Alright. So I know that I haven’t blogged in a while. and that is one hundred and ten percent my fault. I am sorry. From the deepest corners of my heart, surry. It has been over a month, and a whole lot has happened since then. In fact, it would take thousands of words and hours upon hours to explain everything that has been happening. So, here is the condensed version:
October sixth. Two AM.
We finally got to Casa Blanca, our home in Quito for our time in Ecuador. For the first month, our team stayed in the cabana, a smaller house on the same property. Our first month, the whole squad was staying together, over fifty of us, so all of the beds were booked. So we got the cabana, our own little home. Six bunkbeds, two showers, one toilet and no insulation.
That same morning we got our freezing little butts out of bed, and headed to our ministry.
T.W. Anderson. I wish I knew now how much I would love that place, and all of the kids who go to school there. I used to hate the idea of being a teacher, but truth be told, these kids have convinced me that being a teacher wouldn’t be all that bad.
At the school, we help in the English classes, help with projects, and get to know some really rad people. The whole while tellin’ bout Jesus.
(We are making a ‘Day in the Life’ video, so keep your eyes open for it to see more of what ministry is like!)
My team is pretty amazing, boy did I get lucky! Team Rahab is a group of girls that I have grown to love with my whole heart. Coming into the World Race I thought I was prepared for what community would be. Only to find out that, well, I wasn’t. It has been hard, but worth it. Learning to embrace community has been a process, and through that process I have gotten to know God on a much higher level. Now don’t get me wrong. It is still a process. It is still hard. Every day it is a choice to choose community and vulnerability, but I am beginning to love it. I will introduce you guys to them soon, I promise.
We go to the school during the week, and have the weekends off for rest and adventure. For me, a little more adventure than rest… I just really love Ecuador.
I have been at the top of volcanoes, in the middle of abandoned airports, horseback riding through clouds, relaxing in my hammock in parks, rock climbing, canyoning, stood at the base of mammoth waterfalls and wandered through markets. I have been to lights festivals, soccer games, and little coffee shops. And, my Ecuador bucket list is still pretty long. On the rest days, I cuddle up with hot chocolate and a good Netflix documentary. Do some laundry. Take a nap. Say hey to the Fam. Make some pancakes. Rest days are my catch up days, to get ready for the week ahead.
After month one, we had a debrief in the city of Baños. Debrief was one week where we talked about how the past month had gone and how the next two months should go. It was probably one of the most beneficial and rewarding weeks of my life. Not to mention, a whole lotta fun. We were able to celebrate with full hearts, and cry with friends when life got hard.
We have been back from debrief for a week now, it is no longer over fifty of us living here at Casa Blanca, but eighteen. The rest of our squad is all over Ecuador, serving in the mountains, on the coast, or even in the jungle.
The eighteen of us are living together like a little family, our team moved into the main house, and we picked right back up where we left off.
So I guess that brings us to today.
November fourteenth. Ten PM.
Today was a full day at ministry, and after dinner, we had full stomachs to match it. After dinner I just really felt like I needed to go to the billboard.
Let me tell you about this billboard. I had never been there, but I had heard great things. The word billboard should be used lightly though. I got there and was a bit disapointed. the word smallish-rundown-metal-thing-thing would describe it a little better. It used to be a billlboard at sometime, but now it is just some metal that just kind of sits there, stuck in the ground, in the back of some building. I actually looked around to see if I had missed the actual cool billboard, and this was just a mistake. As I did, man, the view took my breath away. I wish I could show you a picture, but long story short, I lost my phone… and I forgot the SD card for my Go Pro back at the house… so sorry. I will just have to try and describe it.
I sat down on the slope of a hill, with the tough grass poking me like a hundred little tooth picks, facing the city. My sweatshirt, raincoat, boots, jeans, gloves, scarf, and fleece lined hat did all they could to keep me warm. But the cold still nipped at my cheeks. I barely noticed it though when I looked at the city below me. This is the part where I wish I had a camera with me. The light of the houses and streets meshed together to paint a beautiful picture. It looked like a million little stars all got together and decided to have a party. Weird word picture, but in all honesty, it really did look like that. They all twinkled like little stars. A main road was lit up with cars, a constant stream of headlights, seeming to split my view in half. Parts of the city lights were covered by clouds. Not fog guys. Like actual clouds. We are living in the clouds. Crazy right? The clouds are all different colors, its gorgeous. Some are dark grey, some look light grey. The ones that appear to be black mesh with the mountains in the distance. The clouds that look white are the ones closest to the moon. Apparently it is a supermoon tonight. I don’t know what that means scientifically. But I do know that it was a crazy beautiful thing to see. The moon was so bright, I didn’t even need my headlamp to walk through the wooded trails.
It was there that I just poured out my heart to my Savior. I talked to him like he was just sitting next to me, in a way I feel like He was. I don’t really know how long I was out there, and I don’t remember everything we talked about.
But as I walked away from that killer view, still chatting with the creator of it all, I just felt so happy. I was happy living in Ecuador, I was happy to be living with these crazy people, I was happy despite missing friends and family, I was happy with how I was created, I was happy to be living out of a backpack. I was happy to be able to have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Correction. I am happy. Not was, am.
I am happy because I have a reason to be. I have Jesus. It isn’t following a bunch of rules that makes you happy. It isn’t material possessions. It isn’t a steady paycheck, it isn’t a good haircut. Its not a hollow religion, temporary highs, meaningless sex, the latest TV shows, trends that come and go. You won’t find permanent happiness in friends, family, or hobbies and passions. Jesus is the only thing that can make someone truly happy. Jesus is my reason to be happy. No matter what happens to me, no matter what happens around me. No matter who the president is. No matter if I am having a good day, or a bad day. No matter if I am home, or half way across the globe, God is always the same. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. And because he is always the same, I can always find my joy in him.
So tomorrow, I am waking up to a new day. A day full of joy, a day full of Jesus.
