Kingdom of heaven

Mattthew 18:1-4, "At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?' And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" God is an incredible God and loves his children! I spent the morning finishing packing up my house and moving stuff up to Dwight and Tandy's. They are letting me stay with them for a few days until my new roommate comes and I am beyond thankful. I was a little hesitant about moving to a new area of town and they graciously took me in! When I headed up to school I had a little bit of time to gather my ideas for the combined inicial and primero gym class. Today was the day for the big parachute! I had been wanting to play with the jumbo parachute, every kindergartners gym class favorite, but didn't know when would be a good time. Since I had to move this morning I pushed back a gym class to combine them, there was no better opportunity, and Joel was here to help me. The kids loved it, they got so excited they didn't always want to listen to instructions, but they were getting the hang of it towards the end of class! Before going to class with the 6th and 7th graders I was getting my watch ready since I finally had one and it broke. I had almost gotten to use it. Gym class with the oldest girls went well, then we had a teachers meeting over lunch. I had time to grab a banana and my chai tea out of the freezer, but the meeting ended up lasting right up to my English class and was still going on when I left. My girls had a great day! They were excited, working hard, and their English sounded really great. It is so rewarding seeing how much fun they can have learning. When class was done the meeting was still going on, therefore library and after school programs were cancelled for the day. As soon as it was done I was filled in on what I missed at the meeting and continued organizing. I went down to the bodega to see if I could get some super glue to fix my watch and at that time there wasn't  anybody there to help me, but I found Nayeli standing outside scratching at her head and crying. She has a big bump on her head that looks like a tumor and it was heartbreaking to see her in so much pain, there was nothing I could do to heal her, but I was trying to calm her down.

Geovanny and I hanging out after school!

I was asking her a some questions and showing her some things, then I asked her, "Hija de Dios, si?" (daughter of God, yes?) and she responded confidently with "si"! That was exactly the reassurance that I needed for her precious little life, I know the Lord is taking care of her and it was my hope she could understand it too. The unbelievable trust, the pure joy, simple truths, and great love show by children is magnificent. Kids are such a beautiful example of God's love and how He calls us to believe in Him. When I made it to my temporary home with the Martin's I spent some time reading LeapFrog books with Johnathan before heading over to the guest house with them for supper with the team. I have to say they are a great family to live with! We got everything set up for supper, then ate pizza, salad, and oreos with the team. When we were done eating we split up in to small groups for a devotional time. My group had a good discussion, then everybody came together and we were hanging out and some worship songs! It really was great! It was pretty late when we got home, so I got ready for bed and was off to dreamland.

Blessed in what they do

I went to the bakery first thing this morning to pick up food for breakfast and lunch. As I was approaching the bakery nearest my house I was nervous it wasn't open, but I am pleased to say it was. After eating breakfast, getting ready, and packing lunch I was off to school. In chapel this morning Rebekah and I did a little skit to show the kids what is looks like to be hearers and doers of God's word. The verse of the week is James 1:22-25, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do." I know it was a great message for the kids and although the reemphasizing of the message was cut short due to rain, I think they got a lot out of it! My first gym class of the day was pre-k and it went well. It took a little bit to get them all involved in the activity, but once they were it was awesome. Snack break was filled with kids jumping all over me, I sat on the steps and that is what usually happens. My other two gym classes were pretty tough today, but that's okay. I had the opportunity to talk to the older student after school and when I ran in to some of the little guys later they were doing much better. I love how quickly kids can bounce back from a hard morning, I know I can learn a lot form how they move forward! One of my English students came to class crying, so I got the other girls set up on an activity and went outside to find out what was wrong. She didn't really want to talk about it, but I know it had to do with missing her family. This is an ever present struggle for these kids, they long so much to belong and be cared for in ways only a parent can and today after talking to her mom this young lady was hurting. I didn't have much for words and neither did she, but she new I was there for her and that was all that mattered. I was relieved when the school day was done, because it was a really hard day for me. I thank God for His goodness in the good and bad days, He know how much we can handle and never leaves us to conquer the day on our own. God's


Rosa and I eating some Mickos ice cream!

