Reminisce: Quito, the beginning

*I'll try not to make this too long, but there's just so much to share!*

As I recount the many memories that my trip to Ecuador this summer encompasses, I figure I'll start right out with our time in Quito - I think I did an adequate job of recounting our time in Miami while we were still there (http://followinggodtoecuador.blogspot.com/2011/06/students-have-been-here-since-monday.html - if you want to read more about it)

Ministry Day 1:

We started our first ministry day without our entire team. Our team was split into 4 or 5 different flight groups and there were delays on almost all flights except the one I was on. While most groups made it to Quito for our first ministry day (one group arriving at 2 am, I think), one group dealt with more cancellations and travel changes than the rest. One student and one leader from my team were on the delayed flight. They didn't arrive in Quito until Friday evening. As frustrating as everything was for them, they made the most of it. I only heard a few of the stories, however.

We went out on our first ministry day lacking one of our mimes and had to make some adjustments so that the show could go on. It just wasn't the same without Cierra and we were quite relieved to have her back the next day!

We gathered in the hotel lobby after breakfast and team time (two separate times for everyone...except me - I grabbed breakfast on my way to team time) and headed out into the city with our 4 amazing translators. For our first day we went to a plaza at Santo Domingo, in Old Town Quito. It looked familiar to me, but I don't remember a specific time going there last summer.

We set up our sound equipment and tied all of our bags together. While everyone grouped up into "pods" and went out with the translators to invite people to the drama, I took charge of watching the bags. There were a few others who stayed close to our "base" against a gate and we talked with a few people who came to see what was going on (I'm sure we looked quite strange to them). Everyone jumped right into their part in the ministry - so much fun to watch!

After a while, we set up to perform the drama for the first time. I sat by the bags at the back of the "stage" and just loved watching the students perform the drama that they had worked so hard to learn! Here are a few of my favorite snapshots from our first drama performance:

Sin separating the Toymaker and his Son from the Toys

The Toymaker sending his son into the world

Crucifixion of the Toymaker's son

After we finished the drama, someone from the team would get up and explain the connections between the drama we had just performed and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They would then share their testimony and invite people to pray to accept Jesus as their savior.

Once we were done with the presentation, we spread out with the translators to talk to people again. I just loved seeing how eager everyone was to share God's love with the people of Quito! One of the students, Sammy, came over to me so excited because two guys who had been whistling and cat-calling girls were now sitting on the steps reading Bibles that he had just given them! There were also many prayers for healing among the people - and many answers to those prayers! At one point, I was invited along with a group to act as their "translator" and they wanted to pray for healing for a man's leg and asked me to pray for him in Spanish - definitely not my best work yet, but God knew my intent.

Praying with the Ecuadorians

That's all I have for now regarding our first ministry day. I'll continue to share more over the next few weeks - there's so much to share and I hope you enjoy hearing it all!!

Amy Lynn

And so ends my time in Ecuador again...

I'm back home in Minnesota. It's odd being back. I've only been back for a little over 24 hours but it seems like so much longer already.

I miss so much about this trip already - the people, the places, the events. There's so much that no one understands except my friends from the trip. This is one of many reasons I'm very thankful for facebook and know that despite a slight addiction to facebook, at this point, I can't willingly give it up - that would mean forfeiting many conversations with dear friends from the trip (as I do not have phone numbers yet).

It was odd saying goodbye to everyone on this trip. It wasn't as hard as when I went to Peru. Back then I really had no idea if I'd stay in touch with my friends or if I'd ever see them again. I have stayed in touch with them and I've seen several of them in the past 5 years. I know that God will bring me back together with some of my friends from this trip to Ecuador. And there's facebook to keep us connected.

What was weird about the goodbyes was how scattered my team was when it came time to say goodbye.

On the way to Quito, we were in 4 or 5 different flight groups. This was because some people were only going to be there for 2 weeks, while a select few of us would be staying an extra week. So when it came time to say goodbye, we had 4 people leave on a Saturday afternoon and we said goodbye to them while we were at the Equator...only to see the group as we were getting back to the hotel. I said goodbye to the 2 that were leaving in the middle of the night and the 6 that were heading to the Galapagos and leaving early the next morning...but then I woke up early and saw the Galapagos group off.

I also said goodbye to the majority of my team on Saturday night because I thought my group was heading out early to go to Otavalo. But it turned out that we went to a local church service and then returned to the hotel before leaving for Otavalo. So I saw people that I had already said goodbye to on Sunday morning and ate lunch with them.

At the end of the 3rd week, our Otavalo group split into two as the first group left at noon this past Saturday and my half of the group left 12 hours later. We joined up with part of the Galapagos group for our flight back to Miami. And once in Miami, there were several people from the earlier flight that we got to see as well.

I guess everything was just so mixed up and jumbled that I wasn't really sure when I was going to see someone for the last time, until I saw my last students off on the plane yesterday and boarded the plane bound for Minnesota with 5 others from the trip that I didn't know too well. It wasn't until I saw my roommate drive up at baggage claim to pick me up that I realized that it was really over.

So much time and effort and thought went into this trip, and it truly was amazing and life changing. I made some amazing friendships and I had the greatest teams ever. I will never forget the opportunities God gave me and how He stretched me outside my comfort zone, a lot. I want to share those memories with you all. I didn't have much time while we were in Ecuador, but I'm going to go back through my pictures and journals and share memories and stories from each day over the next few weeks. So please, check back often, I'd love to share everything with you!

