Home again.

Hey all!

Now that my computer has finally found an internet signal in my house that it deems worthy of a response, it is time to write my final summer blog.

I'm back in Chicago! Writing to you from the kitchen table, as I sip coffee (at 1 in the afternoon :O) and look out on the lovely green park to the north of our home. It's been a pretty chill first few days back, especially in comparison to the busy-ness of our last week in Ecuador....

Guayaquil was a good way to end my summer "merging." I met LOADS of beautiful children from Guasmo Sur who were a part of the school we were working with and an associated Compassion program. I pretended to be a pirate. I walked into a chifa (Chinese restaurant) with mergers Chris and Liz, that was looking for "2 señoritas y un joven," and tried to get them to sell us straws. I ate lots of delicious coconut ice cream. I went alone to the home of a family from the Covenant church in Guasmo Sur and ate a lovely meal. I swam in the Pacific Ocean. It was fantastic.

Although I was somewhat uncomfortable with the way we were treated like celebrities, with kids asking for our autographs and adults snapping pictures (one woman even asked me to hold her newborn twin girls while she took my photo), I loved how open and friendly everyone was. They don't get visitors too often - Guasmo Sur isn't the best place to grow up. As I got to know the teachers from the school, however, I was blown away by their dedication and heart for this neighborhood. They are investing their lives and talents into the children of this community, and there is much we could learn from them.

From a linguistic vantage point, this week was pretty challenging. I'm glad that it was my last week and not my first with Merge! ...I've become WAY more laid back throughout the summer, which equipped me well to deal with this week.

The first day we arrived in Guayaquil, Merge had a meeting with the leaders of the church, Compassion, and the school, and I started questioning whether or not I even spoke Spanish! I had been spoiled by the crystal clear, slow Spanish of Quito, and was not at ALL used to the s-dropping, slurred, rapid-fire speech of the costeños. I still have no idea what went down at that meeting. But they were patient with me and all of my asking for them to repeat themselves and talk more slowly, for which I am very grateful.

I also learned many a scientific and musical term in Spanish, translating science lessons and experiments and music lessons that the team had prepared. Hidrógeno, moléculas y protones, oh my!

This team was a bunch of troopers from Pasadena, surviving an entire 2 days without their suitcases, which stayed in Bogota for far too long. For some of the kids (and adults), this was their first mission trip; it was neat to see them learn and grow as the week progressed.

SO now I'm back home, after saying goodbye to the Hoskins and after 3 long days of travel (including crossing the U.S./Mexican border on a bus at midnight). The 3 months of hanging

out and going on adventures with my buddy Liz

have come to a close, but thankfully she is only a few hours away by Megabus. It's been difficult adjusting to the laid-back pace of this week at home, but I know that in a few days my life will be quite busy and I'll be wishing for some time off again.

Thanks for supporting me in my journey this summer! It has been a challenging, encouraging, and unforgettable experience. :)

My escapades for the next while will be Chicago-based. I miss and will continue to miss the people and places I met this summer, but I trust that I will enjoy and learn from the people here as well.

Blessings.

1 more week...

I am about to leave for the airport for my 11:30 flight to Guayaquil, but I want to share a brief update before I start my last week of this summer adventure!

This past week, I was in the Quechua community of La Magdalena, Ecuador with an adult team from Pasadena, CA. We were surrounded by some of the most incredible scenery I have ever seen, including beautiful, snow-capped Cayambe and countless other magical peaks and valleys. Though I was sick for the big hiking day, I did get the chance to go on a trek across a river to find a band of horses!

In La Magdalena, we worked on a Covenant church in the town, mixing cement and chipping away some of the old structure to prepare for an addition to accommodate its growing congregation. We also worked with the team to host a children's program for the kids of the community. It was a fun-filled, albeit chilly, week of skits, singing, and building relationships with the people of the town. I wasn't needed for too much translating because of the number of Spanish speakers on the team. When I did translate, however, it proved challenging because of my inability to speak Quechua! Ah, well....I did my best. It was great to experience another culture and see how God is working yet another community.

