My last day

Late to bed...early to rise...

Dear Jesus this is my last day and I'm trusting you to see me through it.

Well 6:30 in the morning mom and I head to the orphanage...One last morning to help with all the precious babies.

Here they are....smiles shining through the tears....kinda like me....What has Ecuador done to me?

One last chat with the guard, one last wall to the tienda, one last walk with my sisters, one last look out my window, one last chat in Spanish with my baby sister, one last time to eat sharma and see all the people who have come to mean so much to me over the last 6 weeks....

My heart is breaking....I'm really leaving....O God, I'm trusting you!

Leaving....

I'm leaving tomorrow.....

Do you know how hard it is to swallow those words..... do you know how difficult it is to pack up my suitcases and take my sisters to the airport and leave this place that my heart had grown to love... not once.... but two times over!

I know the time spent here is so minimal compared to my time at home but the things I have experienced here have touched my heart and changed my life.

So I'm going home tomorrow....I will pack my suitcases and I will finish saying goodbye to everything that is dear to me here and I will get on the plane and I will take my sisters home.... but once again Wisconsin won't get the same girl that left. I will have to go back to work and adjust to life at home and there are many things I'm looking forward to again.... but I know that it will never quite be the same..... Ecuador has stolen even more of me....

There are so many things I want to stick in my suitcase and take back with me.... like 25 children, and my favorite soda and the most amazing potato chips and my regular bottle of grape juice that I have drank almost everyday and the fresh bread and the typical food and the fruit and the avocados and....so much more!

Then there are the experiences.... like walking out in the morning and being greeted by all the security guards as I walk down the street, the nice man that cut my hair, the friendly waiter that spoke English, the tienda vendor...Each one holds a special place....Each will be missed....

Maybe it's harder because I have to leave part of my family here when I want so badly to stay with them but either way tonight is my last night here and it's so hard to leave this place I love!

Covi

HELLO!!!
Yes, I am still in Ecuador and I am still a live and I know I am over due for an update! :)

These last couple of weeks have been very busy for me, I have had some more opportunity's to volunteer and I went to Covi one day this week and one the day before. This was a ministry that I was able to go to once with Natasha, so it was really a blessing to be able to go back.

It is a ministry for school aged children that have family's but have a bad family life or their family's live in poverty. Here the children only go to school for half a day so the children that go to school in the morning come in the afternoon and vice versa.  The children come to Covi to have a good meal, get help with homework, have a safe place to stay, get their clothes washed and have people to look after them. It is really a sweet place to be and see these children and how they are flourishing in this setting the lady that oversees this ministry has such a heart for these children! She patiently talks with them, helps them, feeds them, prays for them and teaches them about the Lord.

I also met a group of people who are on the World Race. It is a mission trip where they go to 11 different country's in 11 months. They are three months in so it has been really fun to get to know them and hear about their adventures thus far!

Another huge blessing is the new Psychologist speaks good English and loves his job so I was able to talk to him a lot about his job, what he does and each of the children, their backgrounds and their struggles. It was such an amazing blessing! I know not everyone wants to talk to Psychologist all day but after all it is what I am studying at the moments in school.... it was amazing to get some "hands on" information! :)

It is a busy place, serving around 50 children Monday -Friday, but it is a fun place where children play and laugh, where songs of praise are sung to God, where children have someone to look after them and care for them and someone to help with their homework. Yes, I actually did help a little boy do his homework in Spanish. I'm not sure if it was harder for him or for me! But it was good for both of us I'm sure.

I know it is strange for me to do a blog post with no pictures, but some things are better remembered in your heart and that seems to be how the days that I spent at Covi are, they were sweet and wonderful days that I won't ever forget....

To sweet for pictures....

We have continued to spend day's at the orphanage....

I just love it!
I just adore the children!
I love the tias! They are as amazing and hard working as ever!
But I been simply reveling in the moments and forgetting to take pictures....
My heart can remember these moments so well, a photo just can't seem to capture what I see....

Sometimes I play with each child, I watch each one play, I get each one to smile and laugh, I pray for them and for their future forever family's! Each one is so dear, so precious, so perfect....Words just can't explain it!

The tears, the smiles, the joy or sadness that you see in their eyes...the healing or the pain...they are so real, so honest, so perfectly made in the image of God!

