Ahead and Behind

We went to the beach.  We've been anticipating this trip all semester, and we finally made it to Ecuador's fourth world: the Coast.  We rode 6 hours in a bus, ran along the water, walked on the sand, ate fish, laid in the sun, played a little volleyball, had some debrief sections, encouraged each other, journaled, reflected, and started to actually realize that this semester, one that most of us have been anticipating for months - if not years - is coming to a close.  Life is coming in hot, folks.  But the beautiful thing is that just because this semester is nearly done doesn't mean that the way it's affected my heart is over.  There is still more room for growth (I think there always will be), more things to discover, more of God to fall in love with.  There's still a Savior to abide with, and fruit to bear (John 15).  And once again, I'm thankful the God who goes before me and comes behind me.  I'm glad He's present in Ecuador, and present in the States.  I'm thankful for the people He's given me here to walk alongside me in this journey, and I'm thankful for the people that are going to welcome me home and walk alongside me as I transition our of Ecua-culture and back into States-culture.  It won't be easy.  But that doesn't mean it will be bad.  Just different.

 

"Come away with me...

It's not too late, It's never too late, for you...

I have a plan for you...

It's gonna be wild, it's gonna be great, it's gonna be full of me.

Open up your heart and let me in"

-Come Away by United Pursuit

 

Here are some snapshots of our time on the beach:

 

Late night Dutch Blitz: 6 teams of 2

We spent a lot of time journaling and filling out semester evaluation/reflection questions

Beach Campfire

This is the direction I ran every morning.  I LOVE running on the beach.

Me, Ally, Lauren, and Abby

The Mid-West Crew: Lette, Andrew, Abby, and Nick
I'm so thankful for these men of God, the friendships we've formed, and the adventures we're had.

Christy, Ally, Mahala, Abby, Christy, Melissa, Hannah, Lauren, Diana, and Me
Fireworks on the Beach!!

On our way to lunch

This is where we had lunch every day -- SO close to the water!!  We could literally feel the breeze off the ocean.

 ^"Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” -Exodus 33:15-16

Praying that God goes with us as we leave this place, that His presence will go with us, distinguish us, and continue to give us Rest.

Open the Floodgates of Heaven: LET. IT. RAIN.

We made it back from the Jungle -- safe and sound!  And that is quite the accomplishment - those of you who have experienced the heat, sun, bugs, rain and sweat of the Amazon Jungle know what I mean.  We returned to the same town we went to at the beginning of the semester -- I slept in the same bed in the same hostel, worked at the same school, shared dinner with the same missionaries, and used the same insane amount of bug spray.  But this trip was different.  First of all, all of our Spanish is a lot better.  Our team is more united.   We served for more days.  The kids we worked with were from a different community.  And -- we were in charge of a lot of planning and executing.  In one of our classes we learned a lot about Short Term Missions (STM) and partnerships -- we asked "Are STMs worth it?" and "How do we measure success?"  We talked about how to merge in well and merge out well and were challenged to build relationships and bear fruit.  And then we were set free to plan VBS. 

If we're being honest, I was really nervous about this.  In a group of 18 people, my ideas were not always the ones chosen, and there was no way I could be in control of the entire program.  Nor did I want to be.  I was scared enough to lead my own small group of kiddos.  However, despite my fears and anxieties, God was beyond faithful (as always...).  It was beautiful to see how each day when we arrived at the site my heart was more and more excited.  As I tried to pour out His love, each day God used those beautiful, dirty, broken children to fill my heart with more and more of His joy. 

We started each morning with a couple hours of manual work at Jungle Kids for Christ School, our partner ministry.  I sanded and painted some soccer goals, among other random jobs.  In the afternoons we headed out to the VBS site where we sang, had small group time focused on being part of God's story, shared testimonies, did crafts, played soccer and tug-of-war, and had a slip-n-slide.  We had a worship/debrief session every night, and usually ended the night with a rousing game of Dutch Blitz or Nerts (Abby and I make a fierce team, just saying :). 

It rained every day.  And when I say it rained, I mean it poured.  Literally a torrential downpour (including when we were tubing down the river on our last afternoon).  It's so interesting how usually I think of rain as an inconvenience, or am at the best indifferent to it, but in the jungle I think it's absolutely beautiful.  It's like the rain washes everything clean and gives it a fresh, crisp start -- and every time it rains I pray that God will rush through my heart like that.  One night it was pouring on the metal roof while we were worshipping and my RC appropriately led us in "Let it Rain."  I sat on the ground with my eyes closed and listened to the sound of the rain and the voices around me belting "Open the floodgates of Heaven, Let it rain!" and begged for God to pour down His kingdom in our hearts and lives, begged Him to pour down rain to nourish and grow the fruit we're being challenged to cultivate and bear. 

We're heading to the beach for debrief on Sunday morning.  In reality, debrief has already been beginning.  We talking about how to prepare to go home, but still live fully and take in our time here.  I'm really excited for this trip -- I'm excited to spend time on the beach and eat delicious food.  I'm excited to take long walks and play volleyball (sorry guys...I hope your exams go well!!)  And I'm excited for some focused time to process and debrief and begin to identify the fruit that God is calling me to bear.  To keep bearing.

 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." -John 15:5

 

At the Shell Mera station -- where James Elliot and the other 4 missionaries had their home base.  It's still a working missionary aviation station.  We got to meet the family and walk through the Nate Saint house.  It's an incredible story and an incredible ministry.

Our whole VBS group!  We had about 130 kids come out every day.

The two girls that were holding my hands before I even got off the truck the 2nd and 3rd day we arrived. Love them.



EQUIPO AZUL! (Team Blue)
I got switched from a "big kids" group to a "little kids" group at the last minute, and ended up loving the switch.  It was so cool to see our identity as "Azul!" grow more and more each day.  In addition to our small group and craft time, we played Pato-Pato-Ganzo, messed around with a drum, and transitioned to every station by making and walking in a train formation. By the end Andrew and I would yell "Azul!" and they would come running.  It was incredible -- especially compared to the chaos of the first day.  It was also really neat to see my defensiveness and love for them grow and grow.

Making our hand print posters on the final day.
Soy un parte de la historia de Dios (I am part of God's story).
Shout out to Abby for being our incredible crafts coordinator.

On the way home we stopped at some natural hot springs.  Incredible.  (Also, it rained most of the time we were there -- don't let the sun deceive you!)