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!
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