Trying (and probably failing) to catch up...

Buenas noches a todos!

So sorry it's taken me forever to post something else. I may have made blogspot a tab...but I still forget (and sometimes avoid) to post. So what have you missed? Oh my...so much folks! At the beginning of March, I was able to stay the weekend with an Ecuadorian family. My NILI friend Abby and I were able to stay together. And I think it was cheating...I don't know if our family was really Ecuadorian. ;-) But seriously, they broke all the rules. Our "parents" bought us clothes and we went out dancing with our "sisters" on Saturday night. Then Sunday morning, we got up and went to church, La Iglesia San Fransisco, and heard our "Daddy" preach. It was such a good time, and it was more difficult to leave than I thought it would be!

A couple weeks ago we got back from our missions trip/weekend at the beach. From Friday-Thursday, we were in Riobamba (or as others call it, Friobamba, because of the cold). It was shocking when we got there. We weren't staying in a hostal, we were staying in a district center. We were in a cement room with bunks stacked 3 high, and only one window right above the door. Plus, the dust and dirt created itself (although we found out it actually came from the mattresses...gross). One night, I woke up at about 1:30, and I could feel the dirt in my bed and on the pillow. I spent about five minutes trying to brush it all off. Without success of course, because the mattress above me was just dropping more anyway. :-) Saturday was our day of being tourists. We climbed Mt. Chimborazo, and it was FREEZING cold..and difficult to breathe. All in all, it wasn't a bad experience...but probably not something I'd want to do again! Saturday night, we did evangelism with the youth group of the church Pucará, which we worked with all week. Our group performed the Lifehouse skit out in public and it was really cool.

Monday started the "hard" work. Seriously...we picked of floor tiles and painted. Mostly because they wouldn't allow us to do anything else. They wouldn't tell us what was going on and they were so unorganized that sometimes we would just sit there with nothing to do. But it was still awesome. Part of our NILI tuition went as a donation for the church. Our donation paid for a new floor and paint. So it really transformed the church. It looks amazing, if I do say so myself. :-) During the afternoons, we took the kids (about 100 of them) out to the park to have a mini children's service. Abby and I led the songs and it was so much fun! They loved the song we learn in class with Profe Martínez...En el amor no hay temor (in love, there is no fear!). We also did some dramas. It was amazing how much the kids were in love with us white folks...everywhere we walked I had girls hanging all over me...they just wanted to touch us! They were a lot of fun, if not misbehaved!

Thursday we all woke up at 2:30 AM to have prayer with the youth group (Jovenes 3,000). We went up to the side of the mountain, and you could see the city lights. It was beautiful! We separated guys and girls and had our own prayer. Then we got into partners, and prayed for every part of the body: the mind, the arms and hands, the feet, the ears...it was so incredible. Then we went back to bed and got up again at 8 to leave for Guayaquil. What should have been a four hour trip took almost 12 hours. The luggage rack of the Sprinter broke from the weight and we had to unpack all the luggage to try and fix it, pack it all back up, and since it wasn't fixed...drive super slow. Plus, there was traffic. But we finally got there!!

Guayaquil is one of the coolest cities ever. Seriously, it's like an American city. It was super, super warm (when we ate breakfast, we were sweating just sitting there waiting for our food). There were 6-lane highways, tall buildings, and nice, shining cars. We walked along the "boardwalk" Malecón one night, and it was gorgeous. The weather was perfect and the sea was right there. We also got to climb up to the lighthouse (all the way up to the top!). Saturday we went to the beach...finally! We were there for about 4 or 5 hours, and it was wonderful just to be in the sun. I had forgotten how much I loved the beach. The only downside: we all got burnt really bad! But I really don't care (because now I have a tan).

As we all know, today is Easter. This whole past week has been Semana Santa (holy week). Friday we went back to Colonial Quito to watch the parade of the cucuruchos (penitents). The people have to apply about a year in advance to do it, and the ones with the biggest sins get picked. There are people carrying crosses and some who have barbed wire wrapped around their bare skin. Then there are others who are bare-backed who are whipping themselves with this plant. Not only does it give them welts/tear of the skin, but the skin has some kind of reaction to the plant so that it also creates a rash. At first, I was very uncomfortable and uneasy feeling at the parade. They're almost all dressed like the KKK, but in purple. But I got over that...and it was actually really cool. And strange. Hey, I'm not judging their religious rituals...

We have started block 3 (of 3) for courses. It's amazing how fast the time has flown. There are only 20 days left!!! This weekend we have a trip to Atacames, which is another beach. Except this time we're doing it right...no hostals or district centers. We're staying in a condo right on the beach!! And even better, there are no trips or tourism-y things planned. It's just the beach, sleep, and eating. I can't wait! Plus, we're bringing one of the seminary families with us...Javier and Adriana's family. They have 5 kids, and can't afford a vacation. When we told them they were coming with us, Adriana cried. It's just amazing what NILI has done, not only for us students, but for the seminary students/the lives around us as well. NILI really does make a huge difference for these people.

The weekend after that, we're going to Otavalo one more time to do last minute bartering and shopping, and then Sunday we leave for...the GALAPAGOS! I can't wait. Don't worry...I'll post about it. :-) Unfortunately there are so many things in between...we have projects and tests. And most importantly, our final project. I can't wait to get that over with!

This experience really has been amazing. I'm still meeting and getting to know people. It will be really difficult to leave. We already had to say goodbye to our beloved NILI director Kim, because she had to return to the states for a family emergency, and she won't be back for 2 months (obviously long after we're gone). The old NILI director was scheduled to visit Tuesday (3 days before Kim left), but now she's staying with us for the rest of our stay. God really had the whole situation under control! The countdown is almost to the teens...it's coming so fast! But I really can't wait to see my family, my church, my friends, my school...my new nephew! There's a lot to do when I get home...it's a schedule jam-packed, but I'm so ready! Please just continue to pray for the last 20 days, and especially that I don't get eaten by a shark, stung by a sting ray, or that my plane doesn't crash. :-)

God bless,
Amy