Our team has settled in nicely in Huaticocha. We are in a
semi-regular routine of work in the morning, English classes in the afternoons,
and church services on Saturday and Sunday nights. We have grown used to
finding out new plans at the very last minute, and learned to adjust
accordingly. Nancy, Ivan’s wife, tell us at 6:30 at night, once we have all
been hoarding around the kitchen seeing if dinner is ready, that tonight we are
responsible for dinner. Given that it takes a good hour or two to prepare anything,
we often react to this pronouncement with a bit of frustration, but in the end
we make it work. Being flexible has become a constant theme for myself and for
our team, and this weekend was no exception.
leaving Huaticocha from August 6-8 because another team of 31 missionaries
would be in town and there was no room for us. We knew this a month in advance,
but after changing plans for where were to go at least 4 times, Ivan finally
settled on Brother Carlos’ house in 10 de Agosto (the name of the town, not the
day of the year). We didn’t even find out until Saturday morning, the day we
were supposed to leave. We were all ready to leave after lunch on Saturday, and
as we were walking out the door to the bus stop Nancy asked us, “Do you have
all the food you need for the weekend?” We were all like, “umm, what? We are
walking out the door and you tell us now that we need to get 8 meals worth of
food and to take with us??” I’ll admit, I was pretty frustrated, especially
given that yesterday I had been in Loreto and good have gone to the store there
and bought food if I had had a little more notice. Anyhow, we managed to get
together all the food and load it up to take to Carlos’ house, much thanks to
Emily’s planning and organization. If it were me, I’d just grab whatever I
could and throw it in a bag, but Emily made a menu for every meal and got the
exact amount of food that we would need. Thank goodness for being able to
delegate tasks!
Rosario and his daughter Karen, as well as their baby boy John. They were all
feeling a bit under the weather, and even though they welcomed us with open
arms, I got the feeling staying there was just a last resort by Ivan when he
couldn’t find anywhere else for us to go. We were shown to our rooms on the
second floor and told whose room was whose. Somehow, I got the only room
without a mattress and only a couple of boards held in place by a bed frame to
sleep on, with no mosquito nets for any of the beds. I couldn’t help but
thinking how much Ivan’s place in Huaticocha seemed like a Five Star Resort
compared to this place! But hey, we are World Racers, we are supposed to
prepare for the least and be grateful for anything more than that. This was the
attitude I was able to take. Honestly, I’m used to pretty rustic lodgings after
living in rural Panama for 4 months, and once again I was just trying to be
thankful for the fact that we had a roof over our head, I wasn’t sleeping on
the floor, and I had remembered to bring my sleeping pad with me for the
weekend!
We arrived in 10 de Agosto and were greeted by Carlos’ wife
Rosario and his daughter Karen, as well as their baby boy John. They were all
feeling a bit under the weather, and even though they welcomed us with open
arms, I got the feeling staying there was just a last resort by Ivan when he
couldn’t find anywhere else for us to go. We were shown to our rooms on the
second floor and told whose room was whose. Somehow, I got the only room
without a mattress and only a couple of boards held in place by a bed frame to
sleep on, with no mosquito nets for any of the beds. I couldn’t help but
thinking how much Ivan’s place in Huaticocha seemed like a Five Star Resort
compared to this place! But hey, we are World Racers, we are supposed to
prepare for the least and be grateful for anything more than that. This was the
attitude I was able to take. Honestly, I’m used to pretty rustic lodgings after
living in rural Panama for 4 months, and once again I was just trying to be
thankful for the fact that we had a roof over our head, I wasn’t sleeping on
the floor, and I had remembered to bring my sleeping pad with me for the
weekend!
there did not seem to be a whole lot for us to do. Yet, I knew God had us there
for a reason and that this was the exact place we were supposed to be. As the
weekend progressed, each of us found our roles and were able to be a blessing
to the family. Emily made an immediate connection with Rosario and spent the
entire weekend in the kitchen helping her with all the meals and learning to
prepare empanadas, fried plantains, and other ethnic Ecuadorian dishes, all the
while encouraging Rosario. Jamie was
able to find her groove playing sports with the kids, and never seemed to tire
even after hours of playing. Glenn and I were able to help Carlos’ clean out
his carpentry area, shoveling out excess sawdust and throwing out rotting wood.
Sam and Ashley also played sports and helped to look after baby John, as well
as help with dishes and other odd jobs around the house. We were able to spend
a lot of time together as a team, playing monopoly on my iPad, sitting around
talking, swimming in the river, or watching bootleg movies dubbed over in
Spanish on the house tv. I were able to get some much needed rest and
relaxation, and it was nice to take some time away from our busy schedule in
Huaticocha and spend time with a new family.
just go with the flow. I love spontaneity for sure, but I’ve realized how much
I still rely on having a set schedule and knowing what to expect in the future.
This is definitely not the case here and I have had to improvise and be patient
and let things just play themselves out. As team leader, this has been tough
for me not being able to know exactly what is going on at all times and not
being able to communicate plans to the team as much as I would like. All that
said, I have learned that God’s timing is not our timing, and that He has us
exactly where we need to be at all times!
