His grace is sufficient

Having been in Ecuador four whole days, many of my previous expectations of what this trip would look like have been significantly altered. While I initially felt pure joy and excitement to be speaking Spanish, visiting Lauren, and coming alongside the ministry of Robin and Wendy, long-term missionaries here, I have come to realize ministry is not always as glamorous or exciting as I would hope. After cleaning so many classrooms, running errands, preparing posters and English lessons, and moving lots and lots of furniture on Friday, I went to bed exhausted. We weren´t even able to take time for dinner until about 9:15 that night, and I was covered in dust, had killed two cockroaches that day, and just wanted to sleep in my hammock in the backyard (at home in america, definitely don´t have a hammock here). Needless to say these thoughts caused me to really question the heart of service that I liked to flatter myself to possess. I guess I expected serving in a church in the middle of the amazon would be a little more extreme and exciting than exhausting and mundane. (We are just an hour away from the village where Jim Elliot began his ministry for those of you who are familiar with ¨The End of the Spear.") But I have learned that God calls us to the mundane, and He has emptied and exhausted me in order that I may be filled with His grace and His joy, love, and compassion for the people here in Macas.

So these thoughts have been floating through my head the past two days. Saturday I did dishes for a good portion of the morning, then returned to the school for final preparations. After lunch we were planning on going swimming at a nearby spa (which sounded amazing since Saturday was the first blazing hot day) but we had to run a few errands first and learn the concept of ecuadorian time--and patience. We spent a lot of time sitting on curbs waiting for vendors to make keys, deliver water, fix the internet, and other random things that needed to be done in preparation. This waiting, post an amazing ecuadorian lunch of chicken soup, complete with chicken innards and legs and other chickn parts, started to make me feel a little queasy. The heat was no help, as it tends to make the smells of Macas especially pungent. So, I must confess that I enjoyed my lunch a second time, just out my mouth instead. Yes, though I pride myself in never being sick and being able to eat anything, something about the chicken feet did not go well. But once my stomach was emptied, we were finally able to go to the pool!!! The taxi´s here are pick-up trucks mostly, in order to drive through the rough roads and mountainous terrain, so we hopped in the back of one and rode up through the jungle hills to a beautiful pool where we ate ice cream (I was fully recovered) and swam and even went into a eucalyptis steam room. So relaxing! God demonstrates His mercy to us in strange and beautiful ways. It was a refreshing time for sure....

okay, my internet time is up and I need to go to bed because I have to be at the church at 7am tomorrow! But all is well, I am so looking forward to the team being here now, and God has been good as I have wrestled with what it means to be His servant. As they say here in Ecuador, Chevere! still not sure what that means...