Well....I gotta jet to finish my packing. The next and last team arrives tonight (also from Pasadena, coincidentally) and it will be a nice change to be in the heat of Guayaquil. We will be ministering with Compassion International and doing some construction. Pray that I will finish well and that the team will be able to effectively serve and build relationships with the people of Guayaquil!

Later days.

La familia de Dios

Hey, all! Sorry for the delay...I decided against posting last week in favor of video chatting with my crazy family. So this will be a whirlwind tour of the past couple of weeks in awesome Ecuador. Are you excited? You should be.

I spent my first week in Ecuador in the south of Quito, at Santiago Covenant Church. It was a really fulfilling week, and I loved being a part of strengthening the bonds between this church and a Covenant church in Colorado. The Santiago church was so open, warm, and giving, and it was truly a blessing to me, as well as the team members, to be so strongly loved and welcomed. I was able to spend some quality time with the members of the team as well as with the youth and families of the church, and it was a great time of bonding and learning hospitality from each other and better coming to grips with what the family of God is really about. One of the highlights of my week was waking up early with Liz to assist the youth from the church in their breakfast-making for the team. Some of the menu items included mote with eggs, Ecuadorian-style tamales, plantains, crepes, and a variety of coladas....nummm. :)

On the construction front, we were helping the church build a newer, structurally sound roof so that they can expand upwards in the future. It required a lot of climbing scaffolding, moving materials, and some pretty skilled labor. The team was fairly large, and the projects were not always as plentiful as we might have wished. On the last day of construction, we did a fair bit of sitting around, waiting for materials to arrive so that we could participate in some way. But toward the end of the day, we were bombarded with seemingly impossible tasks to accomplish. We needed to move giant metal roof pieces and what I like to call "rebar-mesh" over the 10-foot gate of an absent neighbor, carefully lower it down to the other side, and then somehow lift it up into the open ceiling of the second story of the church. Although we had to stay late and rearrange our schedule for the day, we managed to get all of the materials into the second-floor sanctuary with only a few minor injuries and near-death experiences.

This past week went by incredibly quickly. We were in the Amazon, in and around a town called Lumbaqui, with a team from Orlando, FL. It was a beautiful place, and adventures abounded. We were in three different communities - Lumbaqui, Cabeno, and Sinangue (a Kofan village). The team did kids' programs, held services in the Covenant churches of the area, and participated in some construction projects. There was also a woman on the team who gave fantastic haircuts to around 100 people throughout the course of the week. It was encouraging to see their enthusiasm for the gospel and for the people with whom they came into contact. It was also good for me to do a bunch of translating for haircuts, sermons, and kids' programs...I think that so much practice is increasing my confidence and making translation a little more automatic for me.

The main construction project this week was to move a church up a mountain. Literally.

Over the span of 2 days, we moved a thousand cement bricks from where they were placed to the shore of a river, across the river (on foot, in knee deep water with a current) to the bank of a small island, across the island, onto a boat, off the boat on the other side of the river, up a high, steep hill, and across the village to the church. I don't think my clothes have been this dirty the entire summer. It was exhausting, but so wonderful to be a part of.

There were so many times in the past couple of weeks when I felt God working through me, giving me the strength I needed to translate, or to help move hundreds of bricks, or to just have a positive attitude in general. I have felt encouraged by team members, by fellow Mergers, and by local communities. I am beginning to get a clearer picture of the family of God and the potential for learning and service through cross-cultural partnerships, and I so greatly appreciate all of the people who are helping me to see this!

Next week I will be in La Magdalena, in the highlands of Ecuador. I'll keep you posted on my happenings! Happy almost-August!

See-ya-laters and hey-theres

Que onda, lectores?!

I'm updating you from the home of Chris, Jenny, and Breck Hoskins in Quito, Ecuador. It is such a strange feeling to be back in this place where I spent my high school years, but I am loving it so far and can't wait to see what the next month holds!

