Ecuador Post Part 2

FYI: THIS WAS WRITTEN ABOUT A WEEK AGO

Part 2

I haven't had a chance to write since that last entry. It's been a wild time! Let me explain...no, there's too much; I'll sum up: Soon after I wrote that, we boarded the plane and during the 5 hour flight, I got to watch Dolphin Tale. I highly recommend it. It's all clean. Not the most exciting story in the world, but it was a great family movie.

After we landed and went through customs, there was a group of Compassion staff to greet us. Even though it was after 11:00, they were very friendly and much more awake than I was. Quito is almost 10,000 feet above sea level, so the air is very thin up there. At first, I had a hard time catching my breath because I was pulling heavy luggage and trying to keep up with my dad's long strides. But, after a while I got used to it, breathed almost the same as if I'd been back home and had a good night's sleep.

What a view!!!

Then next morning, I awoke and opened my windows to a spectacular view! There was the regular city buildings and houses, but looking beyond them, I saw the Andes mountains. Beautiful! We were already 10,000 feet up and still the tops were shrouded in mist! At the very nice hotel we stayed in, their idea of a “Continental Breakfast” is a huge buffet with everything you can think of! Eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast, oatmeal, cereal, deli meat, cheese, crackers, juice, quiche, potatoes and a special omelet cook ready to take your order! We didn't even have to bus our own tables... Anyway, after that happiness, we took off in a bus to the Compassion Country Office. We were briefed on what would be happening during the next couple of days and given a tour of the office where they handle the sponsorships, curricula and hundreds of letters that come and go every day.

Looks almost like you could just hop from one roof to the other!

I never did get to swim in that pool...

This is Becca the day I met her :)

Taylor and her dad Shane.

This is a bull-fighting ring! I snapped it as we were driving by in the shuttle.

In the Compassion Country Office we were briefed in this room on our trip.

They have pictures everywhere of children in the programs :)

Fernando, one of the translators, and the woman in charge of finances

These are all letters to and from sponsors and children. They are individually translated by people in the community.

This woman is in charge of mail and gifts.

When our tour was over, we loaded back up in the bus and drove for about twenty minutes or so until we reached a Compassion project in a village who's name I cannot begin to pronounce. The children were so precious! As soon as you give the initiation of a hug or a smile or a handshake, they take you in as if they had known you their whole lives. I saw such joy and happiness on their little upturned faces begging for attention and love. But after we entered the church, I found it a little harder to break the ice. A lot of my friends had children sitting next to them in the pews or on their laps, but I didn't. So, I had an idea. Behind my pew (which was in the back), there were some little girls playing with balloons. So I got up and took off my big straw hat (I had it because I sunburn easily, you wouldn't believe how useful it's been) and grabbed one of the red balloons out of the air. I used the hat to catch it and throw it back up. They thought it was the greatest thing ever! I even put the hat on their heads which they thought was hysterical! I made a lot of friends that afternoon.

The girls loved to pose!

Really pose!

Friends and Fun!

Best friends? :)

Apparently word got around that I had a camera...

The sweetie in the pink headband attached herself to me and made it a point to be close by.

She really liked the hat!

Tim was the baby whisperer! He was never seen without a baby at the projects.

The children didn't see cameras often. They didn't know what to do sometimes!

Lunch! Wow! That was a satisfying and very tasty meal!

One of the little boys gave me a flower he'd  been given. So generous!

Hello there!

This pic was take accidentally when the camera shutters weren't open yet. It turned out great!

So presh!

Wess, Milan and me!

Wess with Milan on his knee. Love it!

So sweet!

After lunch, we split up into four groups to visit local houses of CSP (Child Survival Program for children under 4) children and their families. Our group loaded into the back of a pick-up (which is ALWAYS fun :) and rode about a mile or so down the road to a very small concrete house with a little garden behind and another house down the road. The family living there consisted of a mother, a grandmother and two young boys. The older boy, Jonathan, who looked about eight or nine, was in the CDSP (Child Development Sponsorship Program for children and adolescents aged 4-18) and the younger brother, Sebastian, who was three was the one in CSP. A great part of the CSP program is that it usually starts before the child is born, helping the mother to go through her pregnancy healthily and help deliver the baby. Then, the “promoter” steps in. A promoter is a knowledgeable lady from the community who visits the house at least three times a week to teach the mother things and give the child lessons like flashcards.

The promoter in the house we visited was teaching the mother how to take a temperature and give fever medicine. Pilar led us in a song and prayer before her lesson (see video below).  As Pilar led the lesson, the mother explained to us that she was not looking forward to Sebastian becoming old enough to join the CDSP because then, Pilar (the promoter) wouldn't come to their house anymore. She was like a family member to them.

Here is the house with Jonathan leading the way.

Here's Sebastian...being shy!

Pilar is using picture illustrations to teach the mother to read!

This was most of our visiting group.

Jonathan and Sebastian with one of their puppies.

The rest of the day went by in a whirlwind. We drove back to the hotel to check out and then boarded a plane to Manta, Ecuador. We checked into the hotel and had dinner. The hotel we stayed in was about a five minutes walk down to the beach. I could see the Pacific ocean from my windows and there was a pool area in a courtyard that could be seen from our balcony. Wow! That night, some of the girls and I decided to wade in the pool, but I was so excited that I actually got into the water and swam. It felt so odd to be swimming in January when it's snowing back at my house! The pool there was warmer that night than the pools in Canton ever get on the hottest summer day.

