It's hard to put into words the past month (but I'm going to try anyway).  

If you saw our updates on Facebook, we began September asking for prayer because of the long drought and the wild fires as a result.  Thank you to those who reached out and for everyone who prayed for our safety.  While we normally have our "dry season" during the summer months, this year was exceptionally dry compared to past years, although we are noticing each year it seems to worsen.  This was the first year we had so many fires break out across the country and in particular near our home.  

Even as I write, I am acutely aware of all the damage that has happened back in in the USA due to the recent hurricane and the hurricane en route as I type, and I am reminded that while we had some scares, we remained safe and unscathed.  It's all about perspective, right?

Many people who live out in the countryside are used to burning their trash and also burning weeds/brush and the areas of their crops to turn the soil.  When you live in an area that does not have trash pick-up services and the closest place to take your trash is a 30 minute walk down the mountain, it's easier to understand why they opt for burning.  Since we are blessed to have a car, we regularly load up the trash in our car and drive it to the nearest communal trash container.  There have been times when we forgot about the trash in our car and thus drove right back up the mountain after a day of running errands....whoops!  

So, when I say "wild fires", all of them were human-initiated, most not with bad intentions (although some it turns out were initiated by arsonists).  The fires that happened closest to us were initiated on purpose by the owners of the land to either burn their trash or burn their crop area in preparation for planting.  However, due to the extreme drought and the winds, those fires quickly got out of control and spread.  As I shared with some, the ground was like straw, literally.  So the slightest flame quickly and easily travelled as far as it was allowed.  Despite the government declaring heavy fines for anyone burning anything for any reason, people disregarded the temporary bans and did what they always do.  The first large fire that happened near us, was during the week leading up to Ecuador's first outreach camp solely for University students.  It is not lost on us that while we were preparing for a spiritual event, distractions and troubles arose.  It was pretty terrifying to watch the flames leap across the ridge of the mountain.  While firemen were called and eventually came, if the local neighbors had not joined in the efforts, the damage would have been much worse.  Firemen are also not as well equipped here as in the USA and cover large areas/districts.  With fires similar to this one happening daily all over, firemen were spread thin and their already minimal resources even thinner.  Due to the drought, water supplies were also low and as is common in our area, water is often shut off or rationed.  The fires near us were all extinguished by hand (no big fire truck and hose) just lots of people grabbing branches or shovels and beating out the fire the best they could and digging trenches to stop the fires from spreading.  It reminded me a bit of the stories of Laura Ingall's Wilder out on the frontier....

The fire was "stopped" but then reignited in the evening.  Again, dry ground and wind make for a dangerous combination.  This scenario repeated itself several other times with other neighbors in the next week.  Also, since most of the electricity is run by hydroelectric plants that did not have enough water to function, the government also scheduled power cuts of 12 hours in a 24 hour period each day.  All of this, led to a very hard and stressful month.  I began to feel a level of anxiety similar to the early months of COVID.  There was such a sense of relief when finally we had some rain (well hailstorm) at the end of the month!  Now we are consistently having rain in the afternoons (hello rainy season!) but we still have power cuts (which are not well announced in advance) until water levels reach full function.  We had a bit of a "break" with cuts only up to 5 hours but this week we return to longer power cuts.  

We are grateful to have a gas stove which allows us to cook and a functioning fireplace that we can use in the evenings for some light and warmth.  The ever-changing power cuts affect my ability to work remotely and all the other day-to-day functions.  As someone who thrives with predictable schedules and plans, I am not doing well (mentally, emotionally) under the current circumstances.  Thank goodness I married someone who is the complete opposite and who is not phased when life is unpredictable and finds all these inconveniences as an invitation to adventure!

YL just had their Global Day of Prayer on October 8th with the focus on "The God Who Sees".  We were reminded of Hagar in the dessert who proclaims "You are the God who sees me" in a moment of her life when it seemed no one else saw her or cared about her. (Genesis 16:13)

The God who sees.  

the "grass"

Firemen filling up their tank with water from our house

Adapting to power cuts

Smoke!

Same sky at the same time as the picture with all the smoke!  What a contrast!

Ivan fighting the fire

Benji in on the action

In all the unknowns, we trust in the God who knows and sees.