Well hello again, world wide web. We've been without wifi at the house since Monday night, which is why I haven't posted the last two updates. Just so we're all clear - I'm alive and breathing and (almost) completely healthy. But we've got some catching up to do, so let's knock these reflections out. I've been wasting time, staring at the computer for a while, not being able to write for some reason. We'll see how this goes...
MONDAY
(Day 5)
When I came downstairs for breakfast, we had fried eggs and toast. So day made right there. (Fried eggs are among the things that I never ever get while living on campus.) It was a good start. I hopped on the bus with Jeremy on his way to work, and then took off down the street to stop by the church office. My friend Gaby and I planned to meet at 11 am, and I was going to grab my forgotten notebook and Bible from the office while I waited for that time to come around. But I ran into her there! So I ended up waiting just a few minutes in Javi's office while Gaby finished getting ready to go. We made small talk for a bit and then he asked, "What is God saying about moving here?" I mulled that over for a minute, and then had to answer truthfully: "I don't know." (To be addressed in Day 7's post...hold tight, people.)
I was really nervous about leaving with Gaby for the day. I knew I would have to speak Spanish all afternoon and I wasn't sure my vocabulary, grammar skills, or confidence were up for that task. This was not helped by the moment when all three of us were in the office and she said a quick sentence, then turned to walk out. I said "adios" to Javi... and then he had to tell me, "She said she's coming right back." Yeah, I didn't catch that. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling like I had mastered the Spanish language well enough to sustain conversation throughout the unforeseen amount of hours ahead. But I have to say, I did pretty well! People keep telling me my Spanish is good and I need to trust myself. I'm trying to take their advice. I want so badly to be fluent someday. This trip is really helping me, I know.
Gaby and I left with her little son and I got to be a tourist for the day. We drove outside of Cuenca through a town called Gualeceo to get to a smaller town called Chordeleg. Gaby was an excellent tour guide. She gave me facts and tidbits about our surroundings as we drove. I heard about landslides and zoos and also fun stories about friends from church (while they weren't around to interject). We walked around the shops in Chordeleg to look at artesanías and I bought a few memory things to bring home with me (a backpack, a Cuenca bracelet, and a tiny handmade Nativity scene). Next we drove a little back the way we came and stopped at el Río Santa Barbara. This was by far my favorite part of the whole day. The weather was absolutely beautiful. The sun was bright and warm on my skin and yet the breeze kept it cool enough to be perfectly comfortable. We walked all along one side of the river, and then crossed over the bridge and walked down the other side. On the return trip, Gaby's son and I took off our socks and shoes and waded into the freezing water, looking for the best rocks. We grinned through our complaints about how cold it was and finished our escapade with handfuls of natural souvenirs. I can't explain how picturesque the experience was, so here are some snapshots that capture it better than my words:
This last one of the river is my favorite picture that I've taken so far. After letting the sun dry us off, we made our way to the car and drove back through Gualeceo. I hadn't eaten lunch, so Gaby stopped at a mercado to make sure I tried one of the snacks she had been asking me about during the afternoon. I had a tortilla de choco, which was tastier than expected (think pancake, but more made out of corn meal with some sweet pieces of actual corn in there as well). And I finally got to have jugo de mora, so the day couldn't get any better from there (it's my favorite drink here - blackberry juice).
It was such a good day. My nose and forehead were a little unhappy with how much sun I got, but I couldn't even complain because I was so happy while it was happening. Being outside all afternoon, walking the river, drinking in all the deliciously fresh air - it was most definitely a little bit of heaven on earth. There is nowhere in Florida that makes me relish God's creation the way I did by the river on Monday. We had the windows down on the way home and I was content to just stare outside, admiring the mountains, being incredibly thankful. I was thinking that I still can't believe I get to be here. I still can't believe that this gets to be my life for two weeks. I feel so so SO blessed to even be able to take this trip and live this out.
When I got back to town, Javi and I ran over to the place where we put money on the bus card I was using because the card had cracked and wasn't working for me anymore. We got redirected to a difference place down the street, where the lady told us that she couldn't do it and we needed to come back on Wednesday. When I asked Javi what reason she had given, he shrugged and said he wasn't going to ask her why because he knew that the reason she would give him wouldn't be a real one or a good one anyway. So he didn't bother. I include this little story as a reminder that no matter how beautiful the scenery and how powerful the activity of God in the local church... this is still a foreign country and there are still random things that are just weird.