After a shower, I stayed up extra late instant-messaging with my mom on my dad's Facebook account. Then we went to bed and that was the end of our second day in Ecuador. How fantastic!

Ecuador Post Part 1

NOTE: FYI THIS WAS WRITTEN SEVERAL DAYS AGO.

ON MY WAY TO ECUADOR!!!

Unfortunately, I've been too busy to post the big news, but here I am on the plane telling you now that I am on my way to Ecuador with my dad! We're going on a mission trip with Compassion International and Stadia (an amazing church planting organization) to visit the churches they planted and the children they rescued last year. And, believe it or not, Wes Stafford, the president of Compassion is coming with us! This is a nationwide trip that many pastors (and their kids) from all over America are going on. I looked at my trip info and there's people from Nevada, Arizona, California, Ohio and all kinds of states coming.

When we got to the Akron/Canton airport, we checked our bags in and waited for the plane. While we were waiting we got acquainted with two of the people going with us. Greg Nettle, the pastor from a church that we planted called Rivertree and his daughter Tabitha. We chatted and got to know each other a little more while the plane was being repaired.

I happen to be wearing a just-below knee-length skirt and ballet flats on the lower half of me and it just happened to snow today! Bizarre! It hasn't snowed all winter (very strange) and the day we decide to take-off, it drops like three inches! So, as I was crossing the bridge from the “portal” to the plane, the wind picked up and was whipping the skirt around my legs and I was using my purse to keep it contained. When I made it to the plane, the stewardess (who looks like Aibileen from the Help) said, “Whoo, girl! You wearin' that skirt with no pantyhose and those little flat shoes! You makin' me cold!” I smiled. She seems very nice, like someone I would be friends with, so I prayed for her.

We're about half way through our first flight from Akron, OH to Atlanta, GA. It's an hour and a half flight and we were delayed, thank God! There is a 5 hour layover in Atlanta and with our delay, it's cut down to something like three hours, I think. From there, it's 5 hours to Quito, the capital city in Ecuador. We'll arrive some time around 11 or midnight. The crazy thing is that Ecuador is in the same time zone as Ohio! Isn't that bizarre?! Look it up!

Daddy and I are sitting in the very back of the plane by the lavatory and the engines. I guess we got the cheap seats this time :). The stewardesses just passed out puny peanuts and drinks. I took a zero-cal water poured into a coca-cola stamped plastic cup from a goliath-sized water bottle. Why don't they just give me the whole thing? I'll drink it all and take it as a souvenir!

Speaking of souvenirs, yesterday, I went around and asked all my siblings what they wanted me to bring back for them from Ecuador and I got a lot of different responses: Max wants an ancient artifact (which unfortunately, is illegal to take), Moses wants some LEGOs, Mirial wants “jools” (you LOTR fans will know what I mean), Matthew wants a sword and so on. But get this, Marley asked for me to bring her an ancient rock and some leaves and also...wait for it...bottled air. I laughed and promised her a rock, a leaf and some air. So, I'm going to ask the stewardess Aibileen for the bottle and bring Marley back and extra-large bottle of air!

ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Jan. 2, 2011 3:27 PM

I'm waiting here to board our second plane to Quito. The time is passing slowly, so I'll share what has happened since my last “entry”.

After we got off the last plane and were waiting for our checked luggage, I had the opportunity to talk with a little girl. She looked to be seven or eight years old and she was waiting with her mom who was also waiting for her luggage. I saw that she was holding an American Girl doll, and dolls, especially American Girls, being a subject of which I am exceptionally knowledgeable, I commented, “I like your doll. What's her name?”

“Rebecca” she replied.

“Oh! I remember, she's from 1914, isn't she?”

“Yeah.”

“I have an American Girl doll, too. Her name is Kaya.”

“Oh, yeah! She's the...um...”

“Indian doll.”

“Yeah! Doesn't she have a horse?.”

“Mhm, but I don't have the horse.”

“Rebecca doesn't have a horse...”

“But she has cats, doesn't she?”

“I think you're right!”

The conversation went on and I sat by her while her mom was picking up their bags. I asked if she had any brothers or sisters, and when she told me that she has two brothers, I told her that I had four brothers and three sisters. I was impressed at how quickly she did her math and determined that I had seven siblings and that there were eight kids in all. “Wow, busy parents.” A mom nearby commented. A moment later, I said goodbye, but after we were in the terminal, she came up and thanked me for watching her and talking to her. I wanted to scoop her up and kiss her because she reminded me of my Mirial, but of course, I couldn't, so I just smiled and told her that I had a nice time, then waved goodbye. I'll never see her again, but I will never forget her and always keep her in my prayers.

Well, we still had plenty of time to eat lunch and get to the gate in time, so we took a train to our gate (which was on the complete other side of the building) and walked around until we found a good restaurant. And it was GREAT! It's called Nathan's Famous (www.nathansfamous.com). I had a Philly Cheese Steak with bell peppers and mushrooms OMP (oh my pie)! It was really good! It came with a medium fry and a bottled water. If you can locate a store, get there and see for yourself.

Daddy eating his Nathan's. Isn't he handsome? Tired, though.

"Nathan's Famous" logo.

After a quick chat with Marley on the phone over a Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (Please try it, I know it sounds weird, but it's awesome!), we headed to gate T4 and here we are. It's about 4:00 and we're waiting for our flight which departs at 5:30. I am writing this post down in a document file and will copy and paste it later into a post, once we find some internet usage! It's not working here!