This blog will be a means of communication between me and my family, friends, and supporters while I am in Ecuador. I plan to write weekly blogs about my experiences! If you would like to know about Inca Link or my internship, let me know!

Anyway, I appreciate all of your prayers! I love Ecuador so far, and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me the rest of the summer! 

Anyway, after we took showers, we ate dinner, had debrief, played cards, and went to bed. All in all, I'd say the day was eventful and exciting!

After lunch, we spent the rest of the day being tested on the Intern Manual we were required to read before the trip, hearing Rich & Elisa Browns testimonies (the founders of Inca Link), and taking personality tests. After yesterday, I was thankful for a relaxing day. 

Next, we had dinner, spent time talking to one another and getting to know each other better. To be honest, I have never met more fun, genuine people in my entire life. Also, shout out to Merrick for being the only other female in Ecuador with me, for sharing a bunk with me, for having no fears, for having the same spiritual gifts as me, and for having such an amazing personality and love for the Lord. I seriously wish I had the time to give a shout out to every intern on this trip--they are all unique, amazing, hilarious, kind lovers of God.

Now, I am back at Casa Blanca (where there is wifi), and I am stoked to leave for the jungle in two days!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

In that moment, I asked for the Lord’s peace. And He granted it to me. 

Finally, we arrived at “La Y de 24” at 7:30PM (an hour and a half past sun down), instead of 5:00PM. Another bus came shortly after to pick us up, which we took to Huaticocha – the town next to Ninawachi (the seminary we were staying at). We arrived in the jungle 9:45PM, ate dinner, and then went to bed.

Anyway, after morning worship & prayer, we ate breakfast. Then, everyone went to work. Mark (the founder & director of Ninawachi) assigned me to work with the girls. Our job was to machete various plans, roots, and trees down; rake/clear the land; and plant corn & beans there. Although the project was time consuming, I had fun getting to know the girls. Also, planting every bean/piece of corn made me very grateful for the food I am given each day.

After the morning work project, we ate lunch. Then, Mark and Cheryl wanted us to set up mosquito nets, as well as thoroughly clean every room in Ninawachi. We also needed to wash the sheets + pillow cases for the incoming team members.

Later, at 3:00PM, we had worship & prayer again. After which, we continued cleaning and setting everything up.

Dinner was at 5:30PM, and the rest of the night, we were free to do whatever we pleased. However, everyone in the jungle goes to bed around 7:30-8:00PM, so I felt peer pressured to do the same.

On Wednesday, we met in the prayer hut at 7:00AM for morning worship & prayer. Afterward, we ate breakfast. Then, we continued finishing the work projects we were assigned on Tuesday. Cheryl and I also washed some sheets, mosquito nets, and pillowcases in order to prepare for the incoming team.

After lunch, we divided up into teams of 2-3 people to do ministry in the surrounding areas. I was assigned to do children’s ministry (which I was ecstatic about because I love children) in Sumaco with Jessica and Gabriella. Although I was extremely excited for the day, I was also nervous because Jessica and Gabi don’t speak any English, and my Spanish is very limited. However, we took a bus together and arrived in Sumaco. Kids from the community came and played games with us for about an hour. (All the children were so amazed to see a gringa with blonde hair. Also, they were incredibly cute, and I can’t wait to go back to see them!) An hour later, Jessica told me that I was going to come with her. I had no idea what we were doing, but I followed. I soon figured out that we were going door-to-door visiting different moms from the community, asking how their week went. The first house we went to wasn’t even a house. It has two tin walls, and the other two were covered by tarp. The size of the house was smaller than my dorm room, except there were a lot more people who lived there. The woman had 6 children, including a newborn baby. Jessica started talking to the woman, asking her how the past week had been. Although I couldn’t understand what the woman was saying, she looked very upset. The next thing Jessica said amazed me. She said, “I’m sorry that you had a hard week, but I have a friend who can help you. Can I introduce you to Him? His name is Jesus.” She then proceeded to share the gospel with this woman! I am still amazed at how bold Jessica was! (So often North Americans use the excuse of being unprepared to share the gospel, but God is the one moving in the heart of the unbeliever. If He wants the gospel to be spread, He can use any of us.) I’m thankful that Jessica was able to teach me about passionately spreading God’s Word with others. Anyway, long story short – the woman accepted Christ as Savior! We gave her a Bible, and prayed with her before we left. However, my heart broke when I found out that the entire family (not including the husband who was an alcoholic & didn’t spend very much time with them) hadn’t eaten since Saturday. Now, I’ve heard about starving children before, but being in the midst of it was absolutely heart wrenching.

Anyway, after praying for Anita and her family again, we walked to the next house. When we arrived, the woman offered us “chi-cha,” which is an indigenous drink made from chonta (a type of fruit). Chi-cha is made by chewing up the chonta, spitting it back out, and serving it to guests. I had heard about chi-cha before coming to the jungle, and I was told that almost everyone gets sick 24 hours after drinking it. And unfortunately, if you don’t accept & drink all of the chi-cha, you are considered extremely rude, and culturally insensitive. So, I prayed through every sip that God would have mercy on my body. And I finished the chi-cha, feeling fine.

