Wild things: Day three in Ecuador

On the third day of my mission trip, my true love gave to me..............

3 bruises blackening
2 translators
and 1 wonderful but humbling experience

Day three started with a prayer walk and devotions. Some of us then went for a walk before we started our day. It is so beautiful. You see mountains everywhere. People greet you when they don't even know you. They walk their cows, pigs, sheep. You name it, they walk it.
I think this little piggy was going to the market.

We went to the molino and started helping with the craft and then we were told that we needed to do a skit. So we gather together to come up with something. When we finished VBS that day, there were close to 100 kids there. All eager to hear the 'gringos' talk about Jesus.

The kids were from around there and they were from a poor neighborhood. Most kids wore the same clothes everyday.

We went to eat dinner. We ate this wonderfully, tasty filet Mignon that was huge and was only $10. We even ate 2 big baskets full of bread with a salsa that they make in Ecuador called Aji. Boy is that tasty. I didn't listen to people when they said don't eat the vegetables. I ate lots of this.

We separated into two groups. One group went to go visit a pastor about started more works. My group went back to the molino. We were invited to go sing some songs, get to know each other better and have a devotion. When we got there, they said they had snacks for us. It had only been an hour since we had finished eating that wonderful food. I made an excuse for us and they started the singing.

Of course, in Ecuador, there is no hurry. No one is rushing to get to work. No one is yelling at you because you need to hurry up and get somewhere. It is a very laid back, no hurry kind of place. They told us to be there at 7pm. We started everything at 8pm. We didn't mind. We actually enjoyed it.

During the prayer time, we all gathered in a circle and held hands. Kennedy, the pastor, was praying and suddenly I felt it. It was as if God was in the room. I got chills and then teary. It was definitely a God moment. I felt as if I would have opened my eyes, I would have seen God face to face. What a wonderful feeling it was. Something that really can't be described. By the time the week was over, everyone in the group had felt that same thing at one time or another.

When devotions finished devotions, they told us that the hot dogs were almost ready. We all looked at each other and wonder how we are possibly going to eat. By this time it was 9pm. We sit there and talk and they bring out a bowl of chips. There were 4 of us from our group in that room. JB, the teen guy, was entertaining kids. I look at him and tell him that they are bringing us food and we need to eat. Starting with the chips. He sits down and starts eating chips.

The chips are taken away and then these huge hot dogs come out. Hot dogs like the extra long coney's from Sonic. That long of a wienie inside a french bread loaf, loaded with aji, cheese, chunks of tomato and crushed chips. This was no small American hot dog folks. The best way to describe how long it was is to compare it to the subway sandwiches. Large.

Well, we convince them to cut them in half. JB says he's going to eat a whole one. He's taking care of us women. We other wimps eat half. They come back and offer us more. I decline since I'm not even half way on the half. JB gets a half. They come back again and offer us still some more. I say that we are full. I end up saying that JB has eaten two already. He feels guilty because he hadn't and ends up eating the other half of his half. Poor guy.

After stuffing ourselves, we end up having to roll ourselves out. We get to the room and start laughing as we tell the other group what we went through, especially JB. It was fun.

I'll leave you with another Cayambe, Ecuador view.