Being back is both easy and HARD...

I've been home for a week and 2 days. It's been soooo hard but on the other had is easy and nice to be back! 

Let's start with the positive, why it's nice and easy to be back! Well one this picture says it all! 

I got to spend time with Booo!! It was sooo good to see her and take her to church! And the dress she is wearing I brought back with me from Ecuador! It looks precious on her! I just love this little girl to pieces and I missed her like tons!!! 

And I also missed the little girl I work with! Seeing her little face the Monday after I got back was awesome! Made it a lot easier to come back to work as well as the family gave me beautiful sunflowers to welcome me back! They were beautiful!! Made me feel extremely special!!! 

And I just moved into a place of my own! It's huge and beautiful! I love the space! I feel extremely blessed! 

Ok now to why it's soooo hard to be back, well the given is I miss Ecuador and the people and the friends soooo much, I'm finding that the most times I go to Ecuador the harder the re-entering reality is...this past time was my 3 time going to Ecuador and this time is and has definitely been the hardest. 

In Ecuador when I was with the heartland team, we were told about the 5 f's. Fun, Fight, Flee, Fit and Fruit....I believe I'm either on the fight or flee stage I'm not sure! 

I'm betting some of you don't understand what the 5 F's means, so lets start with that! 

Fun-is the fun that u have experienced on a missions experience! 

Fight-an example is when you are home and u have cold showers cuz on the missions experience you didn't have hot showers!

Flee-is when u only stick with the team you went with on the missions experience cuz they know what you gave

Fit-is when you fit back into normal life and it feels like before you left on your missions experience .

Fruit-is when you put into practice something that you learned during your mission experience that changes your life back at home and sometimes changes your world around you as well it brings God glory!!!

It's like the parable of the sower that Jesus told in Matthew 13:1-23! Or this verse 'that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.' (Colossians 1:6 NIV)

Every day multiple times during the day I find myself missing and wanting to be in Ecuador! I am trying to enjoy life here and count my many many blessing but I find it hard a lot of the time! 

I am not sure what God has in store for me at all in the future! Please continue to pray with me that I hear and listen to Gods voice and direction in my life. And for my emotions and heart, they are soooo torn and I am not sure what to do! 

Thanks for all the love and support and prayers! I appreciate every single one of you as I walk through this journey! 

Back home

Well I got home yesterday at 2:30pm, it was soooo good to see Joanne and Hannah at the airport! And it was great catching up! 

When I got home I put my flowers into water! 

And they didn't die, they look amazing! I love them!!! Liz please tell your mom I love them and again THANK YOU!!! 

And everyone said that they loved my hand bag too!  

At 5pm I went to the dr! Only had to wait an hr which is really isn't that long at all at health first! The dr told me that the dr in Ecuador gave me the right stuff! I am starting to feel better during the day, however when I eat my gut really hurts. 

I tried to go to bed early last night but my body thought different...I couldn't stop coughing for like two hrs last night. It was annoying. 

This morning I got up at 11:30am after trying to get up like 3 times, I kept saying I should get up and then would fall back asleep! Lol I guess my body needed the sleep! 

After I ate some breakfast I went to my new place and got the keys!!!! It's soooo amazing!!! I feel soooooooo blessed!!! 

 It rained like crazy here this afternoon 

Then I just hung out and relaxed! I really miss Ecuador tho! Every part of it, even the chicken! Lol I miss everyone sooo much! I think I've whatsapp like every minute! Sorry guys if I'm being annoying! 

I was soooo happy and excited that I got to Skype n Facebook my amigos in Ecuador! It was sooo good to hear your voices and see your faces! Made me wanna be at church with u guys :-( I miss you guys more then u know! 

Tonight was church time! It was great to see some of the youth at the Gate we had a service outside, it was nice to be outside! 

It was hard to be there in the moment cuz my stomach was killing me, it was shooting sharp pains! I was in soooo much pain, a few of the youth prayed for me! I love being a part of a family of God that can pray for each other! I feels so special n cared for! Thanks! 

After church I started packing! I packed all of my willow tree ornaments up and some of my DVDs! Then my stomach attacked me! And I had to stop packing for the night! 

So I'm relaxing with Joanne watching so you think you can dance!  And then bedtime! Can't wait for tomorrow!!! I get to see K-Lynn...after a month!!! I miss that little one like CRAZY!!! 

Look at her face!!! Love it! <3 can't wait to see her!!!! Good night please continue to pray for my body! My stomach n my cough! 

Last days in Quito :-(

Hey! So I know I missed a day! That was Wednesday the 14th...there wasn't much to write, as I was stuck in bed pretty much all day...soooo boring however I did sleep a ton and I did rest! My second last day and I rested! That was my word, at the very beginning...REST! Well I rested! It was a forced rest but now that I look at it it was a much needed rest! 

In the evening Joe left to help lead another missions team from his church, this one, he was going to the beach! He left at 10pm, I honestly didn't think that saying goodbye to him would affect me soooo badly! I didn't think I'd cry, but I did...like a baby! I think it was a mixture of saying goodbye (and as I wrote a few weeks ago I hate saying goodbye), being sick, and being emotionally and physically drained! I found myself crying for like an hour, talking to a few of you back at home, I was grateful for you as you walked me through how I was feeling and what was going on inside of me! It definitely helped! Thank The Lord for today's technology!!! Go iMessage! 

