All I have to say is prepare yourself for pictures. The last three weeks have flown by with so many adventures among family and friends. That is why this is decidedly a blog to showcase said adventures. :)
First and foremost, my parents made it all the way to Quito, Ecuador!!! It was an exciting moment in time to watch their taxi pull up to the gate of my host family’s house; to squeeze each of them so tightly after three months of absence is a sensation of warmth that is indescribable. Our first day was spent in beautiful Otavalo, when I woke them up bright and early the morning after their long flight. I am the least favorite child just for that in case you were wondering! My parents were extremely gracious. We hiked around part of the ridge of a glowing lagoon with the sun crowded by a sea of clouds— helping a lot with the heat. The rest of the afternoon was spent at the famous artesanal market buying many alpaca products, and followed by eating at a restaurant on the lake. We were late to catch the last bus—leading to us calling my new favorite taxi driver Fausto who got us to the lagoon, and was kind enough to drive us all the way back to Quito.
The second day was the full Quito experience, complete with a trip up the Teleférico to have some hot chocolate while overlooking the city. After this we went to Centro Histórico to visit some beautiful churches and climb up a dark and narrow stone staircase to get to the domes. My dad claimed this as a near death experience, but the view was worth the effort.
From that history lesson, we went to get ice cream at DiSerggio; a shop I found out was famous for its crazy flavors of handmade ice cream ranging from twix bars to gatorade to encebollado (a typical onion soup in Ecuador). I made my parents sample the encebollado that they serve with plantain chips and pickled onions and they thought it was pretty good! Carrying our ice cream to the nearby park, my mom and I went paddle boating around the park’s little makeshift river.
Day three was foundation day!! My parents and sister got the chance to get to know Boris and Fernanda, the foundation leaders, as well as my colleagues and friends from world race. My mom and I spent the morning baking little cakes with the girls and decorating them, while my sister and dad took on agricultural work in the greenhouse. Following a lunch with Boris’ life story included, my mom got a chance to see some of what I normally do with the girls in the afternoon. I took her to the roof in the evening to see the city and she told me of how special the day had been. It had been extremely special to have them experience a small part of how God is working in Dunamis and in the hearts of each girl. I also just love my job!! Having the opportunity to work has brought blessings from each day and my family made that day all the more joyful.
After Dunamis, things started picking up pace with a flight to Cuenca leaving at 6 am, which meant waking up at 2:30 am to get to the airport. In Cuenca, which is a historic and beautiful city of Ecuador, we had some interesting adventures. We went to a lookout over the city that turned out to be a massive construction site that we couldn’t walk out on. Instead we found another lookout to enjoy the view, but returned to realize there were no taxis around (and were apparently quite hard to find). After a bit of hiking around, we got a taxi back to go to the central cathedral but found it had closed just shortly before. Despite this, we still had an enjoyable night at a quiet restaurant by one of the rivers running through the city.
The next day we headed to the Ruins of Ingapirca on the way to the beach. Learning about ancient history was never a favorite topic in school for me, but something about visualizing a civilization that once was, with the ruins of what remains, peaks my interest. I also saw this llama that I fell in love with. :)
We arrived at the beach around 9 pm; the last two hours of our drive being especially difficult because we found out that our rental car only had one working headlight. It’s important for everyone to know in this context that Ecuador roads are exceptionally awful. There are no shortage of gaping potholes and speed bumps that should be illegal either for being too high, or unmarked. I was the one playing the music with some road trip favorites from the 70s--Billy Joel and Elton John highlighting, with special appearances from Paul Simon, The Beatles, and Seals and Crofts. Meanwhile my mom sang Take me home, country roads, to the place I belong—because i’m sure it was one of her least favorite driving experiences. It was no simple task, so shout out mom: you’re amazing.
As we arrived at night there wasn’t much to see; but the world opened up to us the morning after. We spent the day spread out under a beach hut hiding from the intense Ecuador sun. We hunted down fresh coconuts for $1.50 a piece, and swam in the calm bay. I had a goal in coming to this beach to find a Mr. Potato Head Pineapple—a whole pineapple filled with ice cream, fruit, and piña colada with a face like Mr. Potato Head. When I found it, it was one of the highlights of my week. We finished day 1 at a typical restaurant eating seafood with passionfruit juice that I successfully made my parents fall in love with. Coastal food is well known to be where the best food in the country is and it did not disappoint.
