Day 42 in Ecuador

As I look back on today, it turned out to be a very different day than usual. I got up in the morning, had some quiet time, made myself some breakfast and proceeded to check in on Dale because he wasn't up yet. Apparently Dale had a rough night and still wasn't feeling well so I started doing some work in the morning by myself. I started and finished a report which shows how much money Inca Link receives from Christian and Missionary Alliance churches (Inca Link's affiliation) compared to all other churches. This is to help Inca Link know how dependent they are on C&MA churches.

I took a break around 11:00 once I had finished the report. Dale said that our phone needed minutes put on it so I went to the local tienda to do that, but unfortunately the guy said that I had to come back in an hour. So I returned to la Casablanca expecting to make lunch when Fabi told me he needed help with something. I ended up going to the local bus station with Fabi to act as his "bodyguard". Fabi was selling a TV to a random person and he wanted me to come along to help out. The guy ended up being about 30 minutes late but this provided Fabi and I some time to talk, which was very nice. After they exchanged money and the TV, I went and bought some minutes from my phone at a store in the tienda and we finally returned to la Casablanca.

One of Mejia's bunnies (they are huge)

After this hour excursion, I finally was able to make myself lunch. Dale and I then got back to work in the afternoon. We ended up working for about 2 hours, finally completing the financial report for missionaries after Joseph offered two other suggestions for us. During this time, Dale realized that it probably would be a good idea for him to stay home for the evening so that he could rest up and hopefully start to feel better.

With this decision, I planned on taking a bus to U12 Cumbre practice alone, but as I was leaving Gustavo and Fabi said they could take me to la Luz because they had an errand they had to run. Little did I know that this errand would end up making me half an hour late to practice, but in the end everything turned out alright. I got to practice and felt a lot more energetic than I did last week. Edgar ended up leading most of the drills but it was fun to hang out with the kids and get to play with them at the end.

Once practice was over, Edgar had to leave for a meeting, but I stayed and hung out some more with two kids who were staying a little longer. It was fun to get to hang out with these kids and get to know them some more. Once they left, I went for about a 20 minute run. I then got some empanadas at a local panaderia and then waited about an hour at the field for the Cumbre Alta players to show up (apparently practice got pushed back to 8:00 which I was unaware of). I was starting to think that no one would show up when finally about 4 people showed up at 8:00.

Practice with Cumbre went well tonight again. I got to talk some more with some of the players and met a new guy who speaks perfect English, which was nice to have since Dale wasn't there. Practice ended and I was able to ride home with one of the players.

A lot of different stuff happened today that made it a very unique day. It was really nice though for me because I love having new, random opportunities to help out like when Fabi asked me to be his bodyguard today. It was hard not having Dale tonight, definitely made for a more lonely night (especially when I was waiting an hour for players to show) and it makes me realize how helpful it has been having Dale here with me all summer.

God is good and God is faithful. He has provided so much encouragement this summer through the work that Dale and I are doing, through random helpful things I can do, and through our relationships with the Cumbre Alta players. Praise Him for much needed encouragement that makes me realize that these last two weeks are going to be very important for His Kingdom.

Keep praying for Cumbre Alta! Also be praying for Dale that God would heal him from this sickness so he can get back to serving Him.

Dios Bendiga,
Nico