After spending over a month with Fabi and Mabe, our hosts at IncaLink, our team was really sad to leave Casablanca and Quito. We had such a great time living at Fabi’s and serving with Pan de Vida and Camp Hope, but we were also excited to see what God had for us at Dunamis.
Dunamis is a safe house for girls who have been rescued from sex trafficking and other types of sexual abuse where they can recover physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The girls live in the Dunamis compound way up in the mountains of Ecuador, so we loaded our packs into a bus and started up the mountain (welcome back, altitude sickness).
There are a few reasons our arrival at Dunamis was notable. First, the very first thing I noticed as we pulled into the compound was la vista. The view of the mountains and of Quito is absolutely breathtaking during the day, at sunset, and even at night.
Second, every day at about 1:00 pm, clouds roll in over the mountains and cover the compound. In case anyone was wondering, being in a cloud is not as comfy as it looks. It is just cold and wet, and you certainly cannot sit on them.
Lastly, we arrived at Dunamis just as the strikes down below in Quito were turning into riots. Thankful that we were safe in the mountains outside of Quito, we started work at Dunamis as planned. For five days, we dug holes for the foundation of a new building, mixed and poured concrete, helped in the kitchen (you can see here that we had a hard time with the oven), worked with the girls, and then curled up in our sleeping bags for our 22-person sleepover.
My favorite part was working with the girls. It was so amazing to watch them open up to us throughout our time there. The quiet awkwardness the first morning turned into unnecessarily competitive games of Uno and a crazy Just Dance party by the end of the first night. These girls are just normal teenagers trying to heal from trauma that was not their faults in any way. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to get to know them and connect with them the way that I did at Dunamis. I ask that you would continue to pray with me for their healing and that they would experience God’s love in an extra-special way.
As day five came and went and we were preparing to leave, we found out that because of the road blockages and dangerous situation in Quito, we were going to be staying at Dunamis a while longer. No one really knew how long because the riots were so unpredictable. Initially, I think the whole team was a little disappointed. We were supposed to be on our way to Baños, where we would get to relax, adventure, and debrief the first month and a half of ministry. Instead, we were stuck on a mountain, sleeping on plywood in our cute little shack (picture below) until further notice.
Now, as I sit writing this blog post in the 20th hour of our 27-hour bus ride to Lima, I have had time to reflect on how much better I liked God’s perfect plan than our team’s initial plan. Although we didn’t realize it while we were stuck at Dunamis, God gave us so much more than we planned for ourselves. He gave us several days of sweet, restful time with Him on a beautiful mountain. We worshiped on a rooftop overlooking Quito. We each spent intentional time connecting with God in solitude. We prayed for Quito and it’s leaders for 24 hours (the same day the riots ended). We played cards, we watched movies, we read books, we slept in, and we worshiped some more. You can check out some of our squad worship here and here.
God even gave us a day in the middle of this crisis that we were able to leave the compound and go to Mindo, another mountain town. We zip lined, swung from a Tarzan swing, hiked to a waterfall, and ate Venezuelan arepas. We got to Mindo and back with no problems, yet the next day, the roads were blocked again.
Refreshed from our time in Mindo, we were able to come back to Dunamis and continue to work with the construction team on the new building. Even though everyone was still antsy to get off of the mountain and back into real beds, it was cool to be able to use the time we had in Dunamis to bless the ministry and the construction workers.
After just 1 1/2 more days of work, we found out that not only were we going to be leaving Dunamis, but we were also going to get to spend a couple of days in Baños, after all. In Baños, we went on adventures, ate even better Venezuelan arepas, prayed for people in the streets, and worshipped together as a team.
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In our good plan, we were going to serve at Dunamis for 5 days, then relax, adventure, and debrief in Baños for 4 days. In God’s better plan, we served at Dunamis for 6 1/2 days, relaxed and connected with God in his beautiful mountains for 3 days, visited Mindo for 1 day, and still got to experience Baños for 2 days. I am so thankful that God is in control and we are not, both in the small things and in the big things.
With a refreshed spirit and new perspective, I am so excited to start serving in Perú, no matter what plans God has for us there. Please pray that I would allow God to use me in any way that He wills, that I would walk in obedience to the great commission every day, and that I would live a life worthy of the calling to which He has called me.