I guess you could say our first day was spent experiencing the food and our second—the nature. Day 2 we went on a tour to Isla de la Plata. We were carried out on a speed boat and began with walking around the island and see the wildlife. The most significant animal was the blue footed booby, which is a bird I knew I wanted to see ever since I had learned about them. After some serious sunburn from that hike, snorkeling with sea turtles was just what we needed.
The day finished with a vibrant sunset and a prayer of thanks to the incredible God who created all of it. He often takes my breath away.
We finished our Ecuadorian road trip in Mindo. It began with a chocolate tour where we befriended a Danish couple. We sampled what seemed like twenty types of chocolate and even a cup of hot chocolate. That was followed by some amazing falafel at this little Persian restaurant; I wasn’t expecting to eat that type of food in Ecuador of all places, but it was the best falafel I’ve ever had. The next day was spent deep in the nature that Mindo is known for. We went to a butterfly garden where we got to pick up morphos and watch them stretch their glowing wings. From there we made our way to a hummingbird reserve. We saw some rarer species of hummingbird and explored the property for some time before deciding to get on the road. My highest accomplishment from being in Mindo is that I left it with only two mosquito bites. Considering Mindo is known for its humidity and warmth, I was happily surprised that I made it out alive.
Coming back to the house to have a small amount of time before hugging my parents and sister goodbye felt foreign; like a pair of pants that don’t quite fit right anymore, I felt myself outgrowing what was comfortable for me. I was about to wish my family safe travels while I stayed behind. While there was a hollow sadness in that, I was also looking forward to going back to the foundation and resuming the life and relationships that have grown to a kind of fullness. My family is priceless and this time treasured; but the fullness of God’s love has shown up in this place in a way that I don’t feel the gape of their absence. Still, I write with deep love and sincerity—Mom, Dad, and Alexa, I miss you.
It seems that the longer I am away from the foundation, the more I miss my girls. Coming back after this trip was a sweet experience with hugs all around; including from the world race girls who have become close and authentic friends during the last couple of weeks. My love for the girls in the safe house is growing with each passing day, and the idea of leaving them weighing heavier as well; but that is something I am choosing not to think about too much right now.
The following weekend was met with a change of scenery with my friend Grace—we summited our first volcano together!! When I originally chose to do the hike I didn’t realize that it was a volcano, or that it was a difficult hike. The beginning was easy, walking up and down a ridge in the cool, foggy morning.
Then it become a little trickier, scaling some rocks to get to the next part of the trail; and then we got to the snow. Thankfully we met another group that we began climbing with who knew the best way up, because from that point it was hard to distinguish a trail. It took some slipping on snow and sand, and rock climbing without gear, but we made it to the top. I quickly forgot about my frozen hands the moment that we summited. It was an adrenaline rush quickly ended by a crash of thunder. Considering the top of a super high mountain is not a great place to be during a thunderstorm, we began our decent after hearing that. It was one of the more difficult hikes I have been on in my life but I already can’t wait to hike my next one.
Adventures truly do make time fly by; I fear we won’t have many more blogs left for this year! Although, I do want to mention that I have decided to travel to Costa Rica after Ecuador to live with my cousin Tina and her family for a month! Their ministry is an inspiration to me and I am so thankful that God opened this door for me to learn more about it, and be a small part of what they do. With that, the gap year goes on! :)
Highlights:
- I think I covered them all!
Prayer Requests:
- In the last month and a half that I am here, that God continues to fill me with all strength and joy in each day of service, and that I always give Him the glory
- Thanks for the world race group that has come into my life and reminded me of the importance of fellowship and mutual encouragement
- For the many girls in the foundation with upcoming birthdays - prayers of celebration for their lives, and that they feel the extent of God’s love and the love people around them have for them during their special days :)
Con Cariño,
Sara