Greetings from beautiful Ecuador! I'm having a wonderful time and counting my blessings daily! This is my first experience "living in" rather than just visiting another country and I feel blessed to see life, real life, lived out in the home of these local people who have HUGE hearts for Jesus and for seeing change in their community. The city of El Carmen is not one many Americans visit probably because it is very simple and not overly advanced by American standards. I'm sure some would use words like antiquated, old, and dirty which all entered my mind but I choose to appreciate the differences and find the beauty beyond the trash in the street like the kind, humble people; their love for their families; how polite and inviting they are; and how hard they work to survive.
I'm sitting in the home of our Ecuador ministry contacts, Elmer and Carmen (who happen to be missionaries from Peru). They have two kids Kristal, 9, and Jacob, 9 months. My team is staying in what seems to be a storage area or extra space of their apt building. We have two separate rooms, one for the married couple on our team, Jamos and Emily, and the other for me, Nick and Angela. We all have beds – THANK GOD – and don't have to use our tents. It is very hot and humid so we don't even need sheets. There is one bathroom but really no air ventilation so as soon as I take a shower I’m sticky again right after – not something this Southern Californian Girl is used to.
We live in the bottom unit. The front of the apt bldg. I'm on the top bunk. Our bathroom.
On day two we received a schedule for the entire month, which includes construction, small group ministry/community outreach, drug addict ministry and VBS (Vacation Bible School). Here’s a snapshot of our day yesterday: We painted a space for children at Elmer's church in the morning while learning more about each other in conversation. In the evening we visited the Drug Rehab center we will be working at once a week. Last night was a special evening at the center. We experienced an intervention or what they called a "confertacion" where a man was “checking” himself into the rehab program. To be honest and hopefully not insensitive, it was SUPER dramatic perhaps due to cultural differences. There was a counselor/director facilitating the evening. He was yelling a lot and had the addict, Freddie, enter the room in the dark, walking on his knees holding a candle. One by one, the director had Freddie's family members (his children, wife, parents) and friends stand up and talk, after which Freddie begged each for forgiveness. There was a symbolic moment when two other men in the program started to escort Freddie's mom out of the room and Freddie was expected to run after her. Perhaps like you, I was slightly confused, and concerned our presence was intrusive and uncomfortable for Freddie and his family. To make matters worse my mind was completely filled with crazy thoughts and assumptions, which for those that know me well know I have a tendency to write stories in my head without all the facts. We walked in from the rain, lightening and thunder to a room of about twenty-five 30-something male members of the program. Almost all had shaved heads bringing to mind images of a prison yard or boot camp. During the emotional evening amongst all the yelling and crying I thought I heard the word mafioso (mafia) and pictured Freddie's drug dealer coming in to rescue him with force. One member of the program stood up to speak then turned to walk to the back of the room where we were sitting while running his finger across his neck as if he was slitting his throat. My imagination immediately assumed possible tension within the members of the program. Perhaps Freddie was not welcome given his associations or this man was upset because we really were intruding on this intimate moment. It never crossed my mind until a teammate suggested this man could’ve been embarrassed about speaking in front of the group and felt he did a poor job. I realized my frame of reference is overly influenced by media and I hope this trip strips away the stereotypes, generalizations and “glass-is-half-full” mindset in which I am so entrenched. I pray God will give me fresh eyes and ears for every experience and every interaction. I'm still processing the evening at the center and anxious to go back to interact with and learn more about the men in the program. We realized this is the group we are scheduled to "play games" with once a week. I'm glad we experienced last night because we were planning games like duck-duck-goose and surely these tough looking 30-somethings aren't the audience for duck-duck-goose! Game suggestions are welcomed!!
Overall, Ecuador is extremely relaxed and while we all feel like we should be doing more (the American Way) we are trying to appreciate the siestas (down times). For example, today we had breakfast; usually eggs and pan (bread) and coffee (instant Nescafe). Followed by a trip by foot to the Christian bookstore to buy "invitations" we filled out by hand and then passed out, containing information for the evening Life Group meeting in a rural part of town. Since we are staying at the Pastor's apt in the city, it was fun to see daily life in a different part of town.
The Invitations Making Chorizo Rural Home
After our door-to-door adventure we came home for a delicious lunch of buffalo wings, mac & cheese, spinach and corn, and yucca. Our hosts serve us “American” food and thankfully also traditional meals (see picture of Jamos excited to eat Lomo Saltado). 
My afternoon activity was a walk through town with a young neighbor girl to the post office. She helped me with Spanish and I helped her with English while talking about why I am here. We rested until dinner followed by the Life Group tonight at 8 PM where I will give my testimony in Spanish (it was cancelled earlier in the week). I'm excited to share my story with them and hope my pronunciation is correct so they can understand how God has transformed my life.
So as I continue to count my blessings, I give HUGE praises to God for safe travel to El Carmen, great food and accommodations especially considering some squad-mates are camping in the jungle. I’m also grateful for all the love and support from home and the opportunities I’ve had to communicate with my loved ones.
Amo mucho a todos!!!
