My adventures in Cuenca Ecuador

Hey Everyone! 

Wow I have really lost track of time. I have realized I have not blogged in a whole month! I guess I got lost in time honestly. I want to apologize that I have not kept y’all up to date this past month but I would love to fill you in! 

This month has been incredible to say the least. We have been in Cuenca, Ecuador which is such a beautiful town. We have been spoiled this month under the care of Bob and Lori, our hosts. They are from New Jersey and they moved here 8 years ago to plant a church and that’s exactly what they did. They have a beautiful home that they have allowed us to stay in which is a rare occurrence so I’ve been told on the race. We also had warm showers all much which is also a rare perk to have! We have gotten poured into this month by the church community here.  I have had ups and downs and all arounds this month. I have had times I felt useless and times I felt God was far but his faithfulness has been evident. I hope y‘all enjoy this read. I am thankful that I get to share with you all! 

To start off, I would like to tell you all about the amazing Venezuelan couple I got to live with. Their names are Audri and Gregorio. Oh, and I cannot forget about their baby, Mathias! Wow what an incredible month spent with them. We have gotten to spend so much time with them just hanging out and talking. Gregorio speaks English and Spanish and Audri speaks only Spanish. They both have been helping us learn Spanish and we have had many laughs. Including the time I accidentally told Audri I will stab Mathias… thankfully she knew I just translated wrong meaning to say I will take good care of Mathias… LOL what a time that was. Mathias is an incredible baby. He is getting to that age where he is developing a personality. He also now loves to shake his head no. Funny because Audri and Gregorio actually taught him to do that. Who teaches their child no? It was hilarious. It has been so cool to see Mathias grow and also see Audri and Gregorio grow as well. Through our time here I have seen them love each other more and more. They are both just coming to know the Lord and I know he is working through them. I’ve seen them reconcile in the presence of the Lord. It was refreshing to watch a couple surrender. I know the Lord is going to transform their relationship as he surrounds them by healthy couples. I am so grateful to know both Audri and Gregorio and I am so happy to know Mathias. 

We have had so many different ministry opportunities this past month. We have gotten to help start up a cafe that Gregorio and Audri will soon run on their own, we have gotten to teach people from the church english, we got to go to an indigenous town called Jima and repaint a school and play with children, we have gotten to babysit for a few families in the church, and we have been able to have a kids church service to tell them about Christmas! The heart of the cafe is to make people feel welcomed and loved. The idea is that if they can get people to enjoy coffee and lunch at the cafe they can build intentional relationships with people from the community and share the gospel. The cafe is also right across the street from the church so it’s also a great opportunity to get people linked in with a Christian church which is not common here in Ecuador. I was very afraid to teach English because I do not even know Spanish well but I went in confident and met a little boy named Josué. He is eight years old and he was so shy. Through the time spent with him he opened up more and more and tried harder and harder.  When we went to Jima I met so many kids who were so loving. We got to play soccer and just talk and hangout with them and show them Gods love. Also painting the school was nothing I have ever done before but I loved it! I got to even paint a little inside the school on the walls to create cute little pictures. The families we have gotten to babysit for have really poured into us. They have taught us many lessons about walking with the Lord and have loved us so well and we got to love on their kids. Ed and Miriam have 4 kids including Israel, Isabella, Adelina, and Eddy. They are from Virginia originally and they are now missionaries here in Cuenca! Their kids are so amazing. My favorite memory with them was when my team and I babysat the other night. Israel, Isabella and Adelina and I all crawled into bed and watched Matilda. It was a beautiful moment for me. I felt at home and I am not sure why. It felt so comfortable and safe and loving. God knew I needed that moment. When we did the kids church service about christmas we went to the market to pick up kids that we did not know there. It’s funny because their parents just trusted us to take their kids. The kids usually sit at the market all day with their parents and they travel very far just to come for one day. Some families come from hours alway. It was so awesome to get them out of there for 2 hours and allow them to just be kids. We got to do many different dances which was so fun it honestly felt like a workout haha. We also got to share the story of Jesus’ birth. We also got to play many games and color pictures of the manger. Then we got to take them back to their parents and chat with them and invite them to church! Ministry this month looked a lot different then what I expected but I loved every moment of it! 

