Hello! This has been a whirlwind of a month. My squad got to spend a week here in Quito doing ministry with our parents to start the month out, then the whole squad got together for a week of debriefing in Banos, after which my team came right back to Quito to work with a campus ministry for a little over 2 weeks. It was a full month, physically as well as spiritually.
Easter
Easter in Ecuador. It definitely looked different than Easter at home would have. At home I would have gotten up and gone to the church that I have gone to my whole life, worshiped with my family and friends, then gone to have a nice lunch with family and maybe watch a Hallmark movie or two. This year, my team and I were able to go to an English church service (something that I’ve only been able to do a handful of times on the Race), celebrate and worship together, after which some of us headed over to an amazing ministry down the street to help serve for a few hours. After a quick but delicious lunch, we bused back to our house to pack a bag for a sleepover! Some of my teammates and I were able to go and spend the night with one of the other teams from my Race who were staying decently close to Quito. We had a bonfire, played games, worshiped, had a dance party, and just celebrated being together and Jesus. I can’t express the joy that I felt from the Lord this Easter. It made me miss the sweet traditions that I have at home, but also opened my eyes to what worship can really look like. It was just all around a wonderful day. In a month were my team has continually been dwelling and focusing on what Jesus has done for us on the cross, it hit my heart in a new way.
Cru
This month my team worked with Cru, an international college ministry that is aimed at spreading the gospel and building Kingdom through evangelism. This is completely out of my comfort zone, but in a good way. This is what I’m called to do. This is why I came on the Race: to share the Gospel, and to be pushed out of my comfort zone. It was an awesome month and I learned so much about what evangelism looks like from working with this ministry. Fun fact: its not as scary and uncomfortable as I thought it was going to be.
Gappies
This month my team had the opportunity to live with a World Race Gap Year squad. World Race Gap Year is a program similar to the World Race, except it is for younger people (18-20) and they stay in places a little longer than we do. (I don’t have a picture of them, so here is a photo of me eating guinea pig, which is a local cuisine) It was at times a little overwhelming to be living with 30 new people, but it was also really fun and it came with the opportunity to hear so many wonderful life-giving stories about what God has been doing for them on their Race. They will be staying in Quito and working at their ministries for two more months before they go home for good.
Pan Da Vida
Pan De Vida was not my ministry this month, but it has made a lasting impact on me during the short time that I was able to serve alongside them. Pan De Vida is an incredible organization that feeds low income families and refugees in Quito. But they don’t just stop there, they have micro business programs, they have counseling, they bring in lawyers to keep people up to date on laws that impact them. They provide church services and they serve their community with so much respect and dignity that I walked away with a new understanding of what it means to serve people as Christ would. I HIGHLY encourage you to learn more about their programs and what they are doing.
Mountains
The mountains in Ecuador are literally off the charts, but this month I was also introduced to some new geological features: Volcanos. Ecuador has lots of them. My team even got to visit one that actually has a lake on top of it (because that makes sense). It was probably one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been, even if it was freezing.
Altitude
This just in: I live at sea level for a reason… and that’s all I got to say about that.
Sean and Derek
So much could be said about our hosts this month. Derek and Sean are two of the most amazing people that I have ever met and their passion and love for the Lord is so inspiring and life giving ( Sidenote: the only picture that I have with both of them together is when we went salsa dancing). They are currently in their second (and final) year of living and working for Cru in Quito. One really cool thing is is that they will be reentering the states around the same time that my team will be and we got a change to talk about what that is going to look like for all of us (aka instant bonding). This month they acted as our teammates, friends, tour guides, interpreters, salsa instructors, AND our hosts. The dedication that they have for the people that they serve is infectious and they were able to turn something as uncomfortable and potentially scary as evangelism on a college campus, into something exciting, urgent, and worthwhile (it has always been those things, I just didn’t know). It was truly an honor to serve along side of them and to see all of the ways that God is using them to impact the Kingdom.
Folks, that’s a wrap on month 9! Can you even believe it?! Time has been FLYING for me on the Race. I’ve come to a point now where I have started to make plans and preparations for coming home. I’m not quite ready to announce what those plans are yet, but stay tuned!
Much Love,
Morgan
As always, I invite you to make my journey, your journey. Here are three simple ways:
- The most important, PRAY.
- Subscribe. (If you want to subscribe to my blog and stay up to date on what God is doing in my life, click the orange “Subscribe for Updates” in the left-hand corner.)
- Share. (If my blog has touched you in any way tell a friend by clicking the “Share with” links to share this on social media.)