A sweet God story tho was like after I was finished crying and talking with a few of you, I heard a door open, and heard a voice that sounded a lot like Joe's...I went out to the dinning room n sure enough it was! He had came back cuz he had forgotten a guitar and his retainer! I took that as a gift from God! One last hug! 

My last day I was kinda worried I'm not gonna lie! Being in Joe's house alone not not able to speak or understand much Spanish but God again surprised me! The morning wasn't as bad as I thought at all! 

As I was finishing packing Rachel Joe's mom gave me gorgeous hand made with love bathroom decor!!! She had sewed it herself! I felt very honoured and extremely special! Thanks my Ecuadorian mom!!! I love you! 

In the afternoon Liz came to get me! And I went to her house! I had lunch there! And then we headed downtown cuz we wanted to go to the White House but there was a protest, the president was making some kinda announcement! Liz told me but I really didn't understand! 

Here are a few pics! 

And 

And the protest

Liz, Liz's mom and I were looking for a back pack for me, a traditional one but trying to find that was like trying to find a needle in a hay stack! I was getting kinda frustrated cuz nothing I wanted to do was working that afternoon, and I still wasn't feeling a 100%....and then Liz's mom just totally made my day! She bought me this! 

The most beautiful hand bag I've ever seen or owned!!  And some gorgeous flowers! How I definitely feel so loved n special! Words can't even express how I feel! 

B4 we headed back we stopped at a store and got these made! 

After the downtown experience we went back to Joe's house so I could take a shower b4 my long travel home! 

Then Joe's parents, Liz, David, Belen, and Belen's sister circled around me and prayed over me! Rachel said it in Spanish and Liz translated!!! Way to go Liz!!! And David prayed in English!!! I was soooo proud of him cuz he'd never prayed out loud in English before!!! 

Then we weed off to the airport! On the way the car started to over heat, so Joe's parents had to stay with the car n I hopped into Belen's car with David and Liz! And we were off to the airport! 

I checked in and then we said goodbyes :-( so hard and sad! David gave me one of the best gifts EVER!!! A Jands t-shirt!!! That is their youth group! I really really wanted one! And he gave me one as a goodbye gift!!! 

And to top it off I got to hear Joe's voice one last time on the phone!!! 

Saying goodbye sucks big time! But I pray that coming to Ecuador now can be a yearly thing! As a holiday! Or who knows maybe more! Joe I'm serious if you find me a job teaching English I'd seriously consider it!!! 

And I hope and pray that Liz and Joe can come to Canada next summer!!! I told them not to come in the winter cuz they would freeze to death! 

I love and will miss you all my Ecuadorian friend n family! You will always be in my heart!!! 

Well I am currently in the Houston airport waiting for my flight to Denver! I get to fly to Denver! 

Please pray for my stomach it's not doing so well! I ate breakfast and immediately had to  use the washroom! About to take Imodium again...would appreciate ur prayers! Thanks! 

Canada here I come! 

Ugh so Houston won't left me post...hopefully Denver will, I am in Denver! Last flight, last leg!!! 

The last plane was huge! 2 aisles! Like there was 3 seats in the middle of the plane! Biggest plane I've been on!!! 

And free tv! 

Ok I better board or they will leave without me! See u soon Canada! 

Zoo and hospital

Hey so yesterday was a LONG day! I got up at 8am and had bread for breakfast and headed to the Zoo! We took 2 city buses, a ride with a creepy guy (cuz we hitch hike...don't worry I wasn't alone Joe and 7 of his friends were there too!) and a coach bus and a ride in the back of a pickup truck...all to get to the Zoo! Took us like 2 hrs! 

I was really excited to go and really enjoyed it until like an hour or so into our time at the zoo...I became sick, the worst I've ever been in my life, it was coming out of both ends and pain full :-( so we headed back but only took a ride in the pickup, 2 buses and a taxi home! No hitch hiking! 

When I got home I took turns sleeping and pooing! Finally in the evening like 630 Joe decided I needed to go into the hospital to get checked out cuz I was still in a lot of pain, freezing, couldn't stop having diarrhea, and hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. 

We first went to the international hospital but had to leave there cuz a) I didn't have a credit card and b) didn't have $200-300 to spend to get checked out. So Joe took me to a hospital that his mom went to to have a knee surgery like a month ago! It was a nice hospital, the nurses n drs knew what they were doing, and there was no wait time and even bigger bonus was it only costed me $20! 

After pooing in a cup and After They took blood...(they could find a vein, cuz I'm dehydrated they ended up taking it from between my elbow n my wrist...OH MY GOODNESS was that PAINFUL! I actually was screaming n crying) we waited for the test results to come in. 

Lol Joe took a pic of me in the hospital! Sorry it's not a pretty pic!

The results are I have a very bad intestine infection I'm on lots of meds! Gross ones I might add! 

