Back to Winter

Short Version: I didn't sleep at all Friday night. We had the morning and early afternoon free, and then head to Quito for our flight home. I will miss the team, and hope I can return to Casa de Fe next year.

Pray for: You'll have to read the long version.

Long Version:

Saturday:

I don’t think I slept a wink all night. Rita slept little. I went to the bathroom 3 times, and she went 5 times. At around 5:00 A.M., she said, “There was nothing else to do, so I went to the bathroom.” With no sleep and extreme tiredness, I found this extremely funny and started laughing. She laughed. I started laughing again. She laughed again. This probably lasted for half an hour or so. Laughter doeth good like a medicine!!!

So Thankful to Not be Eating Scrambled Eggs

When we finally got up, I opened the curtain, and she came over and sat on my bed and we looked out at the scenery and talked. It was a sweet time of getting to know my new friend Rita a bit better.

For breakfast, I ordered the bread and yogurt platter. There was an amazing berry compote, and mora juice (and I was glad to not be eating eggs). We then headed out shopping with a large group. After many stops, we made it to the chocolate/coffee place, where I bought 6 chocolate bars and one bag of coffee for friends, and chocolate covered coffee beans for me.

Rita and I then split up from the group and had a stop at the pubic bathrooms (20 cents) with no toilet seats. I was really impressed overall with the bathrooms we encountered in Ecuador--I've seen FAR worse elsewhere. (I never miss having to throw your toilet paper into a wastebasket though. And those wastebaskets are almost always on the right side, which is somewhat inconvenient for lefties like me.) 

I then bought some slightly-better-in-tune-than-some pan pipes, went to the supermercado to buy candy for my students, and to buy flax and quinoa. That was followed by a stop at the Catholic church where Rita and I sat for a bit. I shared about my Great Aunt Margaret the Nun, and Rita shared about taking piano lessons from a nun. I read the captions on the paintings about the miracles that had happened in Banos (pretty cool!). We then headed back to the hotel where everyone was just vegging in the lobby. We vegged and vegged until we went to lunch at the same place we had had our first lunch in Ecuador, where I had a tuna sandwich and Sprite. Then we vegged some more until it was time to board the bus. Oh, and Wanda shopped, and shopped and…her personality really came out in Banos!!!

I tried to sleep as soon as we got on the bus. Unsuccessfully, but it was restful. I watched as the scenery changed from rainforest back to a more arid alpine kind of vibe. I noticed that the temperature dropped about 10 degrees C during the drive (and altitude change). I also noticed that the only “chain stores” I ever saw in Ecuador were gas stations, and that I never saw anything that looked like a factory.

Rosa and Kendra--I connected with her more than
any of the other older girls

We arrived at the airport maybe around 8:00 P.M., a couple of hours before we could check in. I was getting really tired by this time from not sleeping at all the night before and not sleeping well for much of the trip. I played Fluxx with some others from the group and then Rita wanted to teach us Pinochle, and I couldn’t focus and comprehend the directions and almost started crying, but realized that I was exhausted and under normal circumstances probably would have been OK.

We finally checked in and I was in a daze. I accidentally dropped my almonds on the floor. I was reading quotes off my passport and looking at my past stamps and visas to try to keep my mind occupied as we went through security and passport check. I thought a yogurt and avocado would make a nice supper, but changed my mind when the yogurt was more than $3.00. I honestly don’t remember our time at the gate at all, other than it was a big space, and I tried to fall asleep as soon as we boarded for our 12:55 Sunday morning flight.

Sunday:

Two Tired Girls at the United Club

The flight took off on time and we had a female captain! I slept as well as one can normally sleep on a plane and woke up enough to eat the dinner that they served at 2:00 A.M. Dry pasta, weird chicken, flan, a roll, and a salad.

We landed in Houston around 5:00 A.M. I was honest and checked that I had contact with livestock (pig and poultry) in Ecuador, so I got sent to the slow line for passport control. Everyone in front of me was grilled by the agent, but I think he almost laughed at me when I said I had contact with a pig and some chickens. Maybe pigs don't count as livestock. We went for breakfast and I had a yogurt parfait and a not so good blueberry muffin. Rita and I then went to the United Club, because I had two free passes. They had breakfast there, (oh well), and we had juice and read newspapers in an environment that was more relaxing than the main airport. Back at the gate, I learned to play Whist, and after 2 gate changes, we took off, only slightly late.

There was no view from the plane because it was cloudy, so I tried to sleep a bit. Jon sat next to me and I finally started to get his sense of humor. After arrival in Minneapolis, (it was so cold walking down the jetway, and I shivered my whole first day back!) it took a while for our bags and even longer for our shuttle. We squished in all 11 of us (Barb is staying in Ecuador for a few more weeks--we didn't lose someone. Honest!) and then had one final meal together at Denny’s (siracha jalapeño burger) and then had to say goodbye.

Jenica, Rita, and Kendra at Denny's

I drove Wanda’s car to my house, where I said goodbye to her, Benita and Tracy. Then the fun part of giving Katja her sweater and the boys their blow guns came—they were hits!!!!

This mission trip was amazing and I was so blessed to be able to go. If God allows me to, I will definitely go again, and hopefully get some others to go with me—Anna and Isabel????

Did I love everything about Casa de Fe? No. I connected with some of the staff and not with others. Hearing about how just having an institution like an orphanage can perpetuate it’s use was sad…if it didn’t exist, some kids would still be with their parents, but it’s also a necessary evil in a country with no foster care system—kids taken from their homes have to go somewhere. Most have parents who are alive and some will be reunited, but some due to abuse, special needs, or family situation never will be. Some kids will eventually end up on the street and maybe end up in prostitution. I hope that by serving and supporting Casa de Fe, and the transitional home that they are developing that I can be a part of helping that NOT happen for some of the girls. Maybe all of the girls. Maybe you want to be a part of it too. Maybe you want to travel with the group next year. Maybe you want to give to Casa de Fe. It costs $30,000 a MONTH to keep it running, all of it donations. Maybe you will pray. Each of us can’t make a difference to all kids around the world like these kids, but we can each make a difference for a few. 

