Quito, Ecuador.
You stirred up heckaaaaaaa excitement ever since I was surprised by you in August.
You were a 12th country on our 11-month journey.
You were a bonus country.
You were another passport stamp.
Quite frankly, I need to apologize. You were way more than that!!!
You were our AirBnB host waiting up until 1am to settle us in after our 40 hour bus ride.
You were warm showers and real, fresh towels. Don’t take these for granted.
You were a home away from home, and somewhere I will return to.
You were meals, card games, and belly laughs around our dining room table.
You were praying and worship together as a family every morning.
You were a safe place for hard feedback and sweet affirmation.
You were a blessing for your USD currency, alone. Hallelujah for no currency conversions!!!
You were gaining three new lifelong friends. Shoutout to Brianna, Sean, and Derek!
You were freely given love, encouragement, and hospitality from our new friends.
You were partnering with Cru.
You were seeing the fruit of labor covering college campuses across the city.
You were a rare gem of fellowship with other believers from the United States.
You were chili, worship, and family photos.
You were answered prayer requests.
You were women’s night with college students and testimonies shared over sushi.
You were the beauty and majesty of God’s creation found in your magnificent Quilotoa.
You were a good talk on a bumpy, windy bus ride sitting next to Sean.
You were a place that pushed comfort zones and stretched gifts. You honestly made me uncomfortable but in a good, good way.
You were walking around college campus asking students if they’re passionate about Christ.
You were a sweet blessing every time I found students who spoke English.
You were so many opportunities to share my faith and the Good News.
You were a discovering a new friendship in a coffee shop all because of a World Race sticker on my laptop.
You were realizing how small the world is and how big my God is. (hey alexis, I’m coming to visit you in nola next year)
You were the perfect coffee shops to spill our hearts out and go deep only a mere 20 hours after meeting each other.
You were more hard goodbyes but even sweeter friends, memories, and opportunities.
You were only a week long but you felt immensely more.
So, thank you Quito, Ecuador for everything you were and everything you are. Thanks for all you taught me in such a short amount of time. Thank you for the work God is doing in that city. Thank you for Brianna, Sean, and Derek for faithfully serving and loving the people of Quito, Ecuador. Thank you for strangers turned into friends turned into family. I still miss you, Ecuador, and of course Brianna, Sean, Derek, and Alexis.
