10 lessons God has taught me during 10 years in Ecuador

1.       Patience, patience, patience…. For paperwork, bureaucracy, & more paperwork….

2.       Be kind – I have no idea what the person next to me is going through.

3.       Humility – those who have nothing give so much more than I do from my plenty.

4.       Be generous.  Do not fear.  God always provides for our needs.

5.       What it is to be misunderstood.  What it is to feel helpless. Living in a culture different to my own has created many opportunities to learn these lessons!

6.       The joy of thanking God for the simple gift of another day to live and to love.  Having seen so many patients and neighbours die young, I no longer take life for granted.

7.       Our lives are like a breath, here today and gone tomorrow.  Live each day to the full and for His glory.

8.       God is with us, no matter what tragedies befall us. 

9.       I need to forgive and to be forgiven.

10.   God loves me profoundly and eternally.  

Alausi, Ecuador

My 10 favourite places in Ecuador

I arrived in Ecuador 10 years ago.  Here are 10 of my favourite places in Ecuador...
1. Baños - the bustling tourist town with stunning waterfalls and zip-wires.
2. Cuicocha lake near Otavalo, the extinct volcano which offers walks and boat rides, and the chance to see volcanic gases bubbling up to the surface of the water. 
3.  Mitad del Mundo - the equator monument just north of Quito.  A great place to take visitors so they can stand on the line between North and South. 
4.  Ingapirca Inca ruins  - a fabulous chance to look back into history. 

5.  Cotopaxi Volcano - the majestic snow-capped peak with llamas wandering in the National Park.
6.   Chimborazo Volcano - another spectacular summit with freezing winds and wild views. 

7.  The Pacific Ocean - wonderful, warm water to swim in, and crashing waves to catch.
8.  Mindo - home of exotic birds, fluttering butterflies, a chocolate tour and spectacular humming birds.

9.  The Galapagos Islands - there is nothing to compare with walking amongst giant turtles, iguanas, penguins and blue-footed boobies.
10. My home amongst the anthuriums and the orchids, the colourful birds and the iguanas, with bananas ever on hand and a beautful river to swim in.

A word for 2015

As I look back on 2014, there are several moments that stand out: Tamara lost her first tooth, my newest niece was born, Emily learnt to roller-skate and we visited some Inca ruins with my parents.  However, if I had to sum the year up in just one word that word would be “busy”.  We were busy in the health centre, treating patients with leg ulcers.  I was busy at home, teaching my girls their daily lessons.  The sewing group was busy making items for sale.  I was busy starting a girls´ club and introducing them to the delights of camping.  My husband built three houses for poor families and started on a fourth.  I wrote and published a book.  The year has flown by in the blink of an eye. 

One of the realities I have been reflecting on this year is the brevity of life.  Just this week a grandfather in the village died.  On their way home from the wake, his niece Estela and her family crashed on their motorbike and her husband and seven-year-old daughter died.  Tragically, years before, Estela´s previous husband and son also died in a similar accident.  The frequent accidents and loss of life here have forced me to face up to the uncertainty of life and the shortness of our days on earth.  I feel the need to seize the day, to make the most of each and every opportunity and not to put off until tomorrow what I can do today.  This sense of urgency contributes to my chronic busyness.  For me in 2014, God has been first and foremost the God who is with me, willing and able to help me, no matter what the circumstances.  I have tried to do all I can with the gifts He has given me.    

As I begin 2015, I find myself reflecting on what it means to live life in the light of eternity.  Yes life is brief, but I believe in a life to come that is very long!  What will continue for all eternity is my relationship with God and with my fellow men.  How should that affect how I live each and every day?  Do I just pay lip service to a belief in heaven, or am I making my decisions about what I do and how I use my time based on my faith?  Does eternity shape my here and now?  Is “busy” the best use of my time, or should eternity be shaping my priorities more?  Should my life be about helping as many people as possible, or investing deeper in my relationships with those around me? 

So, as the New Year begins, the festivities end and work recommences, I am making “eternal” my word for 2015.  In my family, in my friendships and in my work I will try to do and say those things that have eternal value as I seek to discern the path ahead.   

Ecuadorean New Year Traditions..... 

 Making of the Old Man, who represents the Old Year.

 Burning the Old Man at midnight

 The Widows of the Old Men who beg for money in the streets!!

The best Christmas gift

“So what did you get for Christmas?” is the common question once the presents are opened and the dinner consumed.  This year the question made me stop and think because my best gifts did not come wrapped up under the tree. 

The smiles of delight I received when I gave out the presents so generously donated by supporters to the children in the local village schools were a wonderful gift.  The overheard comments, “Wow, what a cute piggy!” and the sight of a little boy fiercely cuddling his toy dinosaur, brought happiness to my heart. 

 

I was proud and delighted to see Juan smiling broadly, looking confident and greeting me with a firm handshake and kiss on the cheek.  He has grown up so much in the past months, achieving excellent grades in his final year at school and shedding the shyness he had as a diffident teenager.  I am glad he has a sponsor and is able to finish school.  The determined glint in his eye brought me the satisfaction of a job well done. 

