Summing up Ecuador without writing a blog post that is too long for anyone to actually finish will be a hard, tough thing for me to do.
I wrote a Facebook post earlier this week that said that I didn’t think that I would fall in love with Ecuador. (It wasn’t on our original route, so it wasn’t a place that I was planning on visiting on my race.) Funny that a place that I wasn’t planning on loving was the place that I leave with tears on my face and almost dreading the idea that we are actually leaving. A place that was originally just a spot on the map now takes a significant space in my heart.
How lucky we are to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
There is blessing in knowing that you love the world and some people who are in it and part of your heart will never be home because part of your heart has been left in so many places.
I shouldn’t be sad: we have 10 more places to fall in love with, cultures to love, people to introduce to my best friend Jesus and so many people to call friends. We have so much in front of us that I almost feel guilty saying that I am sad leaving here.
But I want to count some the blessings that month 1 brought us:
New friends: The staff at our hostel/hosts here is incredible. I walk away already wanting to return to see the people that I have the chance to call friends. Gustavo, Andrea, Mabe, Fabe, Catie, Anna, and Kylie, we will miss you guys so much. Thank you for loving us so well.
Ecuasol: We spent our ministry at a ministry that works in a poor part of Quito with kids with their homework. I spent a month in the kitchen, and I have incredible friends from the days I spent washing dishes (there is more on this as soon as I get enough WiFi to write another blog, I promise!).
Patrick: Patrick is a missionary here in Ecuador. He told us on the first day we were here that he hoped that we would fall in love with this country that he loves so much. He was successful. And I leave Ecuador with an incredible friend in Patrick, too.
Team Time: Month one was a tough adjustment within our team. We are learning a new community, each other, and learning each others stories. We have had our rough times, but we are adjusting well. Community is the best and the worst part of the World Race, and that was very true of this month for me.
Dustin Mick: If you haven’t heard about Dustin, you probably will over the course of my race. Dustin Mick is one of our three incredible squad leaders, but one who has meant a lot to me over the course of month one. After launching with us, Dustin came down with a pretty tough case of appendicitis. He did lose an organ here in Ecuador, but his attitude about it would leave you wondering if it really happened. But I don’t just put him on this list because of his appendectomy. Dustin called me on the parts of me that I didn’t want to confront myself, and talked with me on some things that I didn’t want to talk about. He did it with such love, and I left a significant conversation with him feeling better, not worse. But I left the conversation realizing that something I thought wasn’t at all my fault did have something to do with me. Dustin speaks life into the people he loves, and I am looking forward to the next 5 months of racing with him.
Transportation: Ecuador has an excellent transportation system. The buses are cheap, taxis are cheap, and its pretty easy to learn. Being able to flag a bus or taxi that takes me almost anywhere in the city for cheap is an excellent blessing. We had the chance to visit a lot here because of a cheap ride to so much of the city, and the Amazon Jungle not far away.
Food: The food here is awesome. We eat soup a lot, quite a bit of rice, but often food that I wouldn’t have chosen for myself but food that I have grown to love. Mabi and Fabi cooked us three meals a day that we all enjoyed. And I also ate one of the top five meals of my life with our host ministry here in Ecuador this past week.
Weather: Life on the equator is typically warm and nice. It has been an incredible introduction to a race with a lot of warm weather. It rained a few times, but usualy just for a little while. The sunshine brightened my soul on the cloudy days. And this summer loving girl is so glad to be missing winter back home.
Bread: our team had a stop at a pastry/bread store just about every day we were here. We spent time eating pastries that were made at 9000 feet above sea level that were INCREDIBLE. It was awesome, good time for our team, and the coffee. Oh the coffee. (Ask some of my team how they like Polaca!) We met a friend who we got to talk with each afternoon.
Views: The beauty of this place is without words. We are living in the Andes Mountains, and the views here are more than pictures can describe. I might end up having 11 places that you need to visit, but at some point, you need to see the views here. The God we serve is an incredible artist. And I got the chance to see it every single day this month.
IncaLink: This place is a ministry that is run so well that they deserve a blog post all its on. Most of our teams served with these incredible people and the ministries range from teen pregnancy houses, to Casablanca (our hostel) that hosts short term teams that are serving here in Ecuador. This is an incredible organization that I will continue to love and pray for, and hopefully return to after the World Race. I can’t promise that it is the only place I will want to return after the race, but if you are looking on a place to send a short term missions team or an international internship for a few months, email me and I will get you connected with IncaLink. They come highly recommended.
That’s a quick update on life here in the center of the world!
I appreciate you supporting this journey of mine. Its already been an incredible ride and I am looking forward to Month 2!
Kristy
PS. Financial Support Update: I am hovering right at 50% of my goal of being fully funded. To all of my previous supporters: THANK YOU. All of you who donated in December and January should be getting some mail from me soon. 🙂 If you would like to partner with me to help me finish this journey, click on the side left link that says SUPPORT ME. Thank you again!