If you’d like to give to Casa de Fe, or get involved in other ways, visit http://lacasadefe.org.

What’s in store for the future? I hope another trip to Casa de Fe. Maybe some year I’ll go when school is out to teach some summer music classes. Hopefully I’ll have some friends join me. My husband, Bill, loved getting to take a “staycation” so I could go to Ecuador. He was also very happy with how joyful I was upon return, and said that if this is what Ecuador does to me, I can go as often as I want to. I love how God surprises us sometimes with confirmation that we're in His will. In my case, it was a financial confirmation. Within four days of returning home, He sent me a new trombone student and a raise at my job teaching swimming lessons at the community center.

Our Last Hotel

I’m thankful to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me a passion both for serving kids and for Spanish and for giving me this opportunity. Days before leaving, my husband pulled out the sheets of paper we had filled out on New Year’s Eve 2015 with our hopes, dreams and prayer requests for 2016. At the top of my list was South American missions. Thank you, Lord, for answers to prayer!

I’m thankful to those who gave financially so that I could go and serve. I’m thankful for those who prayed for our team. I’m thankful for health on the trip and protection from intestinal illness. I’m thankful for my new friends. I’m thankful for the opportunity to get to know Christians, from the U.S. and Ecuador, who truly love Jesus, but who aren’t in my normal little circle of musicians, homeschoolers, and camp people.

If you’ve read all of this, you are a saint. I hope you were at least a little bit inspired. How will you serve the Lord in 2017? At home? In your community? On foreign soil? Maybe you’ll be in Ecuador with me next January.

"I haven't had this much fun since I was a kid"--Rita Soine

Short Version:

On Thursday, Rita and I had a blast trying to fertilize trees planted on boggy ground where you sank up to the tops of your boots. A pig was butchered. We helped make Ecuadorian food for dinner. Friday included baby time, singing with the elementary aged kids, and heading off for Banos.

Pray for: Yulisa--to fit in and find her place in the world, for Rosa to transition successfully to adulthood, for Arucely--for protection from HIV, and for Sol--for healing and amazing progress in her development.

Thursday:

Tracy, Jaime, Yulia, and the Pig

On Thursday morning, Rita and I went to the Casa early in hopes of cleaning the chicken coop and the pigsty. We were in luck with the chickens, but they were already in the process of holding the pig down to butcher it. As we cleaned the coop, terrible pig noises came from the other side of the wall as the pig spent its final minutes alive. It was interesting for this city girl to experience a small part of the butchering process. Once dead, they needed to hang the pig up. As it was rather large, we ended up with six or seven of us to lift it up high enough. Yulisa helped with the butchering all morning but said the next day that she had bad dreams about it and didn’t want to do it again.

The Pantry Framework

After devotions at the bodega (maintenance building), Rita and I set out to use the contents of the chicken coop to fertilize some trees. The problem was that the ground was extremely boggy between us and the trees. Yulisa told us what path to take, but I only partially understood and we were soon sinking up to the tops of our boots, and it was clear that our wheelbarrow would not make it any farther. Yulisa came to the rescue and took us a different way. We wheelbarrowed as far as we could, and then set off carrying the bag. It was one of the more comical events of my life, as we continually sank down to the tops of our boots, laughed, tried to decide which trees really needed the help, laughed some more, sank some more, and Rita said “I haven’t had this much fun since I was a kid!”. I agreed. You’d have to be there to really understand, but it was better than an amusement park!!!

Painting

The framework of the metal pantry that Jeff, Chris, and Gernan had worked on all week was ready to transport to the kitchen. We spent some time moving other kitchen equipment, and cleaning and then carried the frame into place. Others from the group spent time cleaning and painting it, but we didn’t get it completely finished.

The Casa de Fe chaplain, Mark Blosser spoke to us about his work in Ecuador. His wife is Peruvian, and I think Mark has spoken Spanish for so long that he sometimes has trouble with English. In addition to his work at Casa de Fe, he does other work with local churches, and I think some street ministry.

Cleaning

We had lunch with the kids, and then Rita and I went back to the hotel to shower. We headed Patti Sue’s house at 2:00 to help prepare supper for everyone that evening. We spent time shredding chicken (I got startled when we found the head and feet in the chicken pot), peeling and slicing plantains, and chopping other vegetables. The Ecuadorian cook who was doing the main work evidently doesn’t normally like how gringos chop vegetables, so I kept asking if mine were OK. She said yes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if inside she was wondering how I never learned to properly chop. Rita chopped cilantro, and I couldn’t imagine how it could possibly get any finer, but the cook wanted more and more and more…

The Life of the Team: Barb and Carol

We had some time to hang out with Patti Sue and Rosa (a girl who has aged out of the orphanage and is living with Patti Sue while finishing school). Rosa taught me my first Spanish tongue twister “Tres tristes tigres comen trigo en un trigal.” (Three tired tigers eat wheat in a wheat field.) I wrote down another one to memorize for the future.

Although Rosa speaks English well, I think she appreciated having an American speak only Spanish with her. She is one who I really connected with over during the last three days of the trip, and who I will pray for. Girls her age are so vulnerable without a family—she could so easily end up on the street if she decides to quit school, or get sucked into a relationship that’s not good for her by a cute boy who is really a pimp, or any number of things.

Empanada and Dump Truck

We enjoyed a dinner of empanadas, “dump truck” (plantains, beans, tuna, and several other things all dumped together), and tres leches cake when the team arrived, and took time to share about our experiences, and what the Casa de Fe staff did well, or could have improved on for us.

That night at bedtime, I decided to do crazy Bible stories with Kendra with my roommates. Stories like Ehud and Eglon in Judges, the ax head floating, and Elijah on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal. Anytime I doubt God, I just need to go to stories like these (especially anything about Elijah or Elisha), and I’m reminded of how great God’s power really is. He can make things right in these kids’ lives, even though I can only do small things for them. He can heal the brokenness, and give them hope and a future.

