Let me paint you a picture.
I’m lying in a hammock in the dark. The rain is hitting the plastic see-through overhang above me. Carlyn is wrapped up in her sleeping sitting on a van seat on the ground. Clouds hang low and glow from the city lights. Chatter and laughter echoes from inside the house. The two of us sit here half in silence, half in conversation contemplating the month we’ve had so far.
Since I have dropped the ball this month with blogs I have decided to post a few short blogs in the next couple of days to fill you in on the month I’ve had here in Ecuador.
We arrived after a 31 hour travel day. I was excited and ready to start another month of ministry. We got settled in and got to know our ministry site and hosts for the month. I was amazed at how blessed we were for the second month in a row. We had beds to sleep in, warm showers, a cozy living room and kitchen to spend time in with the squad. We also met an amazing couple, Mabe and Fabi, that are here to make us meals and take care of us. They warm and welcoming hearts quickly turned this place into home.
My teams original ministry was a soccer ministry. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 7:30pm to 9:30pm we would go to Cumbre Alta practices to get to know and pray with the men on the team. Cumbre Alta is a soccer team that is one level below professional. Nate started it as a way to bring Christ into professional sports; their team is focused on God and plays the sport differently than what is culturally normal. Kat, Carlyn, and I were ecstatic about being involved with the sport we used to play and still love. It was even more exciting to be using it as a way for discipleship.
Since ministry was only going to be 6 hours a week, we quickly made the decision to make our new home, Casablanca, another form of ministry for the month. Fabi was thrilled to have us and the list of things to be done around the house was made and we were ready to get to work. Day one came around and we were told our soccer ministry was expanding. We were leaving earlier to help at the practices for a U17 team that one of the Cumbre Alta players coaches. Soon, our 6 hours a week turned into 14 hour days of ministry. We knew something was going to have to change.
