Dear Ecuador,
Do you remember the little child who laughed at balloons and flew high on the swings, living in the simplicity of her innocence? Do you remember the joy of her smile and the sparkle in her eyes as she saw ice cream on the streets? I’m sure you remember, because she is apart of you. How could you forget?
Do you remember watching her walk through your classrooms with her friends talking freely of boys and the color pink? And the way her passion for architecture grew? She thought so deeply and longed for the love of a father who was stuck behind metal bars that divided her knowledge of love. She grew into a fourteen year old girl roaming the streets alone as the lights shined on her vulnerable face. Do you remember the way you took her into the shadows? Of course you do, because she is apart of you. How could you forget?
Do you remember the way you chose to love her? The deceiving darkness you surrounded her with? The way you peeled away her child-like innocence night by night? The promises you made were empty and she knew it, but still you pulled her deeper and deeper in until her worth was down to $12. Two years went by and her passions became a faint thought lingering in mid air, moving just out of reach beyond her hopeless heart. She cried out for help, and you stuffed her mouth with lies. You raised her to love you, but her love was never pure because your love was never real. Do you remember? Of course you do, because she is apart of you. How could you forget?
But do you remember when we showed up? Do you remember the beautiful conversations that your men watched from afar as we sat in the shadows and spoke of grace? Do you remember how every Friday night for two months, we found her and spoke life into her lungs? How we cried out on her behalf and chose to love her the way you never could? Do you remember the joy that took over, the light that pierced through the shadows, the freedom that was found? Of course you do, because she is apart of you. How could you forget?
Ecuador, do you remember? Do you know her name? Do you know her story? Do you know the hope that was offered to that 16 year old girl living off of her body and your men? Do you understand the love that she now knows? Can you see the truth, do you even want to? Because I want you to. I want you to know the unending grace and patience that the lord has for you. You may be broken but there is a light that mends and a hope that heals. There is so much more beyond the shadows of the street corners where you go to buy people and cola.
Ecuador, be good to her. Listen to her heart, let her pursue her passions, teach her how to love with innocence and walk in beauty from. Don’t neglect the splendor of her heart, for she knows that she is loved and you need to know that too. She is apart of you and she has influence. She has power and wisdom and carries a light beyond anything you have yet to know. We may be leaving but she is here to stay, and her weapon of choice cuts deeper than anything you have yet to experience, she will cut out your pain and replace it with grace and you too, will be a collective heart that knows that it is loved.
Sincerely, The Women of Gap J
