An Ecuadorian Mission Experience

Today, we had breakfast at Eulogio’s home. Breakfast at Eulogio’s consisted of bread, bananas, hard boiled eggs, fresh cheese, tree tomato juice, coffee, hot chocolate, and more. It was delicious! Eulogio had three other visitors that he introduced us to: a seminarian (Carlito), a lay leader of the Indigenous Episcopal Church (Dito Manuel), and a former Catholic priest waiting to be received into the Episcopal Church (Louis Alberto). They told us about the history and state of the Episcopal Church with regards to the Indigenous people. The Episcopal Church was founded amongst the Quechua in December of 2008, and they have grown from 3 churches to 40 churches with 14,000 members! They need more support than they are receiving. Only one priest for 40 churches is very difficult!

Because we had lots of questions and discussions, we ran late getting to our next destination. We were supposed to go visit the local school and play games with the kids, but we went straight to Columbe Grande and did some construction work. Prior to working, we were given a snack of corn. It was a little different than our corn back home. The kernels were pointed! After working a while we took a break. Some of the local men started up a game of soccer, and some of our group joined in. Sarah Axson was the only girl that played, and Grayson Vazquez scored a couple goals. Even though the altitude wore us out and had us sucking wind, we held our own!

In the midst of the soccer game, some of us played with the young children. Most of the children were very shy, and it took a bit for them to warm up to us. We made animal noises and took lots of pictures. They loved seeing themselves on the camera screen. One of the sad things we noticed was that almost all the kids had severely chapped cheeks. They were cracked and bleeding. Almost all of them had runny noses. The reality is that they live in a very cold and damp environment, and it is very hard on their skin. Some of the ladies who looked older ended up being in their 20s and 30s. The environment is very harsh and it takes a toll on them.

Lunch was pretty neat. We had boiled eggs and rice with noodles. They served us a barley soup with an oatmeal drink. We were stuffed. After lunch, we did VBS with the kids. We sang a bunch of songs with hand motions and dancing (Father Abraham in Spanish, La Montana, and others). They loved it! Then we plaed Elbow Tag and London Bridges. They all went nuts and had the time of their lives. It was a joy to watch. We then performed a skit about the Good Samaritan, and Jose Louis, our other missionary intern, gave a lesson. The last bit of VBS was coloring and crafts. It was really cool because everyone got into coloring, even the elder adults! They loved it!

We left there a bit earlier and had dinner at a chinese restaurant, and it was crazy good! Chinese food in Ecuador is different than in the US. It is probably a bit more authentic, and very little is fried. Really good day.

blessings,
dorian