Lunes

Monday was what we considered our first real work day...at least the first day of the mission we had come down to do.  We went to a public school in the Shimpis area to have conferences and sports camps.

We went with the church in Macas, and people from the church in Shimpis also went with us.  The church in Macas is bigger and is trying to help the church in Shimpis.  The people from the Shimpis church came so that there would be familar faces for the children...especially as that church plans to continue to reach out to these people.  We really were presented with a rare opportunuity because the government asked for the church's help, so we were allowed to come in and present Christ in the midst of talking about drugs and sex.  Sexual and physical abuse, along with drug abuse are big problems in this area of Ecuador.  One man told us that children are sexually active as early as age 9.  But it is usually in conjunction with some type of payment.  Prostitution is legal and many families rely on the girls in the family to bring income in through prostitution.  The government does not know what to do, so they asked for the help of the church. 

Pastor Domingo from the Macas church began the morning with talking to parents about Biblical discipline.  I was able to sit in the meeting with my notebook and phone/Google translate and follow along a little bit!  Technology can be used for good!  He addressed four types of fathers...authoritative, permissive, negligent, and loving.  He encouraged fathers to be loving in their discipline; as the Bible teaches.

Pastor Domingo's wife then talked to three different groups of younger children about sexual abuse and what is appropriate touch and what to do if you are being abused.  We all learned "No me toques!" Do not touch me!  It is sad to think of any child being sexually abused; and much of this is happening to these kids in their home by relatives that live with them.  That makes is hard for them to ask for help. Three of our girls gave their testimonies and I think this helped the kids understand the topic even better.

Pastor Domingo's wife

After each group, we then broke up into 4 smaller groups for game time.  We rotated the groups through dodge ball, kickball, tag, and soccer.  Somehow I got in the soccer group!!  I don't know how to play soccer, but the kids were patient with me (I am sure laughing at me!) and would pass the ball to me sometimes.  But in the first group, I sat out with a little girl named Joselyn who didn't want to play.

A little boy came over and hung out with us too. He was chewing gum and I tried to show him with my gum how to blow a bubble.  They enjoyed that!  They also enjoyed looking at the pictures I took of their classmates playing soccer.  The girl pointed out her teacher on the phone!

On Mondays, the children, and some teachers, wear their traditional Shuar uniforms.

In order to know the girl's name, I had her write it in my notebook. When the others saw her writing her name, they all wanted to do the same!  I was mobbed with all the children grabbing for the notebook!  

After three rotations, we had a devotion about sexual abuse and how God made your body and it is special.  Ashby led the devotion in our group with Alan as the interpreter.  They did a good job. 

The boundary cones worked much better as sombreros!

Outside devotions

We ended the day inside because of the rain. It was a relief from the sun that was starting to cook us!  We played inside games that were hard to explain, but enjoyed by all as we just ran around and laughed!!

One of the classrooms at the school

Playing sharks and minnows

Nathan playing with the children inside

Devotion time with Raul

Explaining the games...thankfully Alexia could explain in Spanish!

Christian photo bombing!

   

Pictures of the school

The children chose to play ball with us during their recess time!

Nayheli

Natalie with the recess group of girls

Inside devotion time

After the selfie with the girls, the boys wanted to join in!

They wanted to be near Ashby and his red hair!

After finishing at the school, we went to the church for dinner and back to the hotel to get some rest.  In true American fashion, many of the guys found the college basketball game on the hotel TV and watched it! I was able to facetime mom and Camden, so that was nice.  They enjoyed looking at the hotel and saying hi to friends like Avery.  

Interesting notes about the day.  There are two half day sessions of school.  The second one ends around 5 or 6!  None of the bathrooms had toilet paper in them.  Or soap!  I found out later this is due to lack of funds. There is a snack bar in the middle of the school where you can buy food.  On Monday they were serving fried ants!  

Tomorrow we are talking about drugs and sex.  Fun! 

