Ecuador Day Ten - Tuesday

     After staying up super late on Monday night we all retired back to our rooms to make sure everything was completely packed. We did a sweep of the room to make sure nothing was forgotten and either slept or rested until it was time to go.

      Really early in the morning (3ish maybe?) we had to be up. We brought all our luggage out in front of the kitchen where it was loaded on to a bus by the driver. Our final goodbyes were to Anna, who we all loved, and the guard dog Bolt. (Bolt followed us everywhere and was truly loved by most of us). The bus ride was bittersweet. Unlike when we arrived we knew the roads we were taking. We knew some of the houses we were passing. We were leaving a piece of our heart there in CalaCali.

     I remember standing in line to check our bags and then standing in an even bigger line to start through security check points. On the plane we settled in for the first flight. I remember talking to Allie and bit and laughing with her over pointless stuff, probably inbetween sleeping. That basically means it was a good flight.When we got off that flight we were back in the United States. And let me tell you, right when you step our of the plane you can feel the attitude difference. It's a whole different atmosphere. It's hard to explain. Anyway, being back on US soil meant everyone's favorite things, customs. It was the same exact customs line that I went through coming back from Guatemala.

     From that line we found out that we had a pretty far hike to our next flight which was leaving reallyreally soon. Like minutes soon. A few of us literally ran to the gate which was already empty. The lady at the desk asked who we were and so we explained that we had a group coming through customs. She was really nice, but informed us that if the group wasn't there in exactly 3 minutes they would have to close the doors and leave without us. She suggested those that we were there to get on without them, but we quickly shut that down. We do things as team even if that meant missing a flight. Luckily everyone got there right as they were about to close. We were the last ones on, but we were on. I don't really remember that flight at the moment except for a rude flight attendant throwing our stuff around.

    Off of that flight now, we were in the JFK airport (I think?) and since we were actually leaving the airport we had to go through a different customs thing. Or maybe that was before, I don't know. But we had to individually talk to some guy and say that we really were who our passports said we were. Through there we were greeted by a professor that came to drive us home in a PBU van. Then we went to get our luggage. We found our carousel and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally we went over to the desk and asked if they could locate it. It turned out that customs and almost missing our flight made our bags miss the flight. They would be there for at least an hour or two. We debated between having just delivered to us or waiting and finally decided to just wait it out. The food court was near by so we all went there and got some good pizza or Mexican food because that's all that was still open that late at night. The team made the most of our extra hour together. (:

    Finally our bags arrived and we smushed back into a PBU van where we all promptly fell asleep. We attempted to talk to the professor, but we were just too exhausted. Back at the school, all the families were waiting. We had to say goodbye to one family to go with the other. The team had done so much together that we were like a band of siblings. It was definitely bittersweet.

    The next day was the first day of classes. That's right, no break for us! We were throw right into a new routine of schooling.Talk about reverse culture shock. It was kinda hard to assimilate ourselves. The day before we were in a completely different country, a completely different culture.

Since then we had 2 reunion dinners and we presented our trip to the school in a chapel. But it's not the same and everyone wasn't there. Because we were just thrown right back into life I feel like I had no time to really just reflect on the trip. Every time I see a team member I get excited because we have a unique bond, but ultimately it's all different. Once again, new people have taken a chunk of my heart.

Our group update page:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/257699264289961/]

Ecuador Day Nine- Monday

    So... I just realized that it's been like almost six months since Ecuador and I never finished by blog...I should do that so that someday I look back and actually remember.

      Monday, sadly, was our last day in the beautiful CalaCali. When everyone got up we gathered in the guys room to sign the cards that we had made for the El Refugio staff. It was fun just being together, talking, and reflecting before starting our day. I'm not positive, but I think we had orejitas again for breakfast. From there we headed out to the garage building to finish up our work there. We did a bunch of touch ups on the boards and tried to get as many T-nuts in as we could. We talked of course as we worked and soon enough it was time for lunch.

       After our final lunch Paul took the group up into the woods a bit to this tree house. It was an epic treehouse at that too because there was a bridge, 3 towers, hammocks, etc. While we were there we reflected both individually and as a group about our stay in Ecuador. It was really touching to hear some of what the team said and I cried a little bit, but didn't speak up. When we were finished there Susie, a PBU missionary person, came with her husband Glenn. She works in another city of Ecuador called Cayumbe. She talked to us about what she does and where her ministry is going.We had a good time talking to them.

    When they left we were supposed to take the afternoon to wind down and pack, but that didn't really seem right to us. We didn't need a whole afternoon and night to pack. A group of us decided to go finish the boards that we didn't get done in the garage, but by the time we got back the garage was all cleaned up. It was kinda disappointing because we weren't able to completely finish our project and mere hours after we were done, the garage moved on. We didn't let it faze us though so Harry, Mary, Bren, Christian, and I went back up to the Islands game. We were determined to make it through. We chose to keep the same rules of no talking and got through successfully in 9 min 25 sec! WOOO!      