That night was the only night of the trip that I really slept well, well enough to dream at least. I guess deep seated anxiety must come out in dreams because I dreamed that I got my period early on the plan on the way home. So much for peaceful sleep!

Friday:

Nancy woke up with the song “10,000 Reasons” in her head and asked me to sing it, which I dutifully did. I woke up with “Rise and shine, and give God the glory, glory…” in my head. I’m sure Rita and Nancy really started wondering about me when I sang the WHOLE song to them. If you don’t know it, I’d love to share some time. “So Noah, he built him, he built him an arky, arky…”

We loaded our luggage into the Casa truck after breakfast, and started our last walk to Casa de Fe.

Kendra and Sol

Up at the casa, we got to spend the morning having baby time, followed by Chris Zuniga talking to us about “what’s next” for us after this experience. I was hoping for a short adventure to help fill the propane tanks in town (no large tanks with a truck to come fill them in Ecuador!), but I was kicked out of the truck because there were four of us, and evidently the cops are cracking down on overloaded vehicles. They must not care or notice when a 12 passenger van has 13 or 14 or 15 in it!)

Garden at the Former Boys' Home

During baby time, I bonded with Sol. I discovered that she would smile every time I sang “You are my Sunshine”, and I helped her stay in a crawling position, and a standing position (she won’t put any weight on her feet). I tried to love on her as much as I could, and hoped others would take on some of the other babies.

I also had a chance to go up to the school while the kids were having a short recess to interact with them. I taught them the Polar Bear Hunting Song, and we sang more of the songs I had taught on Sunday.

Wish I could have this in my yard...

We had lunch with the kids, and my lunch buddies quickly asked for Josiah’s stuffed animal cat, which I retrieved for them and we enjoyed one last meal together. Lunches at the Casa always started with soup (Locro de Papa one day), and then had a plate with maybe rice, meat (like chicken on the bone. A kid asked for my bones and proceeded to get off all the meat that I didn’t), and yucca fries, or something else. The dishes were metal, and every day "Please sir, may I have some more?" popped into my head as I brought my soup to the table. So thankful these kids are treated 100 times better than the kids in "Oliver!".

We left for Banos around 2:00 in the Casa van, driven by Chris (who didn’t like to slow down for speed bumps), with our luggage in the Casa truck. We made a stop at a home that used to be a boys home. The elderly owners are hoping to keep the (gorgeous) house in ministry and to find people to run it. It had the most beautiful gardens overlooking a river, with a tall cliff across the river.

Taste of Ecuador Meal

After seeing my dream car, an old, purple VW Beetle, we arrived at the hotel (Posada del Arte?) around 4:00 for our free day and had a little time to shop. I helped Rita get something at the pharmacy for her throat, and then we discovered Mama Juanita’s store. She gave me a free purse, bracelet and hair tie as she showed me all the great deals she had for me. I ended up with a sweater for me, a sweater for Katja, and several knitted hats. Jeff and Rae said that she used to be three times as wide as she is now, and had terrible teeth. Possibly due to the Cormorant Lutheran groups, she’s been able to lose weight and fix her teeth.

 

We had a taste of Ecuador meal with a beautifully decorated table back at the hotel. Patti Sue, Rosa, and John Paul were with us. Rita could hardly talk, so she was signing as she whispered and several of us learned a few signs. She led us in the Lord’s Prayer in sign for our table prayer. Dessert was a strawberry-jello-whipped cream concoction of some sort. Patti Sue ordered a beer and gave a bit to Rosa, who let me try it. Disgusting!!!!!!!! It’s the second time I’ve ever tasted beer, and I still don’t like it.

After dinner, Nancy, Jenica, Rosa and I went to the hot springs pools, which were right by the amazingly tall waterfall. Downstairs was a very hot pool and a cold one. Upstairs, they had drained two pools, but we were able to spend some time in the bathtub temperature one that they were in the process of draining, and enjoy the view of the waterfall.

Back at the hotel, I talked to my family, and then went to bed. Sleep was elusive...which gave me time to think and pray...and hope that sleep would come...

Machetes and My Brush with Fame

Twins! So glad we both managed to pack the
same camp shirt! Jeff probably owns
two, and I probably own 100...

Short version: On Tuesday, we got to use machetes, and have lunch and supper (pizza) with the kids. On Wednesday, after lots of baby time, we went on a JUNGLE FLIGHT and I got to meet one of the men (is name is something like Dewey...I'm sure I have that wrong though!) who killed Nate Saint and the other missionaries, and who later became a Christian and was radically transformed...what a great God we serve! 

Pray for...safety for the maintenance staff, renewal for the staff who work with the kids, and finances for Casa de Fe. It costs $30,000 each MONTH to run it. Pray for the tribal people groups in Ecuador--that they can achieve a healthy balance between their traditional ways, and modern medicine, etc. that can improve their lives. Pray for those who are ministering to them, for more lives to be transformed, like Dewey's was.

Long Version:


Tuesday:

Tuesday started off with the same breakfast at the hotel (I like scrambled eggs, but don’t really enjoy eating them EVERY DAY!) with drinkable yogurt as my always favorite part of the meal. Rae led us in a devotional on a different fruit of the Spirit each day and in prayer. We had devotions again at the bodega and then began our workday. What was in store for us today? Machetes!!!!!!!!!!

Jenica, Rita, Rae, and I were assigned to help clear the path that marks the property line at Casa de Fe. New skills take time. As Jenica and I perfected the art of whacking down tall plants, we discovered that if we held on to the tops of the plants, they cut better. The leaves themselves also cut my arms pretty well. We sang “The Alligator is My Friend,” and other silly songs as we worked.

Rita, always the adventurer, accidently let go of her machete on the very first swing and it went flying toward Jaime, who had to jump out of the way. Good thing she was scheduled to go to the school to teach a couple of pilates classes a while later, or Jaime might have been too nervous to keep working.

