This past week has been crazy busy. We went from Portoviejo, to Manta, to Porto Cayo, and back. I realize I probably spelt some of those wrong as well so, sorry if I did. What a week! We went to Manta to work in an orphanage run by a woman named Pearl. She was born in Ecuador but her parents and grandparents are from the states but were missionaries in Ecuador. She lives here with her husband and they pretty much run this beautiful orphanage in Manta that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
Then we went to Porto Cayo. It is an extremely beautiful beach town. We worked on a church for two days and ended up spending the night on the beach one night as well as getting to swim in the Pacific Ocean! Who would have thought my first time in the Pacific Ocean would be in Porto Cayo, Ecuador. Then we came back to Portoviejo and went to the trash dumps today.
Out of all of this craziness and beauty God has presented a lot of challenges. First, trying to grasp being gone for 11 months. I am still trying to rap my head around it and haven’t gotten there yet. I have decided to just take a day at a time. Second, on the last day of being in Manta I was told of a girl there who was pregnant and only 13. Today we went to the trash dumps were I was completely overwhelmed. We met families that literally live in trash dumps.
Imagine going to a landfill and seeing people living there. Trash as far as the eye can see, burning, smelling, literally crap everywhere. When I say these families live there I don{t just mean they sleep there. They work there, they eat out of the trash, they literally do everything in that dump. We brought them clean water today and all the kids ran out and all I wanted to do was cry. They are beautiful kids living in filth. Mothers and Fathers unable to give their families even clean drinking water! I cant understand how hard that must be. They EAT from others waste!
In all of this I know God is good. He is! His grace, His love, His mercy, knows no bounds. It doesn’t recognize people as the outcaste of society, as they poor dump families, as the unwanted or untouchable. It recognizes each person as loved by their Father, Creator, Savior! John 3:16. We all know that verse and I feel as though when used it is thought of as a child´s verse. Read is again and let the power of the verse take hold because it IS powerful! I love you all and I will continue to post about what God is doing. I love you all!
