Life in the Amazon...

I find myself playing catch up again with blogging, so here goes another infinite post. Good luck readers (mom)!

Saturday we awoke to pouring rain. Of course this would make sense seeing as we are in the rainforest, but still it was slightly disappointing after many dry days. And since we had plans to tour Macas and shop in the morning, it quite literally rained on our parade. Thankfully taxis are cheap and abundant here so us girls were able to take a few team members by taxi to do some shopping and visit some of the markets and a panaderia before lunch time. After lunch we took a much needed and desired nap and changed out of our rather wet and muddy clothes before hopping on the tour bus and heading into the hills.

First we stopped at the new land that the school purchased with plans to eventually build a much larger school that can serve the outlying tribal villages. It was so beautiful and fun to walk around, until we noticed that the putrid smell came from lack of sewage and random piles of human waste. Too close to the Keens for comfort.

After leaving the land we went to a place called ¨La Juarta de Eden¨ which means the Garden of Eden in Spanish. Not going to lie, I envisioned the Biblical garden a little less muddy and a little more beautiful, but it was still gorgeous and a great experience. We saw boa snakes, monkeys, parrots, monkeys attacking parrots in a disturbing manner, and even a giant guinea pig (I am talking like 200 pounds. I have a picture). We played on some swings over a muddy pond, took a ride on a muddy boat, and relaxed on hammocks over mud. There was a volley ball court there as well, a fav among the locals, so Lauren and Elaine and Amelia played Eddison and I, and of course we won! They actually play with soccer balls here so we ended up with bruises the next day but what can you do? We were served pure sugar cane juice after so that relieved any pain we would have had for sure.

That evening on our way to go out to eat, the bus broke down so the team had to squeeze into another bus. And quite literally squeeze. Imagine 30+ Americans on a bus that holds maybe 20 on the twisty road to nearby Secua. With spanish music blasting. So I took one for the team and stood up front, and made friends with the bus driver and a few locals who were with him. That night we were exhausted and so we just hung out in our little apartment which has become like a home and watched a movie. It was a good day!

Sunday morning we had church again and it was so great, again. Though it also lasted about two and a half hours, I was thankful that I could at least understand what the pastor was saying. Strangely they didn´t have anyone translate, so I felt for the team members who had no idea what was being said for the duration of the service. We did sing a few songs and hymns that are also in English, and they did sing happy birthday to all the members of the congregation who had a birthday that week, so some of the team members were incorporated.

Sunday afternoon we had Chinese food for lunch--sick. That is about the last thing I would want to eat in a South American country, but you have to go with the flow! And we washed it down with ice cream, so not too much damage was done. After lunch we took another quick nap and then returned to the church to board a bus for San Isidro, a poorer village about 30 mins outside of Macas. It is a place known for witchcraft and other pagan religions, as well as extreme poverty and lack of education.

When we arrived in San Isidro, on our giant bus filled with Americans, it was a little awkward at first. It was a typical Sunday afternoon in the town--people just chilling on their steps and the field was filled with soccer players. We set up a sound system in a covered area and made announcements every few minutes that Americans were here to play games with the kids, do crafts, and share bible stories and songs. Then we would have an evening service for the adults. At first we recieved many strange stares and glares, but eventually a few brave souls ventured into the covered area into the eager company of the Americans. At first I had no idea what to do...We had only brought a few soccer balls and toys, and my attempts to strike up conversation with the people there didn´t exactly go so well. But soon some music came on and I found one little girl, grabbed her hands, and asked her if she wanted to dance. Thus commenced how I spent about 45 minutes of my time...dancing. My joy grew and grew as our circle slowly filled with more girls ready to dance in circles to the strange American VBS music. I might have shed a few tears watching their timid faces break into smiles and hearing their laughter as I danced and danced with them. How much more the Love and Delight of their Heavenly Father! That night I was reading in Zephaniah 3 and I want to share these verses:

Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!

The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.

On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."

At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you;
I will rescue the lame
and gather those who have been scattered.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they were put to shame.

At that time I will gather you;
at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
among all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
before your very eyes,"
says the LORD.

What a beautiful prayer and promise for the little girls who danced with me, for the people of Ecuador, and for each of us who ever feel or witness oppression or sorrow. We serve a God who delights in us, who gathers us near to him, and who promises restoration.

The delight carried through the evening as we made bracelets, colored pictures, and yes, continued dancing. I was amazed at how easily these children who were so timid began to show love and laugh with us, climb up on our laps, and even wipe their snotty hands and faces all over us. True love. We shared more time of worship, did cardboard testimonies (youtube card board testimonies and you will get an idea of what we did) and then had a time of tea and cookies after. Just your typical Sunday evening service in a village in Ecuador.

Monday we were all pretty sleepy, since we didn´t get home until past 10pm the night before and had to be at the school ready for class at 7. Okay, doesn´t sound that rough, but things take a long time here! And so the whole team looked a little dead that day, but thankfully our students are always a source of energy. At least they require copious amounts of energy and God provides. I had some good laughs with my students and we enjoyed another day of maybe learning some English and for sure having a lot of fun. They stayed after to practice their memory verses again and this is definitely time I treasure with them.