One thing that was so cool this month was that we did not have WiFi at home for a majority of the month. I know what you are thinking, how is that cool? Well let me tell you this has been such a blessing. A blessing to my team growing closer and a blessing to my relationship with the Lord. My team and I have gotten to have some pretty amazing times with no distractions. We have gotten to have many deep conversations and be vulnerable with each other which has been so important because we all need people to share our feelings with and talk about our struggles with. We’ve gotten to be goofy and make our times fun. We have cooked every night together and have eaten dinner as a family which has been incredible because that is one of my favorite things about home is that we almost always eat dinner together. The most important of course is that I do not feel pressured to be anything other then me. They allow me to fully be myself. They have made me feel safe. Safe to be weird, safe to question God, safe to be sad, safe to cry, safe to fail, safe to praise God, safe to express myself, safe in every way. Safety is key to a healthy community. God wants us to be with people who do not make you feel judged or any less then who He has made you to be. Safety has become so important to me. It is something I want to express toward everyone. I want to be a safe place to come for people and I want to be someone who always points people back to Jesus. These guys have loved me so well and have always pointed me to the Lord. Along with having the most amazing team I could have wished for I also have been impacted by the Lord in so many different ways. This month has been full of learning discipline with the Lord. I’ve been waking up at 5:30 or 6 almost every morning. I have had some quality time with him reading my bible, journaling and worshiping him. He has loved me so well. Through my doubt he has lead me to the path of redemption still. He is a good father that wants to redeem all of his children from their past hurts.  I have learned this month that I lack nothing when I put my trust in the Lord. I have had to chose to trust him every single day. It has not been easy but I look back and I have beard much fruit. I have learned to trust him and hear him and believe even when it’s hard. He has given me sign after sign of love in different places this month. I have given up control of my future to him which was one of the hardest things for me because I want to know what it holds. This has taught me to be steadfast in the Lord. I will no longer let the fear of my future hold me. I will stand in the arms of my Heavenly Father and believe in his plans. His compass leads to a narrow path but it is greater then my own compass that leads me down hidden paths of destruction. The Lord is good. I love what he is teaching me about myself. He has taught me that I am, in fact, creative. I was gifted that even though before I would tell you over and over I am not creative at all. He has shown me different ways he has made me creative and unique. Whether it’s writing, my style of clothes, playlists I make, my voice, the way I view things, the little drawings I make, the pictures I take and just the way my mind works in general is creative. I love that part of me. I love that these are all things he has given me. I challenge you to ask the Lord something unique he has given you and only you. He has made you completely different then anyone else and that’s pretty incredible. He says that he has intricately woven you together.

I also got to spend thanksgiving with this community. We had so much food and good conversation.  It’s crazy how fast people can be in and out of your life. The community they have here is so special. They feel like family to me. I am so sad to leave them. I think I can speak for my whole team when I say we will miss playing games with Josh and Karri. They are such an amazing couple with two kids, Betty and Emmanuel. They have loved us well. They have told us many stories about being missionaries. Their lives are testimonies to the faithfulness of God. Karri is one of the boldest women I have ever met. She asks the hard awkward questions which is something I love. She has no problem getting people uncomfortable. I admire that so much about her. She also makes the best homemade cinnamon rolls! We have all loved getting to know both Josh and Karri and getting to play codenames which is the best game ever!! They even gave it to us to have for the rest of our trip. They are lovely people whom I for sure plan on visiting in the future. I am so thankful for the love they have shown us this month. 

I am so happy for all that I have gotten to do and all that I have been taught this far. I am happy that I get to share with you all my trials and my victories. I thank you all for standing by my side and partnering with me as I am on this journey. I am so grateful to have people in my life that trust Gods plan with my life and that believe their is a bigger purpose behind this trip. Thank you all for being unapologetically you. My prayer for you all is that God would open up your hearts to his plans for you and that you would press into him more then you ever have. I pray any insecurities and doubts would flee from your minds. I am happy to know you all. 

Blessings!