The last morning I was there, the tia that watches the babies had to take the youngest to the hospital so I watched the other two babies. The one was very, very fussy and I have no idea why! So I broke every rule in the orphanage book of rules and I held him (for a long time!), I bounced him, I hugged him and played with him and he finally fell asleep...so I laid him down and he woke up awhile later just screaming so I picked him up and rocked him.....until he fell asleep....then I rocked until I fell asleep.....

So baby G and senorita Brianna slept on in the rocking chair....I'm not sure who was happier?...
It was one of those moments that I will never forget...the peaceful happy baby in my arms and the feelings of purpose and fulfillment. I know there is never anything else I will ever do that will be more important than this.

Father of the Fatherless and Protector of Widows is God in His holy habitation. 

My heart is growing sad as I count the days to go back home....but I look forward to the future and seeing how God is going to twine all of this into my future and what He has for me! I'm so excited! But first I need to write this outline...so I can write my paper....so I can get a good grade....so I can graduate.... and then....but wait, thankfully I don't have to wait to serve God and I know that he has many opportunity's for me to serve Him waiting at home....so one step at a time.....

My Heart

I forgot what it was like to be sun-burnt, (ya I think I may be the reddest person in Ecuador!)
                                                         exhausted,        
                                                                     and emotional spent.
As Ecuador has a special way of doing to me......

Honestly it's hard being in a foreign country! I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything! But it is very hard, you spend all day trying to understand people, customs and a way of life that is far different. Not to mention constantly fighting a language barrier....It is physically painful sometimes when you want to talk to people and communicate on a level that is impossible because you simply can not understand each other or do not know how to communicate what you want to say. So I guess these are the situations where you find out what you are really made of.....I don't have my best friend next door to call over, I can just hop in my car and drive; the challenges are right here and not going anywhere....but must be embraced....So when the day has been long or the night has been short....I have this beautiful view to look out on and say, Thank you Lord!

Thank you for the challenges and thank you for showing my more of myself. Thank you for not deserting me but walking with me.

I think being here is a good reminder that I am only a stranger passing through this world....it wasn't made for my comfort...it wasn't made to last forever....we only have a short time.....so what really is important?

The most important things to me are my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and the souls of men that are lost without Him. Then I wonder am I giving everything for the cause of these two things?

A different sort of Hospital

On Sunday afternoon I was asked to visit with a little boy who was at the hospital. He has been in the hospital for at least 5 days and the tia had been with him the entire time! They never leave a child at the hosptial alone so she had not left him. I was very excited at the opportunity but still the experiences never cease to amaze me!

How could I, a white girl from America, be given such a wonderful opportunity? There is honestly nothing I would rather do in the world than spend my afternoon with a child who bares the title of being an orphan. If only you could have only been with me! If only you could have only looked into his sweet and weak eyes. If only you could have only seen what I seen I know you would feel the same way. Orphans have a way of changing your life forever... they are so innocent that they don't even mean too, but you know you will never be the same.

For them it's their life...for me it's a passion!

I found myself being dropped off on a street corner with directions to the bedside of a sick little prince charming (and did he ever win me over!). I followed directions and a kind guard showed me to cama 23. Lets just say it is an amazing feat to make it through an Ecuadorian Hospital with my Spanish skills and get where you need to go...obviously God was going before me.

I walked into a bare room! Coming from a small town hospital in the States..... to here...(I don't even think I will be able to take anyone's complaints seriously anymore....) I practically swallowed my tongue! I walked in the room and seen enough violations to get me fired! But miraculously this little boy is on the mend. It's amazing all the things that we "think" we need that apparently people can really live without.....

 He has had a blood transfusion a few day's earlier, he was very weak and wasn't up to talking very much, so I did the talking and he just nodded his head...I used my limited Spanish and read to him. I smiled and told him my Spanish needs some more practice... to which he rewarded me with a small smile. Dinner came and interrupted us.... he sat up, with one arm curled up next to him and the other armed with a HUGE soup spoon. He ate up his soup then attacked his pile of white rice and jabbed at his chicken leg. Somehow we got his chicken leg cut up into eatable bites for a sick boy and he ate what he could then collapsed back into bed and curled up for the afternoon. So I sat and studied Spanish.....

He dozed in and out...you would have thought that it didn't matter if I was there or not....

I didn't do much....