I have not slept this much in my whole life I have no energy :-( please pray I start feeling better as I fly home tomorrow night and arrive home Friday afternoon! THANK YOU!! Today I'm just gonna rest! It's hard to rest when I know I'm leaving tomorrow n I wanna go do stuff! :-(

'Home' sweet home!!! Aug 12

Wow what a night! Longest bus ride EVER!!! I slept maybe 3 hrs in the whole 12 hrs! I couldn't sleep cuz the bus was sooooo HOT! And I was so uncomfortable!  The rest of the time I made up songs like... "Where are we, where are we, I don't know, I don't know. Somewhere in Ecuador, somewhere in Ecuador. We are lost!" Lol and it was a one hit wonder! Lol today everyone from the team is singing it lol!!! Also I was Dora all night, cuz there was a Diego on the team! And Sergio was swipper the fox and Emily was boots lol yup I know I sound nuts... This is what happens to be at 3:30am lol

So we got home at 8:30am and I went to sleep! And I slept till 3pm! I was worried cuz some of the team was suppose to come over at 3 for desserts, lol not sure why I was soooo worried, this is Ecuador, and Ecuador time means ur on time if you are 1 hr late!!! Lol so I had time to slowly wake up and take a HOT and RELAXING shower! 

So at 4pm people started showing up and Liz, Genesis and I made...a chocolate cake, white cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies and non-bake cookies! It was awesome, tiring but so much fun!!! 

After the food was consumed lol or devoured lol the guys cleaned up!!! I was soooo shocked that a lot of them had never had these sweets before, I had to buy a muffin tin and a cookie sheet cuz Joe's mom didn't have one. Another thing I take for granted!!! 

For supper we went to one of Joe's friends house, we finally ate at 11pm! We have rice, chicken and French fries! Sooo yummy! I was starving! 

And now it's bed time!!! Good night all

Lord give me strength! I need some! August 11

Wow I have no energy today :-( all I wanna do is sleep but my back hurts, well my whole body hurts...I am definitely not use to sleeping on concrete floor! We have it so good, in Canada well even in Quito too. The things I have taken for granted like having a comfy bed, having a hot shower, eating food other then chicken and rice...and WAY more! 

My prayer is that the Lord will open my eyes to I can see things through His eyes! I want to have compassion but not pity, I want to have gentleness and love for others that only comes from the Father of love and gentleness! I wanna show God to others through my actions and words to others! 

This morning in debrief we had an extended time of worship, I'm not sure exactly why everyone was in tears but I have a feeling it was the Holy Spirit moving in the kids lives! It was really neat to experience! I didn't understand the words but I did feel the presence of God and the Holy Spirit!!! Jo also told me that the pastor was talking about forgiveness and love! 

After debrief we cleaned the church up to get it ready for the Sunday service tomorrow, it was a pretty relaxed morning...which is good cuz I didn't have much energy at all, I think it's a mixture of not getting enough sleep due to the hard floor, and the HIGH altitude! I can tell its a lot higher in the sky here! I have made sure I drink lots of water. I probably should be drinking more but I'm already peeing like every hr! 

For lunch the team had cow tongue, lol I say team cuz I didn't have to eat it cuz it was made in a cream sauce, this was a time that I was thankful for my milk allergy lol!!! I was given a bowl of fish soup, not gonna lie it wasn't my favorite but I ate it! It was way better with lime juice (well I think it was a lime, it was green and sour!) it was a lot better then I thought it would be! 

In the afternoon we did more VBS! The team lead them in songs, did a puppet show on Noah's ark and did animal foam craft puppets! The kids seem to really like it! I love watching the team interact with the kids, it's a lot different then my Canadian team obviously cuz they can communicate to the kids way more then us lol! 

Before supper the team played a game call Mafia. There is a mafia person, a nurse, and a detective! I didn't play cuz of the language barrier but it was fun to watch! And a few of us gathered around my iPad and watched the flash dances in Step Up Revolution as well as play free-flow! 

Supper was really yummy!!! It was a fried rice!!! Soooo good, the bast meal we have had thus far in Celica!!! After supper we went to the town square where we played soccer, dances, and did a drime! 

For debrief I shared my testimony to the team, I'm not sure why but starting today's testimony was extremely hard to do, it was like there was something in front of my mouth not letting me begin to talk, that's when I prayed in my head that what ever it was it would go away in JESUS' NAME. And it worked I was able to share, it was still really hard cuz I added some pretty personal stuff, but I did it, cuz I wanna bring God glory! 

After I shared, then we broke into partners, and each person in each group had to mins each to talk about what God taught us today. And then we shared, I didn't understand anything that the group said really at all, but I'm glad they saw or heard something from God. 

And as I write this I am in the girls room with all the girls. As the girls are sharing about their lives and where they need pray. 

I'm exhausted I'm trying not fall asleep but its not workin' so well! Lol please pray for the team that the unity will be strong and that we are able to finish strong!!! We leave tomorrow at 10:30am for Loja it's a 4.5 hr bus ride, then we leave for Quito not till 9pm. So I'm not sure what we are gonna be doing except eating, the team will have pizza and I think I will have a burger or something like that! 