Kendra and Jenica

As we worked our way up the boundary, the plants got shorter, and more interesting. We realized at this point that weeding in the soft, rainforest soil was more effective at this point than a machete, so we weeded, and weeded, and weeded. After a break for lunch with the kids, guess what? We weeded some more. The machetes became more like walking sticks to help us navigate the often steep terrain. I’m pretty sure mine was so dull by the end of the day that Jaime would decide to fire me from any further machete work.

I felt like singing "Sisters, sisters..."

We walked back to the hotel for a much needed shower, and then went back to the Casa for….drum roll please…PIZZA NIGHT! They kids were excited! We were hoping for some time to play games with them, but we pretty much just got to eat pizza. I was sitting at a pre-K table and a little boy sat on my lap and peed on me. Oh well.

When we got back to the hotel, I was going to change right away, but somehow got distracted by two college-aged guys who got dropped off by a bus and wanted to be in Puyo, but realized they were in Shell. I gave them some Spanish help, then Rita and I decided it would be a good time to go next door to the ice cream place. I had a shake and then finally changed out of my peed-on pants. We had just had some laundry done and it was clear we’d need another load. You paid for your laundry by the pound. The clothes came back cleaner than they’ve ever been, pressed, and folded to perfection.

I was very thankful to be able to Facetime my family almost every night of the trip. I would have been fine not talking with them, but I think it really helped the kids to have some connection with me. The WiFi at our hotel wasn’t great (I couldn’t get it at all in our room), but if I stood on just the right tile, I could get service.

Looks alien to me...

Tracy was often down using the internet as well. I really enjoyed taking a few minutes at these times to get to know her better—to hear about all her kids and grandkids, and her job at the Lake Park Café (and the antics pulled by the regulars when they get a new waitress).

I’d then slink back to the room. Sometimes Nancy and Rita were still awake, sometimes asleep. I’d spend some time reading my Bible and a book, and then try to get to sleep. I honestly didn’t sleep well on the trip. Part of it was so much excitement, part of it was snoring, although I wore earplugs and that really did drown out most of the noise. I never really did feel overly tired though, except on the last day after not sleeping at all, but more on that later.

Wednesday:

Baby time

Wednesday was amazing. I spent the morning with the babies—loving on them, trying to teach them everything I could in the few short days we had with them. Studies in the U.S. often show that first-born kids are smarter because of the time their parents spend working with them, vs. the time given to subsequent kids. I grieve for these babies who don’t have a chance of having anything close to the interaction of a first-born, or even the last child of a large family. There is one “tia” caring for 8-10 babies, 3 shifts of tias per day, just keeping them clean, changed, and fed. Please pray that these babies will get adopted or get reunited with their birth families. One little boy did go home with his family during the time we were there!

Arucely

I spent the most time with Sol, a three-year-old who looked more like a 7-9 month old. Her given name is “Soledad,” which means  “solitude” or “loneliness.” They decided to call her “Sol” which means “sun.t” I think meanings of names are important, so I’m so glad they changed hers to speak something more positive into her life. It took the therapist six months to teach her to sit up this past year, and now they are working on crawling. She refuses to put any weight on her feet, and was fairly unresponsive to the games I’d play with her and to the songs I’d sing with her. My prayer is that Sol’s brain will be healed of whatever is wrong with it. We serve a big God who can do big things, even heal Sol!

I also spent time with Arucely (I’m sure I spelled that wrong). Her mom is HIV positive and can’t breast-feed her, and probably can’t afford formula, so the baby is at the orphanage until she is weaned. So far, she shows no signs of having HIV herself. Please pray for her as well—for health, and a normal life.

Ashlynn with Sol

An Ecuadorian pastor named Manuel spoke to us for our missionary time that day. He became a Christian after attending some sort of tent meeting for a week when he was a young man. He had been a bitter, angry, vengeful man. His mother had been murdered some years before, and he wanted to avenge her death. He was radically transformed by the love of Jesus, and has been a pastor for many years. He also told of how he and his wife were on the verge of divorce several times years ago, but God changed his heart and saved his marriage.

I enjoyed a teenaged girl named Yulisa at lunch that day. She had saved a copy of the song sheet I had typed up for the team for the Sunday services, and was learning the new songs very well. She is a little bit of on outcast among the older girls—she tends to hang out with and help the staff and to be ostracized a bit by the girls. Pray that she will find her place and be able to make friends with the other girls.

That afternoon, we got to take a couple hours off to go on a JUNGLE FLIGHT! Upon arrival at the airport, we all had to get weighed, and then oriented to the plane. I was chosen to collect $50 from each person going on the flight and was told that we’d pay when we returned. I didn’t have room in my passport pouch for such a large wad or cash, so I passed it off to Barb for safe keeping.

Getting "Initiated" into the Tribe

A Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) pilot named Dan took us in a 10-seat plane to a village. The villagers get paid $5 per visitor, plus they sold hand-crafted items to us while we were there. A young woman from the village translated from Waorani to Spanish. The temperature was noticeably warmer at the lower elevation of the village than in Shell (which is 7,000 feet). The translator showed us their radio for communication with the pilots, and their infirmary and then took us to their church. Several village leaders spoke to us about the love of Jesus, and prayed for us. They spoke for A LONG TIME before the translator translated everything, and although I could understand most of what she said, I had to give a very abbreviated version to the group because it was way too much to remember.

One man who spoke and prayed was one of the killers of the missionaries back in the ‘50s (see my writing about Sunday). I felt like I was meeting a move star! This man reminded me of Saul becoming Paul in the New Testament. He began life in a tribe that was dying out because of members killing each other, participated in killing Nate Saint and the others, and eventually became a follower of Jesus because of the love of family members of the slain men. He is a spiritual leader in his village, and has even traveled to Mexico City to preach to word of God. We serve an amazing God who can change anyone, no matter what the circumstances!

Kendra and "Dewey" (My Brush with Fame!!!)

