Our month in Ecuador:
What I learned:
-Once again, prayer is powerful! (James 5:16) Every team that’s ever worked in the jungle has gotten sick….not us! Praise the Lord! AND the pastor’s family we worked with has a family of 10 children…Up until about a year ago, most of the boys had left their upbringing for the world, but through prayer, all but one are now believers!
-Things are just things. Had my flash drive stolen. Life goes on. J
-The importance of discipleship and raising up leaders.
-We’re in a battle, and anytime the Lord is up to something good, Satan is there to counteract it. This month each person fasted and prayed one day a week…my day was Sunday…It’s no accident that every single Sunday, though I hardly ever get them, I got horrible, splitting headaches that affected my focus and attitude in huge ways.
-Sometimes you have to have the courage to make the right decision, even if it’s an unpopular one.
-In Spanish, the word “confiar”=to trust or have confidence…pretty deep…my trust in the Lord is equal to my confidence in Him. Also, “esperar”=to hope for or to wait for…if I truly hope for something, I wait for it! I wait for it because I have hope that it’s coming!
-Cleanliness is next to godliness.
-Always assume the best about people.
-In areas where I feel inadequate, I tend to shut down and put the entire load on someone else that I feel is more equipped, rather than lay aside my pride, contribute in some small way, and learn from them!
-Our procrastination can cause us to be extremely inconsiderate of those having to drop everything in order to help us at the last minute…..(Sorry mom and dad…this finally hit me once I was on the other end of it! Lol Y’all are so gracious…much more than I was…thanks! :))
-There’s a huge difference between “saber”=to know of, and “conocer”=to know personally and intimately…..especially when it comes to the Lord.
-Peanut butter needs more than just peanuts to make it taste good. Secret ingredient: Salt.
-On the Indiana Jones bridge, I walked where there were extra supports underneath…and realized it’s the same with living life in community. We choose to walk out our lives where we feel supported and safe.
-I have a very low tolerance for negativity. I hate it so much that my reaction to it is…you guessed it…negative. It’s a vicious cycle.
-It’s better to overcommunicate than to undercommunicate.
-Nationalized banks could be defined as either loooooooong, silent, tense lines or as the thorn in my flesh. Both definitions are equally true.
-As Paul did, we are to become like the people we are ministering to in order to win some over for the Lord. (1 Cor. 9:19) It can be as simple as singing the way they sing, working alongside them, eating what they eat, etc.
-In the states, we waste a LOT of money on frivolous things.
-Humility.
-There is great significance and power in names….for example…one of the kids we lived with’s name was “Wimper”…can you guess what he did 24/7? Yep. Wimper. Another example, David, one of the pastor’s sons. David from the Bible was a man after God’s own heart…as was this one. Peter from the Bible was the rock of the faith, as is our Peter!
-I want to truly hunger and thirst for God…to be able to really comprehend that He is the Bread of Life and the Living Water.
-More about sowing, planting, pruning, depending, trusting, waiting in expectation…then harvesting. J
-My joy of doing manual labor and physical activity outdoors isn’t normal. I could do that stuff ALL DAY EVERY DAY and love it the whole time….maybe, just maybe, God created me that way for a reason… J
-Die to self. (easy to type, not so easy to practice) and live for Jesus and others.
-God disciplines us in love for our good and His glory (Heb. 12:5-11).
-Rather than focusing on how sinful I am and trying to change myself, I must choose to focus on the Author and Perfecter of my faith, trusting Him to do the work in me as I faithfully listen, trust and obey.
-Moses reminds me a lot of myself. And man, I want to go up on the mountain and meet with God like he did, coming down RADIANT with the glory of the Lord.
-People have preconceived notions about Christians, missionaries and Americans that sometimes take a while to break down.
-Circumstances aren’t necessarily good or bad; it’s how we choose to react to them that determines that.
-As we allow the Spirit that dwells within us to praise and worship the Creator, God sends more of His Spirit down from heaven…so as it goes up, it flows down.
Ministry:
Preaching, testimonies, and singing during church services a
few times a week.
Construction on the church.
Working on the pastor’s farm.
Painting.
Visiting families to pray over them.
Kids program every Sunday…did everything from looking for
crosses in the community and talking about the significance of them, to acting
out Noah’s Ark, to teaching them songs we learned in the D.R. J
We deemed this the month of “Yes!” for our team, so we were
all forced to take advantage of every opportunity. J “No” was not an option. Therefore, it was a month of breakthrough for
us…both individually and together as a team.
No more succumbing to laziness, fear or comfort. We were all sooooooo challenged. It brought
brokenness…abandonment…honesty…growth…and so much more.
Random moments:
-My first experience with a unisex bathroom…dude didn’t even shut the stall door! Awkward…
-One of the kids using our new toilet scrubber as a plunger on cleaning day. Sick.
-Katy and I curling up on my bed inside my mosquito net watching a cheeeesy chic flic…each of us having a speaker in one ear and an earplug in the other. J
-Fumigation day at the house (after scrubbing all the spider egg sacks off the walls) …I’ve never seen so many cockroaches, spiders, ants and every other creepy crawler in existence…crawling out of every crevice…falling from the ceiling. Ugh. It was like an old horror film. Then we invited the chickens in to feast. That part was kinda fun. J
-Planting corn and plantains in the middle of the jungle and getting to use a machete! Machete Tip: Speed over power.
-Running a few miles in my Toms during a torrential downpour. (My precious Toms are sooo ghetto now….haha…holes in both toes! Lol)
-Playing volleyball in one giant mud puddle.
