Team Ecuador

Well, this is Katie here and I have successfully managed to put off writing on this blog until now, but I actually was in Ecuador this past month. Surprise! It seems like only yesterday that we were boarding our plane in Calgary packed and ready to go. Since then we have had many new experiences and seen many new things. Some of these things were exciting like ziplining superman style through the cloudforest. Some things like doing lice checks for 8 hours seemed a little more teduious. Through all these experiences, we have gotten the chance in some small way, to put on someone else's shoes and walk around in them for a bit. Can you imagine being a tia at an orphanage in charge of caring for, cooking for and cleaning up after 50 kids? and on top of that haveing to do all of their laundry by hand!? I can't. But as I spent hours folding laundry that would never stay that way, I perhaps understood a little bit more. Many of the tasks we took part in seemed small and menial like the slow slow process of sifting sand to make concrete, but through all these things God has impacted each one of us in different ways and we trust that even things that seem to be merely a drop in the bucket may be transformed in His hands.

Being at Ganas (the first home we visited) I was saddened and even angered by a system that seemed so fraught with injustice and a cycle that would seem to leave little hope for the children growing up in to break free from. Marlo, one of the Youth World missionaries reminded me of how important it is to recognize that God is still at work in these places rather than simply, "getting bogged down in all the yuck." As we moved on to Shell and Casa de Fe I was inspired by the hope present there especially as I watched therapists work with disabled kids who had been rejected and abandoned because of their disability. It was beautiful to see these children being loved and cared for and being taught of God's love. And I was reminded through this that God is good even in the midst of great pain.

Thank you for praying for us this month and as we have been preparing. After about 25 hours of travelling yesterday we made it home to Camrose! I believe that God has taught us much through this experience and I pray that the lessons learned will not be forgotten, but will continue to be fostered and grown in us. Thank you for being such an important part of our missions experience and God go with you all!