The Spanish Treatment

June 9th

Patate, Ecuador

With the Despertar Camp ending yesterday, today was a travel day for some of the staff, the Servant Life volunteers, and the Brook Hills Baptist Church. However, before they boarded the bus for Quito, three brave souls decided to climb the mountain next to camp with us. In order to make it to breakfast on time, our climbing group had to start ascending the mountain at 5am. As the only one with prior knowledge of climbing the mountain before (three times last year), it was up to me to navigate our group through the thick underbrush of the base of the mountain…using only headlamps in the pitch black darkness. The minutes passed quickly as we helped each other climb up the mountain and at about 5:45am the sun began to unveil the spread of the mountains before us. It was a bit surreal, almost like God turned on a light switch to the Andes Mountains. About 45 minutes later, we made it to the top of our climb on one of the smaller slope and took in the view. Underneath us lied the raging rapids of the river that cuts through the valley near our camp as well as a picturesque view of Camp Chacauco and the surrounding neighbors.

Climbing the mountain, about a 1000 ft climb, was only half the task though as we encountered our fair share of animal life on the slope. At the base of the mountain were numerous spiders that didn’t look exactly friendly and inviting as their webs were laced across the brush. When we descended, we saw a good sized fresh-water crab come across our path. Evidently, they too take residence on the mountain. In all, it took about two and a half hours, but it was well worth it and a good start to the day.

I titled this blog ‘The Spanish Treatment’ because I received the Spanish treatment today. Many of the workers speak both English and Spanish, but it my goal to be much more fluent in Spanish than I am at this point. Therefore, like the ‘Silent Treatment’, I got the ‘Spanish Treatment’. They could only communicate in Spanish to me except when they were explaining something about the language that didn’t make sense to me. It works wonders though. Already, I feel that I’ve picked up many of the common phases and words in Spanish.

I’ll be honest. It’s not easy. It’s probably one of the hardest things of done in my life, learning a language from scratch and having to communicate in that way and in that way only.

Today was also my first full day of work. I worked with the camp staff tearing down portable bunks for the 300+ campers we had last weekend. It was an all day task tearing them down and moving them to other locations, however the time passed quickly and I really got a chance to know the others that work here.

After we finished our work around 9:30pm, a few members of the staff and I traveled to Patate to get a movie and some snacks. The difference is, when in Ecuador, there is no Blockbuster or Movie Gallery. However, Patate (and most other Ecuadorian cities) does have a great assortment of pirated DVD, in Spanish of course, for the price of $1. I know what you’re thinking, but it was explained to me that the only movies for sale in the country were pirated unless you went to the capital of Quito (three hours away). So we got our snacks from the village and drove back down the mountain to watch Ironman into the wee hours of the morning. It was an exhausting day, but already God is teaching me a few lessons as I work here at the camp.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned thus far is to wait on God and be patient. I have a tough time with this one, especially in the fast paced society we know in the United States. It’ll be a tough adjustment coming back to the rushed, hurried pace of life in two months, but I know that I can take the lessons I learn here and apply them when I get back. So for the time, I’m enjoying working on the things that need to get done but at the same time taking the time to build relationships with others. Everything that needs to get done always seems to get done. It’s that way at school, back home, and especially here.

Another big lesson that I’m learning quickly deals with possessions and what one really needs. It’s nice being able to live simply out of two suitcases and a backpack. The dormitories we are staying in are a bit small and the showers aren’t exactly warm in the morning, but every time I think about how this or that was better in the states, I remind myself of why I’m really here. I’m here to serve and share the gospel of Christ, not to kickback in the Andes. I’m sure Paul and the disciples weren’t exactly always comfortable when they were on the road sharing the gospel. Why should it be different for me? It’s taking some getting used to, but with less materialistic stuff to get in the way, I find that it’s a lot easier to concentrate and focus on my tasks at hand and my goals for this summer.

God never ceases to amaze me or impress me here at Camp Chacauco. From the hearts of my fellow staff members to the beautiful landscape he puts around us, it’s obvious He’s always at work here.