Ecuador - July 24, 2011

Today was Sunday, and it was the last day of camp for the kiddos.  Bright and early (very surprising since they were up until the wee hours playing the odd version of leap frog), they were lined up like soldiers to return their linens to the linen room.  Since I didn't see a washing machine on the premises, I have no doubt that the laundry will be completed in the river at a later time.

After a breakfast of eggs and ham with fresh bread, it was time for worship again.  Even though it was early, a mosh pit immediately formed, and this time, the Ecuadorians were pulling the gringos into the action.  Even though we'd all been together for only a couple of days, intense friendships had been made.  With that in mind, this seems like a perfect time to say a few words about Jorge.

I mentioned Jorge briefly in my Friday journal.  I believe he is related (nephew?) to Marcia, the camp director, so he had accompanied her to camp to assist and enjoy the camp as well.  I'm sorry to say that I can't remember exactly where Jorge is from, but it sounded as though he lived something like three hours north of Quito.  With that in mind, he had completed quite a lengthy journey just to be at camp.  Within a matter of hours of meeting on Friday evening, Jorge, Luke, Nick, and Rocky soon became thick as thieves.  In fact, Jorge immediately became the fourth member of the "Blanco Bandanna Banditos." (They later had to drop the "blanco" because there weren't enough white bandannas to go around.) Therefore, there was a great sadness when Jorge had to leave on Sunday afternoon.  Even though the details are sketchy at this point, our hope as a group is that we will somehow be able to make it happen that Jorge can come to the U.S. for CHIC next summer.

For Mike and me, at supper the previous evening, we had met a couple named Jonatan and Mayerling Lopez, who are youth leaders in Quito.  To her credit, Mayerling broke the ice at dinner.  She speaks decent English, and her opener was asking me if I knew that the original recipe for hamburgers (remember, we had cheeseburgers for supper) had originated from a couple of MN sisters named Olsen?  What a great conversation starter!  


When conversation became a bit touch and go, Mike and I pulled out the little books that we had made about ourselves.  When I had made Mike's book, I had included a picture of a press and the God's Creation calendars to try to describe what he does for a living.  When Mr. Lopez saw the picture of the press, his eyes lit up.  It turned out that Mr. Lopez owned his own printing business.  Thus began a haphazard but enthusiastic conversation about the printing industry.

During worship time, Brittney had gotten roped into a sort of contest in which she had to do a crazy little dance.  The Ecuadorian kids thought it was awesome that a gringo had to shake her tail feather as well.  Anyway, during worship/chapel, the kids split up into the small groups that they had been in yesterday, and there was NO way that I was going to sit on the side lines and be bored during small group time.  As you will recall, I didn't get to be a part of a small group the previous day because I had been taking care of the girls.  When I scanned the crowd, I saw that Mr. and Mrs. Lopez were in charge of a group, and there were no gringos with their group.  Therefore, it seemed like a perfect place for me to slide in.  

Damaris

For a while, I just sat alongside the kids.  I didn't have a clue what the Lopez's were saying, but based on what I saw the kids doing, they were making future goals and putting them into an envelope.


Of course, I couldn't make head nor tails of what they were writing, but I attempted interaction anyway.  Forgiving as they are, the kids ignored my pathetic language errors and talked with me anyway.  Therefore, I soon met Karen, Damaris, Michael, and another boy who understood minimal English.  Michael and Damaris were immediately my buddies.  Since the whole language piece was pretty sketchy at this point, I pulled out my picture book, so they could see snow (they were asking me about where I was from).  There were lots of questions, of course, but my favorite was "Does snow feel like Jell-O?"  I laughed and tried to explain that sometimes it feels mushy; sometimes, it feels crunchy; and sometimes, it's fluffy. All this, of course, was conveyed through an elaborate game of Guesstures on my part.

Sandhy

After goals, all the groups headed out to the futbol field for Communion (or Intinction).  Mrs. Lopez broke the bread, and we each were given a piece.  Then, shared the wine.  We had one cup (Dixie cup size), and we all took a sip out of it.  I'm not gonna lie; I had some misgivings about everyone sharing a cup.  I'm not a germ-phobe like my husband, but sharing drinks is typically where I draw a line.  I suppose it brings back memories of when the kids were small and how sharing a drink with them meant chunks in my liquid later.  Nevertheless, when the cup came my way, I could feel all eyes on me, so I knew this was a pretty important moment. Not taking a drink would send a message that I did not want to convey, so I sucked it up and sipped it up.  

After Communion, we prayed a circle prayer in which we all prayed for the person to the right of us in the circle.  Michael, my new pal, prayed for me, and I prayed for my UNO pal from Friday night, Sandhy.  When it was over and kids reconvened in the center of the field to "burn" away their old lives, I pulled Mr. and Mrs. Lopez aside and prayed for them as well.  Again, the words of the prayers that were lifted up were lost in translation, but the meaning, intent, and emotion behind them were easily decipherable.

