Last week we went to Del Sade, which is in a valley surrounded by palm trees and plantain trees. It is crazy- especially in the morning when the clouds surround the green mountains. It looks like we are in Jurassic Park or something. Del Sade is about 4 hours away from El Carmen- 2 of those hours are spent driving on a VERY bumpy dirt road. We also had to cross a river using a wooden ferry boat- I have to admit I purposely didn’t pay attention to our heavy loads getting on the ferry for fear of sinking in the river.
We spent the week working on building the roof, of a church which basically was removing the old beams from the church roof and prepping the new steel ones, cleaning up the yard, pulling weeds, painting the fence surrounding the church, and each night inviting the community to the nightly church service at “ocho punto” (that is 8:00pm). I think my favorite church service was when each of us picked two people in the service to pray for at the end of the night. It was nice to be able to pray to a God that knows NO language barrier! He just wants us talking to him and bearing the burdens of those around us- and then giving those over to him. I loved it. The mosquitoes were out with a vengeance! Our legs have been getting eaten alive lately.
On the way back to El Carmen, one of the trucks carrying about 18 people (in the truck bed of course) ran out of gas in the jungle. We had to siphon the gas from another truck to the truck that was out of gas and while they were doing that, it was noticed that the fuel line had a leak. They fixed that and then in the same spot, the tire was FLAT! So, that was an interesting time of the men in the group lifting up a Ford Truck because we had no jack and obviously, my AAA wouldn’t work in the jungle. It is a whole different way of life out here in Ecuador.
This last Saturday was a church/community soccer tournament in a town about an hour away from El Carmen. We took a ranchero (Google it) and sat on the top of it. I try to just take those moments in- so I can remember them forever. The fact that I am in Ecuador – sitting on top of this huge truck- and just feeling so blessed. It is in my weakest moments of missing certain foods or when I just want to take a shower and not sweat, that I realize I am here for a purpose and that God has big things in store for us as a team this year.
Spanish is still very hard for me, though I am trying. There are times I find myself daydreaming because I really have NO idea what is happening all around me because things are either explained in Spanish, or people around me are talking in Spanish and there are times I just don’t feel like playing charades to understand what is being said! I am thankful for Jamos and Nick on our team who are really good at the language and help our team get thru each week.
Coming back (from Del Sade) to our kids in the apartment complex was AWESOME! They were SO excited to see us and came running for hugs and kisses. It melted my heart and made me love them even more! One of the little boys, Ishmael, told us that we are his family now. We have continued to develop our relationships with the youth here in El Carmen as well as those within the community. Today we spent the morning working at the construction site of the future church here, so we were mixing concrete by hand and taking bucketfuls of concrete and pouring it in the designated area.
More things I have noticed about Ecuador:
- Men like to wear their shirts pulled up to their chest, revealing their bellies.
- There are no rules about breastfeeding in public…
- They only drink INSTANT COFFEE! It makes no sense, we are in the land of coffee and yet, we drink instant. YUCK. (Nescafe is the drink of choice)
- Peanut Butter is NOT in the grocery stores, but Coke is EVERYWHERE.
- Rice is a daily staple. Rice with potatoes, Rice with Noodles, Rice with bread or your choice of carbohydrates. I am craving a huge salad.
- Ants eat anything and if you buy a piece of candy from the little stores around here- you will likely find ants in it.
- Fresa is Strawberry in Spanish
- Soccer is THE sport here. If you don’t play soccer (like me) you are strange.
- The goal of every driver is to cram as many people as possible in the cab and the truck bed or bus.
- Finding soap in the bathroom is SO exciting.
- The mosquitoes are so small you can’t even see them biting you. No Bueno (no good).
- Door ways are very short- watch your head!
- In almost every dish there is something we like to call “squeaky cheese” it doesn’t taste that good and it squeaks in your mouth when you chew it. You also find it in buckets on street corners sitting in water…. Yum! Let’s have some squeaky cheese tonight!
I have posted a lot of pictures on facebook, so, if you have facebook and are not my friend, please find me (Emily Starke Mitchell) so I can share my photos with you.
We still have shirts for sale! I know there are no major holidays approaching, but we would like for you to have one of our shirts for just $20 plus $5 for shipping. What a deal!!!
