Another month, another set of “only you, Shannon” stories. I have come to realize I will always have my moments to make this blog series worth it. If you haven’t read the last two editions, basically really weird/slightly embarrassing things happen to me often. They happen so often that people usually say something along the lines of “Oh Shannon, this would only happen to you.” So I started to write them down and decided to blog about them! 🙂
In Ecuador we were working at an orphanage and it was just my team living there. I don’t have quite as many stories as usual, but that is totally fine with me! Sometimes it’s nice to not embarrass yourself every day.
- Week one I got sick and had to miss a couple days of ministry with the kids. So I was laying in bed doing random stuff when all of a sudden I heard what I thought was an ambulance pull up to the orphanage. I freaked out because I thought a child was hurt and jumped up on the bed to look out the window. Turns out it was just the garbage truck. Who had the smart idea to put a siren on a garbage truck?! Unfortunately, this isn’t where the story ends. I jumped off the bed and fell. I smacked my toe on a piece of wood. I think I broke it.. it is still unclear a month later. It bends fine, but every now and then it makes popping noises as I bend it. Cool.
- So a day after I hurt my toe I decided to take a shower and shave my legs. Not going to lie, it had been a while. So I shaved one leg and then when I went to shave the other one I put pressure on my hurt toe and decided shaving wasn’t worth the pain. So I just shaved one leg. This would be okay if it wasn’t noticeable, but it totally was. Eh, whatever.
- I went to put a load of laundry in the dryer one morning and the maintenance men were in there fixing one of the washing machines. Ecuadorians are really good looking and these guys were no exception. I said hi to them and went and switched laundry. Next thing I knew I turned around and SMACKED into one of the guys. He awkwardly laughed, I awkwardly laughed. We awkwardly danced around each other to go separate ways and I got so flustered I basically ran out of the room. I saw him often over the next few days, too
- I had just had a lovely chat outside with my teammate Casey. It was dark and chilly and it felt nice to be inside eating warm cookies some of the girls had made. All of a sudden I went to show Rocky a picture on my phone and realized it wasn’t in my pocket. I patted myself down, searched the couch and realized I must have left it outside. I put my shoes and jacket back on and stood up to go find it, grumbling about having to go back outside. Next thing I knew I heard something hit the glass table, I jumped a foot and may have let out a little scream. Rocky couldn’t stop laughing. My phone just decided to make itself known to me and fell out of my pants and landed on the table. WHY WAS MY PHONE IN MY PANTS?
- One weekend we went to Banos, Ecuador. We were gone for about 30 hours and crammed SO much into that time. Swings over cliffs, sunrises in hot springs, waterfall repelling, zip lining and delicious food. It was so much fun! I decided it would be smart to wear my contacts for the waterfall repelling and zip lining, so I could actually see. It started out really well, I could see but the ground seemed closer than usual. After the second waterfall, where we literally slid down it on our butts, one of my eyes was blurry As we finished and walked back to the truck, through mud and water, I was struggling to see because I could only really see out of my left eye. But I survived, made it back to the car and Rocky confirmed that the contact had fallen out of my eye.
We had just a few minutes back at the hostel to change before we left to go zip lining I should have grabbed my spare contact and put it in but totally forgot. Sooo off we went. Zip lining was really fun, but in between each line we had to walk a ways to get to the next one. It was through the jungle, up the mountain, switchbacks the whole time. It was exhausting enough with just the high elevation, but add in the fact I could only see with one eye.. yikes. It was not my finest moment. My teammates told me afterward that I looked like I was totally wasted because I was swerving and stumbling so much. Hahaha.
- In Banos we were walking around exploring and we found a shop with really fun pants. I found these purple striped ones that were so much fun! I tried them on and they fit, but the pockets seemed messed up, I decided I had put the pants on backwards so I tried them the other way. This time the pockets were right but the pants were totally on backwards. So anyway, I decided the pants were too fun to not buy, so I bought them fully knowing the pockets were sewed on backwards..and apparently THIS is why this is an only you, Shannon story, because normal people wouldn’t have bought messed up pants. Basically when I wear them and put my hands in the pockets I am grabbing my butt. Whatever, they are the best pants ever. I don’t regret a thing.
- In Quito we took the “Trole” to get around the city. Apparently the fun thing to do is cram as many people on the Trole as possible. We were in the very back standing up. Also, the door only opens for like 5 seconds so people get slammed in the door every now and then (I was a victim of this) So amidst the door opening and closing, my toe being stepped on and almost falling over I accidentally used this man’s hand to push my glasses back up on my nose because I thought it was my hand. He glared at me and then got off at the next stop. Sorry stranger.
- We had debrief in Quito where the entire squad was together for a few days to talk about our last few months. We had worship, sessions, team debrief and one-on-ones with the leaders. During worship one night I was getting into it. The room we were in was small and there were at least 50 people in there. I got pretty hot and without really thinking about it decided it would be perfectly normal to drop my pants (I had Nike shorts under them, but obviously no one knew that). So I did. I got some weird looks and some people teased me later. I, however, regret nothing.
Much love!
SUPPORT UPDATE: I have until December 31st to raise the remainder of my support for the World Race! ($1,725) If you would like to support me and and encourage me in this way, please click the link on the left that says “support me” and follow the directions! You have all been such a blessing to me, thank you for partnering with me and furthering God’s kingdom!
