Hello!
Here is a very late update from last month in Ecuador!
The short version; Ecuador was hard. Early mornings, long days, and emotionally draining ministry. However, the sweet moments far outweighed the heaviness of the month itself.
The long version:
The ministry that we worked with is called Camp Hope. It is a foundation in Quito that is oriented around people with disabilities. Most of the people that receive care here are from a local orphanage and the rest are brought everyday by their parents.
There are several different classrooms at the foundation that are specific to the different needs present. Each classroom has at least one ‘Tia’, who is the nurse that takes care of all that walk (or wheel) through the doors. The Tia’s at this foundation are exceptional people, I was blown away at the amount of adoration they have for their students, volunteers and the other Tias. It was so tender to be apart of their love.
As far as the classrooms go, I’ll give you a little sneak peak into what a few were like.
One room is called Amor, this is where the babies and young children go. People in this room vary from age 2-12. These sweet kiddos are the most chill and we got to sit with them, cuddle and give them little massages. The room had nice natural light, smelled like Lubriderm lotion and usually had the instrumental version of Selena songs playing. After lunch, it was hard to stay awake in this room because of the ultra relaxed environment. This room was one of my teammate’s (Jada) bread and butter. She loves kids and anything to do with medical assistance. If you took a lap around Camp Hope, you would probably find her in this room.
The next room is called Templanza, most of the people in this room are around 30 years old and are able to help with tasks that help the foundation. They spend a lot of time creating art or helping with food preparation for the kitchen. Personally, I didn’t spend time in here, but the other gals on my team loved being with these folks. They spoke highly of their kind nature and inventiveness. The last week they got to help with a painting project that was going to be put up one of the walls of the foundation. This room was fun and very interactive, the other gals on my team (specifically Sarah and Hannah) often said this was their favorite place to be.
We also got to work in a room called Paciencia. The folks in here are incredibly sweet and fun loving and they got to play outside and do a lot of work on motor skills. The Tia in this room spent a lot of time teaching them how to make beds, clean and cook simple meals. This class was oriented around music, playing and teaching social skills. One of my favorite people, Carlito, was one of the students of this room. He loved play a mimicking game with anyone and everyone that looked his direction. He would do a movement, wait for you to do the same and then bust up laughing. It was so fun. His favorite move was to run and smack the wall and then fall over laughing when someone would do the same. Juanito was another superstar. He loves to be the center of attention and can be pretty sassy. His favorite thing was to kick the soccer ball and no matter where it landed, scream “GOALLLLL” at the top of his lungs. He would be quite upset if you didn’t yell goal alongside of him. Jefferson was the sweetest peach, he loves to be apart of the fun and go for walks. He is pretty chill and just enjoys being in the presence of his pals. He, Carlito, Jefferson and another guy named Julian were a dynamic quadruple and were the life of the foundation. It was so fun to watch them run around outside and play, I am going to miss their sweet spirits.
The room that I spent the most time in is called Gozo. The class usually had about 13 people ranging from the age 16-35. Our days consisted of massages, changing diapers and feeding the ‘ninos’. The tia in this room is INCREDIBLE. She is kind, sassy, and the most caring person. She refers to each of the people as ‘mi Amor’ (my love), ‘mi vida’ (my life) or ‘mi corazon’(my heart). The more time that I spent in there, she also referred to me as such. The people in this class took a piece of my heart. I am so thankful for the time that I got to be with them.
Side note: though it’s only month 3, so far everywhere I’ve been there’s been a Kevin that has really stolen my heart. Which, is perfect because it reminds me of my beautiful, wonderful baby dog at home.
Ecuador Kevin, is one of the guys that is in Gozo. He’s 16, spends a lot of time chillin on the bed and occasionally throws up a peace sign to show off his gangster ways. Kevin is chill as heck and we had a lot of good times over a cup of banana slices. One of my favorite moments was when I was feeding him some yogurt, he was sitting in my lap and I was praying over him as we sat. I was telling him about all of the good things that I saw in him. How kind, gentle and sweet he is. (All in Spanish, nice.) After he finished his yog, I told him that he was the best eater in the whole building and he smiled from ear to ear. I felt my heart swell and let a few tears leak from my eyes. I had no idea if he understood me or not most of the time, but in this moment I know he did. It was such a simple and funny thing, but man did it get me. There were several moments this last month that Kevin won my heart, he’s incredibly sweet, its hard to not adore him.
There was a night later in the month that I dreamt that I was sitting on the ground looking at my legs, I heard “you’re ready” and as I rose up to stand. I saw the sweetest view ever. I was in a field of golden and purple wheat and looked across the way to see sweet Kevin and Jesus dancing and playing in the field. The whole expanse of the dream was flooded with joy, it was a view that I can’t get out of my head.
As I went to ministry the next day, I felt the Lord telling me that this was right where Kevin was. Though his body was here, his mind and his heart were dancing with Jesus.
Cue the weeping.
Another one of my favorite people that I met this month is named Susie.
Susie is kind, fun and incredibly sweet. She was one of the Gozo kids, but was able to feed herself and interact a bit more than the others. Susie loved to laugh and play. It was my favorite thing to get to go on walks with her. We would go to the little park that was about 7 steps from the classroom and sit in the sun, she and I would work on raising our arms and figuring out what color the sky is. They had this neato little contraption for swinging that we played on for hours. She would sit and beam in the sunshine as she swung back and forth. It was fun to be outside with the dynamic quadruple. We would play soccer with them, which was typically me pushing Susie around to hit the ball with the wheel from her chair. She would laugh so hard at this, so much so that she would need a minute to catch her breath before we could go after the ball again. Susie is joy on wheels and I miss being near her.
Dependence is a gift. It is such a large gift. One that I am not able to fully understand at this point of my life, but through this experience at Camp Hope, I am starting to see it. I think that throughout life in American culture we are taught to be there for ourselves, to not need anything from anyone and to tear apart those that do. Or to pity those that do.
I know it doesn’t sound like it, but I felt a lot of anger this month. I felt unworthy of my body, angry at what feels like injustice, and in a state of not understanding. I was struggling with getting outside of myself and not comparing my idea of ‘life to the full’ to the life that these incredible people would lead. It felt wrong to be okay with it but it also felt wrong to not be okay with it. I wanted so much for them, physically at least. I wanted them to be able to run and play and dance. To fall in love, to be able to make choices and have independence. I wanted them to have everything that I was given and more. It was infuriating to feel this way and be completely unable of giving it to them. It was also frustrating to think this way and realize how aggressively I compared my life to theirs and to be so inwardly focused that I couldn’t imagine someone being content without everything I had. It was a month of recognizing my own deeply set feelings of superiority and it was incredibly hard to look at them in the face.
I long for asking for help to become something that is natural to me. To not be roped into shame from it, and to be reminded of the beauty that I was shown through sweet Kevin, Susie, Carlito and so many more. Camp Hope was a place of innocence, raw and unfiltered wholeness, and the outward appearance of incapability.
I can’t get over the love the father has for us. I am wide eyed and sought out by the grandness of his presence and the intimacy of his voice.
Thanks for being apart of this discovery with me.
Love y’all.
Allie