The last house we visited was a woman who had recently accepted Christ. She told us a very long story about her son being lost in the mountains for 3 days, getting bit by 3 different snakes, and nearly dying from lack of food and water. Thankfully, God sent 2 angels to her son, Moses, who protected him until a rescue party came 3 days later! Side note: God works in miraculous ways all around the world, and I’m extremely blessed to be a part of His work here in Ecuador.

Anyway, after the woman served us dinner and more chi-cha, we rode back to Ninawachi and went to bed.

On Thursday, we met in the prayer hut at 7:00AM for morning worship & prayer. While in the hut, Mark announced that Venita’s older brother had died the night before. We spent the morning praying for Venita and for her brother’s family (because he had 6 kids). After the morning prayer time, we ate breakfast. Then, we continued washing the mosquito nets + sheets & cleaning all the rooms in Ninawachi. We also made beds for the incoming team, and Jim had a couple of odds jobs he needed me to finish (like labeling eggs).

After dinner, we had a short meeting with the Shafers to discuss the week’s plan for the incoming team. Then, we went to bed.

On Friday, we met in the prayer hut at 7:00AM for morning worship & prayer. Afterward, we ate breakfast. Then, Mark drove Jessica and me back to Sumaco in order to give food to Anita and her family (the ones who hadn’t eaten since Saturday). After Mark dropped us off, he left for Quito. Then, we went to Anita’s house, but she wasn’t there. So, we walked over to the neighbor’s house, but they hadn’t seen her. We continued to walk around the community asking if people had seen/knew her. Finally, a woman told us she went to the Health Clinic early that morning. So, we strolled over to the Health Center & asked the people in the waiting room if they had seen a woman with a baby, and they said yes. Hence, we waited for her to come out. Unfortunately, it was the wrong woman. Discouraged, we headed back to Anita’s house one more time. While we were walking back, Jessica asked me to share my testimony with her. And I said, “In Spanish?” And she said, “Well, I don’t speak English – so yes.” Thus, I did my best to tell Jessica my entire testimony in Spanish! Although it was difficult, I was able to do it, which was extremely encouraging! Afterward, Jessica told me her testimony about how she wants to be a missionary in Africa one day. She prays every day that God will give her the money to travel/move to Africa. 

Anyway, we came back to Anita’s house and she was there! We gave her the bag of food, and she was incredibly grateful! I’ve never seen someone smile so brightly before. J After giving Anita the food, we wandered over to the bus station, and waited for a bus to pick us up. After about an hour of waiting, Jessica started to get impatient. She began to flag down every driver who passed by & asked them for a ride. Finally, a man driving a pick-up truck stopped for us, and allowed us to hop in the back of his truck. I’ve never been scared and excited before, but this was one of those experiences.

Driving 70mph standing in the back of a random guy’s pick-up truck was crazy. Crazy awesome. 

Anyway, after going to Venita’s brother’s funeral for a while, we came back to Ninawachi. In the late afternoon, I sewed a couple of pillowcases for Cheryl. Then, Gideon, Alex, Cheng, and I walked into town to buy snacks. After dinner, we just hung out and talked with the students for a while, then headed to bed.

On Saturday, we met in the prayer hut at 7:00AM for morning worship & prayer. Afterward, we ate breakfast. Then, the rest of the day we were free to do whatever we desired. So, Alvaro, Mari, Alejandro, Gabi, Eric, Luis, Cheng, and I decided to hike to the waterfall. After about 2-3 hours of traipsing through mud, we finally made it! The waterfall was gorgeous and we got to swim underneath it, which was incredible!

We returned from our hike in the late afternoon. Afterward, we took showers and got ready for church. Although the Ecuadorian church service was not what I expected, I thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless! The students put on a skit about forgiveness that was very moving.

After church, we spent time in the dining room, eating bread and drinking juice with the congregation. Then, we went to bed.

On Sunday, we took the bus home. The bus ride was fairly short (about 6-7 hours), and we were all very excited to be back! I missed the other interns more than I could’ve imagined! 

Anyway, right after we returned, Patrick told us that we were going to play soccer with some neighborhood kids. So, we played soccer, ate dinner, and went to bed.

From Monday through Friday, we cleaned all of Casa Blanca (very thoroughly), chopped fruits and vegetables for Fabi and Mabe, and made 30+ beds. We also had an intern night at the Browns. We went hot tubbing, ate pizza, and watched the Warriors game – it was awesome

After the bead ceremony that night, we were forced to partake in an extremely rigorous, stressful, and exhausting event. Some call them “hot springs” – I call them heaven. I’m kidding, of course, about the “rigorous, stressful, and exhausting” part. We were able to swim and relax all night in some amazing hot springs nearby. It was a fantastic way to end the night, and something I will never forget!