Viva la Vida

Alright, so now to tell you guys a little bit about my life in Ecuador. I've been doing quite a bit, so there's kind of a lot to talk about. Therefore, I will divide it up in categories because I'm cool like that.

School:

I'm homeschooling this year. Even though I homeschooled for several years when I was younger, it's so much different when you are a homeschooling high schooler. During the days of my elementary years I was able to finish all of my school for the day by about ten or eleven in the morning. That's definitely not the case now.

Soccer:

Okay, well just a couple of weeks ago I started playing soccer. Even though I'm playing on an all boys team (12-13 years old), I love it so much. A lot of that is because I have my friend Anabel and my sister playing with me. But, the boys on our team are so much fun too. They're so friendly and they're always trying to practice their english with me...as I am trying to practice my spanish with them. I never thought I would play soccer, and although I'm not that great at it, it's such a fun sport to play and I'm really starting to realize why it's so popular here in Ecuador.

Spanish:


Before moving back to Ecuador, I wasn't sure how well I would do in Spanish, but a big reason why I decided I wanted to come back for a year was for the opportunity to improve my Spanish. I think it's such a privilege to be bilingual. It gives one a wider range of people to minister to and not only that, it increases one's abilities and skills as a worker. I have been trying my best to speak as much Spanish as possible because I want to learn as much as I can before I leave. Before I left for America, I had grown up and lived my life in Ecuador. Ecuador was really all I knew. But, because I lived in the states for about four years, I forgot a large part of my Spanish. Though, I am happy to say that it is coming back pretty easily, and although I can't always find the right words in order to speak it, I understand the majority of it. It truly is such a beautiful language.

Church:

I'm so thankful my family and I go to a Spanish church. It's such a blessing. We go to a small church that my parents helped start years ago, called Iglesia de la Gracia (The Grace Church). The people there are so kind-hearted and you can just see the love of Jesus shining through many of them so clearly. Yes, I complain about it being too long sometimes, but other than that it's great. Every single Sunday I leave church a little bit more impacted and encouraged.

Para Sus Niños:

I love working at the orphanage here in Quito. It's so much fun. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to the kids there when I leave. They are blessing my life.

Coup attempt and the jungle: 


Just this last weekend my family and I went to Shell (the edge of the jungle). We left the city on Thursday, right before 8:00 AM. Right after we had gotten out of Quito, the streets going into the city were blocked and the police men started to rebel against the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. I don't know many details, but the police men were supposedly upset because some of their benefits had been taken away. The funny thing was...it wasn't even a decision made by the president. This was a choice made by the Congress. Anyway, apparently houses and people were getting robbed because all of the police men were involved with the supposed coup. Gun shots were heard continually all over the city.  In the end, the president didn't get overthrown, and the police men said that everything just got out of hand. Unfortunately, everything getting out of hand cost the lives of several people.

Even though it would have been exciting to be in Quito on Thursday night, Shell was so much fun. I love it there. I actually would love to live there for some time in the future. It's such a small town, and I would love to just be able to spend my days in the orphanage there. The need for workers and volunteers at that orphanage is so high, and I really feel like I would love my life there. Honestly, I kind of didn't want to go back to Quito when Saturday morning came.

And no, I'm not a huge fan of bugs or spiders.

But I'm not deathly afraid of them or anything either. I could deal with living around them.

Plus, they make for great picture material. :) 

Exciting things that are going on in the future: 


Beach: My family and I are going to the beach next Thursday! I'm so pumped. I love everything about the beach. The sound of the ocean waves, the warm breeze, the weather, the sand, the sunshine, the food, getting tan, and batidos de coco.

Ministry opportunities: Hopefully I will be able to do more ministry stuff soon. I'm actually kind of hoping to revisit the small community, El Corazon, that I was able to spend a few nights at last summer. It would be fun to see the smiling faces of the kids there again. Another thing I think I would be so awesome is to go into the actual jungle and meet all of the Indian families living there. I don't think I will have the opportunity, but sometimes God surprises you. If I do get the opportunity though, I'm definitely taking it up. I'm sure there will be other ministry events going on too. I love Jesus and the way He works.

Christina's visit: This isn't until December, but I'm stoked.

Galapagos: God is so good. He gives us so many things we don't deserve, and this trip is definitely one of them. God put it on the heart of one of our supporters to actually pay for us to go to the Galapagos Islands. How cool is that? It's gonna be so great.


The Streitzel Family visit: Baby cooing and party time! Woot!


Tiffany's visit: This will hopefully happen in March during spring break. I can't wait to spend time with one of my very best friends!

I'm sure more things will come up, but for right now this is all I can think of.

Oh, and one more thing I want to add. Driving here for a long period of time is so much more interesting than in the United States. The scenery is so varied and beautiful, and you will usually pass through several crowded towns, which make for great people watching experiences... :)