Hermana Rosillo's kitchen, where I spent most of my weekend. Click on the picture to view a 2 minute video of the weekend. Enjoy!
This weekend was definitely not the ordinary. Inca Link, the ministry we are partnering with this month, brought in a group of 40 youth and adults for a sports ministry. Thus, there was no room in the inn for Team Fireproof.
Since we arrived in Huaticocha, it’s been uncertain where we were going to go and what we were going to do for this weekend. The first option was to go to Sumaco, the volcano that rises high above the mountains. But, our contacts had conflicting schedules and we couldn’t go. Next option- Loreto, a slightly larger town 30 minutes from our jungle home. Up until the morning we left, we planned to stay there with some members of the church and work with the youth.
But, if you read my last post, plans are constantly changing in Ecuador. You just gotta go with the flow. As we walked to the work site Saturday morning, Ivan told me, “They don’t have room for you in Loreto, so you’re going to spend the weekend in 10 de agosto (the name or the town is August 10th, Ecuador’s independence day).”
Okay. We’d been to Hermano Carlos and Hermana Rosillo’s house before. They were one of the first houses we visited. Last week, we spent the morning helping Carlos with his woodworking. Familiar territory, just not much going on in this sleepy little town.
As we brought our stuff to the bus stop, Nancy told us we must pack all of our food for the weekend. Not big shake, just a bit of added chaos right before we leave. I grabbed a pen and paper and used one of my spiritual gifts: planning and organization.
2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 1 dinner. Easy. Extra easy since the Ecuadorians only seem to use 7 ingredients: rice, chicken, plantains, veggies, eggs, salt and bread. I created our menu and loaded up a plastic container with our food. The bus came and we piled in. No room to sit, so all the gringos got to stand for the half hour ride.
We were greeted with smiles and hugs. Rosillo and Carlos are in their early forties and have 2 older sons- Christian (24, lives in Quito) and Eduardo (20, lives at home) as well as Karen (9) and John (10 months). Rosillo runs a small restaurant out of her home and Carlos is a carpenter/all-around-handy-man.
My home in 10 de agosto.
As we unloaded our stuff, I had a peace come over me. I knew exactly what my ministry was suppose to be for the weekend- I was suppose to be in the kitchen with Rosillo, serve her and my team by cooking, as well as learn from one of the best cooks in Ecuador.
My planning and organizational skills definitely came in handy and Rosillo had a big smile on her face when I showed her my menu. And so our relationship continued to deepen…
Rosillo and me, making bracelets.
Let me tell you about this woman. She’s tough. Her father left her mother when she was young, resulting in her mom to becoming an alcoholic. She met her husband when she was 19 and got married when she was 23. She began a relationship with the Lord during this time. Two sons quickly followed- one that currently loves life and is “making it,” the other that is a drunk who is wasting his life away. Her words, not mine. Rosillo and her family moved to 10 de agosto 12 years ago to take care of her aging mother. 3 years after their move, their daughter Karen came along. During this time, her mother came to faith and completely changed her life around. 3 years ago, she passed away. 10 months ago, their youngest son John was born. Rosillo is one of the few 41-year-old moms with a baby in Ecuador but knows her son is a gift from God.
The gringos don’t make their entrance in this family’s life until 3 weeks ago. We visited their home to encourage them, share our testimonies and pray over them. At this time, Rosillo was bedridden and could barely get up to go to the bathroom. We came and went, not knowing if our prayers for healing were answered. We returned a week ago to help Carlos and found out she had Dengue Fever and was hospitalized for 7 days. Yikes! Now she’s back on her feet, caring for her family, and feeding a few regulars at her restaurant.
As we settled in, I made my way to the kitchen and organized our food. It was about 4 pm- time to start cooking la marienda or dinner. Typical Ecuadorian kitchens in the jungle consist of three gas burners that you must hand light with a match (Careful!), multiple nasty grease-encrusted pots, a few ladle/tongs utensils, 1 or 2 dull knives, and a disease infested rag to clean everything. Appetizing, right?
We got to work. I enjoy making the ensalada that accompanies most meals. It consists of tomatoes, green peppers, onions and carrots, topped with fresh lime juice- straight from the lime. I got my first cooking lesson when I was chopping the onions. Apparently, there’s like 8 different ways to cut an onion and you decide depending on what you’re cooking. She showed me and then I tried. How does she do that so fast?!? And with a dull knife too…
This was the first time we cried together. Over onions. We couldn’t help it really.
