Holy Week - Spring Break 2010!

What a beautiful, blessed adventure the last 2 weeks have been! It all started with a great “Palm Sunday” weekend with the Christian concert, Procession of the Palms, Chiva, and Maria’s House party…all written about in the past blog. Then Monday was the adorable little Easter bunny dance performance by the preschoolers. Anything they do is cute! Then Thursday began my mass marathon…but all very different and interesting. On Maundy Thursday, I went to both the Cotocolloa and La Marin reenactment of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples before he was crucified. It was cool to see the Word come to life. Then Friday morning I went to mass and ‘living’ Stations of the Cross at La Marin. It was really powerful to see the reenactment of Christ carrying the cross, being nailed and hung, and then taken into the tomb as actions. And after each ‘station’ we prayed a communal prayer and sang a short hymn. It definitely hit me as I saw it. After this, Adam and I went to the plaza grande to see the big Good Friday procession that happens every year in Quito...it was very hot and a ton of people. It really his like a pilgrimage for the people who process with the crosses (heavy, actual wood) without shoes on for miles around Quito. On Saturday morning, we went to Easter mass at the Center in La Marin. It was definitely different for me – Good Friday was definitely a much bigger deal in the Catholic Church here. On Easter Sunday, I chose to go to the soccer game in the morning, but really wanted to go to church. During our Easter dinner, I asked my friend Cinthya if she would want to go to me to the ‘protestant’ church service that night. We went and it was interesting…basically the opposite of the Catholic mass -very focused on the living Christ that is no longer dead and therefore moves within us and does miracles. Wrestling with the huge differences in the services, I also watched Blackhawk’s sermon online…a good in between that I enjoyed – focusing on all of our sins that needed to be erased through the cross, but on the importance of the resurrection being that Jesus conquered sin and death. It was great hearing all the different interpretations…how big and amazing is our God!
Then all the fun, sometimes unexpected, and wonderful adventures began! Stephanie arrived on Friday night (early actually!) and we settled in a bit and headed out to celebrate Lauren’s birthday. It was fun to hang out with everyone and then dance a little bit, although also a bit strange being that it was Good Friday. Saturday after mass we rested and then went to watch the Final Four basketball games! Unfortunate about the Big Ten and then a total Duke blowout, but enjoyable to watch nonetheless, and a fun time with this crazy guy from South Korea that kept wanting to buy us drinks…although no one was really interested as we wanted to be well rested for Sunday. Sunday morning was game day! Liga versus Barcelona…vying for the number one spot! It was an unfortunate 0-0 tie in the end, which put Barcelona (the Guayaquil team) still in first place…no worries though; we’re just barely approaching the half way mark so Liga has lots of time! Despite the poor outcome, it was still fun as it was a high energy game with a lot on the line – Stephanie even got to experience a bit of a riot after the game! (yikes! sorry!) Then Madre Cindy made delicious ham and potatoes, etc meal with great pies and ice cream for Easter. I love how she works so hard on holidays to try to make us feel more at home. And after the meal, Cinthya and I went to church and then we all just went to bed to start off at 5:00am the next day for our adventures.

By 5:30am on Monday morning, Lauren, Cinthya, Stephanie, and I were catching a taxi down to the bus station to go to Tena. We made it to Tena by about noon, found a hostel, and got lunch. Then we went to the Jacundy caves to do some caving. It was weird at first as we were literally the only ones there…we thought they were closed, but it ended up working to our advantage as we had about a 2 hour tour instead of the 45 minutes it was supposed to be. It was a bit creepy hiking around with only our headlamps and having to swim through parts, but it was also sweet! We even got to jump down into a waterfall...in the dark! I didn’t like the huge spiders or bats too much, but overall it was cool and we were all glad we got to do it. After caving, we went back to the hostel and made a reservation to go rafting the next day. We got all showered and got ready to venture out in the rain for some dinner. Then I found a restaurant that had cable and asked them to change the channel for me so I could watch the Big Dance! Wow, what an awesome game-wish Butler could have pulled it off! I literally shut the restaurant down, but made a nice high school friend and we talked about the basketball, and of course, soccer which he was more interested in.