Felix dia de la resurreccion!

Happy Resurrection Day!  What an awesome opportunity to be able to  celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in Ecuador!

An American tradition taken to Ecuador...Easter morning photos!

We arrived at church after our breakfast at the hotel. We sang in church this morning...2 songs on Spanish and 2 songs in English.  The people in the church were recording us on their phones like we have been doing to them!  From the corner of my eye, I saw my new friend Abigail taking our picture!  Later she showed it to me!  I also found out later that they had put the words to the Spanish songs on the screen and people were singing with us.  I'm sure they sang the Spanish words better than me!       

Tony preached this morning and used the verses John 19:28-30, Isaiah 53:6, and Psalm 37.  He had great interpreter!  Mitzi also gave her testimony, but she didn't need an interpreter!

After lunch we had time to walk around Macas before meeting with the youth from Macas who were going to be helping us interpret at the school.  Some people from the Shimpi church also came for the meeting.  We went over the games we were to play with the kids at the school starting Monday.  We especially had fun playing chain (a tag type game that involved forming human chains).  We were able to run around with our new friends and laugh with them, even if we couldn't talk with them.  It was a lot of fun! 

After a dinner of chicken salad, we headed back to the hotel where the youth discovered the pool!  The pool is a natural river fed pool.  The water goes through a filter, however, it feels just like the river water....cold and refreshing!  

It was a very slow water slide unless you pushed yourself

I was able to get on the WiFi and call Dave and Camden tonight.  It was good to talk to them!

An interesting note...there have been no washcloths in the hotels in Ecuador.  I finally remembered that I had packed disposable washcloths from the mud run.  I felt much cleaner using one of them in the shower!

Tomorrow is a big day!  Our first day in the school and the topic is sexual abuse.  It is a needed topic, but it will be hard.  

Our first Saturday!

Saturday the 31st was our first full day in Macas.  I was able to sleep until 8:50!  After we got our rooms situated and our supplies organized, we headed to the church in Macas for lunch. We were introduced to the Ecuador way of eating big lunches with a soup course...and popcorn to put in the soup...like a cracker.  The soup we had today was a pureed broccoli soup that everyone liked!  I actually thought it tasted like asparagus  Either way it was good. 

Then we had a FULL day of playing games...soccer, basketball, volleyball, and football.  We also had a table set up for the younger kids to color and blow bubbles; and for the girls to paint nails. 

Getting us all to town was a challenge some days!

Nathan teaching a boy to play American football

Baby Andrea, whose young mom just wanted to be young and play games...so we took turns holding her for her mom

Girls being girls!

  I was able to make friends with a little girl named Abigail.  When I would write her name on her paper, she wasn't happy until I wrote a capital B! 

She learned my name (even if she switched it to Any by the end of the week!), and we had a great day playing hide and seek.  She would get inside the slide at the top and I would peek my head in the bottom and yell Hola!  She would yell it back and giggle.  She must have thought I knew Spanish after hearing me say Hola, because she would rattle off something and look at me.  I would then chase her and make her laugh, and then we would have fun!  I did have to count in Spanish when we played hide and seek.  I managed that!  And then a boy joined us and she taunted him with something that sounded like nanny nanny boo boo!  I understood that for sure! 

At the end of the day, Abigail gave me a hug and told me Ciao!  I had made a friend!

Google translate was very helpful to me today .  I could even let older girls type Spanish in it so they could talk to me.  One of the girls I talked to wanted to get in the shade...I very much agreed!  When we got in the shadier part of the church, I took my sunglasses off and she immediately commented on my eyes.  That was a neat experience to have someone comment on my blue eyes!

One last observation about Ecuador, in the banos (bathrooms) the toilet paper is located outside the stalls.  A good thing to figure out before you go into the stalls!

After being at the church all day, we ate dinner and headed back to the hotel for devotions, singing practice, and bed.  Tomorrow is Easter!  

My location tonight!