Switching Fields

August 1^st

Quito, Ecuador

There wasn’t a lot of sleep to go around, especially when you’re trying to fit everything into two suitcases and a bookbag that you’ve needed for the past two months. Our group ate our last meal at camp around 7am before pulling out around 8am. It all seemed to rush by so quickly. Plenty of hugs and email addresses were exchanged. Last goodbyes were said. But to tell the truth, I wasn’t all that sad. Maybe it’s because I know I’ll see each person again, whether it be in the United Stated, Ecuador, or heaven.

While I wasn’t sad, there were other emotions in the mix. I had invested two months of myself in this tiny South American country, meeting as many people as I could, soaking up Spanish, and sharing with as many people possible the good news that I had found in Jesus Christ. It was more a feeling relief, relaxing in the many new memories I had to take back home with me and thinking about all the work still yet to be done.

The rest of the day flew by quickly on the bus with stops at the Pallacta hot springs and the Quito artesian market before our group ate dinner in the mall. I gulped down some Ecuadorian KFC before taking a taxi to the airport for my red-eye flight. The flight itself wasn’t terrible, with a layover in Guayaquil before proceeding to Atlanta, but I couldn’t get one bit of sleep in the upright, uncomfortable seats.

I guess my brain was still in Ecuador. Part of it will probably always be there in fact. It will always be a special place to me, a place where God called me away from the states to get me to concentrate on his work. One verse that keeps coming to mind to describe this summer is one that Brother Steve used often in his devotionals this summer. “The harvest is great, but the workers are few (Luke 10:2),” has affected me in way unknown to me when the summer started. It’s a verse of depression and one of relaxation. “The harvest is great,” is such a true statement. It will always be that way. For that reason, God calls us out of our comfort zones to glorify His name and spread the Good News all over the world. I also feel lucky and blessed that I’m one of the few workers he chose to call to Ecuador.

When you think about it, I’m only switching fields. My Master wants me to work in the blackberry thicket instead of the cornfields. Not a problem….just a change in crops and scenery.

This will be my last blog post of this summer. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about God’s work in Ecuador and I urge you to get involved in the foreign mission field, whether it be through the Thompsons in Ecuador or some other country. After all, WE are the hands and feet of Christ.

Saying Goodbye

July 31st

Mundug, Ecuador

For the past few weeks, I’ve been saying goodbye to those leaving Ecuador. Some goodbyes were harder than others. Now, it was my time to start saying goodbye, to pack up my suitcase, and to prepare for another kind of culture shock. Today was my last full day at camp and my last full day in Ecuador and I was bound to enjoy every minute of it.

The morning time was spent doing construction on the new staff dorms being built by the camp’s pond. I have to say that I think I became quite the master at measuring and cutting boards with the table saw. Our construction team was able to finish the good part of several walls, drastically changing the appearance of the building from the first day that we started construction. We kept measuring, sawing, and nailing to about lunch time when we headed back to the kitchen for a mid-day break. A large part of our group wanted to go hiking after lunch to Mundug Falls with Ricardo, so at about 1:30pm we set off in two taxis to the small community twenty minutes above Patate. It was an incredible day for a hike, so much so that when I stepped outside of my dorm in the morning and took a look at the sky, I said to myself, “It’s going to be an awesome day!” From our vantage point on the hike, you could see all three of the large surrounding mountains, Chimborazo, Carihuayrazo, and Tungurahua. My Dad even decided to come along for the hike and I was glad that I got to share that new found place with him while he was here. The falls were tremendously gorgeous with the water glittering from the strong rays of sunlight beaming down on us. It made me happy, as did Ricardo, to share such a wild and hidden place with everyone in the group.

We returned from the hike around dinner time and that was followed by several women arriving to the camp for a women’s retreat that night. Before it started, we were able to worship one more time at the camp with David playing guitar and leading worship before dispersing back to our cabins to pack for the travel day tomorrow.

While I was packing my two suitcases and bookbags, I got a call from Ester (the rest of the staff arrived back from Tena that afternoon from the Jungle Camp) that the volcano was erupting. I stepped outside to see an incredible red and orange glow at the top of the volcano. At times, you could see the lava jump way into the sky and then cascade down the mountain side. It was a magnificent view and the only time this summer that I got to witness the lava flow from Tungurahua. In a way, it was like the volcano was saying goodbye too. Goodbyes are always tough, but I rest on the fact that this probably won’t be the last of my Ecuador trips and that even if I don’t have the chance to see some of these people again, I’ll get to fellowship with them in Heaven. But as they say down here in Ecuador, I’m going to have to learn more Spanish because it’s the language of heaven.