It’s been quite a while since my last blog post, and in that time there are a lot of things that have happened:
- I have been to two more countries: Ecuador and Colombia.
- My team has lived in the great, big capitol city of each of these.
- My Spanish has improved.
- I have made two new, enormous families that I absolutely adore.
- I’ve eaten a lot of fish, most of which still had a face (yuck).
- I’ve heard some incredible stories and met some amazing people.
- I’ve had many new experiences: some exciting, some terrifying, some wonderful, some extremely painful—but none without His hand working in them.
But before I dig deeper into all of those, I thought it’d only be fair to summarize the highlights of my last month and a half for you all.
Quito, Ecuador
Last month my team lived with four other teams from our squad in a house ran by an organization called Inca Link. Each team had a different ministry. My team was partnered with a new, recently started Methodist Church. There we taught English classes four days a week for those in the community, organized a vacation bible school, visited and cleaned the home of a pregnant, bed-ridden woman from the congregation, prepared a baby shower for her, and just helped out wherever else we could. The church was very small, but reminded me of the Methodist church I grew up in, and I instantly felt right at home. Between our hosts and everyone at church, I had an amazing new family. On the Race we work at our ministry sites six days a week, and then have one free day at the end of each week. Last month was the first month that we really got to take full advantage of that. Other months, because of conflicting schedules, transportation or just too much distance between us and the places we wanted to visit, our off days leaned more towards relaxation than adventure. This month we were beyond blessed in the experiences we got to have on our off days: visiting active volcanoes, rappelling/jumping off waterfalls, visiting “The Swing at the End of the World”, traveling to the Middle of the World (Latitude 0’0’0”), exploring the historical district of Quito, and other wonderful adventures. I could not be more thankful to have had these incredible, once-in-a-lifetime experiences. But I think the greatest blessings I received in Ecuador, and the greatest “once-in-a-lifetimes” I experienced were through the people I met and the bonds made. I learned a lot about myself last month as well. For instance, that I am not destined to be a teacher—but joy can be found in doing any work, no matter how challenging or uncomfortable, as long as we’re working for the Lord and our eyes are fixed on Him. I learned that I have a tendency to run to comforts rather than God, and that I have to fight really hard to break that habit. I also learned that my capacity to love complete strangers is far more than I ever realized.
Bogota, Colombia
This month we are working and living at a fairly large church (compared to the one we were at last month), in northeast Bogota. The town we are living in is called El Cordito (meaning the little elbow—tell me that’s not precious). A lot of those living in this area are originally from the country or the jungle, but were forced off their land by guerillas and are now squatting here on the outskirts of the city. As a safety precaution, we are not allowed to go anywhere without being escorted by a member of the church. I’ll admit, at first word of this I thought it might be a bit of an inconvenience, however because of this rule our friendships and fellowship with the members of the church have grown so much stronger, and I now see it as a blessing in disguise. That brings me to my favorite part of Colombia: THE PEOPLE. Colombians, specifically those at this church, are some of the most generous, compassionate, fun-loving, incredible people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. They have given everything: their time and resources to do anything and everything they can think of to bless us. I’ve never met people more giving. Countless times we have been invited by members of the congregation to have dinner at their homes, or even participate in their birthday celebrations. They have offered to do our laundry. The pastor’s husband even volunteers to sleep at the church on a mattress on the floor of his office each night for our protection and to be there for anything we may need. They are unbelievable.
Our ministry this month has consisted of organizing and leading vacation bible school for the children, hosting bible studies with the elderly of the church, taking turns preaching to the congregation and sharing our testimonies and doing home visits. For the last two weeks specifically, we have been traveling to local high schools to speak about identity, perspective, depression, sex, drug use and anything else we can think to share. The schools for me have been a very testing and rewarding experience. High schoolers are not the most respectful people in the world (my mom laughed when I told her this, and I believe she also used the phrase “payback”). My patience and nerves have been tested to an extreme. My comforts are broken each time I stand up in front of a group of people to talk. But what I’ve learned is that I don’t need to have the perfect words for these kids—I just have to have a willingness to share God’s love and be obedient to Him and He will provide all the rest. And He has. I’ve also learned that even when I feel like my words are going in one ear and out the other that someone’s listening; and that, even the kids that act like they’re not paying attention hear us too. Each morning I pray that we can set an example of what it looks like to exude a peace and love that can only be found in Jesus, and that we can plant a seed in these kid’s hearts. I’ve found that the truth is, even if just one kid walks out of that classroom with a change in perspective or a desire to have a relationship with their Creator, this entire 11-month trip was well worth it.
We only have 9 days left here in Colombia before we hop a plane and head off to Japan! That’s insane. The past four months have flown by. I’ll admit, the thought of a new country and a completely new and different culture than I’ve ever experienced excites me. But until that day, I will be spending every last moment I have here in South America, soaking in the language, the culture and the incredible new friends and family I have made.
