Ricardo

June 19th

Artezon, Ecuador

Today was a bittersweet day. It was the last day the current M-Fuge group would spend at their respective worksites conducting Vacation Bible School and the community work. It was a day of a lot of lasts, for at least a while. Emotions were ever present during the closing moments of Bible School, when meeting the school director, and during tonight’s worship service. There were especially difficult moments when our group said goodbye to the children of Artezon and Gamboa. A piece of everyone was left there. Whether in the form of murals on the wall, relationships built with certain kids during the week, or a conversation with a villager, a piece of everyone was left in the group. And it’s hard to uproot yourself from a place you’ve spent time investing in and return to what is ‘normal life’. Thankfully, I have the privilege of working again with the villagers of Artezon and Gamboa next week, however, I experienced these emotions to a degree. It’s the same feeling I had when I left the village of Puatug and Patate just a few years ago. The same feeling of wanting to give back so much more of yourself to a people hungry to know about the love of God. To be honest, that’s one reason I came here this summer, to have an extension on the time that I’d be able to serve others for Christ.

With that said, another big reason I came down here was to build relationships, not only with those I was ministering to, but also those working here full-time at the camp. Today, I got to know Ricardo and his heart for ministry. Ricardo worked as a translator this week in Artezon with us, often assisting me when I didn’t know a certain word in Spanish or when we were trying to direct children to different places. I’d never seen him before, to my knowledge, before this week. He’s a different looking fella , tall and imposing, with long, curly black hair and a bit of facial hair to go with it. But what a heart for kids he has. He knows how to be firm and get a kid’s attention, but also how to thoroughly enjoy having fun with them. Always a smile on his face, always a calm demeanor. That’s what I had noticed about him during the week on site.

However, we really didn’t have a good conversation (at least more than small talk) all throughout the week until today. Yesterday when I went running, I saw him hiking on the side of the road to go home after work. It just so happens that he lives about a quarter-mile from the camp, close enough to be considered a neighbor. So today, knowing that he had to go home after a long day’s work out in the sun, I offered to give him a ride. At the time, I didn’t realize it, but what a great opportunity to get to know who he was and what he was about. He just became a Christian two months ago (although he’s worked as a translator for Steve for the past two years) and really enjoys his work helping out as a translator during the week. When we arrived to his house, he introduced me to his entire family, his wife, in-laws, and daughter. Then he proceeded to show me their crops. The many trees on the land included coffee beans, babaco, avocado, and mandarin oranges. As we walked through, he picked about 12 oranges and told me to take them as a gift. After the tour of the crops, he showed me how they made coffee and told me that he would crush some beans up and that we’d drink coffee on Monday.

I was blown away by the openness and kindness shown to me by someone that I really didn’t know that well. But I tell you this because he represents a common trait in the Ecuadorian people, the trait of openness, of sharing, of loving your neighbor. As I toured his crop field and got to meet his family, I sensed the warmth and sincereness of their kind gestures. Had I been missing something all along? I’m a pretty open and extroverted person, but I still lacked in the principle of loving and serving your neighbor, just as God loved us. I didn’t even know the names of the guys that lived next to us in our apartment building this year. How am I supposed to love someone as a brother if I don’t take the time to know them, understand them, and serve them?

They have this right. Ricardo has this right. I hope to have this right in the future.

“And one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' "The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:28-31)