Life as a missionary doctor
published in cmf blog
Project Ecuador
Giving Hope and a Future
Sunday 20 October 2013
Wednesday 16 October 2013
Travelling through the Volcanoes
Last week
we went for a long weekend to a part of Ecuador called Otavalo. It is a traditional town set in spectacular
volcanic scenery. We first visited an
extinct volcanic crater. It is
huge. The land down in the crater is now
farmed. Many people live there. There is a sign at the top which warns you to
“descend if you dare!” The steep climb
back out again is a challenge in the hot sun and altitude. It is the sheer magnitude of the crater that
blows my mind. This volcano had some
power to be able to blow off the top of a mountain several kilometres
wide. It is amazing!
Next we
visited the lake of Cuicocha. My five
year old daughter remembered our visit there for the sweet pasties they sell in
the café there (which were delicious.) I
remembered the breath taking views across the 9 kilometre wide lake formed in a
dormant volcanic crater. The volcano
erupted in the year 500AD and this must have been with some force to blow such a gigantic
hole in a mountain. On the boat ride
across the lake we could see bubbles of gas still being emitted from the
volcano. I could only hope the volcano
intends to sleep for a long while yet.
It made me
wonder at God´s power; He who created these astounding volcanoes. Day by day I often feel so powerless, so
unable to change bad situations or frustrating circumstances. Yet the God that I pray to is omnipotent;
completely able.
As we
returned from our trip we stopped off at some ancient pyramids built by
Ecuadorians who lived thousands of years ago.
We tried to imagine what they had built them for and what their lives had been like. We saw the skeleton of one
35 year old woman whose bones have been preserved from that time long ago.
It added
perspective to our brief lives now.
Every day is so important to us, yet our time on this earth is so short in
the scheme of things, and we do not know what the next day may bring.
I came home
reminded once again to live each day to the full, believing that anything is
possible.
Thursday 10 October 2013
Tuesday 8 October 2013
A morning in the life of Andy in the Andes
It was a simple trip to town... with a simple list of tasks to complete. Our aim was to be back at home for lunch at midday to be in time for the afternoon´s engagments.
First we were delayed by a sick Granny. A well meaning grandson had given her tramadol for a headache - which resulted in persistent vomiting. So we did a little home visit on the way into town to remedy matters.
The next stop was the bank. I was still feeling optimistic at this point. I am delighted I can now pay my bills in my own bank, so I could withdraw the cash I needed to buy building materials for the current projects and pay the bills at the same time. (Until recently I had to queue in several different banks to pay different bills.) We left the bank with a spring in our step.
We could not drive to the bookshop because all the roads in the centre of town have been dug up to put in drainage. So I had to abandon my plan to buy a mattress for a bedridden patient. I could not see myself carrying that back up the road. The bookshop was open however and we managed to buy the 400 Bible story books I wanted in preparation for Christmas giveaways. Entering all these purchases into the shop computer system proved to be a somewhat labourious process however, and by the time we were back at the car I was horrified to see it was already almost midday!
Next stop was a short walk to the post office. The attendent was new and it would be fair to say a bit clueless. We had about 8 parcels to pick up. He found 4 quickly. He found another 3 very very slowly, hunting on shelves and in drawers. He failed to find the last one completely. It was now nearer 1pm.
We abandoned the idea of heading home for lunch. I was supposed to be at the sewing group at 2pm. That was a 20 minute drive away and I still had to do my weekly food shop. A quick trip to the bakery department had to do. A speedy zip around the aisles found us outside and set for home.
We made it to the sewing group at 2.30pm.
First we were delayed by a sick Granny. A well meaning grandson had given her tramadol for a headache - which resulted in persistent vomiting. So we did a little home visit on the way into town to remedy matters.
The next stop was the bank. I was still feeling optimistic at this point. I am delighted I can now pay my bills in my own bank, so I could withdraw the cash I needed to buy building materials for the current projects and pay the bills at the same time. (Until recently I had to queue in several different banks to pay different bills.) We left the bank with a spring in our step.
We could not drive to the bookshop because all the roads in the centre of town have been dug up to put in drainage. So I had to abandon my plan to buy a mattress for a bedridden patient. I could not see myself carrying that back up the road. The bookshop was open however and we managed to buy the 400 Bible story books I wanted in preparation for Christmas giveaways. Entering all these purchases into the shop computer system proved to be a somewhat labourious process however, and by the time we were back at the car I was horrified to see it was already almost midday!
Next stop was a short walk to the post office. The attendent was new and it would be fair to say a bit clueless. We had about 8 parcels to pick up. He found 4 quickly. He found another 3 very very slowly, hunting on shelves and in drawers. He failed to find the last one completely. It was now nearer 1pm.
We abandoned the idea of heading home for lunch. I was supposed to be at the sewing group at 2pm. That was a 20 minute drive away and I still had to do my weekly food shop. A quick trip to the bakery department had to do. A speedy zip around the aisles found us outside and set for home.
We made it to the sewing group at 2.30pm.
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