Monday afternoon we ate cow stomach for lunch...all thinking it was strange chicken with the skin still on. Awesome. Then we went back to the apartment with the best intentions to take a quick rest then head back to work, but we ended up falling asleep for about two hours. I guess we were tired. After our amazing nap, it was time to get ready for dinner! That night Elaine and I were able to go to the home of one of the church families for a Macas favorite treat--Iampacos. They are difficult to explain but it is a chicken and potato mixture cooked in banana leaves, and you eat it with rice, yucca, and salad. I took pics, don´t worry. We arrived at the home of Hermana Patty, and she had set out a table for us in her basement-ish area. Their home is set on a hill and it is very open air--like no windows and in the middle of the jungle. It was a beautiful experience. They took us through a walk in their garden, aka the jungle, and showed us the various tropical plants and palms. It was pretty dark though so that added a definite element of intensity. The jungle--at night. I have grown close with their oldest daughter, Valeria, and we were making lots of jokes about Tarzan...not really sure why. But it was a very fun night of food, laughter, and giant moths and cockroaches. All are welcome at the table right?

Tuesday was yet another great day with my students. I might have made a bit of a language slip and asked one of my male students an inappropriate question in Spanish when I was asking for his egg shaker back during music time, and still haven´t really lived that one down. And I faced additional challenges at snack time when one boy just chucked his juice glass all over another student. I had to whip out the angry Spanish and I made him sit out during play time, to his constant complaints of ¨Profe! Porfavor! Profe quiero jugar!¨and so I might have caved after a few minutes. But this is summer school, you can´t be TOO strict right? and the kid with juice all over his shirt wanted to play with him, so I guess they worked it out amongst themselves.

In the afternoon we continued to work and then that night we went to dinner and quickly left to join our friend Eddison at the local community center for dance class. We were only planning on observing, but dance and observation are two words that never go together in latino culture. So, we snuck to the back row and laughed at ourselves as we realized we don´t even know where our hips are, let alone how to move them. It was more like an exercise class and we were certainly dripping with sweat by the end. But we also had a bit more of a grasp of the dancing by the end, so that was exciting. A lot of the music was very traditional, but there was also a few twists and thrusts thrown in that made us blush--and we were all jealous of the fifty year old women in too tight spandex who clearly knew how to shake what their momma´s gave them.

After dance class we hung out at the park and watched a soccer game then went out to pizza (change it up after ice cream). We were still sweaty and gross so showers felt amazing when we returned home. And gracias a Dios we had water! It has continued to go on and off lately...not fun for washing hands and flushing toilets. But I am still not sick, so I guess that hand sanitizer really works!

I woke up pretty darn sore today, seeing as I attempted to move parts of my body I didn´t even know I had at dance class last night. Did I mention we were barefoot? And that the class lasted over an hour? Intense. And amazing. Anyway, so we got to school this morning, knowing it would be the last day of class before the carnival tomorrow. I brought my students candy, they went crazy, we played games, took pictures, and just hung out. It was fantastic. Until one of my students was like,¨I saw you dancing last night.¨Small town. No good. But he was gracious and said that us girls did pretty well and knew how to dance. And this class isn´t even graded so that had to be honesty right? And yet, it is never comforting to know that your student saw you at latino dance class making a fool of yourself in the midst of people who move like butter. Or something smooth like that.

After class today we started to get to work on some paperwork for Robin and Wendy, until we were asked, no, begged, to join some members of the team for an airplane ride over the jungles of Macas. It was basically part of our job description. So, after learning again the concept of Ecuador time and patience, Lauren, Elaine, Eddison, and I, along with two memebers of the team, boarded a tiny six passenger propeller plane and lifted off. It was such a blast. We said a prayer before we left and then screamed as the plane bobbed through the air and showed us the incredible views of the river, the villages, the mountains, and all of Macas. It was such an awesome ride. Not sure what the air traffic rules are here but the pilot took us right down into the river canyon, we zoomed up along a cliff, hovered over towns, homes, and huts, and made a fake landing attempt in a field that had us pretty much screaming. It was amazing! And only 30 dollars and they didn´t even need to see ID. Might have felt a little nautious after that though, but it was still soooooo wonderful.

After our plane ride we had a quick bite of dinner, headed back to dance class--which lasted two hours since they had a party with coffee and yucca bread before hand. The sweet old ladies kept handing us rolls and we felt obligated so Lauren and I ended up eating four. Not a good idea before intense sweaty dance class, but oh well. After that we hung out at the park a little more and then made our way to the internet cafe. Unfortunately we had to take a few detours to avoid the police. Not what you might think...while I am sure the police are here to protect, they have more of a reputation for whistling, honking, and making remarks at us Americans. They actually flashed their siren at us and stared out the window and whistled, so we turned around and went around the block and nervously laughed at the fact that only here do you run away from the police in order to feel safer. But don´t worry, I have always felt very safe in Macas and we almost always see people we know from church or school wherever we go. There is an incredible community feel about this place.

Tomorrow is our last full day here. Still can´t believe that my time of service here is almost over. I am thankful for things like the internet and facebook so I can hopefully maintain contact with some of my students and the friends I have made here. My heart has grown and been broken and humbled by what I have shared in and learned here in Macas. I am oh so thankful...