~Warning this is a long one!~
This week I finished up work with Pan De Vida and went with one half of our group to Camp Hope, which is a special needs ministry. I will be with that half the group for the next two weeks for ministry at Camp Hope.
I wanted to go to Camp Hope because I felt that God was pulling me there. I am not normally drawn special needs so I knew it was God tugging at my heart. I almost feel as though he was saying, “Go out of your comfort zone and watch me show up.” So, I went.
Man, in all honesty I felt the struggle. I felt the difficulty to feel the connection that some of my team mates felt. And that’s okay. I know my strengths when it comes to working with kids and it comes naturally for me, usually. I was able to spend two days with the 2 and 3 years olds. They were the lowest functioning of the youngest kids. For some reason, I froze. I felt love for them but for some reason I didn’t know how to take care of them. It’s a little different, and the language barrier with the nurses doesn’t help. To be totally vulnerable, it bothers me. I feel bad about the fact that for some reason I couldn’t slip into the groove that I normally do. The second day was better and I was able to read the kids emotions better.
One little boy is named Jesus, he is two years old but is about the size of a 4 month old. He gets dropped off from the orphanage bus. He came to them 6 months ago not being able to move and now he doesn’t stop. He doesn’t sit still and he is so so precious. My heart aches for him and I am blessed that I was able to eventually feel connected to him. I spent the two days doing strengthening exercises with the kids and feeding them.
I spent the third day cleaning with a lady named Myan. I raked and pulled leaves for about three hours and then washed about 40 chairs after lunch. We dusted some classrooms for a little but then she had me sit down to rest. She pulled out a snack for us to share and started asking me questions. She asked me very simple questions, with my limited skill of Spanish, but I was able to communicate with her and keep conversation going! It was awesome to be able hold to a conversation in Spanish, I am definitely improving. Cleaning for a whole day isn’t my ideal choice but getting to make a new friend and connection through the love of Jesus made it worth while.
Yesterday we took a 4 hour bus ride to Quilotoah which is a gorgeous lake, in a volcano. It was a steep, sandy, and slippery hike down but man was it worth it. It was the coolest place I’ve ever kayaked! God creates amazing things. We took a donkey ride back up. There was no way we would have made it in foot! It was really scary, but such a cool experience! Today I am taking a rest day before a week of ministry starts!
Thanks for following along!!
Love,
Emma