-Having a parrot perch on my back for a bit!
-Walking a VERY drunk man we found on the side of the road a few miles back to his house, speaking the truths of God the whole time. (Blog to come! J)
-A monsoon blowing all the clean clothes off the line and into the mud below.
-Slipping on a little bridge on the way to farm one day, only to have my left boot full of water for the following 4 hours.
-Harassing our contact, Ulyses, as he slept…making him think cucarachas were crawling all over his face. J
-Watching Jesus videos with the kids…though they were cheesy and probably made in the 70s, the kids were mesmerized by them…this put Peter and I in our places.
-Going to the largest waterfall in Ecuador (San Rafael) and creek hopping along the way.
-Carrying a basket full of plantains using my forehead.
-Getting good old-fashioned valentines from the guys on our team for V-Day.
-Riding Ecuador’s sketchiest, longest and fastest ferris wheel right after dinner…my Spanish vocab came in handy…”vomitar”. Haha You can probably figure that one out on your own.
-Bathing at the hot springs…and freeeezing afterwards as we soggily waited hours in the cold in the middle of the night for a bus home.
-Church service from 8 p.m. till 1 a.m. Gotta be a record for me. Lol
-Don accompanying me to make a house visit, only to get stuck warding off dogs and holding my glasses while I threw up. Haha He had no idea what he was getting himself into. J
-Playing soccer in dresses, in skirts, and in the pouring rain.
-Busting out laughing while singing in front of the church due to Don’s unexpected solo and mine and Katy’s failed attempt at starting a clap. Haha
-Walking across a bridge straight out of Indiana Jones…missing boards and all!
-Breaking down in the kitchen one day, realizing I have no idea how to cook without recipes. Lol Determined that day to learn…now I can make pasta, rice, and boiled eggs. Hahaha J
Things that became normal…
plus a little Ecuadorian lingo:
Cockroaches.
Everywhere.
Eating fish whole…complete with head…eyeballs…and teeth. J
Waiting on the curb FOREVER for buses.
Christians refer to one another as Hermana or hermano.
(Brother/sister)
Finding big sticks to ward of vicious dogs.
Wake-up call every morning between 5 and 6:30 a.m. in the
form of three crying/screaming children.
Finding whole chickens (like, foot sticking out) and
fish…plus all the juices that come with them, in our tiny fridge.
Obsessively tucking in our mosquito nets on our beds.
Playing marbles.
Don “The Exterminator” killing every cockroach/spider/etc.
that dared show its face every night in mine and Katy’s room before we would go
in.
Nestle Tangos (taste like smores but look like moonpies)
Quichua indians are craaaazy hard workers…the women are
beasts!
Fast, out of control buses…and the carsickness that came with them. :-/
“Sorbetta”=straw…Crucial info for me. 🙂
Once again, what the heck is a fork or knife?? Haha
Riding on the top of rancheras (mix between a trolly, truck
and bus)
“Gracias”=what you say to get the bus to stop J Seems like passive communication to me! Haha
Only washing my face once a day and “bathing” once every 7ish days.
Everything revolving around the water turning on at
different times throughout the day (washing dishes, bathing, laundry, cooking,
etc.)
Showering in rainstorms since there was never enough water.
Peanut butter in a bag instead of a jar.
Rain. Lots of it.
Eggs, rice and pasta 3 times a day.
“Indoor”=indoor soccer…played outdoors…it’s their favorite
thing to play by far.
Herding “Nugget” (our little chicken) out of our rooms
before he left his mark.
Men peeing absolutely anywhere…lots of awkward moments
accompany this one. J
Our contact introducing us to everyone by telling them we’re
all single. Haha
Women breastfeeding…openly and often.
Taking the trash out, only to run into someone half-nakey
bathing…clearly this was the month of awkwardness. Lol
Roasted plantains with mayonnaise.
Their version of volleyball…more like catch & throw…no
bumping…definitely no talking…and a ball that felt like a lead cannonball on
your forearms.
Chicha=a yucca/corn concoction that ferments after a few
days and becomes alcohol. I’ll try everything once…but not twice…lol
Powdered instant coffee. :-/
Waiting for someone else to finish eating so you could use
their dishes.
Everyone knowing your bathroom business by how many buckets
of water they hear (1 or 5)
Every vehicle honking every time they passed us walking.
Maracuya juice=tasted like lemonade only so much better!
Kids climbing trees to bring us back Guavas.
Having to force everyone but Americans to smile in
pictures.
Creepy clown trash cans.
Excursions being about 7 times longer than expected.
Attempting to speak and sing in Quichua…the first word I
read was 20 letters, no lie.
Praying over the sick.
Hearing from the Lord and speaking what He says.
Cacao beans drying in the sun on tarps.
Sweet quiet times with God, early in the morning, in empty
classrooms at the school next door.
50 cent field trips to use the internet at the next town
over.
Shaving parties on the street corner, with a couple girls
sharing a tiny bowl of water.
Frozen yogurtsicles.
Real yogurt. Mmmmmm. J
SS.HH.=bathroom
Frutilla=strawberry
Ketchup and mayo on everything.
RIDICULOUS movies on long bus rides…(the last one consisted
of vicious pirhannas attacking naked women….ugh…..there’s a holy anger that
rises up in me every time….)
If you’d like to see more pictures, there’s a link on my home page. 🙂
Next we’re off to Trujillo, Peru!
