So a group of us decided that we wanted to get our noses pierced and one of the interns from Casa Blanca told us where she had went to get hers done for ten bucks. So Saturday before we were leaving Quito we went down to the shop to get our noses done. If you know me I do not do well when it comes to getting piercings. I had wanted to get my nose done for a while because of all the change that I have been going through over the past year, I just wanted to get rid of the old (the Monroe) and get something new and simple.
So we got on the bus to go down to the shop and we decided that I would go first so I would not chicken out. We get to the shop and start picking out what we wanted; I knew I just wanted a simple hoop. Then it was time to go back and I could feel the nerves going. The guy doing the piercing was like ‘why are you nervous you have all these tattoos?’ and I was trying to explain to him why piercings freak me out compared to tattoos. So we started the process and during him setting up and getting ready we started to talk to him. He asked why we were here in Ecuador and I told him that we were missionaries. He was taken aback by this and asked me about being a Christian with all my tattoos and how everyone treated me. I simple explained that all of my tattoos have something to do with my relationship with God and that all of my squadmates accept me and my tattoos and how some of them had tattoos as well. He was shocked because in their culture Christians did not have tattoos. So we asked how he got into piercing and he told us how he was going to college and was studying psychology, which I told him that is what I studied, and then how he started smoking pot and dropped out of school. He continued to tell us how he soon lost his home and was living off the street and he started to sell jewelry to make money and how he really started to enjoy piercings and got into actually doing them.
What was awesome about this experience was that I was going to change myself and we got this awesome opportunity to plant a seed in this guy. We may not have gotten to lead him to God but we definitely got to show him God’s love and acceptance for all people. It was awesome to have this moment when we were not even at ministry. God has shown me that I have an ability to reach out to those that most would not and show them His incredible love for them. Great way to finish things off in Quito, Ecuador.
