moment). Teaching was always at the very bottom of my list–I’d be lucky if I got a point in that. This time, I got Serving (1), Mercy (2)… Same old, same old–I really don’t change much, do I?? Oh, wait… Teaching/Pastoring (3) tied! Where the heck did that come from?? I want to say it surprised me, but it didn’t really. I’ve been well aware, and somewhat in denial, that God has been growing me in this.
As we were making our way to Ecuador, I found myself kind of hoping that I would get to have a ministry that would let me start working on this whole teaching gift…practice makes perfect, right? Well, not exactly, but it definitely helps!
So, we got to the beautiful city of Cuenca, and found out that our ministry for the month included helping in the cafe everyday. Helping in the cafe was a cool experience. We quickly learned our customers’ routine, and it was like we had been doing it forever. My deli/bakery skills got put to good use–pro dishwasher at your service!! 🙂 Ministry also included kids’ English club for the first 2 weeks, and VBS the last week. So many opportunities for teaching!! 🙂 I loved every second of it. The goal in all of this was to get the kids from the market and parking area to get used to coming into the church building for English classes, and then to spend time teaching them about Jesus. It was fantastic–we had fun at English club, and we had even more fun at VBS!! Dancing around and singing to Jesus is always fun! 🙂 At the end of the week, many of the kids made the decision to give their heart to Him–such a beautiful moment!!
Ministry this month was fantastic, and it was really awesome to see how gentle and intentional God is when growing us in a new gift He has given us.
I’ll be posting another blog about some of my favorite memories of the month, and going more in depth..
With love,
Ash