Ok it's 4am and the girls sharing time is finally over... If it wasn't for Liz I would not have known what was going on at all! Thanks Liz! I just love her!!! Good night or good morning, 7 am is gonna come quick! 

   

Interesting day August 10

Well today was an interesting day! It started off WAY to early, at 7am! I was not ready physically or spiritually for devos that early in the morning. And not knowing Spanish really bugged me, which has really only been the only time it has really bugged me! So Jo told me I could have some 'alone' time! So I took advantage of it and went to have a shower! However I didn't realize that cuz it's electric you are not suppose to turn the water on full, so it was a COLD shower! Oh well it woke me up! While I was showering I was able to listen to worship music so it was nice!  After my shower I was ready to take on the day!!!   

Breakfast was interesting, some deep fried bread thingy with chicken and other stuff in it, it was decent, however it needed ketchup! And I had a jam bun!

After breakfast we went to the locate school and invited the kids to the VBS at 2! The kids were so cute and really excited to have us in their class room...they thought it was pretty funny that I was the only gringo and the only one that couldn't speak Spanish!

After we were at the school we came back to the church and painted! It's really interesting how they water down the paint to make it go farther, we wouldn't do that at home but it works here! While we were painting we listened to my iPhone music! Toby Mac, Hillsong and Jesus Culture!!! It was fun! 

Lunch was yummy! And it WASN'T chicken!!! It was beef! And rice! 

So after lunch we went to the town square again to do VBS, it was interesting to see Ecuadorians do VBS verses us Canadians doing it! When we got there, I noticed that the kids didn't come running to the team, and become cling ons! I asked Jo why and he said its cuz they weren't white gringos! They were passing out candy and playing games so the kids liked it! The only time I saw the kids be cling ons was with one of the guys named Samuel! He is one of the teens on the team and has a way with kids! At one point he had like 15 kinds on top of him! I took a ton of pics and of course held a baby!!!!  What can I say I am just drawn to them!!! While we were at VBS there was a flood happening upstairs in the church where we were sleeping, Jo and a few others went back early to check out the damage and to clean it up...there were a bunch of girls and guys sleeping bags that got all wet, so they have to sleep on cardboard boxes and have blankets. And the rest of us stayed at VBS! 

THESE ONES ARE MY FAVORITE!!! Go Canada 

And Joe doing nails!!! 

It was all going well until Samuel fell with all the kids on him and he really hurt his hip and his thigh. It hurt him so badly that we decided he needed to go to the emerge. So after we prayed over him Jo and I and the pastor took Samuel to the hospital.

Wow that was very interesting! Definitely not what I'm use to! Here are a few pics! 

Sharps 

The results were good, nothing was broken it was just a big hit or bang lol those are my doctor terms! Lol they did give Samuel a shot in the bum, poor guy was soooo scared I had to hold his hand! Poor guy!!

I'm not gonna lie supper was not very good I really tired to eat it but I couldn't do it so I gave it away as it is extremely rude to not to eat what you are given. After supper the team went to play soccer and I stayed back with Samuel cuz he has to rest for today and tomorrow. We watched the flash mobs in Step Up Revolution! And the songs in Pitch Perfect! Time went pretty fast! 

And debrief was difficult for me cuz I couldn't understand it, and I didn't want Jo to translate it cuz I wanted him to just be there for the team....it was just nice to be with the team, in their presents! I love them...crazy to say since I've only known them for like a week or more they are becoming like family! Well we are family in Christ right!!! 

Well I'm off to bed now. Tomorrow is a late morning!!! 8am!!!!!

Ps I forgot to add another thing I need to get use to for the next couple of days is that there is water in this town only for a few hours a day, cuz from what I understand the town doesn't have a lot of water so they are reserving it, if that makes sense. Lol which is kinda ironic today when we had a flood inside today cuz someone accidentally left the water in the kitchen sink on. 

Aug 9-LONG DAY!!!

Today was a super duper long day! We left Quito at 6:30pm yesterday and hopped onto a bus to go to Loja! It was a LONG bus ride, the longest I've ever been on a bus for a period of time. There wasn't even a stop. So I had to pee in the little toilet room in the bus. Boy was that a experience! I've never peed on a bus before or an airplane cuz I'm afraid of in closed spaces like that...so ya that was not a fun experience at all. 

The bus ride felt like a 100 years! I did watch Pitch Perfect, and part of the Hobbit, and part of le mis. I say part cuz I fell a sleep in the middle of both, enough to miss the important parts of each movie so I had no idea what was going on. I slept some of the drive but not as much as I wanted to. 

We arrived in Loja at 5:30 am needless to say I was not my happy bubbly self, as most of you know I HATE mornings! We unloaded the bus, and waited for a Pastor and when he came, he came with a big moving truck, oh ya I forgot to say that Ecuadorians pack A LOT for only 4 days! Even Jo said that! They had just as much stuff as the heartland team did and we were here for 12 days... If not more stuff then them! So back to my day! The moving truck came and we packed the back of the truck and the team piled into the back n we closed the door!!! It reminded me of a truck in the movies that snuck  immigrants across the boarder... Sorry if that sounds racist I don't mean it too! 