Well, Tena was pouring rain the whole night so when we got up in the morning we weren’t really sure what to expect, but knew the river would probably be high. It was more than high, due to the ‘drought’ they had in the jungle (oxymoron right?), the river completely overflowed and there was water up to the second story of houses and businesses. When we got down to this area, which was where the rafting tour agency was, we were in shock. Of course they told us that they would not be able to take us rafting, but even more that they were using the boats to help rescue people in town. Trees were down all over the place and people were completely emptying out their businesses. Wow, honestly all we could do is just pray for them and know that God will help and protect them. So after hanging out by the river for a while, we went to the bus station to find out if and when we could get out of Tena. Many of the roads were closed due to mudslides and such, but supposedly by 5:00pm the road to Baños was going to open, so we could get on the 2:00pm bus from Tena to hopefully make it to the problem area by around 5:00pm. Everything was smooth riding on the bus until we made it past Puyo and all the sudden the bus turned off and we could see in front of us a huge line of cars. Oh no, the problems we expected! Well, gracias a Dios there was a one way pass and we just had to wait a bit for it to open up to our side…and we must have had great timing as we only waited about 10 or 15 minutes. Whew. Being on this road multiple times (and biking it), I definitely could tell the differences and where the road had been destroyed and the mudslides. It will be quite the job to totally repair. Praise God we finally made it to Baños though, and not too late, where we enjoyed dinner and then played cards at an ice cream shop. We hung out with friends for a while, but then went to bed to be rested for our second attempt at rafting!

It was raining most of the night in Baños too, but thank goodness at 9am the next morning we were being picked up to go rafting! Yay! We were back on that torn up road on the way to Puyo, and we had to carry our boat through more mud to get to the river, but we were going rafting. We were with this huge group of middle school and high school students. We were paired with a couple people that didn’t really know what they were doing, but it definitely led to some good laughs and a fun time! Poor Cesar, who guided our boat, had to do a lot more work though. And another crazy, but also funny, thing that happened was that I lost my contact in the middle of rapid – painful, but also Cesar had some fresh water that I could use, and he and Stephanie helped block the wind and rain so I could get it back in. Goodness, I hate being blind! What a fun time though and a delicious lunch afterwards as well! After showering and resting a little, we went out to celebrate Stephanie’s birthday. We got dinner and a birthday crepe, before heading out for a little dancing.

Thursday morning we got up, checked bus times, and then rented go carts to go to the bridge you can jump off of. It was so fun driving that cart all over…even on the highway through the mountains! Stephanie, Lauren, and Cinthya all jumped (it was a once in a lifetime experience for me!) so that was so cool and exciting. Then we headed back with our go carts to town and did some shopping and had lunch. We were about to head back to Quito when I talked to Cesar who was going to be going canyoning (repelling down waterfalls) in 20 minutes with a group. We were planning on doing that earlier in the day, but then rafting took longer than expected so we really wanted to get to the bungee jumping first. Well, Lauren headed out to Guamote, but Cinthya, Stephanie, and I decided at the last minute to throw on our suits and go on the canyoning tour. It ended up being a lot longer than expected (we didn’t get done until about 7pm), so we realized if we left for Quito we would get back really late and not make a bus to the beach. We stayed another night in Baños, but just hung out and talked for most of the night. Then we got up, ate breakfast, and looked at a few shops before heading home to Quito in the late morning. What a great, yet exhausting, adventure!

Exhausted, but wanting to relish every minute of Stephanie’s time here, we got up Saturday morning and went to the market town, Otavalo. It is always fun to see this beautiful, colorful market, and I swear I can never leave without buying something. I limited myself to one necklace though! Then we watched a movie on Saturday night and relaxed. Sunday, we worked out in Parque Carolina and toured Centro Historico in the rain. It wasn’t pouring too hard though, and Stephanie still got some beautiful pictures of Old Town. We watched another movie Sunday night before packing up and sending Stephanie off at 4am. Whew, early but at least we both woke up to our alarms!