We got “initiated” into the tribe in some sort of conga line dance. Several from my group enjoyed using blow guns to shoot at pieces of fruit. One young man in the tribe then shot a bat with the blow gun. I bought some bracelets, a purse, and a blow gun for my dad, then lent $20 to Ashlynn so that she could buy some gifts.

We briefly met our translator’s pet monkeys, and then boarded the plane to fly back to Shell. The pilot politely asked one group member to sit in the front of the plane because he had trouble getting the tail up on the first flight. As we flew past mile after mile of rain forest, and over the beach where the missionaries were killed so many years ago, I couldn’t help but marvel at the extent of the forest, and the lack of deforestation in this area.

Our Translator, with her Pet Monkeys

Back at the airport, we found out that it was about $10 more per person for the flight than we had previously thought, so we scrambled to find enough money. I had $4 left after lending the $20 to Ashlynn, so I had to borrow the money. I handed the clerk the newly collected money, as well as the $450 we had previously collected and triple counted. The clerk informed me that it was only $330. I recounted. She recounted. I started getting worried.

When we arrived at the village, Barb had asked the pilot if it would be safe to keep her purse in the plane, and he said yes, and she assumed he was locking the plane. It turns out it wasn’t so safe. $120 had been stolen by some kids from another village who were visiting while we were there. Rita also thought she had about $100 stolen, but later found her money safely where she had stashed it—in her bra.

Back at the airport, we scrambled for another $120, which Barb thankfully had. We reported the stolen money, and miraculously, it was returned to us by Friday. The airport radioed the village and the money was found!

That night, we had dinner in the town of Puyo with the two Casa de Fe maestros (maintenance men) and their families. I had a kebab style meal that was actually hanging on a hook over my plate. We enjoyed our meal, danced the polka a bit, went next door for ice cream (avocado ice cream is amazing!) and headed back to the hotel for the evening on the city bus. Their city buses are the nicest I’ve ever seen—if the ones we rode in Ukraine were a “one”, these were a “10”!

The Pigsty and the Chicken Coop

Short Version: Rita and I got to clean animal cages, fix some stairs, and herd ducks. Hamburgers are served with a fried egg on top.
Pray for: That Casa de Fe can continue to become more self-sufficient by  having animals and fruit trees, etc. Pray for funds to build a separate house for the critically ill kids (and for healing for them!), and for the right plans to be put in place for the girls who will be aging out of Casa de Fe soon.

Monday:

We started each weekday with breakfast at the hotel (scrambled eggs with ham, croissants, fruit, juice, and my favorite that I wish would catch on in the U.S.: drinkable yogurt). At 8:00, we began our 30-minute walk to the Casa. Some took taxis for $1.50, but I enjoyed every minute of every walk, even the major uphill part on the way home. We passed oodles of small businesses on the way: several fruit and vegetable places, several pharmacies, a CD/DVD (probably all pirated) store, and places for ice cream, haircuts, and exercise classes. The sidewalks were made of pavers and were narrow, so we often walked in the street. Traffic was light, so it wasn’t an issue, unless a taxi came roaring past. 

We began our work time with devotions at the bodega (maintenance building), followed by Gernan praying for our day. I’m guessing his prayers seemed really long for those who don’t speak Spanish. We then divided into groups for our jobs for the day; some going for “baby time”, and others for manual labor.

These were new gloves...

The first day, I worked with Rita and one of the maestros (maintenance men) named Jaime. Our first task was to clean the pig’s pen. I learned the word for hose (manguera), and we attemped to get the pen and feeding trough (which smelled like fermented yuck) cleaner than it had ever been. This was followed by cleaning out the chicken coop. There were a lot of young chickens crammed into a small space, so my legs got pecked above me boots a few times as I stood in the midst of the chickens and shoveled into the bag that Rita held. She almost lost it with the smell a few times. We then gave the chickens food and water and moved on to the ducks.

So sad not all these cuties made it...

The Casa had just hatched their first family of ducklings 3 days before and they wanted to move the mother and babies to a different enclosure. Rita and I had to go in the duck cage on our hands and knees and pick up handfuls of mud from a pile in the middle and press it against the bottom of the chain link fence to hopefully keep the ducklings in. We quickly became covered with mud, and my legs got covered with biting ants. Once complete, we put the ducklings in a bin for transfer. Jaime was then not sure which was their mom (the other mom still had a nest of eggs). He chose (hopefully) the right mom and we put the ducklings in their new home. Somehow, the mom got loose on the outside. The duckling saw her, went right through the chain link, and followed her to the pond for their first swim.

We all quickly developed a new skill of duck herding. Jaime got into the pond, and Rita and I followed behind to keep them going in the right direction. They made it safely to the enclosure, where we added a nest-like box, and food for them.  Obviously the babies could get out, but the idea was that they would stay in with the mom, who obviously couldn’t squeeze through the chain link. Unfortunately, that didn’t pan out.  A couple days later, 2 dogs followed us on our walk to the casa, and stole four of the duckling. Hopefully by now, Jaime has added some chicken wire to the bottom of the fence to remedy the situation.

Our next job was to “fix” a set of steps made out of pavers. At first it looked as if it would take all week, but we did finish by the end of the day. We leveled, added fill, and adjusted pavers. Hopefully they will stay in place for a few heavy rains, but I’m sure someone will be doing the same job next year. Jaime hung around with us during most of the job, and I enjoyed getting to know him, and adding a few words to my Spanish vocabulary.

Jaime and Rita on the Steps

Just before lunch each day, we had mission building time. On Monday, this included Chris Zuniga, a missionary from Oklahoma giving us a tour of the Casa de Fe property, and telling us about their current needs and future plans, particularly to build a separate facility for their kids with the most severe special needs. Currently, these kids are getting sick a lot due to being in close proximity to the other kids. Having their own space will help keep them well and save on doctor bills. The other current need is to develop a plan for the girls who are nearing their 18^th birthdays, and will age out of the orphanage. Transitional housing/care needs to be arranged for them so that they have the support they need and don’t end up on the streets as a prostitute (which has happened with a few girls who chose to leave when they turned 18, even when given other options.)

