The past few weeks have been a blur of activity.  July 25-August 2 we hosted two different Young Life Expedition (YLX) groups.  These teams are made up of adults and kids from the states who often have experience with YL.  It's always exciting to have teams come (1-because they willingly bring me letters and packages from  home, 2 -because I get to speak in English all week, 3 -we learn so much from their experiences in YL, 4 -often they bring down goodies for YL Ecuador).  This is only our 3rd YLX group, so it's still very much a learning process for us as the "hosts".  To make things even more exciting, we divided into two team (Ivan with one group in Quito and myself with the other group in Shell).  With several key leaders either out-of-country or unavailable for other reasons in Shell, I felt like I was very much on my own.  The day the teams arrived to the airport in Quito, Ivan had a meeting with community members in Puyo that he needed to be at, which left me to go and pick them up.  I was blessed to be able to catch a ride with a friend of ours heading from Shell to Quito and avoid the public bus. 

My team hanging out in Banos

The contracted bus driver for the pick-up of our team called me around 8:00pm (the plan was for him to get me around 9pm and take me to the airport).  He asked if it would be ok to go earlier to the airport because another team that needed to be dropped off had their bus break down so he was filling in and wanted to make one trip.  Makes sense.  But, he would be there to get me in 15 minutes and could I please cross the street instead of him pulling into the seminary.  Okay.  Of course, this would happen when I was on my own!  So, I dutifully comply and make my way outside in 15 minutes and look across the street and see no bus.  I look way down the road to the left where there are 4 lanes of heavy traffic, plus a lane merging onto the road, and lo and behold there sits "my" bus.  Knowing that Quito can be a bit dangerous (especially for a foreign, young woman) and not to mention crossing a huge intersection...I was none too pleased.  But, what's a girl to do?  Off I went, walking at a swift pace, carefully crossing all lanes of traffic and making my way to the bus where right outside the door was some drunk man mumbling.  The driver opened the door and I quickly got on but unfortunately, the drunken man also came on the bus!  He mumbled, talked about killing someone, didn't take too kindly to the driver's calm request to get off the bus.  Finally, the driver, using some force got the man off the bus.  The team behind me, looked horrified, these poor North Americans perhaps for the first time on their trip in Ecuador feeling unsafe.  With that drama over with, we begin the 30 minute drive to the airport.  Wouldn't you know, 5 minutes into the drive the girl sitting behind me starts to throw up.  The poor girl continued to empty her stomach the entire drive to the airport.  This is not a good beginning.  Thankfully, once the team arrived I had calmed down and everyone and their luggage made it no problem. 

The rest of the trip went well, and we were blessed by two amazing groups and very little hiccups along the way.  It is always a bit stressful for me, handling the money for the team, making sure everyone and everything is taken care of.  I'm not sure which is easier: being accountable for 12 teenagers in a foreign country or 25 first graders in a public zoo.  Both have their challenges!  I apologized to my team because Ivan is the "fun one" and they got stuck with me all week!  I enjoy seeing Ecuador through other people's eyes and the details that stick out to them.  It's a perfect collision of my two worlds:  my life in Ecuador and my life in the States.  As we sang worship songs around a bonfire one night in mixed languages of Spanish and English, I had trouble deciding which song to sing.  The words got jumbled and the languages mixed.  I remember in a linguistics class that I took in college we talked about people's "heart language".  As I sat around the camp fire, I thought, my heart language is split in two!  As the team loaded up the bus one final time, headed back to the airport there was a part of me that just wanted to hop on the plane with them.  They talked about their families, their favorite restaurants, getting ready for college, etc. and it made me long for my own family and friends back "home".  To go back to the comfortable, the known, the predictable, the spiritual support system, the normal of what used to be my life.  I admit, the day after they left, I struggled with some major homesickness.  I said to Ivan, I just want to be home.  Just take me home.  He was running errands in Quito before we would head back to Shell.  I'm not sure if he realized I meant "home" as in the states but in my selfishness that's what I wanted.  I threw a real pity-party for myself:  lamenting the things I left behind, frustrated by my inability to do things here, unrealistic expectations not being met, feeling alone and overwhelmed.  It's quite the slippery slope once you begin those thoughts.  Suddenly questioning every decision and allowing doubt and lies to take over.  Oh, to be like Paul and say "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.  What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him." (Philippians 3:7). 

"But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead." (Philippians 3:13)

It's not that I want to forget the people or the things that I hold dear that remain in the USA.  But I need to release the longing that I have for those things so that I can fully enjoy the present.  In a conversation with one of the girls on the team, I shared my testimony of how walking in obedience to God, brings blessing and He is always faithful to provide for all our needs.  The opportunity to share how God has worked in my life and look back at how His hand has led me gives me new strength for tomorrow.  Thankful for the way God used these teams to remind me of who He is. 

At the ¨finca¨

 

 

 

Beautiful view en route to Quito (Cotopaxi to the right)