As can be seen, we packed in a lot in the past week, but it was amazing. I thank God for keeping us all safe and giving us patience and flexibility with everything. Even if things didn’t go exactly as we planned, God definitely had a perfect week planned and worked through our entire group. Tomorrow begins the ‘beginning of the end’…crazy to think that it is the last trimester. Please pray for a strong finish for all of us at the Center! Love you all! Que Dios les bendiga muchisimo!

March Update

March has been busy with a lot of fun stuff, but also not anything especially crazy. I have traveled just about every weekend, excluding the last, so that has been fun and refreshing. I love the Center and my work here in Quito, but I also love getting out on the weekends for a break.

After Mom and Dad left, we had a volunteer spiritual retreat in Machachi. It was absolutely beautiful. There was tons of gorgeous green grass and flowers everywhere. Although it was very much of a spiritual retreat, it was definitely a good time for all of us volunteers to just build community among one another. And it really was good for us, as their noticeably has been a change in the group dynamic and everyone hanging out a lot more.

Then it was St. Patrick's Day, so of course I had to go out and celebrate a little bit of my heritage. It wasn't too crazy, but just fun to hang out with the volunteers. Then MARCH MADNESS began, baby! haha I miss Dicky V. Anyway, I have been going out to the bars a lot recently in order to watch the games...I kind of wish I could just sit back on my couch, but at least I'm getting to see some of the games. The most fun night was last Thursday for the Xavier-K-State game...literally 5 of us took over a bar and were screaming and jumping up and down at all the overtimes and last minute shots. So fun! Hopefully I'll get to see the Final Four this weekend as well.

Another interesting thing that I went to last week was a discussion about a new book written about the rights of child laborers. It was mainly written about the Working Boys' Center actually and it is interesting trying to learn more. It is definitely something that I am still not totally sure about as I have definitely always felt that child labor really isn't a good thing. It's obviously not the best option, but I guess this is a totally different culture and unfortunately some families really need their children to work in order to support their basic needs. Thank God for the Center and all the families that are able to get those needs met here as well as an education! I just have to pray for all the others that I see all the time around the city.

Finally, this past weekend was a lot of fun as we celebrated Palm Sunday (on Saturday) here at the Center with a big procession and lunch. And then following that I went out on a chiva (party bus) for Diana's (my host sister) birthday. It was a lot of fun to get to hang out with my second family for a while; we danced all night!! On Sunday, almost all of the volunteers went over to Maria's (one of our cooks) house for lunch. It was so nice of her to invite all of us to meet all of her family and cook more for us on her day off! Her grandchildren were ADORABLE!

Well, now it's only 3 days until Spring Break! Woo hoo. My friend Stephanie from the Boys and Girls Club in Madison is coming to visit me, so we will be traveling a lot trying to get in all three ecological zones of Ecuador....the jungle, the mountains, and the beach! Have a wonderful Easter everyone!

Just livin' the dream

Sorry for not updating - I was spending time with my mom and dad!! And my mom cried from the first hug to the last, but it was amazing. They got to experience a taste of Center life and also have fun and travel with me.

The first weekend we went to Mindo for a day of adventure in the gorgeous cloud forest. We arrived and ate some breakfast while watching the little town begin to wake up. Then we hiked up to the zipline canopy tours - I think my mom and dad were going to kill me on the way up, but it was beautiful and great exercise. Then my mom and I went on the 13 ziplines! (Dad couldn't because of his back) I was so proud of my mom! She was a little scared and definitely the oldest, but was a trooper and received a lot of encouragement from the whole group. Afterward we had some ice cream as we were exhausted and took the bus home as it was pouring rain! Besides the terrible bug bites Mom and Dad got, it was an awesome day where my mom got to make a check in her bucket list. Just livin' the dream.