We got to eat lunch with the kids each day. Our role was to stay at the tables for the whole hour and to interact with different kids as they arrived home from school and rotated through the lunch process. The older girls were a little harder to get to know, but the elementary kids loved interacting with our team. I sat with the same group of boys each day, and they enjoyed having Josiah’s stuffed cat eat with us, and having me sing the songs I taught at worship to them over, and over, and over…

We had supper at a different restaurant or home each evening, and then were free. The trip was paced really well—we worked hard, but had enough down time at the end of the day to regroup and to be ready for the next day.

Try it!

Supper this night was at a burger place, the best in Shell, I’m told. They server burgers with a fried egg on top. It was pretty good! With the yucca fries it was likely served with, and ahi, it made for a great meal.

Getting away from "normal" life and serving in tangible ways, like cleaning a chicken coop is so fun...I was thankful every day of this trip that God has given me the opportunity to serve. Hmmm...Maybe I can tithe my time to Casa de Fe, which would give 36.5 days there each year...

Meeting the Casa de Fe Kids

Installment #2 of my Mission Trip to Ecuador Blog

Short Version:

On Saturday, I got to go on a field trip to a waterfall and to trout fishing ponds with the older kids. I chaperoned a girl named Tatiana.

On Sunday, I had the privilege of leading worship for the Casa de Fe kids. They seemed to enjoy the new songs I taught them (as evidenced by the number of times I was asked to sing them again and again and again during the week).

Prayer point: Pray for Tatiana (age 16 or 17). When she was around 3 years old, she was found living under the porch of her home with the dogs. Because she has cerebral palsy, she was not accepted by her family. Pray for healing for her (emotionally and physically), and for a forever family. 

Long Version:

Saturday:

After 2.5 days of travel, it was finally time to get to work!

Tatiana

Saturday was an adventure. The kids got to go on a field trip! I got the impression that this only normally happens when a group is there due to the number of people needed to monitor the kids in public places. We were divided into two groups. One group was to go swimming with the younger kids (they ended up doing a movie afternoon at Patti Sue’s due to rain), and the rest of us were to hike to a waterfall and go trout fishing with the older kids. Each of us was assigned kids to chaperone. Other team members had 2-3 kids to watch. I had one: Tatiana. Tatiana has cerebral palsy, is known to wander-off, and is known to take things that don’t belong to her if they are left sitting around. She was a full-time job!

 About one-fourth of the kids at Casa de Fe have special needs, and others are there because of abandonment or abuse. Tatiana is there because as a preschooler, she was found living under the porch of her home with the dogs. Due to her disability, her parents would not care for her as a normal child. There are many heartbreaking stories like Tatiana’s at Casa de Fe, but there is a sense of joy in many of the kids, despite their past circumstances, that can only come from the Lord.

I enjoyed showing “Tati” some pictures of my kids on the bus ride to the falls. Her speech was somewhat slurred, so I had a hard time understanding her Spanish, but still enjoyed getting to know her. The hike to the waterfall was steep, gorgeous, and very wet because it rained ALL DAY that day. The view was worth every step, and although I had to hold on to Tati’s hand the whole way down to keep her from falling, she managed to leave me a little behind on the way back up.

Then it was fishing time at a stocked trout pond. Each of us had to catch our own fish using a bamboo pole with a line, hook, and dough for bait. It took about 5 seconds to catch your trout and fling it out of the water. We then brought the fish to the cleaning station where Rita jumped right in and learned how to gut a fish. She talked me into doing one. I totally could have jumped in whole-heartedly if I had had gloves, but I just have a thing for not wanting fish to actually touch my skin.

I swang with Tati and played “Rock, Paper, Scissors” and any other two person game that doesn’t require supplies that I could think of while we waited for the trout to cook. Oh, and she poured her water into my water glass. Since we don’t share in my family, this was an obstacle to overcome. I tried to clean my glass and to mark it as mine, but eventually someone else started drinking out of it, so I just started fresh.

The fish came with head and skin on. I did fine eating it, but couldn’t believe how the kids ate EVERYTHING but the bones—eyes, head, fins, skin, the works. The fish was complemented by a salad, and something maybe made of yucca. I did try a fried fish fin later in the week, and it tasted like a potato chip.

Back at the hotel, we had a little time to prepare our skit for the Sunday church service before having dinner at the Zuniga’s house. We played Bible Outburst (Jeff and Nancy were amazing!) and learned more about the needs in Shell, and at Casa de Fe, and about the Zuniga’s missions, which include ministry on the streets to prostitutes, as well as their work at Casa de Fe. They have three older kids, plus one little girl, Naomi, who they are in the process of adopting. Naomi had severe medical needs as a baby, but now seems to be thriving with the Zunigas. Unfortunately, adoption is a long, costly process in Ecuador (as in many other places). It saddens me to think of all the time kids spend in orphanages waiting for a family as they go through the 2+ year process of adoption, and that is for the fortunate ones who eventually get a family.

Sunday:

Our fearless leader, Jeff, wearing his Camp Cherith shirt!!!

Sunday morning was spent playing with kids of all ages. I started out practicing my worship songs on their keyboard that evidently doesn’t get used very often. I think they usually use videos for worship. If I could just teleport myself there, I would gladly lead worship for them every week. I soon developed a small group of fans, including Talia. I taught them a couple of new songs, had them spend time singing with me, and later had Talia help me actually lead worship.

Talia and a group of boys then played “Pass the Pigs” with me. One boy tried to cheat on pretty much every turn, but I refused to let him get away with it. Several didn’t “Know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em...” and would rack up a lot of points, only to lose them all. If you don’t know how to play Pigs, ask me sometime. It’s the best!

We Skyped Cormorant Lutheran during each of their morning services. It was neat to give the congregation a little glimpse of the Casa that they so fervently support.