knows I needed a day changer and that is exactly what He provided after school. While I was fulfilling my librarian duties Thalia expectantly walked in to the library came up to give me a hug and was back on her way, she has no idea how much this seemingly small gustier meant to me! Also, during after school store Boris and Edison were picking out pictures at the same time during school store. Long story short Boris picked out a picture and Edison grabbed it because he thought it was for him. I signed to him the picture was for Boris and like a great friend he handed it to him, then gave him a side hug, love is shown in so many different ways and is invaluable! I stopped by the house to see the before my walk home and they are always precious, it was a nice way to end my day at Casa de Fe. I knew I would be going home to a house filled with a family moving in and everything moved around, what I didn't realize is I will be moving out tomorrow. Honestly I was stressing about it at first, but there is nothing I can do about it so I need to start and finish packing up my stuff after supper with the team. As soon as I got home I got cleaned up and went with Patti Sue, Rosa, and the team to "La Hacienda". Rosa and I took a group of the team members on the city bus and arrived shortly behind the other group. I enjoyed all the meat on my parallida and my potatoes covered in the homemade mayo, the food was awesome and so was that mayo! We all stopped at Miko's on the way back, then I stayed to be a part of the team's devotions. I picked up groceries on my walk home, then began packing up my stuff as soon as I was home for the night. I got a bit overwhelmed, not in a bad way but the reality of moving, my time winding down, and change is intimidating.

Ask, Seek, Knock

Barcelona takes on Macará, I've always wanted to go to a
professional soccer game!

I had a small breakfast before heading to the bus stop and going to Ambato. It is about two hours away, but it went really fast since I slept pretty much the whole way on the bus. There is something about riding the bus that puts me right to sleep. We got off the bus near the stadium and it was hopping! There were people all over, jerseys for sale, lines at the ticket counters, and a group of people marching with a banner. It was pretty exciting! We got there around 11 which meant there was some time before the game started, so I had a KFC chicken sandwich and Nice cream ice cream at the mall for lunch. After eating it was time to head towards the stadium, but we walked a ways so it was a nice tour around Ambato. It is definitely a bigger city. The professional soccer game I got to go to was Barcelona verses Macará. I jumped on the bandwagon and was cheering for Barcelona. They have become the most popular club in the country and are the most successful soccer team in Ecuador. The Barcelona Sporting Club play at the highest level of soccer (football), which is the Ecuadorian Serie A. The game ended up being tied 0-0 at the end, but it was an intense game. There were several close calls and one of them was right at the end when Barcelona almost scored on themselves, but I glad they didn't. The "superfan" cheering sections, horns, and music from all the fans are noises I won't forget.

I was really excited for my first
professional soccer game!

They take so much pride in their soccer teams and support them well. I took another long nap on the bus ride home and was ready for the evening. When I got home I made myself supper, then headed up to prayer. We spent a lot of time talking about work, prayer requests, and had a great time of prayer. It is awesome to see how God has brought this specific group of people together at this very time to serve Him. I have been blessed, encouraged, and thankful to work with them thus far and can't wait to see what the Lord does in the time remaining. The time is going so fast and today I was reminded to embrace every second, because they are going to disappear. Matthew 7:7-12, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." God knows each and every cry in my heart, in fact, He knows them better than even I do! God knows us, we are His beautiful creation and prized possession. He wants us to run to Him in prayer and will be there to open the door, not always in the ways we expect, but in ways far greater than we could have imagined. He is the giver of perfect gifts and continues to reveal them in new ways. I thank God for His faithfulness in each day!

Rainbow in the clouds

I woke up at my usual time on a work day and knew I would have a peaceful morning. I was going to enjoy this time of day with a walk, but as I was going out the door it started to drizzle and I was much less motivated. However, I felt a push to go so I reluctantly began walking and when I got to the end of my street there was a big rainbow! It wasn't just any rainbow though, as I stood there and watched it there were areas of it that were triple thick, and if you looked hard you could see a separate one above it, but it was very faint. I was super blessed seeing this and thank God for His beautiful creation! Genesis 9:12-16,


At the waterfall, I'm signing
"thank you" to Edison!

"And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.'" This promise God has made is one of many, His faithfulness is unexplainable and His goodness too great to measure! This rainbow reminded me of the renewal of His promises. After making breakfast I walked to Casa de Fe and paired kids with their volunteer, it all went well. I was with Edison, a young boy who is deaf, and when I was showing him that we were partners he understood. As soon as I sat down beside him he put his arm around me and was giving me a hug, he is so wonderful. Once we were all set to go we walked down the hill and across the dique bridge, loaded up the bus, and were off to "Hola Vista". The hike up to the waterfall was beautiful, then we arrived at the cascada (waterfall) and it was wonderful. It was falling from about a hundred feet above us and was incredible. Our group spent time swimming around and enjoying the beauty, I had a blast hanging out with Edison and swimming under the waterfall with the older girls. They are all like little fish! Edison was falling all over the place on the way out, but made it without any injuries. At one point that he totally fell backwards, but thankfully I was right behind him and caught him. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the entrance sight before heading back. When we arrived at the orphanage I stayed to supervise the team and hang out with the kids. Although I was tired, I know it is a special opportunity and a great time for everyone to be together. As I was leaving Kuka wandered and was off picking grass, because she really enjoys it, and I waited decided

