I’m gonna be honest. The day after we arrived in Quito, Thursday Sept. 13, I was feeling very nervous, and scared, and I didn’t know why! I love the house we are staying in and our hosts, the weather is amazing, I’m with a community that is accepting, fun, and loves the Lord so much, so why am I feeling this way?
The next morning it was around 50 degrees and rainy and our ministry site, Camp Hope, a home/day care for disabled children, is a 35-minute walk away… The day wasn’t looking good. But after arriving at our ministry, I volunteered to work in the kitchen and was put to work cutting limes. The first sign of comfort. As a waitress back home, I cut lemons, limes, and oranges for drinks, so this small act of cutting limes brought me comfort and reminded me of home. The rest of the day was spent juicing limes, cooking eggs, chopping veggies, and cleaning up after lunch. Although the cook only spoke Spanish, Abbey (my teammate) didn’t speak any Spanish, and I spoke very little Spanish, we got by and ended up having a great day. At lunch with my team, a few girls mentioned that there were German girls volunteering at Camp Hope, and I immediately knew I had to meet them. Luckily, one of them came to pick up snacks from the kitchen in the afternoon and I got to have an incredible conversation with her IN GERMAN! My heart was overflowing with happiness. Second sign of comfort. When we finally finished working, the cook (Tanya), Abbey, and I all sat down and had one of the hardest, but most engaging conversations of our lives. We attempted to discuss, where we were from, when we got to Quito, our siblings at home, and her work at Camp Hope. There were many moments of laughter from confusion, as well as revelations when we understood. When we said goodbye, we gave hugs and kisses, and promised we’d be back on Monday to work with her again. My first day of ministry was different than I had expected, but perfect all the same.
After coming back to our home in the afternoon, a few girls from my team and I went up to our room and I read The Help out loud to them until some of them fell asleep, while others just listened. Third sign of comfort. The Help is written just as an African American woman, in the 1950s, in the south, would have spoken it, and it reminds me of how The Jack Tales are written. Growing up, my dad read The Jack Tales to my sisters and I before bed in his best southern, mountain, red neck accent, so reading to my teammates, in my best southern accent, reminded me of my amazing dad and made me feel like he was within me. Later that night, most of the squad was in the living room piled up on the couches; my friend Brittany was cuddled up beside me. Most of us aren’t used to the cold weather quite yet, so we are wrapped in warm clothes and using body heat to stay warm. After adding more people to the couch and squeezing in tight, Brittany tucked her toes under my legs saying “I’m tucking my toes under you to keep them warm, hope you don’t mind!” Fourth sign of comfort. At home, my family tucks our toes under each other ALL THE TIME to stay warm, and Brittany doing this to me reminded me of home.
What my point is, is that God gave me comfort when He knew I needed it. He provided when I couldn’t handle the fear and discomfort on my own. He made Quito, Ecuador my new home away from home.
