Like A Child

 

            Quite a bit has happened since the last time I posted! Last Sunday at the church we watched the kids perform their drama. The adults got to do their ‘exposition’ a few weeks ago, showing the church what they learned from their baptism classes. It was time for the younger kids, who Santy taught, to give their exposition in the form of a drama. It was extremely interesting to watch and even more wonderful watching my boyfriend do such a great job leading the whole service.

Who They Are

 

Santy's new buddy from Michigan, Luke

our class! don't worry- they're actually NOT miserable.

my little cousin in the mime group :)

            My last post was a little bit about who I am as a person, and, on the other side, this post is going to give you a little taste into the people of this small town that I live in here in Ecuador…

Who I'm Not

 

waiting to go in the ring with...

this big guy!

me & friends in the bull ring

baby girl for her graduationnn

            Not too much has gone on the past week, but God keeps being faithful with “Jesus Calling”. What a great devotional! It really is one of those things where every day has the perfect word. Today’s was really great because I was being weighed down by the expectations of others here in Ecuador, but today’s message read that we have ONE master and ONE man who wants us to be who we are in Him and does not expect us to be who we aren’t. It was so perfect for me today because I just have been feeling like I haven’t been involved in as much of the culture as last year. Yes, I have to deal with there not being any water during most of the day, and I work in the kitchen with my Ecuadorian host mom sometimes, and I help hand wash dishes at home, but I’m talking more about relationally. I’ve closed myself off to a lot of people here because, since college, I’ve become more emotionally distant as a person. When I got rejected for being outgoing, my “sociable” personality went down significantly to the point where I feel uncomfortable being around a bunch of people that I don’t know. This makes it hard to bond with people who come to my house here or people who come to Santy’s house. There are always a MILLION people at the house, and it bothers me. I’ve tried to open up more, but it’s become harder. So it was quite refreshing to hear that message today that, although I can push myself to be a better person, I can’t spend all my energy trying to please people in being someone that I’m not. It’s more worth it to focus energy on God, and that leads to our authenticity.

Hidden Treasures of Ecuador

me with the bulls with fire on their horns!

 

            So since the last time I’ve written, my life has been pretty interesting. That Saturday Santy was at school all day, so I just kind of hung out at his house til he got back. He got back super late, so he surprised me with purple flowers because he knows it’s my favorite color. We also got caramel apples from the parade which, like I’ve mentioned before, is like a week long! 

Ecuadorian Dynamics

            So I’m sure you’ve all been just dying to find out what I’ve been doing over the last two weeks, and I can tell you it’s been something! After I last wrote I did a bit more working at El Refugio. Friday was the church service yet again, and it was quite interesting to watch Santiago “at work”… let me tell you why.

When The Smoke Alarm Goes Off

my sissy Rebeca!

my twin brothers

            I love working with my host mom, Angelica. She is one of the sweetest and most patient people I know. I spent my first day working with her on Tuesday, and it was wonderful. If something is dropped or done wrong, she doesn’t get frustrated or overly worried. She just smiles and helps fix it. She always finds something for me to help out with, and isn’t afraid to help me experiment with cooking, even if I suck at it. Even if I’m the slowest onion cutter in the world, she’ll let me do it.