We then drove to the church and had devos and worship time, again that was hard when you are sooooo tired! It was on goodness, and God's goodness to us His children!  Then we had breakfast, bread and coffee and juice. 

After breakfast we did a bit of touring of Loja, the downtown! It was really cool, there are a lot of Catholic Churches there, and BIG and OLD!!! 

We toured for about an hour and a half then we hopped another bus and headed to Celiac another 4.5 hour bus ride... For the first hour I hung my head of of the window and enjoyed seeing God's amazing creation, and singing worship music, like Mighty To Save, I imagine God moving the mountains that we were driving thru!!! The rest of the time I slept , and attempted to watch movie of the Hobbit, but again kept dousing off lol! Maybe I'll have to watch it another time, I hear its soooo good! 

The drive really hurt my ears cuz like the whole time we were climbing up a mountain, I can definitely feel the higher change of altitude! When we arrived another pastor came to get us, he had a truck and we loaded the back of the truck. And a few of the guys hung on the back to the church, I road in a car to the church and the rest of the team walked, I told Jo I wanted to walk but he made me ride. Not sure why he would not tell me! 

When we got to the church we set up our rooms I am in the girls room obviously lol. And a few of them speak a bit of English. Ps I must add that the floor is HARD and we are sleeping on the floor, in sleeping bags, the floors are harder then sleeping on the ground! Praying I can sleep, I'm guessing I will be able to cuz I'm exhausted!!! 

After getting set up we had supper, can u guess what it was... Lol chicken n rice! On a bonus side note...guys stop reading lol my bras are getting bigger on me!!! Lo ok guys u can continue reading! 

In the evening the team practiced their dances to Spanish songs! It's really cool to watch them! And Jo created all the choreography for the dances!!! They are very well done!!! 

After practicing we went to the town square and they did a "flash mob" I said it in "" cuz in North America a flash mob is where u go into a mall or somewhere public in a crowded place and music starts, and a group of people in the midst of the crowd dances, this the public was sitting in the stands watching! The dance was to Undignified by the David Crowder Band! It was cool!

Then we came back and did debrief... The question was what was your high and low of your day! My low was obviously the LONGEST bus ride of my life, and my high was either holding a baby girl!!! Or learning more Spanish with the team! This team is pretty amazing almost as close to my family/team from heartland!!! Which I must add I MISS YOU GUYS A TON!!!   

This team also say that the love my hugs...I don't mean this to sound bad or to sound like I'm all that, but I don't why my hugs are sooo special! But hey if they are then I'll use them to bring God glory! Ps it's easier to encourage someone with a hug then words for me! 

Well it's late and I'm exhausted I must sleep! Good night!

Missed a post yesterday...sorry!

Hey I missed a post yesterday, I was soooo tired and not feeling so well:-( 

Yesterday was another filled day! 

We went shopping in the mall (that the team went to in 2011, on a Sunday between church services...the one with the rides in the ceiling) for warmer clothes for me, boy that was not an easy task! Every pair of jeans were SUPER tight! They fit but I definitely didn't feel comfortable at all. I tried on like 7 or more pairs and they were all the same! GROSS! Totally not me all of my pants are loose! This did make me have a bum but still! Lol YUCK!!! 

After like an hour or more shopping I bought a pair of sweat pants and a sweater! Which I felt WAY more comfortable in!  

Then we had lunch! I had coconut shrimp!!! It was yummy!!!! If you know me you know how much I love shrimp!!! 

After lunch we headed back home, that's when I attempted to take a nap but it didn't happen! Jo's friends came over and hung out! And I made a cake!!! 

Chucho is a famous soccer player that died 

At 4 we headed to the church to do more practicing there dances! They are planning on doing a flash mob in Loja to undignified by David Crowder Band. From what I can see in the practices it looks pretty good! 

At like 5:30 I started to feel really yucky, sneezing a ton, coughing like I have smoked for a hundred yrs. it was awful and embarrassing cuz it started in the middle of Jo's meeting with his missions team and everyone looked at me...and again if you know me I hate having people look at me! 

After the meeting we were suppose to go to a movie in the theatre but I was not feeling up to it so we decided to go 'home' (in stead of calling it Jo's home I'm just gonna refer to it as home ok! )

It was 8:30, and I had a tea and took some medicine. And Jo prayed over me for healing! Then I crawled into bed to 'watch' a movie! I say it like that cuz I ended up watching the insides of my eye lids! 

Then this morning I woke up at 7am, and I haven't coughed or sneezed yet...and it's 11:30!!! PRAISE GOD!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!! 

I woke up at 7am cuz the leaders of Jo's mission team came over for breakfast at 8! I made chocolate chip pancakes, eggs, strawberry syrup, and BACON!!! Mmmm bacon!!! It was really cool cuz some of Jo's friends had never had pancakes before...the things I take for granted!  

And then we went to the church to pick up more supplies for the missions experience to Loja.  

Now it's nap time! After nap we are going shopping again for clothes for me! Cuz I don't have any warm clothes and Loja is in the mountains and I guess it's cold! 

Then we will have time to relax n maybe watch a movie like Pitch Prefect. We are heading to Loja at 6pm tonight! 