No time to rest - we had a full day planned on Sunday as well. We got up and did aerobics in the park. Then we went back to the hotel and changed quickly and went to the Liga game. It was a huge game against the team in second place, Emelec, and Liga dominated 3-0! After the game, we bought jerseys and eventually caught a taxi back to the taxi. We had a little time to shower, relax, and watch the first 2 periods of the USA-Canada hockey game before leaving again to have dinner with my Ecuadorian host family. We went to a restaurant called Mosaico with a breathtaking view of Quito.

Monday morning, classes started back up again. Throughout the week, Mom and Dad especially enjoyed Girls' Program (thanks to their great little angels idea!) and my 1st grade English boys in La Marin. They also got to go out and see some of the families' houses - pretty moving I think. The best part of the week was Mom's birthday on Wednesday though. My high school girls memorized a poem and recited it for her and gave her white roses. We then played some trivia with the girls and ate these yummy desserts - it was a small, relatively unorganized party for my mom, but I think everyone enjoyed it anyway.

Finally their last weekend in Ecuador we went to Cuenca. It is a Colonial city and feels quite a bit cleaner than Quito. We stayed at a cute little hotel and enjoyed exploring the city. Two of the highlights were the Ingapirca Inca ruins and the "Panama Hat" shop and tour. Ingapirca was very interesting and included a very 'cultural' bus ride to get there. And my mom was "just livin' the dream" on our way back to Cuenca in the back of a pick up truck! How funny! The hat shop was also very interesting and cool to see all the handmade toquillo hats.

Overall, it was a really good week with them here. I don't know how I am going to do it for another 6-7 months without seeing them, but praise the Lord for Skype!

Keep livin' the dream guys!
Love you,
Taylor

Breathing in the Fresh Air

We had vacation last weekend (February 13-16) for Carnaval, so I headed out of the city to breathe in fresh air. I went with Lauren on a Central Highlands adventure. We visited four cities in the four days, but spent the majority of our time in a small indigenous town, Guamote. We left Saturday morning (along with the rest of the country) and got a bus to Ambato…usually a 2 hour drive that was almost 4 for us! After arriving in Ambato a lot later than expected, we decided to head directly to Baños to get a little more time there. We walked around a little bit when we arrived, ate dinner, and then took a 3 hour nap from 6pm-9pm! We were exhausted. Then we went back out for a little while and we’re sleeping again by midnight! Pretty exciting Baños trip ;)

We had to get a good night sleep, however, we got up and were on a bus out of Baños to Ambato by 7:30am. It’s only about an hour bus ride and we wanted to get there in time for the flower and fruit parade. It is basically like the Rose Bowl Parade (which has always been a dream of mine…one day the Badgers will get there again!) and it was absolutely gorgeous. All the floats were covered in all natural products and usually had a ‘princess’ on them. There were a ton of people there and we didn’t get anything to eat that day until 12pm, but it was well worth it! Shortly after eating though we headed back to the bus station to go to Rio Bamba. We thought we were going to be staying in Rio Bamba until we got there and called Pascual who told us to catch a bus to Guamote, only about 45 minutes from the city….well usually. Being Carnaval, there was a huge party and traffic jam in the street in this little town, Caja Bamba, on the way to Guamote and the bus ride ended up being 2.5 hours long! It was cool to finally get there though where Pascual met us right off the bus. Oh yeah, Pascual is a friend that Lauren met on the airplane coming here from the US in August! He is a deacon in the Catholic Church and also lives with the priest, both of whom we stayed with for the next two nights.

Guamote was a little indigenous town where a majority of the people didn’t even actually speak Spanish, but rather Quitchua, the native language. I know very little Quichua so it was funny sometimes when some of the old guys stopped me to talk to me. Many of the people live up in the mountainsides, but came down to the town for the festivities, a big concert and a parade. The parade was on Monday and basically included a little dance or something from all the communities from the mountainsides wearing their traditional dress (which they for the most part actually wear in everyday life as it is very cold up where they live and a lot of the outfits include wool ponchos and alpaca pants). Being the only foreigners in town of course drew a substantial amount of attention, which during Carnaval means that Lauren and I were covered in carioca, flour, and splashed with water a couple times. We had fun with it though and bought our own cariocas (foam spray) to get revenge! It was pretty cold in Guamote, but besides that it was fun, cultural, and relaxing.