From there we walked out of the woods to the rock climbing wall that our boards would soon be apart of. Everyone climbed up pretty high and I stayed about half way down from them to take pictures. It started to drizzle so we climbed down and went to the volleyball field where someone had left out a ball. By this time it had started to rain - like inbetween a drizzle and pour- so naturally we decided to play. It was Christian and Harry against Mary, Bren, and I. It was hard to even see through the rain (thanks to my glasses) but still super fun.

        From there we went back to the chapel tucked in the woods to make dinner over the fire. There was a special treat for us there too... guinea pig! It is considered sort of a specialty mean in Ecuador. So I've had like a bunch of guinea pigs as pets so it was kinda awkward to see a roasted one, head attached, sitting there with its mouth open. But I was in Ecuador so I tried just a tiny bit. Tasted kinda like pork if you ask me. The none guinea pig eaters roasted hot dogs and everyone had marshmallows. Esteban, Santi, Wilmar, and Jhonotan came to hang out as well. We talked, debriefed, and presented our final gifts to each other each with a special meaning. Mine came from Campbell-Farrell and it was super sweet and her speech made me teary.

       Then we had to say goodbye...Everyone hugged and hugged some more. Allie started crying and then I started crying. Some of the guys told me not to cry, but I really couldn't help it. I hate leaving. I hate saying goodbye. Jhonotan gave me a glow in the dark bracelet that says Ecuador on it (I think he got it from a past team or something) as a goodbye present and for being friends so I of course cried more. I wear it all the time as a reminder of Ecuador. Plus it glows. After we finished crying and everyone left and was mostly packed we went over to La Casa Grande and hung out for a long while.

Ecuador Day Three -- Tuesday

This is what I posted on the PBU Ecuador Team Facebook Page for Tuesday:

The experience so far has been amazing. Coming into this trip not knowing what we were going to be doing was at first a bit daunting, but now the team and I look forward to the surprises and adventures of each hour. Allie did a great job summing up the first action packed day so I'm sorry if I'm not as detailed.

Second Day of the trip aka Christian’s birthday!
First thing this morning we all had the opportunity to do personal devotions. It was a great way to really let yesterday sink with a clear mind. When we step outside of our room everything within view is beautiful. From our two favorite llamas to the humming birds to the mountains, I am just left in awe of God’s creation. After taking a few minutes to adjust to the beauty (and the cold…really cold) we take the short journey to the porch for breakfast. Today we had eggs with some super delicious bread and tea (hot chocolate for me though). From there we went a little ways down the property to this garage type building to work on preparing huge sheets of wood for a rock climbing wall. The first step of the process was sanding down and cleaning out little holes on the sheets so that painting and securing hardware could be done easily. This isn’t easily done, but it is amazing what you can learn about someone while sanding wood. The next step is painting the inside of the little holes with the gray paint. It is kind of repetitive, but again the conversations had made everything worth it. From there the wood was transferred to outside where the whole thing would be painted.

Little tidbit of information… Did you know that Ecuador’s sun UV rays are over 20? Usually the weather channel puts out a warning if it gets over 12. Don’t be surprised if we all come back with a decent tan (or more likely a sunburn).

We continued all of these jobs until it was time for lunch which was amazing! We had these things called “walking tacos.” What we did was take a minibag of plain Doritos or cheese chips and then put all the ingredients of a regular taco inside the bag. So in one convenient bag we had the chips, ground beef, tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, and avocado. Then we mixed it up and ate it with a spoon. Why have I not heard about this before? It’s a must have.

Directly after lunch we went back to continue the jobs that we were doing before. Kat, Dr.Campbell-Farrel, Bren, and I took on the job of staining/applying sealant to these giant frames of wood. There seemed to be a million of them, but in reality it was probably closer to 20. This was definitely a quality over quantity job because if we messed up the rock wall wouldn’t last as long. Doing this for hours was surprising a lot of fun. We talked about so many things from school, to the future, just anything that came to mind. Before we knew it we had done all of the frames in record time. It was perfect time also because it had started to drizzle steadily. We’re all building some arm muscle from all the lifting we’ve been doing. Everything we did we had down to a routine. I even told Brennmarie today that it is so amazing how we can communicate without speaking. We knew what the other person was going to do before they do it. It was great team bonding. It goes to show that God can bring people closer to Himself by drawing people closer to each other.