My past two weeks were spent at the children's home Pilar de Esperanza in Reynosa. The two times I have transitioned to living there have been a bit rough at first, as the living conditions are a bit more rustic than other places we have been staying. The first day at Pilar this time, we as Merge staff subsisted mainly on powdered soy milk (which I wouldn't recommend) and granola bars....it was a good bonding experience for our team. After being there for a day or two, however, my love for the kids far surpassed any discomfort I might be feeling from the heat, the bugs, or the living situation. Despite my excitement about traveling to Ecuador, I was actually quite sad to leave the kids early Thursday morning.

The two teams we were working with in Pilar were from Lexington and Attleboro, Massachusetts. The Lexington team has been coming down for years to this orphanage, and has really developed a great relationship with that place and the children. They made some awesome crafts with the kids, including carving wooden spoons and creating Jacob's ladders, did a lot of work on the new cafeteria, and taught an English class, which I helped out with.

Partway through that week, some of my Merge buddies left to meet other teams in other lands. It was hard to say goodbye to Rachel, Nathan, and Stephanie, when I had been with them for almost a month and a half straight. I have so many fond memories of our time together and I am so grateful that I was able to make these fantastic new friends. We have already begun plans for a reunion in the near future. It was neat to be able to spend the next week at Pilar with trip facilitators, Oscar and Ellen, and their adorable daughter Anna, as well as with Gama, who coordinated work projects.

This trip for Attleboro was the first mission trip that many of the team members had ever been on. It was so neat to see how willing they were to serve and how excited and energized they were to be there. By the time we left halfway through the week, they were already making plans to come back next year. I LOVE that, because I think these kids need some stable presences in their lives more than they need people to come down for a week and do a work project.

By the time I had to leave I, too, decided that I definitely need to return to Pilar in the near future. I didn't realize that I would become so connected to the kids at this place. They are just such sweet kids and it is impossible not to love them. Many asked me when I was coming back and asked with concern who was going to translate the skits and English class. It was hard to hear them tell me how much they would miss me and tell me not to leave. But I am determined to make that goodbye more of a "see you later."

After one crazy long day of traveling to Quito with my Merge buddy Liz and a day of resting at the Hoskins' house/walking around my high school (so much has changed!), I am packing up to meet the team from Colorado who will be working at a Covenant church in the south of Quito. I think it is going to be really weird to be in Quito in this role, as it is so different from what I was doing when I lived here before, but I am excited to meet new people, see how ministry goes and discover new things along with the team. I hope and pray that the relationship with the Santiago church and the Colorado group is able to grow and thrive this week!

The next month is going to be a whirlwind tour of the country, with 4 teams in 4 different places. I hope to be able to update at some point in that time, but until then, I bid you adieu!

Thanks for all your prayers, and I hope you have a peaceful rest of July! :)

Present-ness

I am learning what it means to be present.

Last Friday, we finished up VBS at the People's Covenant Church in San Juan. Although we had done some planning before it actually began, much of the program for each day was organized the day before or that very morning. As a self-proclaimed "checker" and list maker, it was challenging for me to be so flexible. It was good to be challenged to operate in a way outside of my comfort zone...and the week was a success! We had a far greater turnout than anticipated and some of the kids said it was the best VBS they had ever attended.

This week we have been able to rest. We didn't make plans or have places to be, but I have been incredibly blessed by just living in the present this week. One awesome example of this was last Friday. After having packed up all of our stuff and moved out of the San Juan church, we headed toward the apartment of a Merge full-time staff member who is out of town. Upon arriving, we discovered that the lights were out. We tried for awhile to determine the root of the problem, eventually giving up and going to sleep on the cool tile of the otherwise oppressively hot apartment. We woke up exceedingly uncomfortable, and got in the car to seek out air conditioning. We joked about our homelessness, as we didn't know where we would stay that night. Thankfully, we were welcomed in by a couple from Dale's (Ex. Dir. of Merge) church in Mission, even though they weren't expecting us for another couple of days. I have felt so much hospitality and kindness from this couple, and being in their home this week has been an encouragement to us all.

