When you travel with 10-50 people, all who look like Little Orphan Annie and all congregate in a big pile in airport terminals with backpacks, sleeping pads and standing in line for Starbucks drink with ziploc bags of money…people start to stare. After 21 hours of being in airports and on planes, my team finally arrived in Quito, Ecuador! Is this real life? We sat in the airport (in a huge pile on the floor) waiting for our ministry contact to arrive. We had no clue what we were getting into. What we were getting was an extended family. Gustavo walked in, yelling and instantly hugged and gave all of us a big kiss on the cheek. How could you not feel love like that? He drove us around the beautiful city, with gold lights filling the mountains around us and telling us about his amazing, life-giving ministry, Inca Link.
Gustavo, Mabe & Fabi are our hosts at our hostel where about 35 of our squad is staying. It overlooks the beautiful city with the mountains in the background. It is breathtaking. We started ministry on Monday at Covi. This is a a beautiful ministry in the center of Parque de Carolina, a park that takes on a feel like Central Park, in the middle of the busy city. This ministry is for kids who come from poor families, so they don’t have anywhere to go. Every weekday, about 20 kids come in the morning before school to play soccer, hear about God and eat a hearty, warm meal. After lunch, the second shift of kids comes and does the same thing and we help with homework as well.
We have worked in the garden, played soccer, cooked meals with “Señoria” and two interns from England and Germany. God has opened so many doors to make friends and bond really quickly with these sweet people. As I watch Tamarita (the boss), Maria (the cook) and the other volunteers at Covi, I am overwhelmed by how well they love the children that come every day.
[Tamarita, on the right]
These girls and boys know how to be mean, they know how to manipulate and these sweet adults give the most pure, unconditional love that I’ve seen in a long time. I am blessed to learn from them. They have also graciously given us 7 Americans so many Spanish lessons. We are only 4 days in and making so much progress, yo creo. (Dad, you’d be proud.)
[My teammate, Zach, with 2 boys from Covi]
[My teammate, Cassady, helping with homework]
[Jordan]
(Last photo: Eva Cranford Photography)
As I was praying Wednesday morning, I asked the Lord what He wanted this month to be like for us in Quito. The Holy Spirit gave me the word “richness.” Every day, myself and my team have felt richness all around us: rich scenery, rich food, rich culture, rich love, rich time together. Even every time we do dishes (which includes about 50 peoples’ worth of dishes, 4 times a day), we dance in the kitchen and have made rich memories already. As I live in Quito, I’ve realized that every day, in big and small situations, God wants us to appreciate the richness of life and His love, no matter where we are. Even in Texas. Even in Africa. Especially in Quito.
“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10
How is your life rich today?
