I am excited to tell you of all the things that God did in and through our team in Ecuador! I apologize that I was not able to communicate more while I was in Ecuador, but we had very limited Internet connections, so this might be a little long!
To start our trip, we flew into Quito, which is the capital of Ecuador and did ministry there in the south part of the city. We worked alongside a pastor who is working in a little, poor community that needed help rebuilding their community center. We helped with the painting of the building and we did some physical labor in order to help the building with flooding. In the afternoons we ran a children's program for the local children. The first day we went around inviting kids from the community not sure of what the response would be. After that, we never found ourselves without kids around us! It was an awesome time of ministry! The kids were very receptive and it was an incredible first place of ministry for our team. On the last day we did a program for the kids and invited the parents. The pastor talked with the parents (most of whom do not attend church or know Christ) while we talked with their kids. The local people cooked us a huge meal in thanks of the work we had done and one of the local men who rarely spoke but worked alongside of us during the week sang a song to us and wept as he spoke about how we had impacted his life by our hard work.
The next part of our trip was to the Amazon (Sangay area, or Chinimpi). We lived in a church among an Indigenous community called the Shuar people. Everyone there speaks Shuar and most everyone speak Spanish (the church was translated into both). We went to this community with a desire to learn from the people of their culture, and that we did! Everyday the people with great excitement taught us Shuar lessons (their language). Many people from the community got together and dressed us up in their traditional outfits and taught us their traditional dance as well. That was definitely a highlight for us and I think for them as well. In this community, they have not had any North Americans come and stay and so we were the first! During this time, our hope was to build relationships and share with them the love that Christ has for them. Despite their very simple lives, there are some people in this community who love Jesus very much and that was so encouraging for us to see. They talk a lot about their past and where they come from and have tried to keep many of their culture's good roots. We were so blessed in this community by the people's generosity towards us. They had a couple who would cook every meal for us without any expectation of being paid. In fact, the day before we left, they cooked us a huge traditional meal in their home for us which cost them a lot of money that they don't have. We were never left alone as everyone wanted to meet us and talk with us. On the last night, we prepared a special something for the people who had blessed us so much in this community. A couple of our girls made some dessert crepes (not me!) while the rest of us washed the feet of the people in the community, wishing to serve them. It was my favorite time in this community! The minute we started washing feet people would break down and cry and were so moved by the act. We explained the reason we were doing it was because Jesus first showed us how (John 13) and we were here just as He was on this earth to serve, and not be served. We then prayed for every individual person as we washed their feet. I was translating for one of the guys, so we were working together. We started praying for this 12 year old girl there Ilary. As I prayed for her, I felt such a compassion for her. She was sobbing as I held her and told her that God had never left her alone and that God wanted to restore her joy. Ilary was a girl that always had a smile on her face, but was hurting deep down. Her mom left her and her brothers/sisters and dad when she was only 1 year old. Ever since then her dad had to take care of all 4 brothers/sisters and her on his own, but he did and with God's help raised them in a home that loves Jesus. We also prayed for another woman who immediately as we started washing her feet said, "No, stop, I am not worthy of this! I don't deserve God's love, I am a sinner." This was so moving for me and Joel. To see such humility moved us both. We shared how Christ came to this earth for sinners and just started praying for her. She embraced us and cried as we told her how much God loved her and that if it was only for her, He still would have come to this earth and died. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house by the end of the night. We were so thankful for the way God's presence showed up that night!
The next place that we went was to Riobamba and worked with an orphanage called the Ark. It is run by a Canadian family who felt the call to Ecuador 15 years ago. They have about 60 children in this orphanage, with ages ranging from 1 month old to 18 years old. In the mornings our group would help out with things around the orphanage (like yardwork or cleaning) and then a couple of us would help out with the babies or toddlers (everyone under 5 years old since the rest were in school). Since I was the only one who was not sick, I got to work in the babies room (all those from newborn to 1 year old). There were about 8 babies of that age. During this time, God was really reminding me of Matthew 25:40 which says whatever you do for the least of these you do unto me. As I held these babies, I realized that everything I do for them, I am doing unto Christ. That really impacted me and the way that I treated every child at this orphanage. Even though they don't have parents, God says that He is the father of the fatherless and so they truly are His children. The orphans all have different stories, but the reality of most of their situations is they come from abuse (were taken away from their parents because of abuse or neglect), or that they were simply abandoned (babies). One day I would love to start an orphanage so it was really cool to hear the stories from the owner's son himself of how it all works. If Ecuador allowed foreign adoptions, I would now have a child with me, but they do not!
