First Day of Work

So today was my first day of work. I startd at 7:00 and worked with the toddlers... they are so cute, but a lot of work! Let's just say that I changed a lot of clothes from kids going pee or poo in their pants. I also bathed them, played a little, helped with breakfast and lunch, helped put them down for a nap and some other stuff. I think I'm working with the babies tomorrow... which by the way is my birthday! I doubt I'll be doing anything special, but I think my amazing time in LA will make up for that! Anyways, I'm thinking of taking some sort of spanish class if I continue to finish work at 1:30... however, I have no idea what I'll be doing to be honest. Dios te bendiga.

Safe Arrival in Ecuador

Hola a todos! Hi everyone! I have made it safely into Riobamba and haven't really felt any major side effects from the altitude. I have my own room, which is really quite big and very nice. However, I wish their was another volunteer here so I wouldn't be alone! Quiero que otra voluntaria venga para ser mi companera de cuarto. The temperature has been pretty nice so far, but you always have to wear pants and a sweater. Tomorrow I start my first day of "work" since today I mostly just played with kids and slept. The kids are so adorable and they are so fun to play with. I made it into town, which reminds me a lot of Guatemala... they have a lot of sweet stores so I hope to be able to go again since the bus is only 20 cents! However, knowing me, I'll probably get lost if I'm not careful! Los quiero mucho a ustedes y los extrano. Later.

Arrived in Los Angeles!

So I just arrived here in Los Angeles and am presently at my friend Emily's place. It has been a long day, but I am excited to be able to finally see something Disney related (downtown Disney) and to be able to go to the beach and just hang out.

It's nice and warm down here and I love the palm trees! Also, I will be leaving Monday for Quito, Ecuador and then I will have a couple hour drive to Riobamba.

Leaving Canada, Entering Ecuador

I just wanted to let you guys know that I’ll be leaving from Kelowna on Friday, September 25th. Me voy para Ecuador el 25 de septiembre. I’ll be visiting a good friend in LA for a couple days and then arriving in Quito, Ecuador on Monday the 28th. I’ll be picked up at the airport by the Allan’s (missionaries from Kelowna that run the orphanage) who will give me a ride to Riobamba where the Ark Children’s Home is located.

Riobamba is about the size of Kelowna (125,000 people) and high up in the mountains (9,000 ft). Therefore, even though Ecuador is on the equator the temperature is usually only between 5°C and 20°C. La cuidad está en las montañas y hace mucho frío allí.

I bought a one-way ticket and have a 2 year missionary visa so I will be staying in Ecuador until God calls me back to Canada (or I run out of money!) Volveré a Canadá cuando Dios me lo diga (¡o no tenga más dinero!) While in Ecuador I hope to improve my Spanish, but more importantly to serve the poor and love the unwanted. I also want to learn from the Allan’s how a ministry like theirs operates.

Thanks to everyone that has been praying for me and has helped me financially. I really appreciate it. Gracias a todos que han orado por mi y me han dado dinero.

The Ark Children's Home - Riobamba and Sucúa, Ecuador

God, is that really you? Did you just speak to me or was it just my own thoughts and desires? If you want me to believe it was you, you have to give me a verse. I flipped open my Bible and it landed on Ezekiel 17. I asked God what verse to read and I heard "the one you wouldn't usually pick." Immediately I realized that I was to read the first verse because for some reason I always think God has to speak to me in the middle of the chapter. So I looked at it and knew God had spoken to me because Ezekiel 17:1 reads "The word of the Lord came to me." Wow. Could God be more obvious?

So what did God say to me? I felt he said to go to Ecuador for a year and help out at the Ark Children's Home there. First of all, I want to improve my Spanish and be able to communicate better. More importantly, however, I want to show people God’s love and tell them about Jesus. I want to go out into the community and talk with the youth about God. I also want to serve the poor. I want to love the hurting, the rejected, the unwanted, the troubled, and the lonely.