Tandy and I eating ice cream
 after supper with the team!

to wait for her and watch her while until she came back. She wouldn't listen to me and I felt myself getting impatient, but as soon as I noticed it I started praying for patients and was just fine. Before I knew it she was ready to come and get her snack and was heading to the Tia. God is good! After I got all cleaned up, I headed to the phone place to get some money on my cell phone. Some of the small, mundane tasks feel like huge accomplishments to me and I'm grateful for those simple victories. Since I am challenging myself when it comes to the language I have been able to grow and learn a lot every day! In reality the task may be minuscule, but I thank God for every accomplishment. Shortly after getting back I went with the Martin's and the team out to supper at O Sole Mio's, but before eating we stopped at the Balsawood store. I finally made it there successfully and I found a couple of items to buy. I enjoyed a delicious calzone with pineapple juice followed by a sweet and condensed milk and mango and ice cream cone. It was a busy and wonderful day.


 

His soul with God



Maribel singing the song she wrote during chapel!

I enjoyed a sunrise breakfast and came across this quote from Circle Maker while I was eating, "I remember how as I looked at people with a love God gave, they looked back and acted as though they wanted to go with me. I felt then that for a day I saw a little of that marvelous pull that Jesus had as He walked along the road day after day 'God-intoxicated' and radiant with the endless communion of His soul with God." When we look, speak, and act in the ways the Lord is calling us great things will be accomplished. Loving unconditionally and selflessly caring for others just as Jesus did will captivate people. It is in the times we honestly seek to be more like Him that we will capture attention and bring others walk along with us. God fills our souls with His radiant and unexplainable love! I ran in to Jason and Leah as they were leaving their house and walked up to school with them, we beat everybody else there. Following morning exercise, Maribel sang a song she has been working on in her piano lessons. She did a great job! This morning I spent time prepping for gym classes, eating snack with the kids, and meeting Joel & Jess. It was a busy morning, but a great morning. P.E. classes went well too; soccer with the second and third graders was a hit, frisbee with the oldest girls went great, and basketball with fourth and fifth grade was pretty good. They aren't really in to basketball, so I might have to cut this unit short, but they are talented! My English today was awesome! It was the best class I have ever taught and was super energizing. Right when my students came in the door I could tell one was on the verge of a breakdown and I started off the class with a lot of energy to see if we could turn her day around. I am unbelievably grateful to say it worked, the whole time in class they stuck with me, were excited, and ready to learn. I love teaching! When we were done cleaning and closing up the school, I went down to hang out with the toddlers outside. Shortly after being there one of them was having a little tantrum, I'm not sure what happened but I held him until he calmed down. Sometimes the smallest thing can happen to these kids and the tailspin into a crying fit because they just want to be loved. They don't have parents to nurture and care for them in the ways they long for, often times I see signs of how desperately they need to be loved when they fall or have a small injury. I was leaving Casa de Fe at the same time as one of the Tia's and got to walk and talk with her on our way in to town, it was great! Along the way she grabbed my arm and hid from the sun in my shadow, since I am so much taller than her I was a good source for shade. She is really sweet and I thank God for the knowledge and understanding of the Spanish language I am developing! When I arrived home I went up to talk to Tandy and got to catch up with her for a while, I sure did miss them while they were gone. She gave me the order from the team so I got ready, dropped off the order, then walked around until the team arrived at Johnny's. I was excited to host the team and am glad to say all went well, I was able to communicate and everything went smooth. Once everyone finished eating I helped them buy fruit at the market and got ice cream too. Note to self, the Magnum Gold ice cream is the best! I went to get some food for tomorrow and while I was going I looked up at the night stars and all I could say was wow, they were brilliant! I spent the rest of the evening taking it easy, then was off to bed.

So do not fear, for I am with you

Caila's work of art!

