Well. It’s been almost three weeks here in Ecuador. I have so many mixed feelings, I don’t even know where to begin. So I apologize ahead of time if this is confusing and what not.
My team is incredible. We’re so diverse and bring so many different gifts and talents to the table. Anna brings joy, Tucker brings faith, Robbie brings laughter, Elizabeth brings wisdom, Bailea brings generosity, and Paul brings leadership. These people have so SO many amazing gifts and qualities, and they’re so dang amazing (so go follow their blogs) hint hint.
The first day of ministry, my team was so excited. We were in fabulous moods, we were packed, we were ready to love people and share the love of Christ… but our ministry contact didn’t show up… talk about discouraged. So, we pasted on happy faces and made the best of it. The next day our contact didn’t show up again! So we went to another ministry and played with kids all day (which is my favorite thing in the world to do). I got my pride handed to me on a silver platter by a 10 year old little boy in soccer… I’m not even mad about it (’cause so did Paul and Robbie).
On Sunday… Church. IN SPANISH. Guess who doesn’t speak spanish? This girl. Man, was that a challenge. Majority of us just did our own individual devotionals and picked up on the standard “cues” of people around us. When to stand up, when to sit down. When to laugh, when to hug everyone. What an adventure.
BUT THEN {bum bum bum} the next day we cleaned the church…then the rest of the week we handed out over 1,500 flyers WOOH. Now. That was interesting. As I was walking up the steps of the church on tuesday, a little boy yells “BOO” and literally makes me jump down like 4 steps… The little boy laughed and hugged me. He said “lo siento amiga” (I’m sorry, friend). This is what I was waiting for… to invest in a kid!
This past week, a few of my team members and I have invested into this little boy and his 11 year old brother. We play frisbee, and teach them english,(they attempt to teach me spanish). We pick them up and chase them around. It’s so much fun. I came to the realization that I only have a week left with these kids. I’m so grateful for the time i’ve gotten to spend with them, but I’ll miss them so much.
It’s crazy that God puts certain people in your life to fulfill a certain purpose. I think that this five year old little boy’s purpose was to show me how to communicate simply through love, smiles, giggles, and hugs.
All in all. I love Ecuador.