Last Ministry Day

We just finished our last ministry day.

It's really feeling like the trip is coming to a close. When we left Quito, it was hard to say goodbye to everyone on my team because I knew that I still wasn't going home.

We had three long days of work projects (mostly painting) and we ended up cutting our day short today to have some time to relax. Today was a bit different than our other work days in Otavalo. We've been working at Compassion International sites, but the site we went to this morning was under construction. We worked hard the whole morning carrying buckets of sand up to the third floor of the building. We created a bucket brigade to bring the sand up the stairs and then also created two "pulley" type systems that our fearless leaders - Jed & Chuck - were in charge of.

Right now, part of our group is on a trip to see some waterfalls, while a group of us stayed back at the hotel for some R&R. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will be going to a Crater Lake - I'm not sure of the name though. After the crater lake, we'll be stopping in Cotacachi - a town known for their leather. Saturday will be an early morning as we head to the large market in Otavalo for some shopping. Half of our group heads to the airport at noon on Saturday for an overnight flight into Miami while the rest of the group and I have an extra 12 hours before heading to Quito at midnight.

In the past 3 weeks, I've taken over 1700 pictures...I've narrowed it down to my 600 favorite that I'll be putting on facebook later. Here's a few, but I'll post more later - it's great to have internet, but it isn't the best for uploading pictures.

Abram helping us paint the school

We took some breaks to play with the neighborhood kids

We painted the building blue - and did as much as we could with what paint we had

Bucket Brigade!

Amy Lynn

Otavalo!

We've made it to the second phase of our trip!

Yesterday the group split up - the majority flying to Miami, with one part heading to the Galapagos early in the morning and our small group of about 30 going to a local church service and then driving to Otavalo.

Yesterday we had some time to relax, ate a delicious dinner complete with chocolate cake, had some team time by a campfire (much needed as it's cooler here, especially at night) and got some much needed sleep (our curfew was 8:30 and I was in bed by 9 - it felt so good to sleep 10 hours...the most I had been getting was between 6-7, and with all that we've been doing, I need more).

Today we woke up to a delicious breakfast and hot chocolate...and no hot water. We spent the day in Cayambe working at a Compassion International school painting the classrooms. We were prepared to have another lunch of peanut butter & jelly/honey, but much to our surprise, the wonderful ladies at the school prepared an Ecuadorian meal of llapingachos, chorizo, habas and more. It was wonderful.

We just got back about an hour ago and are looking forward to some more good team time tonight.

I'll post some more pictures from last week and his week once I get my computer up and in the dining room - where we can get internet.

Amy Lynn

Brief Update

Tomorrow (ok, technically it's today...I'm up kinda late) is our LAST day of ministry in Quito!!! I can't believe it. This time has gone by SO fast! I have not been able to post frequent updates as we had to pay to use the internet. But after spending a week in a hotel, we're bound to figure out the secrets - and we found a spot where we can get FREE wifi. So I'm finally getting around to using it :)

I'll try to give a few updates about the last few weeks in tid-bits so the posts don't get too long - there's just so much to share!!

My team is amazing, no doubt about it. I know that God brought us all together for a specific purpose and that He hand-picked each member of the team. I didn't feel like I really knew the team until we made it to Ecuador and started our ministry days. When the students were working on learning the drama and spending time together we (LITs and leaders) had other things that needed to get done.

Our ministry days have consisted of performing a drama that is the story of the Gospel - from creation to Christ's death and resurrection. It's so fun to be on other side of the drama and watch the students perform every day. After the drama, someone from the team gets up and explains it and how it relates to the Gospel and then shares their own testimony (all through a translator).

Barrier of sin between the Toymaker (God) and His Son (Jesus) & the toys

Our wonderful clown :)

The other day we were at a park, working with a local church, and during the drama, my team leader came up to me and asked if I could explain the drama and give my testimony to the many school children gathered to watch. I only had about 5 minutes before the end of the drama, but I agreed. I started out talking in Spanish, but there were a few things I didn't know how to say and so the translator told me to just talk in English and she'd translate. By the end, I had what seemed like 30-40 kids pray to accept Jesus!! It was so fun! And then we passed out presents to all the kids who came - and we attempted to keep track of who received a gift by putting a stamp on their hand, but some kids were trying to be sneaky.

The kids watching the drama after they got out of school

Britt Nicole (a Christian singer/songwriter) came down for a few days and had a concert for us on Sunday. On Saturday her and her friend, Gabby, spent the day with our team. It was fun to get to know them both - they're such sweet girls.

Britt, Mattie, Delaney & Gabby

AND...I finally got my MORA ice cream :) I've had a lot of it - although I've only found Mora ice cream bars on one of our ministry days...but I've made several trips to Crepes & Waffles

My first (of two) Mora bars on our 2nd day :)

I'll update more later and include some fun stories! We only have 2 days left in Quito, then the teams switch up and my group heads to Otavalo for a week!

Also, we have a blog for the trip: www.neverthesameec.com - there are updates from the different teams (I'm on Team 1) and more pictures. So check it out!

Amy Lynn