We officially have four more days in the first house we lived in in Ecuador (Inca Link): Wow! After that we will have one week in a ministry serving sex trafficked women then onto Baños, where our midpoint debrief is, then onto Peru! With all this moving it is hard not to appreciate the stability I used to have at home. For example, I knew what every meal was going to taste like. If I wanted to branch out and try something new it was fine if I didn’t like it, but here, even meal is new. I never know what something is going to taste like. It is so unsettling; there are many many things like this that all come in traveling for extended periods of time. But I think in my discomfort, God is trying to tell me that He wants to be my one and only comfort. My refuge. My stronghold.
I hate it. There are so many moments when I just want to have everything be comfortable and nothing to stretch me for just one hour. But God is just laughing at me trying to tell me that your discomfort is for your good. It is good for your spiritual wellness and our relationship.
Before I leave Quito, specifically the house I’m living in right now, I would like to share with you some of the things that have given me and my team some culture shock/things that make uncomfortable: the concept of never wasting a blessing, j-walking and subsequently being tapped by cars, being gassy from the altitude, not having toilet paper in the stalls with you and then not being able to put it in the toilet after being used, being kissed on the cheek for greetings and goodbyes, the little to no training we received before caring for disabled peoples, the hurry up and wait time schedules, the weather always being the same Every Day, and the language barrier.
There are many other things I could continue to blog and I will continue posting at least once a week. I will post some pictures from my current ministry soon but it is difficult because we cannot show the children’s faces. If you would like to pray for me, there are specific things in my last blog post but I would like to end this post in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for your blessings. Thank You for the blessing that is this mission trip. Thank You for the children and people You have allowed and planned for me to serve. Thank You for the struggles on this trip that are making me grow closer to You. Thank You for all the people back home that have supported me and are praying for me now. You are my comforter and my everything, allow the words in these blogs to edify You and speak to the people who are reading them in order that they might discover You more and strength their relationships with You. You are the only way to heaven and we will all rejoice and sing your praises when our day comes. Let us all imitate your life in a pleasing and uplifting way; let our actions be our unspoken testimonies. En el nombre de Jesús Christo, Amen.