I helped him eat lunch, I read him a chapter from his book and talked to him a little. I shut the window and tucked him in. Then I sat their waiting and praying for this sweet little boy....

The question that swirled in my head.....What will the rest of his life look like?

Eventually it was time to leave...his caregiver had not returned yet, so I tucked him in, whispered in his ear, and kissed his cheek...and I swear...there were tears glistening in his eyes...but I didn't mind, because mine were glistening right back....

I don't understand why God allowed me to live the life I have..... I used to think I had it so rough...wait, sometimes I still do....what is wrong with me? When I look in the mirror tonight I only see a girl who has been so blessed that she should be the first in line to give up anything that is asked of her.....I want to be that girl, God make this self-centered person into that girl...

3 Weeks down........

.........3 more to go!

I'm already sad.... I don't want to leave!!

I know I still have three weeks.

So I'm going to enjoy every moment of it and learn as much Spanish as I can before I have to go back home!

Mindo....

It has been so enjoyable and wonderful to show my family around Quito and show them the places and people that mean so much to me....

Admittedly they have not been as excited as I am about some things...like buses...they have all but refused to ride on them....and the food....after being terribly sick for 3 days my dad and brothers are very scared to eat anything (though I can't entirely blame them...).

Although admittedly it is far different to be here with an entire family than when it was just me to worry about....I have 6 people that don't know a lick of Spanish, don't know there way around the city at all and don't know anything about living here (though they all are catching on quite quickly!) and one little one that doesn't understand all the rest and is trying to adjust to living in a new family and then there is me....the one who relied on other people, to get me around and speak Spanish for me in sticky situations....but now its just me....(but I also have some amazing friends who have been very helpful with directions and advice, I am very thankful!).

So I wanted to give my family another Ecuadorian experience, which included getting up early, getting to the bus station, buying tickets and getting 8 people safely on the bus and headed two hours out into the country....At first I thought it was a great idea, but the evening before as I planned out every detail...I started to think maybe not...could I really do this safely with my Spanish skills? Well at 2 in the morning apparently my mind decided not...because I didn't sleep a wink after that...morning finally came...and we all set out the door...for the adventure of a life time!! Or so they tell me....

Well we flagged two taxis I gave directions and prayed we would end up at the same bus terminal...Perfect! We landed in the same spot at almost the same time and I was the only one that got ripped off...the bus was just getting ready to pull out and amazingly enough it had 8 spots left to fill!! Chance? I think not! We set off and true Ecuadorian style...the bus was stopping...people were selling...people were moody....baby's were fussing....we seen a car on it's side....almost seen another accident on a narrow mountain road.... and ya they pretty much got it all wrapped up in one bus trip!

We arrived had no problem bought our return tickets and I was just praising the Lord! We were in the county, it smelled good, looked good and everyone enjoyed our day in Mindo!

It is a beautiful and unique place! I wrote down all the suggestions so first off we headed for a hostel where we could watch some birds....

 It was beautiful, peaceful and relaxing! The owner has over 100 different kinds of birds that go there to eat. The air was filled with birds!

This little beauty enjoyed the birds too!

After enjoying the relaxing atmosphere we headed off to explore the rest of the town!

 Heading off to go canopying!

Here is Harmony coming in a for a landing!

Here comes Hope!

Aaron having a hanging good time!

Micah more than enjoyed the mountains and the cows he spotted!

There goes a butterfly....

 and here comes super women!

Taking a break from the treks up the mountain!

 The whole crew!

We are getting our exercise in at all the parks! Ok, well I needed it after stopping to get a world famous Mindo brownie! Ok, well maybe not world famous, but they are amazing!

And here is our ride home! I forgot how comforting it could feel to have a bus under you after a long day! We made it to the bus terminal and two taxi's were waiting there.....we made it home safe and sound and soooo grateful!

It was a wonderful day and I think it will be a day my family will always remember.....

Ecuador

I can't believe how coming back to Ecuador literally felt like going home...I know I only lived here for three short months!And my Spanish is not very good....but minor details right? Well I guess when compared to the perfect will of God....YES!! At the sight of Ecuadorians I nearly flipped, I was so excited, and seeing some of their customs and normality's make me even more excited to go back and share all of these experiences with my family.