I'm not sure if there will be wifi...if not I will update you all when I get back! On Monday! 

Please pray that I can feel included on the team even tho my Spanish is very limited, for safety, for courage to step out of my comfort zone, to be open to see n hear from God, for continues health and whatever The Lord lays on your heart to pray! Thanks a bunch!!! Dios  Te bendiga!!! God bless you!!! 

God watches over! N answers prayer!

Today was a good day! I actually slept in a bit today! I woke up at 8...ok now that I hear me say 8, that's not sleeping in at all  in my books. Lol when did I start thinking 8am is sleeping in!?! 

For breakfast Jo made me eggs!!! Scrambled eggs! And yummy bread!!! Ugh I love the homemade bread here! Jo live like 2 or 3 minutes away from a bakery! It's pretty yummy! Love the smell when you walk in the door!!! SOOOO GOOD!!! 

After breakfast Jo's mom invited a friend of hers to come and do my nails. I don't normally get medi n pedis but it was a nice gesture of Jo's mom! So I went along with it! They actually look good! The worst part hands down was when she touched my feet...UGH! I HATE my feet being touch probably more then I HATE mornings lol! But in the end they look nice and feel smooth! However I was told that I need lotion on like every day cuz I was SO dry especially my heels! They were sooo bad! 

After the pampering we went, well I went to McDonalds to eat! And Jo and his friends had steak and chicken! I have learned that steaks here aren't like the Alberta beef juicy steaks that we are use to! They are very thin! Taste good bug definitely not what I'm use to! I've already texted Shawn and Joanne that I really want a steak when I get home! 

After lunch we went to the super maxi and this is my highlight of my day! When we were shopping for vanilla one of the skaters at La Roca was there! His name is Joshua! He was new to Ecuador and La Roca, none of the other skaters knew much about him. I wasn't sure where he was or how he was and I've been praying for him a lot! So it was super cool to see him at the grocery store! He told me that he has a job in the mall at a store called Lee, I guess it's a clothing store! And I didn't get to talk to him much, but from what I hear from the other skaters that Joshua hasn't been around La Roca, which now is understandable cuz La Roca is in the north and he now works in the south. Which doesn't sound that far and doable but it's actually really far! Like 1.5 hr bus ride, and you have to switch buses at least once or twice! So ya it was awesome to see him again! If you don't mind joining me in praying for him! That he will find God, and that God will help heal his brokenness :-( 

Then we went to the church again! Lol I'm beginning to think that Jo lives at the church! He is there like every day for like hours and hours! 

They learned a dance to undignified by David Crowder Band! They are planning in doing a flash mob to that song on Wednesday afternoon! Should be good! Jo wanted me to be in it, I said lol heck no, not gonna happen! Lol 

After the dance lesson a lot of the missions team came to Jo's house to organize supplies to take to Loja on Wednesday night! It took like all evening and they still aren't done everything! 

Wow it's after midnight! I should go to sleep! Thanks for all the prayers! Please continue to pray for my cold, I go through spurts of time where I am ok, and then all of a sudden I'm like sneezing a 10 sneezes or more in a row! And feel miserable. Please pray that that goes away by Wednesday night! And also continue to pray for my nerves, n anxiety that I have at the moment but I know this missions experience is totally God ordained and I'm excited to see what He's got in store for the team n me! Love n miss you all!  

 

Teaching English!!!

This is the day The Lord made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Happy Sunday! Today I got to sleep in, I woke up at 8 tho ready to go but I forced myself to go back to bed and get more sleep. In hopes that this cold goes away! 

At 11:30 we went to church, Jo was already there! Because his missions team was getting commissioned today, it was neat to see a missions team get commissioned in a different language! The sermon was on James 3, watching your tongue! Jo translated some and I was able to understand some of it myself! 

Then we went to a mall, this mall was like like our malls except it didn't have air conditioning...wow it was HOT! I have a hamburger it was yummy 

Then we went to home and I attempt to have a nap but when I was finally relaxed it was time to go back to the church! Lol 

At the church I actually had the chance to help one of Jo's friends with her English homework! It was cool to teach someone English, I never knew I had it in me! We got there at 3 and left 8! Time flew! It felt like no time had passed at all! 

I still have my cold :-( I keep sneezing and my nose is running like a tap :-(  but I'm not letting it get me down!!! Jo's schedule is BUSY! But it doesn't feel that really busy, however he's always going! 

Please continue to pray for my cold, and energy level! As well as that I see God in the little things! On Wednesday I am heading to Loja like 12 hrs away on missions experience with Jo and his church, please pray for me as I prepare for that, and this will be a lot different cuz we are staying at a church sleeping on the floor, and really joining the way they live. I am excited to see the different between the Ecuador mission I was just on with heartland as opposed to an Ecuadorian mission! Please pray for me as the language barrier with really be there! 

Well I better sign off! I'm getting tired n low in energy! Thanks for your prayers n support! Dios Te Bendiga  

Worshipping God without reservation, why do we a lot of time hold back

So get this! Today I had the opportunity to sleep in but of course my silly body was up and wide awake at 7am. However I lounged in my bed for like an hour and a half lol! It was great! 

