Last week, my parents and I went to an area in Quito called La Foch. While we were there, we came across a man, whom we thought was possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol. As we walked around, trying to find a place eat, the man kept following us. I was very unsettled, and became even more so the closer he got. The man got close enough, and all three of us could tell that this man was under the influence of more than drugs or alcohol. We could feel the tension and the oppression in the air. Quickly after he came up to us, we entered in a restaurant to get away, and get some tacos. While we sat and ate our tacos, we could see him walking back and forth by the restaurant. I sat there thinking about other experiences similar to this one that I had encountered on the race. Though this was not the first time I had experienced such things, I was still left oddly unsettled.
A few days later, my family and a teammates family went to get coffee in the same area. As we sat in the coffee shop, a little girl approached us, trying to sell us cigarettes and gum. We Kindly told her that we were not interested, yet she kept insisting that we buy her products. The manager of the coffee shop spotted the girl and escorted her out. After the girl left, I explained to my mom that she was probably being labor trafficked. This means she is owned by someone who provides her with things to sell, but takes all of the money, so the girl gets nothing.
A few days after that, me and two other girls were walking around Old Town. We noticed that the area didn’t look very safe, so we started heading back to our hostel. I walked up a set of white stairs, because I thought they looked pretty. Sitting on the top of the stairs, there was a set of clothes, drenched in blood. We looked around and saw that there was blood tracks around the clothes. As soon as we saw this, we took off towards the hostel. Turning down a road that would take us straight up to the hostel, we came upon two pimps. Without trying to make it obvious that we were slightly freaked out, we were walking about the speed of a sprint. We kept walking up the road and we noticed that a man followed us a few blocks after we saw the pimps. Finally, we made it to a safer area, and then shortly after, made it to the hostel.
That afternoon, me and two more girls went out to coffee and dinner at La Foch. I was a little uneasy going back, due to the things I experienced the last time I was there. We went into the coffee shop, nothing happened. A couple hours later, we walked to go get tacos. Minutes after we sat down, the same girl I had seen a few days ago came to us, trying to sell her cigarettes and gum. We started talking to the girl, and she told us her father was dead, her mother was in Columbia, and she and her 3 siblings (ages 14, 7, and 4) all lived on the street, and were currently working. We asked if we could pray for her, and she nodded yes. After we finished she had tears in her eyes, but asked again if we would buy her stuff. The manager told her she had to leave the restaurant, even though we told him it was fine and we wanted to talk to her, he still escorted her out.
After all of these instances happened, I sat very discouraged in the things I had seen in this city. So much darkness and oppression. My heart was so heavy for the city.
That night, we had worship. The second to last song started to play. It was a song I recognized, but one I couldn’t name until the words started. The first words were: “You’re the God of this city, you’re the king of these people.”
This song was a song I often listened to and prayed over in Thailand. It was the perfect song for me to hear that night in Ecuador. I was sitting, discouraged, and wondering why all of these things had to happen…God needed to show me all of the darkness, in order for Him to assure me that He IS the God of this city, and the king of these people. Even though the oppression is heavy, greater things are still to be done. The King sees His people. I have full faith that the little girl and the man will both walk freely one day. For there is no one like our God.`