Then there was the little girl, who has a sponsor, who gave me a (live) chicken to thank me for the support she has received this year.  It is always gratifying to receive a thank-you, to know your efforts are appreciated.  This thank-you was no exception. 

All these gifts were special, unique and much appreciated.  All of them inspire me to keep going for another year in doing what I can to help the children living around me.  But even these were not the best present I received this Christmas. 

At each school I visited I took out a Christmas stocking filled with some names of Jesus.  The first we took out was “Saviour”.  The gift I most need this and every Christmas is to have my sins forgiven.  Jesus is the perfect gift because He came to save me from my sins.  The second name we took out was “Emmanuel”, which means God with us.  I also need this gift desperately.  I need to know that no matter what lies ahead of me tomorrow, next month or next year, God is with me.

And so I carry that most precious gift of all with me into the New Year, with grateful thanks.  

A Family Christmas

There is a pig sleeping in our garden tonight.  Yes - a pig!  Despite the fact I am currently reading Charlotte´s Web to my girls, the pig is destined for slaughter in the morning.  Once the pig is diced up, there are 60lbs of tilapia fish to be caught and gutted.

All this is in preparation for about 60 members of my Ecuadorean mother-in-law´s family (plus a few waifs and strays who do not have family nearby) descending upon us to celebrate Christmas together.  The celebrations start with breakfast, followed by the official opening of the family games.   As the retiring Patron of last years games, I will have the honour of presenting the sash and bouquet to the incoming Queen.

The silly games, swimming competition, ever-so-serious football match and volleyball will then commence.  The winning team will be awarded medals to commemerate their success.
The ill-fated pig will be fried and served up for lunch in typical Ecuadorean fashion with boiled maize, banana and onion salad.  In the afternoon the children will have their races.  Tamara was elected Princess of Christmas last year, so she has the duty of giving out Christmas gifts to her cousins this year.  This prestigious event will be followed by the election of this year´s Christmas Princess.
In the evening the  fish will be served, while the family relaxes under the marquee, and entertainment will be provided by different members of the family.  (Tamara has been practising Jingle Bells frantically on the piano...)  

The family will then put up their tents and sleep out in our field, (Great Granny will be allowed to use the sofa bed!), before a final breakfast together on Sunday morning.  (If anyone has room for another meal by then...)

My mother-in-law and her siblings.

 I am amazed each year at the amount of effort, planning and preparation that goes into these family traditions and celebrations.  However, everyone pitches in with great enthusiasm, because being together as a family is important.  And this family sticks together and supports each other through the joys and blessings of children born and successes in life, but also in the heart-breaks of loss and brokeness.  At Christmas, each and every member of the family makes the effort to come together and celebrate extravagantly. laying aside the cares and worries of life and focusing on the blessings of love, joy and peace.  It is time to remember the coming of the Prince of Peace, through whom we can become part of God´s family and know everlasting love, joy and peace.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS  

The Story of Maria´s House

The building of a house for a family is always a great blessing.  Let me try to describe for you the difference it makes…

Maria and her three teenagers lived in a one-room shack with a mud floor three months ago.  Bits of wood were cobbled together with pieces of plastic sheeting and some rusty metal roofing to give them shelter.  They had lived in this ramshackle abode for years, sleeping together on two mattresses on the floor, cooking and living in that one same room.  Water ran across the floor in the rainy season.    

The shack had no toilet, shower or wash basin.  The family used plastic bags to collect their faeces and put it out in the rubbish.  Sickness was common.  Maria herself suffered a road traffic accident some years before, which meant an extensive operation on her spine.  For this reason she is unable to do physical work, and without an education, is unable to do more sedentary work.  Her husband abandoned them several years ago and has not been heard from since. 

The price of food in Ecuador is currently equivalent to that in the UK.  Clothes, detergents, and toiletries are more expensive in Ecuador.  For families like Maria´s, who receive £35 from the government in benefits per month, and can maybe earn £5 a day washing clothes for other families if they are lucky, it is a struggle to simply put food on the table each day.  Saving up to build a toilet, let alone a house is an impossible dream. 

When we told Maria we were going to build her a new house, she had the old one dismantled within an hour!  She was so excited.  Tears filled her eyes as she witnessed work begin.  Every day her sons helped to mix the cement and lay the blocks, while she cooked lunch for the builders.  She had one cockerel she was fattening up for a thank-you meal once the house was ready.  The rest of the time the meals were rice, lentils and cooking bananas. 

The new house, with its´ block walls, cement floor, kitchen bench and sink, toilet and shower with running water, and two bedrooms, might look somewhat plain to you or I, but to Maria it is a palace.  Someone stole the cockerel the morning it was due to go in the pot – so Maria found chickens from someone else to cook us a thank you meal.  The builder gave her his sofa bed, so she can sleep apart from her sons, and also some old curtains for the windows.  Maria may not have any furniture, but at least she now has a safe, waterproof, clean, hygienic home.  

I would like to thank those special people who run marathons, do concerts and simply donate their savings so that families in Ecuador can have a house of their own.  What a life-changing gift to give to others! 

We are currently working on the 9^th and 10^th houses to be built by Project Ecuador… perhaps you will give thanks with me for this fantastic blessing.