I slept in until almost seven, I know there won't be any time for it this weekend and wanted to try getting some extra sleep. Although it was only an hour more there is something about waking up before my alarm clock that makes me feel more rested. I made breakfast and read read for part of the morning since I had it off of work. Shown below are the King James Version followed by the New International Version of Isaiah 41:10, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." The Lord is my strength, help, and comfort at all times. In the midst of uncertain things He gently guides me with His righteous hands. Priscilla and her family are moving in here very soon and she came by to paint the kitchen this morning. The reality of moving is coming very soon and although I really like where I'm living right now, I know the move will be good. It is another opportunity for me to learn small lessons about embracing what is before me and seeing what God has in store. I ventured off to school and got there a little early, so I was able to gather my supplies for the new frisbee unit. My gym classes went well, but the frisbee lesson with the oldest girls went especially good! Before I knew it was time of lunch, and I was kind of testing an article that I read about apples from the day before. I read an article about how to properly eat apples and it sounds silly, but I found it very helpful. Now all I need to do is pluck the stem, cut it in half, pick out the seeds, pluck off the bottom little greens, and I eat almost the whole apple! The article didn't have a whole bunch of new information or a big ah ha moment, but since being in Ecuador I have learned a lot about my food habits and how I don't like wasting it. English went okay, the girls have been a bit tired the past two days, so I've been needing to work extra hard to get them excited about what we are learning. For after school enrichment I spent most of the time reading/playing games in the LeapFrog book with Caila. Also, I got the first mother's day drawing of my life from Caila and it was precious. It said, "En tu dia Mamita" (On your day Mommy), mamita is an endearing way of mom and her card was so sweet. My job here allows me to be so much more than a teacher and I couldn't be more thankful, since these kids don't have parents here in many ways I am like a mother to them. I am honored to call all of them my kiddos! If I didn't think the end of my work day could get any better it did when I went down to the house. They were all hanging out inside, because it was raining and Martin came up to me as I was walking out the door and had his arms stretched out. At first I thought he needed to go to the bathroom or wanted to be taken somewhere, but all he said was hug and gave me a big hug...melt my heart! On the rainy way home I stopped by Johnny's to make a reservation for the group tomorrow, then got some food to make supper. It was a quiet evening after supper, but I went to get groceries for tomorrow and food for my breakfast and lunch came to a grand total of one dollar!

Walk in the truth

There were a few animals I  had never seen before
 and this was one of them!

It was raining when I went to bed last night and it was still raining when I rolled out of bed this morning. I had a quiet nice breakfast and quiet start to my day. When I was heading off to work I got to put on dry shoes since I was given an old pair. I ran in to Rick and Rebekah on the way and walked up the rest of the way with them. During our exercises Martin sat in his class line and did the exercises that he could. He was sitting in his chair working hard, so hard in fact he made his chair fall over. The surprise of the day was assisting the second and third grade field trip to the zoo. I didn't even know there was a field trip until shortly before leaving, but I was more than happy to help. There were lots of cool animals at the zoo and the kids had a great time seeing them all, talking about how cute some were and how scary others were! When I got back to school there was an empanada sitting on my desk, I had been craving one for a while and was more than pleased to find one sitting there from snack. I only had ten minutes before my gym class with 2nd and 3rd and it went great. They are starting to get the order of things and understand how class runs! They are pretty wild, but they are kids from the jungle. My class with 4th and 5th grade started off tough, because they saw the older girls playing soccer. They were not very happy when I said we were sticking with basketball, but once they started playing they had fun, they had to get over their initial

Joel admiring the alligator!

disappointment was challenging at first. I talked with several of the students individually throughout the class which went very good, they responded well and in the end could understand my decision. I am working with them to communicate with me about how they feel and it went well today. English was good, then it was time for Bible club. We continued talking about fruits of the Spirit and the verse for the week was from 3 John 1:2-4, "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." During free time the kids were running wild. They kept wanting to hold my hands and walk up my legs to do a little somersault thing, I used to do that to my daddy all the time! It really is incredible to see the fun games children make up and play, because though they are worlds apart there are a ton of similarities between kids around the world past and present. When Bible Club was all done I tutored Marco in English, but he wasn't feeling very well so I kept the lesson short. On my way home I went to the market to pick up some food to make for supper. I really like being able to buy my food right before my meals and it's easy since I am by myself, but I get what I'm hungry for and it is always really fresh! After having supper and relaxing for a while I went back out to get food for breakfast tomorrow and got caught in the rain again! My advice to everybody is never to leave the house without a rain coat and sunglasses, but I haven't been doing a very good job of following my own advice!