During this point of our outreach, our group started having a hard time. We had 9 people total on our team (7 students and me and Pablo as staff) and 5 of them were sick enough that they all had to go to the hospital one day. Each day someone would stay behind because of sickness and even our translator lost his voice during this time! Fortunately we were staying in a motel during this time and so it was the best conditions that we had so far! I think I am the only person, thanks to God, who really didn't get the stomach illnesses the rest of the team got (though I did get an ear/throat infection).
Each afternoon once the kids arrived from school, we would eat lunch with them, play with them, and then do a program with them sharing songs and stories from the Bible. On the last day, we did our normal program and spent time praying over each child and encouraging them in what God has for them. One of the kids there named Daniel spoke perfect English (learned it from the missionaries since he has lived there since he was a baby). His parents are both schizophrenic and actally met each other in a psychiatric hospital. Daniel and his siblings have all grown up in the orphanage. These are the types of stories from the children there. The great part is that they are all truly taken care of by loving workers in the orphanage and by our loving God who has not forgotten them!
The last place we went was perhaps the place in most need. We returned back to Quito in the Central Historic district and went to an orphanage called Ganas, which houses children of parents who are in prison. There were 22 children from the ages of 7 months old up to 15 years old. Many of the kids have been abused and sold by their parents for drugs or other things while they are in prison. As a result, many kids have experienced trauma and pee their beds every night. The orphanage did not have a lot of funding. It relies on support from a local supermarket for their food, which donates food once a week, but the food that is going bad and no one wants. When we got there, we were amazed at the difference between both orphanages (the Ark and this one). The children only had one pair of clothes each, 2 if lucky, and barely enough food. When we arrived, we slept on the floor in a building and agreed to buy them food in place of paying for anything else. We ate with the kids and lived among them for 5 days. As I said one of their greatest needs is food so we went and bought some seeds and fixed up their broken down greenhouse. We planted seeds of different types of vegetables and food so that they can grow some of their own food and not rely so much on these grocery stores’ donations. Many of the students in our group enjoying cleaning and cooking and so besides planting in the garden, we would help prepare meals and help clean up around the orphanage. They do not have enough staff in this place and so just loving the kids and giving them attention was all that they wanted. There was only one person who stayed with the kids overnight and cooked every meal for them. It was a lot of work, but such a blessing for us! One child’s story in particular impacted me a lot. His name is Christopher and he is 10 years old, a child definitely in need of attention and love. We found out that he comes from an abusive home. One day he lifted his shirt and I saw burn marks all across his stomach and chest. The director told us that the step-dad used to pour acid on him and simply beat him whenever he wanted to. This organization is taking these kids in and giving them not only safety but adults around them who are safe and loving.
One of my favorite nights at this orphanage was when we did a program for them presenting the kids the Gospel. We did some dramas and at the end of the evening one of the girls wanted us to give them time to just pray and talk to God, to emphasize that all He wants from us is a relationship. We really didn’t know how this prayer time was going to go since these kids can be very wild without a structure and constant entertainment. The time was so incredible though! The kids took it very seriously and at the end one girl wanted to close us in prayer. As she prayed out loud, she started crying as thanksgiving flowed from her heart. She started thanking God for His constant provision for them and how He has never left them. It was powerful!
Well, sorry this is so long! If you would like to see pictures of all of this, please go to my Facebook page where pictures are posted. I want to thank you all so much for your prayers for me and the team. Even though we had some sickness, our team was overwhelmingly united and being used by God in various places in Ecuador and for that I am so greatful. As I have said before, those who have partnered with me in prayer and financially these successes are only because of your support and you are part of what has happened in Ecuador.
Many of you are wondering what my next step is…well, so am I! J I am praying about a couple of options including language school for more Spanish (possibly in Guatemala or Mexico), coming back to Costa Rica in September and staffing another DTS, or staying in the U.S. and working in a position related to missions and youth. Please keep me in prayer as I pursue these options. I am very excited to return to the U.S. (Los Angeles) on June 8th and sometime later going to Seattle to live with my family while I figure out my next step. Thanks again to all of you who have followed my adventures…I will keep you updated when I find out what is next for me! If you are in CA or WA state, I would love to visit with you when I come back and share with you more of what God did over this last year. God bless and Ciao Costa Rica!
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