It just turns out that the town where the orphanage is located is called Sucúa... just spelled slightly different than the city I want to return to in the Dominican, which is called Sosúa!

I was also listening to this new CD I ordered called "Gente Común, Sueños Extraordinarios" by Tercer Cielo and there was a song named "Latinoamérica". In the song it talks about how he has a dream about what Latin America looks like. It's interesting because for Ecuador he says "y al igual que Ecuador, no habían niños huérfanos" which means there wasn't any orphan children!

YWAM Conference in Costa Rica

In November, the week before heading off to outreach during my DTS (Discipleship Training School) we had the opportunity to go to Costa Rica for a Conference where the founder of YWAM (Youth With A Mission), Loren Cunningham, would be speaking. Fui a Costa Rica por una semana para asistir una conferencia de JuCUM. A few of us took this opportunity and flew from the Dominican Republic where we were completing our lecture phase to San Jose. This picture is of a fellow student (Sara) who was able to proudly display the Dominican flag during a procession of all the different nationalities that attended. Aquí está la bandera de la República Dominicana y amiga mia que tiene mucho flow.

During the conference I learned about OneStory. It is an amazing opportunity to go to an unreached people group and translate a bunch of Bible stories into their native tongue. You only have to dedicate 2 years of your life to this project. You get trained at one of several training centers around the world, you start learning the language while living amongst the people, then you begin translating stories and teaching the locals to pass it on. Eventually you end up with audio recordings and a plan for long-term opportunities like church planting, discipleship, and leadership development.

The Dominican Dream

After completing my Discipleship Training School (through YWAM) in the Dominican Republic (which I have yet to talk about), I had a strong desire to return to that little island as soon as I could. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do, but now after being home for several months I was beginning to lose the vision I had had. I started looking at different YWAM training schools I could go to after I took some Spanish courses at my university. So many of them interested me, but how could I choose? There is a Spanish school in Chile... a school in Uganda where you learn about health promotion in rural communities... a school in Guatemala where you learn Primary Health Care... a school in Costa Rica where you learn about Children at Risk... a school in Brazil where you learn about HIV/AIDS... and a school in Mexico where you learn about community development... They were/are all so appealing!

Then having been home for the last several days because of a post-poned house-building trip to Mexico and a week booked off work, I was bored of looking at training schools and I felt like I had no motivation to do anything. I decided I needed to go for a God-talk/walk so I went up the hill behind my house to enjoy the trees and the stillness.

During the walk I had this moment of deep revelation. Well, it was more like something just "clicked." I realized that my focus in the Dominican Republic would be relationships. I wouldn't have a specific ministry that only focuses on the need itself, but I would have a personal ministry based on building relationships. It made total sense too. One thing I learned in the DTS is that the purpose of life is relationships: with God and with others.

I had been torn between ideas of ministries... should I focus on medical missions? If so, should I focus on education in communities, actually giving the medical attention myself, or specializing on HIV/AIDS or water sanitation? Should I focus on street children and start an orphanage or a program for children at risk? Or should I focus on the sex tourism problem and just work with prostitutes? And I can't forget about spreading the gospel... should I just go around preaching? Or should I work in the church and disciple youth? And what about starting a YWAM base? But now I had a clearer idea.

MY DOMINICAN DREAM:

As I met people and spent time with them... whether buying vegetables together, chatting in their living room, or collecting plastic bottles in the dump... I would discover their needs and aim to fill them. I would tell them about Jesus. If they didn't have a Bible I would take the honor of getting them one. If they didn't have a place to stay, I would take them in. If they were hungry or malnourished, I would give them something to eat. If they were a hurting and lonely prostitute, I would comfort them and speak words of life over them. If they needed medical attention, I would get them help. I would also teach people about basic hygiene and sanitation. I would live amongst the poor and make friends with my neighbours. This way I could also connect people with already existing ministries and I wouldn't have to "re-invent the wheel."

See a need. Fill a need.