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Travel Journal: Cuenca, Day 7

Okay here we go! More catching up to do! I have lots of pictures, so hopefully it'll keep things interesting.

WEDNESDAY
(Day 7)

     Tiffany made pancakes for breakfast with cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla... SO good. Jeremy told us about the sermon series he's been working on. I think it's called "Waiting Room." While I was rinsing dishes, he asked if I'd ever been through a period of waiting on God, and what that was like. I laughed and said I've been in that kind of period since last summer began. It's a long story, but while I was on my mission trip to Ecuador in June, Jeremy prayed over me after I shared with him how direction-less I felt. I had finally decided on a major but had no idea what I was going to do with it. I felt like everything I was going through was a kind of preparation, but I had no idea for what. I told God I wanted to do what he wanted, and I didn't feel like I was receiving any guidance. Each of those things has intensified to some degree over this fall semester. 

It's all come sort of full circle - beginning with him praying over me in June and commencing with his family allowing me to invade their home for two weeks while I take an extended Sabbath and try to figure out a little more of what God's asking for in this next season of my life. Anyway, I continued to explain that I've been frustrated because I don't know what it is that I'm being prepared for, but I know that if I want to live a life of one faith step at a time, then this is pretty much the scenario that I signed up for. God's not going to freak me out by giving me all the vision at once, so I have to be okay with hanging on his every word and listening for the next direction. That's what I said I wanted! Because I want to live my life dependent on my Father, I have to embrace the uncertainty and the potential frustrations of not having everything all figured out. 

"Thank you for the wildnerness
where I learned to thirst for your presence
if I'd never known that place
how could I have known You are better?

Thank you for the lonely times 
where I learned to live in the silence
as the other voices fade
I can hear You calling me, Jesus

And it's worth it all just to know You more"

     We headed downtown and Tiffany showed me around a few shops, places I will be returning to for Christmas presents. Then I stopped by the office to see if I could go to lunch with anyone, because I didn't have plans until 2 pm. They were watching a movie, so I stepped out and chatted with Gina for 36 minutes.

(This is how excited we were to see each other again.)

By the time we head to Passion conference together with our college group in January, it will have been almost a whole month since we've seen each other. Ew. That's all I have to say about that. 

     For lunch we walked all the way to the other side of town to an apparently esteemed little hole in the wall called El Brujo, where we each had a traditional almuerzo. And then we stopped again for helados rosados. Which made me very happy. Against my better judgment, I ate three. Even though we were roughly two hours behind schedule, we made it back to the church and were on our way to film by four. Nino and the gang have been working on a short film and they asked me if I would have a little part in it. So we drove around a bit until Nino decided on the location where he wanted to shoot. Then this happened...

(Javi, trying not to die while filming on the hood of the car. Nino, laughing his head off at Javi's near death experience.)

Then we finally go to go to Turi! Seems like everybody's been asking me about going all week so it was exciting to sightsee for a bit. (Turi is a touristy bit of Cuenca, the highest point where you can see the entire city, there's an old church and a big swing, etc. We just drove up to the lookout.) 




     We had to finish early because Nino had to be back at the cafe at six. So we wrapped up for the day but we're not actually done... I'm not sure when I'm going to have to finish my part. I headed home. Took the bus by myself again. Got crammed in amidst a probably unsafe amount of people. (Seriously, my hips were locked in by other people's hips on both sides. I might be small but ain't nobody that small.) I had to hang on to the handle above me with both hands to try and control how much I was flung around while the bus driver sped us home. And yet, it was a successful trip in that I got off at the right stop and got home in a reasonable amount of time with no unintentional detours throughout the neighborhood.

     I was on babysitting duty last night, which meant making parmesan noodles and watching Evan Almighty. We're a pretty sophisticated crew. Then I stayed up until almost 1:30 am catching up on blog posts. I'm hoping that tonight won't be a repeat occurrence. But I'm excited to continue with today's post next and finally be back on track...

     Oh! Last thing. I said this post would discuss the idea of moving to Ecuador. Basically, the first two paragraphs above are about all the insight I have on that issue. In short, I've thought about it (short term or long term). A major motivation for this trip was seeing how my heart might be moved closer to the possibility of being a real life missionary. I told God I was interested. I told him I'd do it if that's what he has for me. I haven't really heard a whole lot of specifics from him on the subject. 

One step at a time... (:

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