Hello, world, it’s me again, back with another blog (finally).
After almost 24 hours of travelling, V Squad landed in Quito, Ecuador at around 23:00 on Wednesday, September 12 (they use military time a lot here, which is something I decided to try and do more, at least while I’m here, because why not?). We piled our bags against a wall and tried to catch a couple winks before our host, Fabi, came to pick us up in a bus. At 24:30 or 1:00 we pulled up to Casa Blanca, which will be our home for the next two months. The girls got their rooms, and the guys were told that they’re without rooms for a little bit, so they laid their sleeping bags down in the dining room. They are now sleeping outside in their tents until some construction on the property is finished.
Side note — if you think of it, be praying for the construction to finish quickly at Fabi and his wife Mabe’s house. They are eager to move into the new house that is being built, and they are working really hard to move the process along while also housing 48 people. Like…wow. They make three meals a day for us, Monday through Friday, they house us, they teach us about the area, they pray with us. I have so much respect and gratitude towards them already, and it’s only been a couple days.
Here’s what a typical weekday here in Ecuador will look like for me:
6:30 – wake up, shower, get dressed
7:30 – head downstairs to the common room to do devotions/quiet time with the Lord
8:00 – breakfast (made by awesome Mabe and Fabi)
8:20 – get ready to go to ministry for the day*
9:00 – arrive at ministry
sometime during ministry – eat packed lunch
16:00 or 17:00 – get home from ministry, probably shower because hygiene and all that
19:00 – dinner (again, made by our amazing hosts)
20:30 – squad meets in the common room, maybe some worship time, maybe splitting off into team time
23:00 – lights out (I’m usually in bed by 21:30. sleep is so good and helpful for your shocked immune system, guys)
Weekends are our off days, and they’re most likely when I’ll be writing blogs and when I’ll be able to check emails and such.
I am so excited to be stretched and challenged in ways I haven’t been before during my time in Ecuador. I am curious to see how God chooses to use me in this time, and I’m open to whatever he throws my way.
If you’d like to be praying for me, here’s a couple prayer requests I have at the moment:
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Pray that I try to get outside of my comfort zone through each day.
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Pray that I can focus my mind on serving the people here, as opposed to focusing it on how much I may miss the comforts of home or on any stress/annoyance that may occur.
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Pray that I go out of my way to make ministry a 24/7 thing instead of just a 6 hours a day, 5 days a week sort of thing.
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Pray that I can become fully funded soon! That would be such a blessing, and if you want to see me cry that’s probably a good way to do it.
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Not about me, but there’s currently a huge political/economical crisis in Venezuela and millions of refugees are entering Ecuador and other surrounding countries because, as our host Fabi said, they believe “it’s better to die trying to find a way out than to die in their own land” which is insane. That’s never been something that I’ve seen except on the news, but there are refugees everywhere who need shelter, money, food, etc. A couple girls on my squad and I just got to pray for a refugee named Diego and his family today and he gave us each un beso on the forehead, which was really sweet. So yeah, if you think of them, send up a quick prayer or two.
Next week I’m going to try and post a blog more about what God has been teaching me and showing me while I’ve been away from home, but I want another week to gather more of what He’s trying to show me before I go and try to explain some of it. I mean, I’ve only been here for like three days and I’ve already learned a bunch, so y’all better be ready for next week’s blog.
In the meantime, if you think of me you can shoot me an email at [email protected] or comment on my blog! I won’t be able to get back to you until next week, but feel free to contact me!
I also am in need of about $4,100 in order to be fully funded by January 19 of next year, so if you feel led and called to donate, you can either click the donate button on my blog or you can contact my mom Steph at [email protected] or my dad Fred at [email protected]. Thank you all for supporting me thus far, I love you all! Make sure to subscribe to my blog if you want more updates and thoughts from yours truly.
My room for two months! I sleep on the floor on my sleeping pad, and my teammate Mackenzie sleeps on the bed!
