I'm not sure if there is a "normal" day because every day tends to follow a different schedule. Here's an example of a day in the life...
7:30 am
Ivan gets up and goes to the gym and is gone for about an hour and a half. Since, I do NOT go to the gym, I try to use this solitude for my quiet time, an extra cup of coffee, and getting a start on the e-mails. I try to hold off on eating breakfast until Ivan comes back.
Ivan gets back from the gym, hops in the shower, and I get breakfast ready. Today was "gringa" style breakfast (aka granola, juice). While Ivan was in the gym he got a call from my aunt, who is in town for the day, saying that her car won't start and she's at the missionary school. So, after responding to a few urgent e-mails, watching one or two YouTube videos on car mechanics, eating his granola we head off on the motorcycle to meet my aunt.
10:00 am
We arrive to the school. Someone else has already diagnosed the problem (before heading off to the jungle for a few days). Ivan gets the pieces out that need to be fixed/replaced. Goes somewhere to borrow a tool. Goes to Puyo to find the replacement part. I stay with my aunt and we catch up a bit while we wait.
11:15 am
Ivan returns with the replacement part, gets everything in place, the car starts up. Ivan goes to fix something on his motorcycle at a local shop.
11:30 am
My aunt and I head to my house to work on different projects.
11:40 am
My mom calls on Skype.
12:15 pm
We end the Skype call because it's time for lunch. My aunt and I go to pick up her daughter at the school. We end up eating at a restaurant in town with another missionary family.
1:45 pm
We drop my cousin off at a friend's house. My aunt and I go back to the house. I begin responding/reading through e-mail. Confirming a Skype call for the evening. Last quick edit of the monthly newsletter before sending it out.
2:00 pm
I get a text from a friend who is stuck outside of her house because she forgot her key and no one is home. I offer for her to come over until someone else gets home or until someone is able to help. We message back and forth a bit, as she doesn't know if she is allowed to come over, she's waiting to see if her neighbor has a ladder to help her get in through the window. Then, she has permission to come over, but meanwhile someone is on their way with a ladder. Finally, she gets inside. We have a weekly bible study at 3:00pm so after several changes, we finally end up with the decision that she is going to come over to my house for the study.
3:00 pm
My friend comes over for the Bible study. There are some other issues going on in her life at the moment, so it's a little hard to concentrate on the study. Instead, we decide to a small art project together and just talk.
5:00 pm
My friend goes home. My aunt and her family are in the house and taking turns to shower and get ready as they have an event at the school at 6:30pm. I start to think about what to do for dinner. I decide on a quick baked ziti dish and salad. I start getting that prepped. Realize I need to buy cheese, so I run to the store next door to buy cheese. I doctor up a tomato sauce while cooking the noodles. Shred the cheese. Pre-heat the oven. Get everything mixed together, in the pan, into the oven.
5:50 pm
Call Ivan to remind him that we have a Skype meeting at 6:00pm
6:00 pm
Ivan arrives at the house. Skype call begins.
6:15 pm
*knock knock* There are two guys at our door and our neighbor. They need to meet with Ivan. My neighbor wants to do dinner together because she is leaving Shell soon. I ask if they can wait about 30 minutes because we are in a Skype meeting. They all decide to wait at our neighbor's house. At some point my aunt and her family sneak out of the house while we are in the Skype call.
6:30 pm
In the middle of the call, I realize the ziti has been cooking all this time and I should probably turn the oven off!
7:00 pm
Skype call is over. We go upstairs to invite the guys and our neighbor inside. The guys and Ivan go into the office to discuss some business issues. My neighbor and I prepare the rest of dinner (salad, juice, choclo). We set the table. My neighbor asks if she can use our washer and dryer. So we stick a load of laundry in.
7:40 pm
All the food is ready. I am definitely hungry now. I realize that I haven't heard the washing machine. I go to check and something is wrong because after filling with water it never moved to the next cycle. I restart the machine. It drains all the water and starts from the beginning again.
8:15 pm
The guys finally emerge from the office. We sit down and have dinner. In the middle of dinner I go out to check on the washing machine and thankfully it looks like things are working properly again. After seconds at dinner, I happen to have some cake left over from the other day, so I serve that for dessert.
9:30 pm
The guys STILL need to talk about some issues, so they go out to the patio to sit and talk.
10:00 pm
My aunt and her family arrive from their event at the school. I pull out an extra sheet and blankets for the couch where my cousin is going to sleep. People get ready for bed.
10:30 pm
I check the dryer, it looks like everything is dry and ready to be taken out. I put it all into my neighbor's laundry basket. I go over to see if she is still up and get no response when I knock on the door and call her name. Leave the laundry basket in our laundry room. Get ready for bed.
11:30 pm
Ivan's meeting with the guys is finally over. Make sure all the lights are off, doors and gates are shut and locked.
Out of everything that happened in my day, the only things that were actually on my schedule were: Bible study at 3pm, Skype call at 6pm, and my aunt and her family coming over and staying the night. That's my normal day. Having not a whole lot on my calendar but somehow the day gets filled up. After almost a year of life back in Ecuador, I think I¨ve finally come to terms with the rhythm of life here. I don´t always handle it with the most grace but every day I am learning to hear His voice and follow His lead. Day by day.
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| Sunday afternoon enjoying the sunshine |
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| The view on a clear Sunday afternoon. |
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