Today we went to the church and did some craft prep, I cut soooo many small foam pieces it's not even funny! My hands hurt after! 

Then we went came home for lunch and Jo's family had company. They all spoke Spanish, I was able to figure out only a little...but the food was so good! 

After lunch we went back to the church where Jo's mission team practice dances n drama for like 2 hrs while I messaged with Renata and others! Thank God for iMessage n whatsapp!!!! Lol

Church started at '5' lol I say 5 with ' ' around cuz it didn't actually start till 5:45! They started with games, and then moved into worship! 

I was amazed by the worship! There were a lot of guys n and they were even into the worship, you could actually hear the guys louder then the girls! It surprised me cuz at home guys hardly sing at all, it's like they are super self conscious! I just wish we could be like this where there isn't a care in the world, no one is distracted bytheir neighbours beside them. They are just in the moment worshipping God our Creator! They definitely feel free to worship!  

That is why I called this post whet I did! Do u feel free to worship God the way you want? Or do u feel judged, or silly!?! I encourage you all just to let the Holy Spirit lead you in how to worship to experience the best worship experience! 

After church we went out to celebrate one of Jo's friends birthday! I really wanted shrimp but they didn't have any :-( sad day! So I had chicken! A pretty cool tradition that they practice is that after the meal everyone says a little something to the birthday person, like why they mean so much to them, it's like what the Dillons do! Toast to the birthday person! 

I started this post last night, but I was to exhausted to finish it, I got a cold yesterday and it has hit me hard, I can't stop sneezing n I can't breathe outta my nose, and my throat is sore! And as well I wanna learn the language...Spanish, I am picking out some of what people r saying but I was wanna understand more!!!  Please pray for me! Thanks! God bless you all n thank you for following my time here in Ecuador! 

Chucha a famous soccer died :-(

Greetings from Quito so pretty much the city/country shut down today, in memory of Chucho Benítez a famous soccer player passed away for days ago from a heart attack. Sad cuz he was only 27 and has four kids. 😟 

Now for an update on me! Last night the team left it was very weird to say goodbye to the team n still be in Quito! Nice but weird! Last night I stayed at Ashley the teams host apartment. I didn't sleep well cuz I wasn't sure what was happening in the morning...I found myself getting anxious cuz I didn't know what was going on, when Jo was picking me up, what we were doing etc! 

I realized that that is one thing that God wants me to do, is not be anxious but to let go and let God! Give him my anxiety and not worry! Lol way easier said then done! Please pray that I can let go of my anxiety n just live in the moment with God! 

In the morning it all worked out! Jo and his dad did come get me at 8:30! And we loaded the car and headed to his house! Where his mom welcomed me with open arms! I felt great to hug her! Right away the amazing hostess that Jo's mom Rachel is she made me homemade juice and bought the best homemade bread!!! So delicious!!! 

Then I gave all the clothes that some of you guys donated to them! Seeing the faces on their face made it totally worth it! It was like Christmas n I was Santa Claus! They just loved them all! Only thing is I lost on shoe to a pair of Rachel's  favourite shoes lol oops oh well she was given 4 pairs so she was very happy! 

After we were done that we went thru the bags of vbs stuff heartland donated to Jo! It was great again to see Jo's face he looked so touched n blessed! When to other leaders from his missions experience team came n look at all the supplies, and they made a list of more things to buy and then we were off! We rode in a blue bus...it wasn't really busy at all, in fact all four of us got a seat! We went shopping at little stores near the huge church we went to on the first full day as a team in Quito! 

Man craft supplies at these stores are incredibly cheap! Jo bought 20 roles of foam for like 20 bucks, which is nuts cuz that's a buck a role. And each role you could cut up into probably 15-20 sheets. The crazy thing is that a sheet of foam at home is any where from 50cents to a buck! So we spent all morning and part of the afternoon shopping for craft supplies! 

Then we had lunch! Rachel made chicken pasta and a chicken supper, I didn't eat the soup tho! She didn't make me eat it, cuz it had all the left over piece of chicken in it! I told Jo I'd eat it but Rachel said no no she has pasta! No complaining there on my part! And the pasta was sooo good! 

After lunch we went shopping for a tambourine one of Jo's friend David needed one! And then we headed to the church where Jo's missions team practiced some songs n dances! We were there from like 4pm till like 8pm.

At 8pm we came home and I had supper and Jo went for a walk! Needed to pray n spend time with God! 

Well I'm actually going to call it a night! And have some quite time myself and then go to sleep! I'm tired! 

In closing can u pray for me that I can pick up some of the Spanish language, and that I'm not anxious cuz I don't have a schedule a head of time lol that I can rest and trust God that whatever happens its God ordained! 

Thanks!!! Good night! 

Said goodbye to the team:-( another adventure starts :-)

So it's 1am so I can say good morning! What a long day! It started at 7...crazy thing is at 7am I was wide awake, which as most of you know I am NOT a morning person! However during this experience I have been able to deal with the early mornings! And some of them were early! 

