When we were getting ready to go back to the States, we were told to prepare an “elevator pitch” for when people ask us how our trip was. Because though most people ask, some people are only looking for three words, some for three sentences, and some for three paragraphs. And even though I’ve been back in the States for almost a month, I’m only just now starting to put together my groups of three.
These last few months in three words? “Life changing experience.” I started referring to it as an experience instead of a trip because someone in Ecuador explained to us that calling it a trip makes it sound like a vacation. Like it was a life away from regular life, and not an experience that will shape who we are when we go home.
My experience in three sentences is something like, “It was seriously incredible. We learned a lot about what it looks like to do ministry behind the scenes and how to build really intentional and long lasting friendships. It definitely looked different than what I was expecting, but I wouldn’t have changed any of it.” And honestly I love giving this answer because out of all the little anecdotes and inside jokes I could tell from my experience, I really just love the big picture of it all. That the trip looked nothing like I thought it would, and that doing ministry in a pandemic is unexpected and disappointing at times, but that we could find the good and the beautiful and build each other up and see new sides of ministry.
I’m still working on my three paragraphs. Somehow three paragraphs feel more condensed than three words, because I can fit so much in and yet not enough. There will never be enough room to express the magnitude of God’s goodness, the greatness of His divine provision and the way He orchestrated the whole thing for me to be able to have this experience. There would be moments in Ecuador – while hiking a mountain and stopping to look over the edge to take in the beauty, or listening to the sounds of my team singing in praise, or watching our new friend take his first steps without crutches after experiencing a miracle – where I would just bask in the goodness of God and the fact that I was even there. There were times in the preparation for this trip that I genuinely wasn’t sure if I’d be able to go. And I’m not kidding when I say that God removed every single obstacle to make it possible.
I learned things while in Ecuador that have enriched my life and I can’t stop being so grateful for everything I got to do and see while there. Because of this trip, I gained a second pair of parents in Quito, my sweet hosts who loved me unconditionally, took care of me, and helped me walk through the tough days. I gained fourteen precious sisters that I know God hand placed on my team to love and be loved anew every day.
I got physically stronger with all the manual labor and the fact that my lungs and heart were working overtime in the high altitude, but I also got emotionally and spiritually stronger with every conflict resolution and quiet time. I learned things about myself that I didn’t know I struggled with, and was surrounded by exactly the right people to walk me through it. Praise God for the ways we grew on this trip and the things we got to experience, and for the fact that it doesn’t stop in Ecuador.
So far in my experience, I’ve been extremely blessed by friends that, when they ask how my trip was, they want the three hour version. And though I’ll obviously never be able to tell every funny story or heartbreaking moment, that’s okay. As long as people know God changed my life this year, I think that’s good enough.