I went to bed that night grateful for a place to stay, especially a house with so much love. After a few hours of sleep (check out the 2 minute video for why I only got only a few hours), I headed downstairs to learn the art of empanadas. Empanadas are really just fried dough with a little bit of cheese in the middle. When you take them out of the hot oil, you sprinkle some sugar on them- more or less, an Ecuadorian doughnut. But, you make them from scratch, thus adding to their deliciousness.
I was right in the middle of kneading the dough when a whole bus of men flooded into the restaurant. There were 17 in their group of friends travelling together to visit the jungle. All empanada making was put aside and it became an AHOD moment- all hands on deck. What can I do to help? Wash dishes, I know how to do that. Thanks Mom and Dad… So I washed dishes. When that was done, I stood back to get out of the way. Rosillo and Carlos worked in perfect unison to make the food and plate it. Soon it was just me and Rosillo… and 2 plates that needed to go out to this boisterous group.
When you’re the only gringa around, it’s a bit intimidating to voluntarily walk into this scene. Not to worry, I held my own. Even after I got the usual, “My lover” “You’re so beautiful” and whistles I retaliated with my best Spanish comebacks (much to the amusement of the group). A game had begun…
A one-armed-man named Adam continued to haggle me. He eventually proposed. My first marriage proposal. He’s coming back in a year for me. Yeah, good luck buddy.
My first marriage proposal of the race. I'm currently winning 1-0 against Jamie.
That was the second time Rosillo and I cried together. Of laughter.
We finished empanadas (delish) and took a short break. 11 am, about time to start cooking lunch. Rosillo began telling me about her mother. And her son that’s turned away from the Lord. And the three 14-year-old girls in the village that just had babies but the fathers are not any where in the picture. Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke of the hardships she’s faced in her life.
This is when I wanted to cry. Again. For the third time. But I didn’t; the tears didn’t come. I just sat next to her and nodded my head in agreement.
Lunch came and went. By this time, I was exhausted. How does this woman do this? And she has a baby that she has to feed every 20 minutes. And she just had Dengue Fever… The group (and Karen) wanted to go to the river to bathe and maybe see a waterfall. You know you’re tired when you’re willing to give up a bath.
But we went. I went because Rosillo went and I’m certain she was the person I was to encourage for the weekend. As usual, it was absolutely beautiful!
Just another beautiful Ecuadorian river to bathe in.
We got back and it was time to start dinner. I’m convinced this woman never leaves her kitchen. I began peeling potatoes. We were going to make tortillas de papas for dinner, little mashed potato pancakes with cheese in the middle. And again, we were interrupted by a flood of people to the restaurant. Rosillo told me I should live here for good because I kept bringing in all the business. She was thrilled. They desperately need the money.
We ate around 7:30 pm and I promptly passed out in my bed at 8:15. Yep, slept right through all the trucks, roosters and teammates. I woke up Monday morning semi-refreshed after 10 hours of sleep. Breakfast was simple- oatmeal and bread. The Ecuadorians think we’re nuts for eating only this for breakfast. While they ate their meat, rice and fried eggs, we filled our bellies with a familiar warmth.
Jewelry making followed breakfast. Rosillo wanted to make each gal a bracelet to remember her by. Rest and reading followed this time- it was welcomed. The girls chilled for a bit and then it was time to start lunch. Like I said, always in the kitchen…
I replicated a version of stir-fry the guys had made earlier in the week. Rosillo watched me prepare it- it was different from anything she had ever tasted. And she loved it! How fun it was to be able to share a favorite food with her- maybe she’ll even try it for the restaurant…
We cleaned up and packed our stuff. It was time to head home to Huaticocha. The time had flown by!
This was the third time we cried together. As we held hands and prayed for one another.
The bus came and we piled on. We waved and quickly disappeared into the mountains. What a weekend. I learned a lot.
I learned to make empanadas.
I learned to make tortillas de papas.
I learned that Ecuadorian women are tough.
I learned that nothing comes easy and you have to work for everything in the jungle.
I’m continuing to learn how blessed I am and relationships still mean everything.
To see a 2 minute video of the weekend, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mojK8eCr3Gg