Since we had finished all the work that needed to be done for the day we had two hours just for free time. Some people just chose to take a well deserved nap, other talked, and a few even went on a hike lead by Anna. I attempted to do the hike, but when we up the super long and steep hill my lungs decided that that was enough for the day. While I sent the others (Bren, Mary, Christian, and Anna) ahead I just sat in the middle of woods where El Refugio has a rope course set up. It turned out to be just what I needed to refresh myself. I just spent time with God in the quiet. The only noises I heard were the light rain, birds singing, cows mooing, and the occasional dog barking. It was so peaceful. When the cold finally seeped through my two sweatshirts and tshirt I headed back to camp taking my time, though, to observe every flower, plant, bug, etc. It’s like seeing God’s fingerprints in nature. When everyone else got back from the hike they said it was amazing. They were surrounded by clouds…They’ll have to explain it to you because their faces were radiant. They weren’t even exhausted…It was amazing.

Dinner tonight was yet again an amazing meal. It was soup with two different kinds of empanadas. Two of the Santos brothers (brothers from the group that came yesterday) came back to open their little shop. We had the opportunity to buy El Refugio clothes, candy, and soda. Lots of people tried the Coke which is apparently different from the US’s, but I chose to get a flavored soda Manzana (apple). It was very similar to a drink that I had in Juarez, Mexico and it is sooo good. The Santos brothers hung out for a bit and one of them, Wilmar is doing a great job memorizing all of our names. All of us are really enjoying communicating with them even though most of us only have limited Spanish skills. After dinner we had a super special surprise. When Christian returned to the table from getting his sweatshirt we sang happy birthday to him in Spanish and presented a cake. We also gave him a bag of treats and a card that Bren and I had made with everyone’s messages. Allie and Mary also helped out by creating a rap for him to write inside. You can to read it with a beat or it doesn’t work. “We’re in Ecuador and the view is really nice. We see lots of llamas and for lunch we ate rice. You fell off the island and you took it like a champ. It’s bangin’ that you’re here in El Refugio Camp. So in this rap we just wanted to say hope you have a great Ecuadorian Bday.” (:

The only left after the mini birthday celebration was our little fire group. We sat around the fire and sang first. We sang a song that I don’t remember the name to, but the lyrics were perfect. It starts with “In the quiet, in the stillness…” and then the chorus “There is no one else for me, only Jesus…Crucified to set me free…now I live to bring Him praise.” It was summary of the past two days really. After worship people shared how we saw God working today. We are supposed to keep asking ourselves the purpose for us each individually being here and little by little we are all figuring it out. Hearing each other’s is also a real blessing…

Tomorrow I think we’re going to the Equator, but I’m not positive. Now I gotta go try to scrub the smell of wood sealant off of my hands…

Ecuador Day Two -- Monday

When I woke up and went outside it was beautiful. Since we arrived late last night nothing was visible. There are banana trees and llamas! LLAMAS! The two youngest ones are called Panchita and Pedro, but I’m not sure what the other ones are called. We had a delicious breakfast of mora juice and orejitas. From there we went to an orientation meeting to learn more about International Teams, Youth World, and El Refugio (where we were staying). El Refugio is an outdoor adventure camp meant to disciple and train leaders to bring them to a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. We met missionary Paul and his family. He has a wife Beth and two kids (JackJack-3 and Carly-1). Anna is another person we met who is an intern at El Refugio for a year. After meeting some of the staff there we started to do some team building exercises as led by Anna. We played games like Me Toca (My Turn), Alaskan Baseball, and Get Out of My Town.

As we all sat down after these tiring, fun games Anna told us about what El Refugio calls the “Full Value Contract” and the four points that go with it.
- Give 110%.
Just giving 100% isn’t really enough. You can give 100% at something you are already good at. The extra 10% is stretching yourself to attempt beyond the best. It can make a huge difference.
-Challenge by Choice
If you are being challenged without ‘consent’ then you aren’t going to accept anything you could learn from it. If you choose to go outside of you comfort zone with a willing heart and attitude then you can receive valuable lessons. As you choose challenges more and more your comfort zone becomes bigger and bigger.
-Be Here Now
When doing missionary work, or even work in general, it is really important to be focused on the work at hand. If your mind is wandering and you are worrying about unrelated things you’d miss out on so much and so would the people with you.
-Choose Joy
Really, what other choice do we have? We shouldn’t whine and sulk about anything. Unlike happiness, joy is never circumstantial. Through everything in life you consciously remind yourself to choose joy.
After discussing all of these points we, as a team, needed to pick a chant or motto to remind ourselves of the contract. Finally we decided on this:
“People in the front let me hear you grunt: Grrr
People in the middle let me hear you sizzle: Tsss
People in the rear let me hear you cheer: Si se puede, si se puede, si se puede, si se puede!”
Throughout the day we used this as encouragement whenever needed.