After a couple of hands of Fluxx with some older girls, we left to have lunch at Paradera Vista Hermosa. Beautiful view. It really was beautiful. I had the meat platter, and it was more meat than I usually eat in a week. Oh, and I tried to eat a fish eye. I did chew it up, but had to spit it out in the end.

We made a quick field trip to the Nate Saint house before heading back to the Casa for worship. Nate Saint was a pilot and missionary in Shell in the 1950s.  In 1956 after making some contact with the Waorani tribe, Nate and 4 other missionaries were murdered by several tribe members. Despite tragedy, family members continued to minister to the tribe, and many in the village, including six of the killers, came to Christ.  Go to https://www.maf.org/about/history/nate-saint to learn more.

We had the opportunity to buy Waorani made items (with 100% of the money going directly to the individuals who crafted the items), and I bought some ceramic turtles, a bowl and bracelets for gifts, and for my hubby and son, I bought BLOW GUNS!!!! Who else in the neighborhood has a blow gun????

Nate Saint House

Back at the casa, we helped lead afternoon worship service for the kids. I spent a lot of time preparing worship songs in Spanish, and enjoyed the chance to lead the kids. My Cherith friends will enjoy the fact that I taught them “Salt and Light” in Spanish, and I translated “Thwart” into Spanish for them. We sang other worship songs that are familiar to both English and Spanish speakers as well.

Rae translated our skit into Spanish. Topic: Fruit of the Spirit. My character was basically Jesus, and each person came to me with a problem, and I exchanged their bad stuff with the fruit of the spirit that I had taped all over my body. My teammates were great sports with their Spanish lines. Kudos to Nancy for being the “most improved” on her pronunciation.

Casa de Fe’s chaplain, Mark Blosser’s wife then gave the message to the older kids, while the younger ones went downstairs for Sunday school. It was sweet to get to get to worship with the kids and my prayer is that the power of God will transform each of their lives in huge ways.

Zuniga Family, plus a family friend, and Ashlynn,
who is staying with them for 3 months

By the end of worship, my throat hurt and I had had a bit of post-nasal drip, (MDs, don’t read this part…) so I decided to buy myself a Z-pack and self medicate. The slight symptoms I’d been having for weeks quickly cleared up. I get the whole resistant bacteria thing, but it is really nice to not pay $150 or more for the doctor to say that yes, you can have antibiotics and then to have to pay for the medicine on top of that.

Dinner that night was at a Chinese place. I am partial to Asia Chow Mein in Columbia Heights, MN, but even compared to lesser places where I’ve eaten, this place gets ranked pretty low. Oh well. It was food. The people you are with are more important that the quality on the plate.

After two fun days with the kids, I was ready for a little manual labor in the coming days. Or maybe a lot of manual labor. I facetimed my family, prayed with my roommates, and slept...some...never well. Oh well!

Off to Ecuador

In January, I had the privilege of going on a mission trip to Casa de Fe (an orphanage) in Shell, Ecuador with a group from Cormorant Lutheran Church. I've written 17 pages (I don't think I've written anything that long since college!) that I'll post over a few days or weeks. I'll try to put a short summary at the beginning of each post for those who just want to know the basics of what we did, and the long version for those who want to experience the trip with me. I apologize in advance for any thing I have out of order, names spelled wrong, etc.!

Short version:
Wednesday: We drove to the cities and stayed overnight.
Thursday: We flew to Houston, and then to Quito, arriving after midnight.
Friday: We spent 1/2 the day driving to Shell. We
got to our hotel in the late afternoon, and then got oriented to our week with staff from Casa de Fe, and had dinner with a missionary couple.
What you can pray for: Pray for the Zuniga family. They are missionaries who work at Casa de Fe and elsewhere in Shell. Pray for the funding they need, and especially for their street ministry to prostitutes.

Our Team
Front: Barb, Tracy, Nancy
Middle: Wanda, Jenica, Carol
Back: Rita, Kendra, Jeff, Rae, Benita, Jon

Long version:

Wow.  14 hours after returning home from my mission trip to Shell, Ecuador, my emotions are running high. I feel so refreshed and built up. New friendships were made. Kids were served. Much random manual labor was done. I bonded with some teammates, not so much with others. Every group seems to contain certain personality types, and this was no exception: Carol and Barb were the loud, super outgoing ones. The shopper was Wanda. Jeff knows his Bible really well and was a great leader (so nice to not be in charge of anything!). I enjoy and appreciate Rae and wish I had gotten to know her better. Jenica is a fellow Cobber/singer and tons of fun. I finally started to get Jon’s sense of humor on the flight on the way home. I really bonded with Rita. She’s almost 75 and a barrel of energy and not afraid to try anything. Traci has a servants heart, Nancy, my other roommate really has a love for Jesus, and Benita was a solid team member…I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to get to know them all.

I laughed more on this trip than I have in years. I got more giggly at the end when I was obviously more tired, even though I didn’t really feel tired. We laughed at Barb accidently scaring this missionary pastor who was staying at our hotel when she meant to scare Carol. I laughed at Rita’s sense of humor—like when she told about how someone found a bug and one of the kids said it was an aphrodisiac and so she touched it here and there, and rubbed it’s belly for a while and nothing happened…

I’ve known for decades that I eventually was supposed to serve in the Andes in some capacity. I’ve been praying specifically about the right opportunity since getting home from Ukraine in 2013. I knew it was time to start using my Spanish major for something other than the occasional book that I’ll read in Spanish.

Last summer at Camp Cherith, my job was food ordering. After placing my last order of the season, Jeff, our Sysco rep, asked me if I would be interested in going to Ecuador on the mission trip that he and his wife lead. We had never talked about much outside of food during the whole season, so I believe it was God prompting him to ask me. I immediately felt that this was the right opportunity.

Fast forward five months, and here we go!!!

Wednesday:

We met at Cormorant Lutheran at 2:00 to pack our checked bags with items needed by Casa de Fe. Suitcases were filled with peanut butter, coconut oil, knives for the kitchen, a laptop for one of the administrators, school supplies, clothes, and many other items.