Our evening ended with a birthday party for Pastor Miguel's daughter at Bobby's house. It was nice being in the middle of a family gathering. A Kingdom family, mismatched group of Ecuadorians and North Americans, but with all the markers of a traditional get-together (kids running around together and hollering everywhere, a bustle of food preparation, people being late, plenty of laughs, storytelling, and good-natured teasing). When we left to get the kids to bed, I got to ride in a taxi for the first time since being here. We successfully navigated the guy to our house (apparently giving anyone specific directions here has been a struggle) and came home to discover that the wifi was offline. So began the internet-less day and a half, where we felt a little disconnected from the outside world and endured what Jeremy jokingly titled: "Missionary Kid Problems."
TUESDAY
(Day 6)
(Day 6)
Don't worry, this recap will be pretty short. For starters, this is the only picture I have from Tuesday...
I sent this to my roommate Kendall while I told her what a rainy, dreary, CHILLY day I had woken up to. Seriously. I was freezing from the time I got out of bed to the time I was falling asleep again that night. I always get cold very easily anyway, but this kind of persistent drizzly cold got in my bones and would not let me get comfortable. I also woke up thinking I was a bit sick, so that obviously didn't help matters. I didn't necessarily feel sick, I just felt weird. Something was definitely off. My skin gets really sensitive when I have a low grade fever (yeah I know that's weird too) so I couldn't figure out if that's what was going on or if it was just my sunburn. When I was settled into the couch, ready to fall back asleep at 10:30 am, I decided to call it sickness and give myself permission to take a nap. So I did.
I started the morning in Scripture and was once again amazed at the fact that we have record of the actual words of Jesus. I think we take this for granted a lot, especially because we have such easy access to the Word of God in our part of the world. But this is seriously incredible when you stop to think about it. I know I whine a lot about not knowing how to hear from God. And yet at ANY moment, we can crack open a Bible and soak in the literal words of our Savior. Amazing. (Lord, forgive me for not being actively thankful for that, for slacking off in my reading and learning, and for neglecting your words.)
When I migrated downstairs to the couch, I brought my journal with me and read through what I had written over the last month or so. There were a lot of eye-openers. I'm grateful all over again that I enjoy keeping a journal, because it is priceless to be in possession of a record of God's faithfulness in each of my specific struggles and circumstances. I can't help but shake my head and laugh at the internal whirlwind that I muddled through over the past weeks. I honestly have no idea what end God has been moving me toward, but I'm learning more and more how to trust his character even when I can't see the working of his hand (I paraphrased that from somewhere, don't give me credit for that sentence). Anyway. I'm blessed to have moments where I do see the working of his hand, and I'm grateful that he's teaching me to know him so well that I'd recognize his movement anywhere.
The rest of the day passed very quickly. After lunch, I took a hot shower and fell back asleep for a couple hours. (Pause: A cat just approached the sliding glass door and scared me so badly. I really want to go outside and pet it but I know it's cold and I'm tired and I also really want to finish so maybe that's not a great idea. It's really cute though. My focus needs more focus.) When I rolled out of bed again, I heard commotion downstairs and knew that Javi, Nino, and Gaby were at the house to work on their short film. Turns out I missed all the excitement and they were just leaving, after filming Jeremy and Tiffany's section of the story. The evening was a blur of activity. My barely-there fever had broken after some ibuprofen and the second nap, so I jumped into the commotion while we made dinner and dessert, the landlord's whole family showed up to make repairs, Miguel and his wife showed up to translate for the landlord's family, Miguel and Sylvia needed dinner before they left again, and then we finally sat down and ate together (homemade chicken pot pie and strawberry cobbler). Tiffany chose what she wanted to watch, we both did our nails, and Jeremy sat through a "girly" movie as we wound down for the night. We ended up talking for about thirty minutes after the movie ended, mostly while Jeremy quizzed us on old song lyrics and acted horrified when neither of us knew any of the random artists he was naming.
So that was a "short" relay of my Tuesday. Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to catch up by doing Day 7's post in the morning. Now I'm going to sleep. If you have some spare minutes, listen to this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9mAD9bvHCs
It's been playing in my head for the last three days and I listened to it at least 10 times in a row while writing this. It's a heartfelt prayer.
All I want is:
everything you are and nothing
Jesus if you're not my one thing
everything to me right now
I want nothing but to know you
and to be with you, my God
Buenas noches. Dios te bendiga.
Mucho amor de Cuenca.
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