After that Anna gave us all blindfolds and told us to put them on. She then positioned us congo style. She would tell Christian which ways to go and it was up to the people ahead of us to relay the directions. Kat fell and managed to get up without taking her blindfold off. Finally, when we were told to take them off, we were up hill nowhere near where we started. Anna said we made it look easy.
We walked a little bit further and found ourselves at a ‘challenge’ called Islands. We all had to go stump to stump to the other side without falling off or dropping one of the three boards. With no talking. We were doing okay at first, but then Christian missed a jump, Bren fell, and Harry was stranded. Mary, Kat, Allie, and I were safe but Dr.Cambell-Farrell refused to leave Harry behind. He decided, as a last stitch effort to attempt jumping. He missed and flew over in a move that would win America’s Funniest Home Videos. So yeah…we lost. How ya been? Maybe later in the week we’ll have time to try in again.



By the time we got back to base I was feeling pretty crappy. I could only stomach one cracker instead of the delicious looking soup. I’m pretty sure I was just dehydrated so Israel gave me some fruitish drink and once I laid down and finished that I was feeling better.

After lunch we dug a ditch for a pipe that had to be go 2 feet underground. Bren and I were pretty pro. When the group of youth (called the Manada Pequenas) came we got a chance to get to know them. They greet each other with a kiss on the cheek, and in their culture, they make sure everyone in the room is greeted! They loved the effort we made to communicate with them, and we all enjoyed getting to know them! Eventually it was Christian, Bren, Wilmar, and I on one side and we finished in record time and even got a “Muy bien” from Holger for our efforts. While digging the group as a whole found some random objects. We found a bag of beans, a bone, an empty can of poison, a plate, a soda bottle, and a pot lid.

From there we went up the mountain a little ways to go ziplining. Ziplining! (And in the rain no less.) Apparently Wilmar and his older brothers Santiago and Esteban run the zipline so they were the ones who gave us directions and hooked us up to the harnesses. It was Christian, Mary, Brenmarie, and I’s first time, only Harry had done it before. To get to the start we had to hike to the other side first and it was super slippery. At one point the guys had to help us down a mini slope… I got past one step and right when I went to let go on the other side I slid and would have fallen if one of the guys wasn’t helping me across. Harry wasn’t so lucky though…he slid right onto his back in a spraw that had Bren laughing hysterically. Finally when we reached the spot Christian, Mary, and Jamie went. Bren was up next and after one false start she flew down screaming the whole way. Finally when my turn came Wilmar hooked me up and Jason asked if I wanted him to count to three. It took a few seconds to work up the courage and then told him lista. When he counted to tres I took off and it was amazing. I ziplined in Ecuador and in the rain. I was shivering, soaked, but satisfied.


Dinner was with the Manada Pequenas and it was arroz con pollo. When they left we were going to have a fire in this little chapel like thing, but when Christian and I got there, there was no one else around. So I stayed by myself until everyone else got there. Then for our debriefing session we had to give a word to describe the day…
Christian’s word was fall because he fell off the island today.
Brenmarie’s word was push because she stretched herself in all aspects.
My word was unexpected because I had no idea what we’d be doing here and the trip so far had exceeded my first expectations.
Allie’s word was remembering high school Spanish because she was able to communicate with the Ecuadorians.
Mary’s word was alike because she realized how much alike we all are in the body of Christ.
Dr. Campbell-Farrell’s word was different because so far everything is different than what she is used to.
Harry’s word was amigos because he bonded with all of the team individually, as well as with the Ecuadorians.
Kat’s word was elated because even when she fell, she didn’t give up.
Paul’s word was scattered because his mind was going in so many different directions at once.

Ecuador Day One -- Sunday

So far so good. Because I am such an OCD packer last night was little stressful. I was sure that my bag would be over 50 lbs. This morning I discovered that my carryon wouldn’t zip, but a super quick switch fixed that issue. Though we left the house late we got to PBU on time. We prayed, said goodbye to family and friends, and headed out. The van ride was a little smushed, but still fun and filled with excitement. The airport workers were rude and sent us to a million different places to check our bags. When mine was finally weighed it was exactly 51! I’m sure God did that just for me. When I texted my mom to tell her she told me that the church had just prayed for me and the He gave an immediate answer. We went through security (a full body scan thingy) and arrived at the gate just in time for boarding to Houston, Texas.

Now on the plane to Houston I am reading a book called “Kisses from Katie” and it is comfirming something I’ve known in my heart for a long time. Maybe when I wanted to be a teacher God changed it into working with and loving on kids. I need to allow some radical changes in my life…but I’ll come back to Katie later.

When we arrived in Texas we had a two hour layover which was the perfect amount of time to grab our last bite of American food. Brenmarie, Allie, Harry, and I trekked all the way from E to B to find a McDonalds. It was our first adventure of the trip- taking the airtrain and finding our way throughout the airport. The plane ride itself was pretty uneventful, but I still couldn’t sleep. Now it’s about 1:30 am I am ready to sleep.