I rode with Wanda, Benita, and Rita to our hotel in the Twin Cities. Upon arrival, the group went to Denny’s for dinner, but my dad and stepmother picked me up and took me to Ikea. A friend of my dad’s who was a stunt man in many movies and TV shows happened to be there, so we ate with him and heard lots of crazy stories.

Back at the hotel, I didn’t really sleep a wink all night. My mind wasn’t nervous about anything, but my heart rate wouldn’t slow to a resting rate—it must have been subconscious. And maybe a little bit due to roommates who may have snored…

Thursday:

After breakfast at the hotel and two shuttle trips, the twelve of us and 25 or 26 suitcases were all at the airport. Oh, and somehow we didn't get the sewing machine for the casa to the airport. Oh well.

Getting everyone on the plane is the biggest stressor for Jeff on these trips. I think we did well as a group with being on time, and no one seemed to have issues with security or passport control. Both our flight to Houston, and the one to Quito were on time. As we waited for our first flight, I broke out my “Pass the Pigs” game and got about half the team plus a random little girl to play.

The sky was clear on the way to Houston. We realized we’d be back there on Superbowl Sunday and wondered how crazy the airport would be. Ashlynn, who was traveling to Casa de Fe for a three month stay “found” us in the airport because of our purple shirts. She had booked the same flight as our group so that she could share our bus to Shell once we were in Ecuador. She is super sweet, and was a pleasure to have as an honorary member of our group.

On the flight to Quito, we flew over the Gulf of Mexico, and I enjoyed watching the boats and islands go by. Supper was a yummy chicken/quinoa casserole. Because we were seated alphabetically, I sat next to Jon. I didn’t get to know him very well until the return flight, at which time I really started to appreciate his sense of humor. Jon was in a bicycle accident in college and suffered brain-damage, and walks with a cane, and is a little hard to understand. Nevertheless, he was a valuable team member, especially as he spent hours reading the Bible to the kids with severe special needs in the infirmary.

Upon arrival in Quito around midnight, Chris Zuniga and Joel met us at the airport and had vehicles to take us to the guesthouse where we spent the night. We didn’t realize that there was a guest sleeping in the room next to ours, and that guest was a little upset with us for waking him up. He stood in his doorway in his underwear and gave us a small piece of his mind. Sorry, sir. The place seemed deserted when we arrived. Then again, it was after midnight. We should have figured… Nancy, Rita and I shared an upstairs room. I never slept well very on the trip, but at least I slept better than I had the previous night in Minneapolis.

Friday:

In the morning, we had a lovely breakfast of fruit with yogurt, toast, and juice. All Ecuadorian juice seems to be fresh and thick and heavenly yummy. Typical flavors included mora ( a berry), naranjilla (similar to orange), and others.

After breakfast, our bus driver, Darwin, arrived and we began the 90ish mile trip to Shell. Although the roads were new, and the speed limit reasonable, it still took somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 hours to get to Shell. Maybe it’s 90 miles as the crow flies, but on mountain roads, it seemed more like 200! I enjoyed speaking Spanish with Darwin. We talked about the upcoming elections in Ecuador, and about President Trump. I gained a little confidence in my Spanish speaking ability.

I sat in the front seat of the bus with Nancy, and the scenery was beyond words. The first part of the drive had kind of an alpine-arid vibe to it. There were many terraced fields on the mountainsides, and random Holstein cows tied up and grazing near the roadside. We passed pine forests, and plants that reminded me of aloe vera.

You KNOW it’s going to be a good trip when an ice cream stop is on the itinerary. We stopped at Micko’s maybe halfway between Quito and Baños. I had a cone with one scoop of mora, and one scoop of apple-mandarin ice cream. Delicious! We also got to try yucca bread there. It was better than the yucca bread I made at home a few weeks earlier. I started helping others with Spanish by translating the ice cream flavors and enjoyed helping with communication for the rest of the trip.

The alpine-arid vibe gave way to rainforest as the altitude decreased and we neared Baños (a resort town that we would stay in on our last night).  We stopped for lunch at a place that evidently caters to all the “gods” (according to Patti Sue, founder of Casa de Fe). I had the Hindu platter and enjoyed my view of Frida Kahlo art on the wall. OK, maybe not all of it. Some of her portraits are a bit weird.

After many miles of windy roads, vehicles passing us despite double yellow lines that evidently don’t REALLY signify a no passing zone, and many tunnels and bridges, we arrived in Shell and checked into the Hostel Esmeraldita.  I was once again with Rita and Nancy. Our room was nice, but didn’t have any outside windows. Two windows opened to the hallway, and I’m not sure how securely they actually locked. Between not having a deadbolt, and having your keys hung on hooks behind the (not always attended) front desk during the day, it probably wasn’t the most ever secure set-up, but yet it felt safe.

I don’t remember when we first tried the shower, but we soon discovered that the source of hot water was approximately two blocks away. Good thing we were in the rain forest and water use is probably not an issue. The warm side of lukewarm was about all we ever achieved with the shower, but at least the cold wasn’t the cold of the water coming out of my well at home, but rather more of a “luke cold”. Remind me to pack a shower “puff” next year. There were no washcloths, and I had to resort to fingernails to get caked-on mud off my legs on several occasions.

That night, we had dinner at a restaurant with a missionary couple, Erik and Renee, from Holland, MI. Erik works with tribes to facilitate having them build their own water systems. This is important, because they take ownership in a project that they do themselves, and they then know how to run and repair it. He also works with a program that trains missionaries who are going to go to the Middle East for a time. They learn many skills, everything from how to butcher a chicken, to skills needed to share the Gospel with the local people. Renee is a therapist at Casa de Fe, and has other responsibilities elsewhere.

That night, it turned out that Rita had lost her John Steinbeck book somewhere, so I lent her my “Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer” book by John Grisham. It must have been OK because she read the whole thing by the end of the week. We fell asleep, ready to meet the kids at Casa de Fe in the morning and begin our work.