Que viva Carnaval!

This weekend…

Despite just coming back from vacation on Tuesday evening, Lauren and I talked on Friday evening and both still had cabin fever. We had to get out of the city again, so we picked up a tour book and looked into options for a day trip out of Quito. We looked into a couple options, but I have traveled to quite a few of the cool places close by, so we kept looking. Well last weekend, we had to wait a majority of the time in our drive to Ambato through Cotopaxi National Park, and I had talked about wanting to go there as I had never seen it. Cotopaxi is the second highest volcano in Ecuador, part of the Andes Mountains. We didn’t really know what to expect, but we thought it would be a fun little adventure. So we decided to leave at 8am the next morning, along with Cassie who is visiting for a month from Mequon!

What a great decision! We hired a guide, Javier, who drove us around the park to the lagoon where we hiked around and then up to close to the mountain where we could hike up to the refuge. Wow, it was not a very long hike, but it was hard due to the altitude. It was also FREEZING! It was very windy and it was a light freezing rain as well. We made it to the refuge though! While up there we had a hot chocolate and talked to this cool French guy named Stefan who was going to summit the next morning. He was hardcore, but also super interesting (his job: he’s a sculptor, currently he designs marionettes and then travels around the world with them). No snowy summit for me, but making up to the refuge was cool too. And coming down was awesome, it was like the wind was just pushing us down…kind of felt like we were walking on the moon (not that I really know what that feels like). We just headed back to Quito after that and made it home in time for dinner. It always feels good to take in some fresh air and clear up my lounges a bit!

3 days until Mom and Dad get here… :)

Another Field Trip Weekend

Another great weekend has come and gone...

There is nothing better than a busy weekend of pure fun! On Saturday morning, I woke up to a cloudy day....'normal' Quito weather...and by early afternoon it was raining. It's okay though, because Sarah and I planned on taking our boys, Jasson and Arsenio, to the indoor water museum anyway, and then trying to see the presidential palace. We made it to the water museum, Yaku, and then had a nice little, informative tour. It was made for kids, so it was very interactive and at first our teenage boys were "too cool," but they ended up loving it. At the end of the tour, we got to make huge bubbles! What a great idea...a whole room dedicated to making big, soapy bubbles. It was a huge hit! Then we walked back down in the light rain to Centro Historico, but we were too late to enter the presidential palace. We got huge, delicious sandwiches instead and headed home. By the time I got home, I was just freezing and ready to curl up and watch a movie...so that's what I did, actually two movies!

Then Sunday, Cinthya, Adam, and I went to Parque Carolina with two of our favorite families from La Marin. They have the cutest kids ever (Brennan's little buddy, Oscar, for example), and I taught the one mom, Luz, Adam teaches Fabiola, the other mom, and Cinthya teaches Francisco, Luz's husband and Fabiola's brother. Almost all the kids came too (only missing Fabiola's oldest son) so there were 15 of us total! It's pretty fun having big families. We had lunch out in the park, another beautiful sunny day (Praise the Lord after the rainy Saturday) while listening to this awesome concert raising money for Haiti. Then we played some soccer and volleyball, sprayed the foam at each other, and walked around a bit. It ended up being a full afternoon of just hanging out, but it was an awesome time to bond and really get to know the kids and parents better outside of the school setting. Although it was a full day and I was tired from all the sun, I most definitely had to see the Super Bowl! It ended up being only me and another volunteer, Jessica, that wanted to go watch it, so we went over to our friends', Colin and Brandon, house. It was an awesome game and we even got the commentary in English, but unfortunately sans the all-star commercials. Oh well, at least I got my football in!

