Ecuador Recap

I am finally getting a moment to sit down and recap everything that happened during our amazing week in Ecuador.

 We kind of slacked off while we were there because, as you can imagine, we were just so tired at night. All we wanted to do was go to bed ASAP. So, I hope you can accept the fact that you get to read about a few days all at once. (Get ready for a LONG post!)

Ruthie last talked about our second day there which was our first day to do VBS in Las Marias. God continued to bless us throughout the week as we had more and more kids come each day! I am not sure what our final count was for the last day but it was in the 100s for sure! 

It seemed like everyday we had a new challenge to face with the building we were using. The second day of VBS they informed us that they were going to start painting the inside walls and we could only use half of the room, and it was other little things that happened just like that for the rest of the week. We didn't think we were even going to be able to use the building on Friday for the carnival, but thankfully God showed up in HUGE ways for us. Our team worked together so well and all the challenges that were thrown at us ended up being total non-issues. It was great! On Friday we ended up being able to use the building for the carnival, no problem, meaning that all the kids and parents who were there were able to sit inside and hear Matt preach the gospel! 

Our third day we were there we went to the Equator museum to meet some kids that were in an Ecuadorian traditional dance group. We did a little dance of our own for them (just a LITTLE embarrassing for us considering it was just motions to a song from our VBS at home...they were way better dancers for sure). After we danced, we made bracelets with them and then they danced for us! It was so cool to see these young kids doing the traditional dances and they were really good. After they danced Matt preached and a lot of them prayed to receive Jesus! 

I hope and pray (and invite you to pray!) that they truly understood and will continue to seek him all of their lives. 

The last thing we did, just like at the preschool the day before, was give them all their goody bags we put together with all the clothes and stuffed animals. The looks on their faces were priceless and it was so precious to watch them pull stuff out of the bags and hold it up to show all their friends. As we were passing out the bags one by one, it seemed like we weren't going to have enough for all the kids, but it was totally a Jesus multiplying the fish moment. We had EXACTLY enough. Praise the Lord!

Showing off our dancing skills. 

The kids!

After we passed out the bags, we had a few extra stuffed animals that we threw out to the crowd. It was like we had a t-shirt gun at a football game or something :)

All the girls in the baptismal with two of our lovely translators.

 The next day after VBS we held a tea for the ladies at the Las Marias community center. We headed to the hotel to get all fancied up in our darling maxi skirts and stopped to get lots of delicious treats for the ladies on the way back! We decorated the tables with pink, pink, and more PINK. We had pink table cloths and lots of pink roses. (You would not believe how CHEAP roses were there. We got a lot for the price that a dozen would cost here.) When the ladies arrived they filled their plates to the max with all the goodies we had set out. So much so that we had to go get more food because we didn't have enough. Kelli had a little journal that said "Jesus mi amigo" for each lady and guess what?? Yet again, we had EXACTLY enough journals for each lady. God is SO GOOD and he is so IN CONTROL. He never ceases to blow my mind with his power. 

Our little program that we put on consisted of all of us singing "Eres mi amigo fiel" ("I am a friend of God" in English), an ice breaker contest to see who got to take home the rose centerpieces, a little interpretive dance/drama to the song "Who am I?" in spanish, Kelli bringing the gospel, and our two youngest singing "At the Cross." Everyone did such a great job, all the details came together beautifully, and I was so blessed by seeing these ladies have such a great time!

This was after they wiped us clean at the food table!

The lady half of our team looking pretty!

I must add this even though I don't know very much about it and don't have any pictures. All of these afternoons while us ladies were doing our thing, the manly half of our team was working hard building a wall for a family in the Las Marias community. They worked very hard and did an amazing job. I know they completely changed that families life and it was all in the name of Jesus :)

The last day of VBS we got to have our Carnival in the evening! We had a bunch of different stations with games and prizes for the kids to win and we also fed them some delicious looking (NOT) hot dogs. After the fun time, each group of kids got to sing in front of everyone, we had some special music, and Matt brought the gospel. Again, a lot of people prayed to accept Jesus as their savior and I pray that they truly believe that that is the ONLY WAY and the REAL TRUTH. It was so exciting to see all the life change and seeds being planted in those families' lives and the community as a whole.

Mindy was so brilliant to think of this idea to hang our crafts everyday.

This is Melany. She was one of my favorites, but she was a MESS.

Matthew was a great sport being all the characters for the bible story each day. This was Jesus.

I got to hold one of the girls cat one day while she did her craft. I have to admit I was a little nervous that I would get fleas or something, but no worries!

Isaac! Probably my favorite boy :)

Photo booth fun at the carnival!

I could have held this sweet girl all day! She was such a happy baby. 

It was so sad to leave these kids that night. I just wanted to bring them home!

The very last day we were there we did a little sight seeing in Quito. We went back to the equator museum and got to see all the cool stuff about forces on either side of the line. We got to try to balance an egg on a nail but unfortunately I couldn't do it. If you were ever wondering, it is true that the toilets flush the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere. All water spins the other way due to the coriolis effect (you're welcome for the free educational portion of this blog :P). We also saw the middle of the world monument.  I'm not sure if that was exactly what it was called, but it was a pretty cool place and had a lot of shopping! And to continue in the shopping mood, we ended our tourist day by going to the indian market in Quito which had A TON of stuff for good prices. It was fun to haggle prices and bargain with the store owners to get the best deals! 

Standing on different sides of the world.

Middle of the World monument

One of our translators, Nata, and I after dinner at Crepes and Waffles. So glad I got to meet her!

On the plane ride home I was completely amazed, yet again, at how wonderful of a God we serve. He made me realize so much this week how amazing it is that he created, knows, and loves EVERY SINGLE person on this planet just as much as he loves me. Just reflecting on the week while looking out at the incredible clouds took my breath away and made me so thankful for all that he did. The pictures I took with my phone don't quite do it justice but that is what I will leave you with.