i leave peru in 1 day and i realized i never actually wrote about ecuador…
my solution? i’m going to tell you about how different ecuador was from peru! with a bunch of pictures because honestly i couldn’t describe it well enough if i tried.
here’s a glimpse into the last 3 months of my life.
ministry in ecuador consisted of loving and serving special needs young adults and the tias that so graciously allowed us to help. some days i was in the kitchen (bottom left). some days i almost fell asleep after massaging sweet kevin’s muscles for 2 hours. some days i got to play with kaira on the swing for the afternoon. some days i held the babies and rocked them to sleep. my favorite days were making suzie laugh because i would pretend to trip playing soccer (MOST of the time the tripping was an act).
ministry at peru has been hectic and at times confusing, but overall so so fun. ministry looks different everyday. some days we played soccer with kids, reenacted david and goliath, and some days we sewed with women and held their babies while cami asked them a million questions (because she’s fluent in spanish and i am definitely not).
the views in ecudor and peru we’re both breathtaking.
one week in ecuador we did construction at dunamis – a ministry that helps women out of sex trafficking. it’s incredible.
one week for ministry in peru we painted a house for the women to do bible study in.
living with the entire squad month 1&2 in ecuador was very weird, very overwhelming, and very fun.
living with only 10 girls in peru was fun, weird, weirder, and taught me a TON about compromise.
sometimes in ecuador we had parties in the bathroom… for various different reasons.
in peru we had secret sister parties in our bunk room where i received a red onion the size of my head and also danced a lot with mack. i’m happy for the change in location.
for our debrief in Ecuador we went to baños, ecuador. it was beautiful, adventurous, and something i will never forget.
for one of or free days in peru, we celebrated thanksgiving.
it was d e l i c i o u s.
in our free time in ecuador, my team helped coerce our squad leader to get his nose pierced. we also ate ice cream, made aly apple crumble for her (2)7th birthday, and got coffee on the rare occasion.
during my free time in peru my team and I ran almost every day (thanks to the drastic change in altitude. thanks peru!), drank coffee every day during (or not during) bible study (thanks mariella), painted overalls, caught largatijas, and pressed lots of flowers (thanks lyss). we played “what are the odds” a lot too, resulting in melissa eating a largatija tail.
in ecuador, kate (our beautiful and incredible squad mentor) lived with us for 6 weeks. we climbed mountains together. i miss her not being on the field with us, but thank Jesus that email exists!!!
in peru, my assigned squad leader, aly badinger, went to go live in a jungle with team abundance (her other assigned team)! we missed her a l o t. however, i was privileged enough to get the change to live with jackie halyard (our other squad leader) for a week, and for the whole month alyssa mcgrail (my team leader) poured into us. this month has been filled with endless laughter and so much growth because of the Jesus in them. this is lyss’ last month on the field because she’s a team leader and leaves after month 3 so we can try a swing at things on our own. i’m not going to lie, not having her here will be super SUPER sad, but i’m blessed to say she will be my friend forever. i’ll try not to cry too hard in the airport when i say bye to her.
family in ecuador looked like all squad, all the time, with our incredible hosts mabe and fabi.
this month, family has looked like mariella our brilliant peruvian mom and chef. there were many tears shed when we left. it’s also looked like just team esther which was crazy fun and quieter(ish).
Jesus taught me a lot in ecuador. i grew a lot. i cried a lot. ecuador was really hard. but through the distress i know he was growing me (2 corinthians 7:10-13).
peru was also super hard and good, for many different reasons though. i learned a lot about compromise, self-discipline, and knowing that the Father delights being with me.
overall, this month has been really different and really good and really hard. throughout this journey i’ve been growing more, learning more, and been challenged more. i’m so excited for the next 6 months to come.
love,
kori