Nothing better than a fun, busy weekend to get be excited for another week of school. It really has been a good week, which is also due to the fact that we know we have vacation this weekend for Carnaval! And speaking of....all this Carnaval craziness came to the Center a bit last night. It is prohibited at the Center for safety reasons and to keep it clean, but Adam and I slightly broke the rules and played right outside the doors....maybe dragging/tricking students to come out to us :) Anyway, it was a lot of fun, but then one of the mothers came after me from behind and cracked an egg in my hair! Another tradition here...but kind of a gross one. I just had to laugh though, because honestly I did start it. Some of my high school girls helped me shampoo my hair and get me clean enough to go home to the nuns and priests for dinner. Supposedly you get kicked out of the Center until next week if you're caught playing Carnaval....so maybe I'll just get to take vacation early ;) I was a good girl today though, but Friday I'm going after all of them with no remorse!!! It's such a fun tradition and although a bit dirty, it is really harmless and all in good fun.

Que viva Carnaval!

Fresh Air!

There is nothing more refreshing and spirits brightening than spending a day outside in the sun! I spent the weekend outside in some of the beautiful parks here in Quito, and I feel so happy and refreshed (albeit a little sunburned). On Saturday morning, I went with Audrey with my first grade boys and her 2nd-4th graders to Parque Itchimbia. It is right up the hill from the La Marin Center, so we just walked up with our nine boys who showed up and played for a couple hours. The view from Parque Itchimbia is breath taking - you can see all of the city, but also at certain points you can’t see any of the city and only the mountains that surround the city. Quito is right in the middle of the two large mountain ranges, so it a very long city but not that wide and you can see the mountains from any part. After running around and going to a couple of the playgrounds and playing soccer, we bought ice cream for the boys and went back to the Center in time for lunch. They are so darn cute…and there is nothing better than hearing them yell “teacher or Taylor” and then running over for a big hug! Then Audrey and I went over to Dr. Giuliana’s house for lunch where we also met up with Jess and Jenny. Dr. Giuliana is in charge of the medical department at the Working Boys’ Center, and she invited all of us that work in special ed over. It was nice and really good food, but by the time we got home I was exhausted. I had a ‘crazy’ night of playing Trivia Pursuit with some of the guys before heading to bed!

On Sunday mornings I have been going to an outdoor aerobics class and then an aerobics/dance class in Parque Carolina. It’s a fun way to get outside and work out, as well as get some great people watching in! The park is always packed on Sundays. I decided it would be fun for my high school girls to experience the dance class too. So eight of my students met me at the Center, and then we all headed over to the park for the dance class. It was cute as they were trying to follow along (it can be really hard) and then getting embarrassed to do some of the moves! I especially loved watching my shyest student, Gladys, barely moving at all at first to very awkwardly trying to keep up. She was smiling the whole time though, so that’s all that matters! Then we had a picnic lunch and “played Carnaval.” Let me explain… Carnaval is the equivalent to Mardi Gras, celebrated the weekend of Fat Tuesday (or the beginning of Lent). It is a huge party here. People throw water (or even eggs and flour too) and spray ‘carioca’ (kind of like shaving cream) at their friends and random people in celebration. Well, although Carnaval isn’t for 2 more weeks, people are already starting to play. So my girls bought some carioca (and I bought one for retaliation!) that we emptied on each other throughout the afternoon. Then they were also filling up water bottles in this little man made river to soak one another. It was so much fun! We needed to lay out for a little while after though in order to be dry enough to be allowed on the bus! It was such a great day with my girls, and fun to not have to be strict with them but just have fun and hang out.

Thank the Lord for sun and children - both of which make me so happy and keep me smiling!

“We can do no great things, only small things done with great love” (Mother Teresa)

(Maybe days like this past weekend are simply why I’m here? And, honestly, they’re worth it!)

Why am I here?

Now maybe you are thinking, Taylor, you have been in Ecuador over 5 months now and you still don’t why you are there? Well, yes that is partially true. But that is why I have faith. I have faith that God has me here for a reason, but quite honesty that reason hasn’t exactly just hit me over the head or anything. I feel that I do need to be conscious of the ways in which I am developing and growing, but also simply have faith that in the end God does have a plan me for this year and onward.

To start, why did I come here in the first place?