As we returned to the auditorio, it was FIESTA TIME!  Those who hadn't been out on the field for small group time had stayed in the auditorium and had feverishly cleared all the chairs and decorated the room with balloons, streamers, and pinatas.  It was super-mosh time.

Apparently, the small groups had prepared and presented skits during the previous morning's session, so during fiesta, best actor and actress awards were presented for the participants of the skits.  Erika was a presenter for the Best Actress Award, and nominees included Megan Rudie, Sheila Bass, and a lovely Ecuadorian young lady (she won).  

Even though the party was in full swing, it was clear that things were coming to a close.  Lots of pictures were being taken of old friends and new friends.  There was a reluctance for it to all come to a close.  Nevertheless, Michael Delgado soon became an instant hit with the Willmar bunch; we all loved him up.  He had a special affinity for the ladies, especially Brittney.  The other night when I was on Facebook, Michael popped up to chat with me, and after a bit, he said,"I wait for BRITTNEY!" LOL!


Lunch on this day consisted of Jell-O (I know, right?), and a paella dish (fried rice, chicken, and shrimp mixed together) that was meant to simulate a sort of Chinese dish.  (Interestingly enough, Daniel, our translator, said that the Ecuadorian's favorite type of food is Chinese.  Who knew?)  Then, it was time for the campers to begin to disperse.  We swam for a while, and when a bus would leave, I would be sure to be there to wave goodbye.  For some reason, I thought that was important.  Then, there was more swimming and cliff-jumping.  Everyone was hot.  Fortunately, the river wasn't as congested with swimmers as it had been the previous day.  As can be expected, a couple of swimmers slipped under the safety rope in the river, but a couple of youth leaders (Julio and Richard) were always on guard on the river bank to jump in and pull them back.  I am in awe of their strength to fight that river current.


Supper that evening was lasagna and bread.  It was clear that the Ecuadorians together with Kim Delp were trying to appeal to our Norte Americano appetites as well as introduce us to Ecuadorian cuisine.  It was phenomenal lasagna - I think it was better than mine!


Then, we were off to Dios Es Amor church in Santo Domingo for evening worship.  When we arrived, everyone in church greeted us with hugs and kisses (which is the standard Ecuadorian greeting).  It was incredible.  

We sang with their worship band, which was led by David.  Pastor Fernando greeted us warmly, and the congregation had prepared treat bags for all of us as gifts.  Their generosity, kindness, and warmth completely overwhelmed us.

Abbi

It's clear that there is a deep connection in this church between Dios Es Amor and First Covenant.  Fernando is the pastor of the church, and he is also a police officer in Santo Domingo.  His sister is Gloria, who is married to Nixon.  Her daughter, Karla, assists with worship.  Dan Sands refers to Karla as his daughter; Abbi, Karla's sister, stood at the bus door before Julio had even come to a full stop, waiting for Dan to get off the bus.  Mike Buer and David have a special connection through music.  Luke and Mike had taught David the English version of "Open the Eyes" on their last trip to Ecuador.  David, in return, had prepared a beautiful family portrait of the Buers for Mike to take home.  Such deep connections of which I am envious.  It's wonderful, and yet you shouldn't have to travel thousands of miles in order to experience such a strong, intimate church family connection.  Is there a challenge in such an observation?


Joel Delp (he and his wife, are Covenant missionaries in Quito) delivered the sermon in English while Richard Santana translated it to Spanish.  It was a very fitting sermon from Matthew 5 and Deuteronomy concerning the responsibilities of being a Christian:  "Love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and Love thy neighbor as thyself," or as Joel explained, "Love God by loving your neighbor."  

After the sermon, Karla, David, and a couple of other boys of whom I do not know their names, presented a fantastic drama, and there was more music.  In order to accommodate us, David led us in the singing of "Open the Eyes of my Heart" in English as well as Spanish.

After the service, there was mucho mucho visiting and pictures.  Rocky, Rach, Nick, and the others played with the little kids by batting balloons back and forth.  Catherine, Brittney, and Erika are the resident rockstars that all the boys want to take pictures with.  Their blonde hair, and/or curls, and/or cuteness seems to be a novelty.

Gina

Nick met a young lady named Gina Palacios, and she mentioned to him that she wants to major in Communications when she goes to college.  When he heard that, Nick steered her over to me, so I talked to her quite a bit about her career aspirations as well.  


One particular person at Dios Es Amor who left a strong impression on me was Abuela.  Without malice, I refer to her as "Random Grandma" because she just randomly will pop up by my side whenever I see her.  Abuela is Fernando's (pastor of Dios Es Amor/police officer) and Gloria's (married to Nixon,  mother of Nixon Jr., Karla, and Abbi, owner of a jewelry store) mother, so she has strong connections to Dios Es Amor.  Anyway, Abuela had no clue who I was - had never seen me before in either of our lives - and she grabbed me as soon as she saw me and gave me the bear hug of my life (she does this every time she sees me).  That wasn't the part that I thought was weird; when she hugged me, she would start whispering in my ear and would continue to whisper until we separated.  What I later discovered was that those whispers were/are prayers.  What a blessing to me and a challenge for me to do the same with the people I meet.