So we started the day off at Casa Gabriel which is a house for boys that were on the streets and wanted to straighten up! It was so good to see Phil and Deb again too, as well as some of the boy, well they are more like men now! Amazing ambassadors of Christ! 

At Casa G Deb told us about Casa Adalia! Which is a girls home that hasn't been opened yet....they are just praying that God will open up the right doors, as well as that God will give them wisdom! 

After Casa G we headed to the equator the middle of the world! Where we took pics as well as did market stuff! The girls really enjoyed the shopping! 

Then we went to el Refugio! It's a retreat centre! Where we spend 2 hours in solo time in nature! It really wasn't that difficult which surprised me a lot! It was actually nice to spend alone time with God! 

Then at 8ish we headed to the airport. And the team headed off...it was very weird not to be going with them! 

Now my adventure starts! I'm not sure what all is going to happen but I know that my time is God ordained! I'm super excited to see what God has in store for me! 

Please continue to pray for safety, and that I get the most out of these next two weeks that God wants me to, as well that I find time to rest! 

Oops I fell asleep before I pressed send again! Hope you all have a great day! 

Finished strong with the Team!

Hola chickos! Wow I can't believe that tomorrow is the last day the team is going to be in Quito :-( went really fast!

Today we painted and two groups of four were able to visit some community families 

Painting the gate, didn't have a tall enough ladder! So Jay was the ladder!!! 

Painted the lines on the bball court!  

One really sad story from one of the groups that visited the homes, was there was a family, a mom, a dad, 18, 15, 11, 3 year old kids. And the 11year old son was taking care of the 3 year old. Because their 15 sister got raped by their cousin, the parents took the daughter to the hospital n haven't returned home yet and that was on Monday when they left. The group really took compassion on the little kids n we real able to see things from a new perspective! 

 It's truly amazing how much God has done in our team thus far! It's so weird to think that we have been together for almost a full year! 

Our team really bonded well together! We fit like glue! We became a family! Tonight was debrief and we did an encouraging time! It was really cool to encourage each other even tho I suck at verbal encouraging it definitely doesn't come natural to me. I find a lot of the time I encourage with just a hug, and I've been told that I'm really good at it! And that God can use my hugs to talk to and encourage people! 

Well it's 2:25am! I'm wide awake! But I better try n sleep! Tomorrow we r going to Casa G, the equator, market, el Reg then the airport! Please pray for safety as they travel home! I'm staying for 2 more weeks! Yay! Ok ya I'm fading good night 

God is ALL powerful

Hola amigos! So today was a great day! Even tho it started at 5:30am! 

Today we went swimming with the kids and had lunch with the kids! It was sooo much fun! I never went swimming but I still had fun!!! I had a chance to use my big lens! 55/250 it takes awesome pictures!!! Here are a few that I was able to capture!!! It definitely capture how much fun the team was having with the kids! 

Cool story! While we were at the pool a gentleman came up to me with his little girl, and asked me if I remembered her, at first I didn't but then he explained that the last time we were there his little daughter had a brace on her legs to keep her legs separated and her hips in place and she couldn't walk and was in line for a surgery to fix it...we prayed for her that Sunday and today she is walking n running like little girls her age do! It was sooo cool to see God's handy work! To see that the power of pray works! That there is power in His name! It brought a tear to my eye! 

The day ended for us a bit early! Which was nice to just relax and rest! And for supper we went to an Argentina restaurant where I had what I was told was a sausage with 'bacon' in it...sound pretty yummy right??? Lol nope it wasn't! It was nasty! It tasted like liverwort or whatever you call it and it looked GROSS. But it was an experience right! 

So another sweet super cool God nice happened tonight at debrief!!! Ok so we were in debrief and talking about yesterday's experiences and like 75% or more said that they were sooo angry all day...and as I was listening to them my stomach was in knots n doing summersaults and I heard a voice saying there is a strong spirit of anger in the place, and I needed to share...and I was like NO WAY man! And the feelings just got worse and the voice just got louder so I said it! And after the Ashley from youth world said she knew I was to say something n was praying I would! It was super cool to say yes to God even when it is scary! 

Please continue pray that I keep saying yes to God even when it is hard! Thanks guys! Good night guys! 

Painting n children!!!

Hey! Today was the first day at Ramanso De Amor in a little town of Argela Alta! It was an EARLY morning start! But not as early as tomorrow! Where we gotta leave at 6:30, but today we left at 7:30. 

When we got there, there were just a few kids, and then like 15 minutes last there were like TONS of kids! Here are some pics of the team with the kids! 

A birds eye view from the roof of the school! 

Danielle doing the human knot with the kids

And then we painted!!! I painted too! 

 

And we also did yard work

It was a fun filled long tiring day! This evening for debrief we had a worship and reflection time! It was great to sit and worship God together! 

I know that this is a really short post but I am exhausted and I need to get up tomorrow at 5:30....YUCK! Please pray for me that I can get well rested and not be grumpy!!! Also pray that God gives me energy for tomorrow we are going on a field trip, taking the kids swimming! Please pray that everyone stays safe! And has a lot of fun and that many relationships are formed! That the teams last few days are amazing and God filled! Thanks guys!!! Good night!!!