I came because I really felt called/ felt right about returning to this lovely country that has given me so much joy and wonderful memories. The spring of 2008 was maybe the best 5 months of my life…I came into study abroad totally unsure what to expect, very nervous, but excited to immerse myself into a totally new place. I lived with an amazing family (that I still see about monthly), met great friends, and felt so free being adventurous, traveling all over the country. During study abroad, I also worked here at the Working Boys’ Center 3 mornings a week in special ed, which I also enjoyed as everyday I felt so loved just showing up. After leaving Ecuador, I spent 3 months in Juarez, Mexico and then returned to Madison. All along really feeling a strong passion to serve under privileged youth in our own country. I truly feel that there is such a great need within our own neighborhoods, and there is such great opportunity surrounding a lot of American youth although so many factors beyond their control pulling them down exist too. Okay, from that side note though, why again did I come to Ecuador if I am passionate about serving our neighborhood youth? After all, the Bible does say to serve your neighbor. Well, last spring I started praying about it a lot as I was really considering what I would do after I graduated. I had all plans to get a paying job and was applying for jobs and doing interviews, but then all of the sudden it started coming up over and over in my prayers to return to Ecuador. I thought I was crazy though, until I finally mentioned this to my mom. To my great surprise, she responded that this idea of going to Ecuador just felt right to her as well. When she said that, I really took volunteering here seriously and looked more into it. I decided that I would stop volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club and (finally) become staff for the summer to make money until I would leave for Quito in August. So I reconciled the idea that as the Lord talks about our neighbors, he doesn’t just mean Americans, but also he means the neighbors, the people that poured into me during study abroad, that are in Ecuador. And I arrived in Ecuador, ready to start fresh again.

Second, what am I questioning?

I question constantly if am I really doing the best that I can do and showing the love of Jesus to my community. For one, although I speak decent Spanish, it is definitely a lot more difficult to have a serious conversation in my second language. As I have become closer to Ecuadorians, I have tried to explain my values, understand their values, and I feel like I am succeeding partially, but also I don’t know how much gets lost in translation. In addition, I am finding language is one thing, but culture is another thing. I understand more or less most of what is said now, but I am still very often times confused. I get frustrated about things that I probably shouldn’t take personally, and in addition know that I often times act in a culturally insensitive way. God definitely works through our human imperfections though! I also work and live in a Catholic community in which often times I don’t feel completely spiritually filled, but am also growing in knowing that we all love and worship the same God and Jesus Christ. Finally, I am teaching most of the day. What? I am a teacher. Well I don’t know if this is exactly my calling. I want so much for my students to succeed and to understand what I am teaching, but I feel that I often times let them down. After 18 years of schooling, I’ve had plenty of teachers that I know what kind of things that I enjoyed and what things drove me crazy. I know I can be that boring teacher, I wish I were more animated, I wish I knew how to integrate “real life” (why does this matter?) in my classes more. I definitely need to rely on God to reach my students in my weakness. It is hard for me to completely let go, however, and often I still try to go on and do it on my own. I also want to continue to grow in my relationships with the volunteer community. I am still having trouble knowing how to best serve and be Christ to each one of them. It has been hard having some trouble connecting with the group that I am also the closest too, but I pray for strength to not give up.

So, why am I here?

I am here to be Christ’s servant. I am here because beyond my plans, I am presented daily ways to be Christ to those around me. As well as being a witness to God’s love and protection for me as His daughter. I am here because when I get 20 hugs as I enter La Marin at night or hear my teenagers and 1st graders yell my name, I feel loved in a way I’ve never felt before. I am here because I trust that God will grow me here in Ecuador to serve my community wherever I go next. I am here because when I feel weak, I have no choice but to trust that God will make things happen. I am here to learn, to experience life, to live life to it’s fullest and give it everything I’ve got. I am going to question, because that’s just the way I am, but I hope to continue to find peace as well. I am here as a part of my life, not as an in between or a time of “not knowing what I am doing with my life.” This IS my “real life,” and I can’t wait to see how the Lord continues to work in me and through me as I continue on.

Thank you all for your prayers and support through this journey of mine. Life is great!

<3 Taylor