Hurricane Alex made our lives a little more interesting yesterday, but thankfully, passed through Mexico without doing too much damage. We got some nice wind and rain, though, and secured furniture just in case. It was kind of cool to feel this sense of peace, despite the chaos of the storm. I got really excited at one point when the windshield wipers were swishing exactly in time with the music on the radio....I've never had that happen before. :P It seemed like the world was in harmony, somehow, and I just loved that moment.

I'm not sure when we're crossing the border and moving back to Pilar Esperanza. It could be any time in the next three days. But I am growing to be at peace with this feeling of not knowing...I have space to trust when I stop fretting and micro-managing.

My next update may be a while from now, so I'll give y'all a brief run-down for the weeks ahead. I'll be at Pilar for the next week and a half, then I take a bus and three planes to Ecuador with one of my fellow staff members. On the 16th, I will be with a group in South Quito, helping them minister through work projects, worship, and cell group time at a church. On the 25th, we travel to Lumbaqui (which includes a 3-hour boat ride!), in the Amazon. We'll be helping the team with some sort of work and evangelism projects. The next team arrives on August 1st, and will be doing work projects and a children's program in La Magdalena. My final team gets to Ecuador on August 10th and will be doing some work projects, a school program, and a youth program.

That's about it for now! It's going to be a crazy, busy rest of the summer, but I'm taking it one day at a time and I look forward to all the adventures still to come! :)

Peace.

Chido.

I cannot believe that it has been almost a month since I first got off the plane in McAllen! It has been an exhausting, amazing few weeks around the border.

So far, I have spent time with teams in two orphanages in Reynosa. The experiences were both wonderful and trying in their own ways. At Benito Jaurez, a team from Kansas participated in work projects and led an evening family ministry side by side with a group of awesome people from Monterrey. It was incredible to see these two teams come together and reach across any linguistic or cultural barriers to serve and develop new relationships. I end up being thrown fully into translating, so that the people from both Kansas and Monterrey would be on the same page during group meetings. I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with kids and growing increasingly more comfortable speaking Spanish.

The week at Pilar de Esperanza Children's Home was very different from Benito Juarez - the organization of the orphanage, the composition of the group (this one was largely composed of youth), and the visibility of unfamiliar creatures being just some of those differences.

Dying dogs, huge tarantulas and their babies, spiky lizards, a cat eating a rabbit under my bed are just some of the lovely animal occurrences I had the privilege of witnessing. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I became acclimated to the heat and humidity at Pilar after the first couple of days without AC. I am looking forward to spending another week and a half or so getting to know the kids at the children's home and working with 2 more groups there starting July 3rd.

So I'm back in Texas this week, hanging out with my Merge buds. We are in the middle of an awesome week of VBS with kids from the San Juan community in Texas, where I play a brave (and super rad) lion in our skits. I'm not sure what our plans for next week will be, but we may have some time to just relax and hang out. We have been talking over the past couple of days about how well we all get along. It truly is amazing how we have all come from such different situations and work so wonderfully together. I think that God has really brought us together to do some cool things, and I greatly appreciate all the prayers for us as we continue to live and work together.

Love to all!

McAllen

Greetings to all!

I am currently sitting in an apartment in McAllen, Texas, getting ready to depart on my first trip of the summer with a team from McPherson, Kansas in the morning. We are going to be ministering at the Benito Juarez Children's Home just over the border. The location and projects for this team have been switched around quite a bit in the past few weeks due to the precarious situations in parts of Mexico, but they have been incredibly flexible and willing to serve wherever they are able.

I am super excited to get this summer started! The past week has been filled with trainings and a decent dose of relaxation. We've been staying at a church in Mission, TX for most of the week and have also begun planning a VBS program for the end of the month to be hosted at a Covenant Church in nearby San Juan. I have greatly enjoyed getting to know my fellow summer staffers and really think that we are going to make a good team!

Thank you all for your prayers and support! I will try to update you all as regularly as possible, as internet access is available.

Till next time...