The world race, month one, week one: When enough happens in 11 days to make it feel like it’s been an entire 11 months! Time seems to move slower here than it does in Texas…and rather than writing an entire book about all that has happened, I have picked a few of my favorite moments to share from my first week on the race!
Starting with 1. Arrival at Casa Blanca! Casa Blanca is the name of the place we call home this month. Here we are spoiled with warm showers, soft beds, home-cooked meals, an overwhelmingly loving host family, and access to coffee and sweets around just about every corner. I have to keep reminding myself not to get too comfortable here because I know that I won’t have such luxuries in later months, or even next month for that matter! Also fun fact, there are four teams living here at Casa Blanca this month. So much community and so much fun!
2. Ecuasol. This is the name of our ministry for the month! It is an after school program for children of a small community who need an extra warm meal and some love each day. Every morning my team hops on a bus to travel about 45-60 minutes up a mountain right outside of Quito [each time clenching onto our seats a little tighter as we pray the brakes on the bus don’t give out] The poverty as you travel up the mountain becomes more evident, and each day we are there my heart breaks for the people of this community a little bit more. But the children of Ecuasol are SO joyful and precious, you would never know that they come from a place of such poverty. They love to play soccer, give hugs, laugh, learn, and do anything that exerts energy. They have the sweetest smiles and can make even the worst day a little bit brighter. The Lord has been at work in our hearts here as we set forth to serve and make his presence known amongst an organization that is not affiliated with Christianity. This week we have begun to put our talents to good use by sprinkling some color on the stark white walls and fill the place with a little more joy!
3. Hospital Visits. We hadn’t even spent an entire week in Ecuador and we were already making visits to the hospital! Another story for another time but…an x-ray and IV later, turns out I have Bronchitis.
4. Cab rides. It didn’t take long for us to learn that being an American in another country comes with a price. Quite literally. A cab that would cost a local $3 will almost always cost us Americanos at least $5. So one afternoon after spending some time in a coffee shop with the girls of team Kabod [each of our hearts feelings a bit heavy after talking with loved ones back home] we decided it would be easier to hail a cab than get lost tracking down our bus route. We stood on the curb with our cab hailing arms stretched out in hopes of finding someone willing to take us home for a “decent” price. After passing up about 3 offers we finally settled into a cab willing to take us home for $5. Minutes into the trip we notice the cab driver pull out a flash drive and plug it in, followed by a blast of Christian music [In English! I might add] start booming from the speakers. We immediately start singing along and within seconds the car is full of joy as the driver laughs along with us. In my broken Spanish, I proceed to ask if he is a Christian to which he replied with a “si” and a smile. We didn’t know how to say much else to continue the conversation but my heart was consumed by love and peace. We felt led to give him the $10 cash that we had, as he needed it much more than we did. I wish I had a picture of his face when we exited the cab and told him we didn’t need change. My prayer for that moment was that he drove away knowing Jesus loves him and that he felt the Lords presence in that car ride just as much as we did.
5. Spent our first weekend exploring the city! Managed to climb our way to the very top of a Basilica that overlooked the entire city of Quito! Constantly in awe of His creation.
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life”
John 8:12