I'm here, and I love it! All the things that seemed so strange to me seen so normal. I had forgotten how much I love this language, the people and this country. It's amazing to share this with my family. The taxi and bus rides, the friendliness of the people, the Spanish language, the empanada's, the cheese bread, the mountains, the sights, the sounds....ok well most of them!

Some things I had forgotten about...like throwing the toilet paper in the garbage or how hard it is to go grocery shopping sometimes or how much people stare or how cold the nights are...ok nothing else coming to mind at the present....

I know that I already love this country more than ever! If only I could speak more Spanish! Well I'm working on it. But I was quite amazed when I was able to flag the taxi, have a successful shopping trip and get dropped off right at the door of our house! :) Natasha I cannot say thank you enough! Thank you for putting up with me and thank you for your translating advice! I'm putting it to good use. I have to say my Spanish vocabulary is rapidly growing... having a Spanish speaker in the house is defiantly helping! I love it!

Even the uneven sidewalks, the one hour (it seemed that long, I think it was only like 30-45 min.) that it took for us to get taxi's to come to our door to pick up the sick family members, the translators, the people asking for a different amount of change or telling us they have change then they run off to find someone else that does....they all remind me where I am and its funny how the things that use to bother me, I know just expect and don't get bothered by it at all! It's an adventure...take the ride...I was a little nervous when moms card got stuck in the ATM machine....but God provided, we found help and moms card came out and I sighed with relief!

One fortunate thing about people finding our your Spanish is not so good is pretending not to understand the all to friendly taxi drivers questions...a ya lo siento..."shrug shoulders"....smile.... :)

Loving these babies!

Last time I was in Ecuador, I was only here to play with children...(not officially) but in reality that is what I mostly did. I loved it! I have found there was hardly a more important job I could do! But this time it is different I am here for my sister's adoption. There are other jobs and things I must do but I have had a couple chances (and hopefully will have a couple more) to play with the few children that I know that are still at the orphanage and meet all the new ones! I have to grab all the pictures I can because they are so precious to me and to a few other people I know that will want to see them! It feels so amazing to be back and spend time with them, to see how they have grown and progressed yet still see their shining personality's and how each one would benefit from being in a family. It is still just as tempting to scoop them all up and take them home! I know that adoption is expensive, I know its hard, I know they won't be "your own"...but honestly the more excuses you can come up with the more I know that you really don't understand....please look at these faces...remember these faces....and know that there are million's more just like them....but most of them are worse off...

I love these children because they deserve it!

I love these children because they changed my life!

I love these children because they cause me to see the world through different eyes.

I love these children because God loves them and requires us love them.

Open you eyes and love them too!

This little guy has grown up so much! Natasha and I were there when he and his sister were brought in. He still loves hugs and kisses and is the sweetest little boy I've ever known!

This little boy still lights up the world with his smile! He is amazing and his accomplishments are no small feat!

This doll was just a preemie when I last seen her and she has grown up and developed remarkably!

This little one found a friend!

He loved my dad!

These tias never cease to amaze me! It's amazing to see them again and how they are still caring for and loving His children. 

This little guy is now over 2 years old and he has changed so much! God is intervening on his behalf and I hope that soon he and his two siblings can have a family together!

On Saturday morning a couple of us went to the baby house early to help feed and dress babies, it felt like I had never left! Of course only two children are still there but the needs are the same and the love that they need and receive is the same....God bless these hard working tias!

Harmony's first attempt at feeding a baby and she did very well!

I'm not sure if Dad enjoyed them more or if they enjoyed dad more but either way the tias enjoyed Dad helping give bottles to the baby's.

This little guy was a little upset to be left out of the mix.

Hopey sure enjoyed playing with all of the children!

This little doll stole my heart very quickly and easily....and people think it's hard to stay single....they don't know what they are missing out on!

Yep, as usually the naughty one is in the crib.....

So many girls in one place!

More bottles....

more toys...

This little guy has improved so much through hard work and therapy! It makes me want to hold him and just cry...but he would rather play and be happy!

More babies than he has arms for!

Of course we had to dress all the pretty little girls.......

This one was just a preemie last time I seen her! Now she is going to take my sister's place in the toddler house.

Well I guess we did our job well! All tuckered out....

Sometimes joy is found in the most unthought of places....so remember these faces....don't just see their pain....because they just see themselves as children.....but see the happiness and joy that they are....then see the need....not pity.....pity is worthless....but needs can be met...

will you remember me?