Day 25 in Ecuador

As I reflect back on today, I see the glory of God. It was a day full of challenges and obstacles but one in which I see God at work. In the morning after breakfast, Dale, Megan and I lead a bible study on the Parable of the Great Banquet. We thought it ended up going really well and had a lot of good discussion on being invited to the Kingdom of God and the challenges of choosing that invitation. 

After bible study, we made our way to La Luz again. We sang How Great our God and 10,000 Reasons in Spanish which was really cool. The team noticed and appreciated how lively and friendly the church members were at this church. 

We then made our way to the Middle of the World to do the tour we had done with the other interns previously. They all really enjoyed this tourist activity, especially learning about some of the cool stuff about the Equator. At the end of the tour, there was a dance that someone performed. He ended up dragging in a lot of us to dance with him and it was a lot of fun! 

Once done, we made our way back to la Casablanca to change quickly into soccer gear. The plan was to play at a 7v7 field with the Browns but the owner of the field wouldn't let people with flats play, so we ended up going to Alliance Academy and played 11v11, which was awesome. We played old people, which included me, versus most of the team and the old people ended up winning 3-0. 

After soccer we went to eat at Pollo Campero. On the bus ride back to la Casablanca, I lead a brief debrief of the day. We talked about their thoughts about the church and differences between their home church. We also talked about frustrations they had throughout the day. Not being able to play on the 7v7 field was one of them, but Dale pointed out that it turned out better because everyone who wanted to play was able to and we ended up having a lot of fun. The scrimmage was also a good segway to talk about the power that soccer has to bring people together. A lot of the people on the team say that soccer is their life. It is cool to see that they are passionate about soccer but we want them to see how they can use this passion to glorify God, and I voiced this on the ride home. Be praying that the words spoken tonight would impact them and that God would continue to open their hearts to the plans He has for them.

As I said, reflecting back on the day I see God working throughout it. The team so far has been frustrating for Dale, Megan and I due to their disrespect and poor attitudes. Despite these challenges, I see God working through our bible study and through debriefs that we have for them. God has been speaking through us and I am praying that this team would be impacted by the words from God. 

Tomorrow we will be serving all day which will be awesome. Be praying that the team comes with a servant's heart and begin to understand what it really means to serve God. Also be praying for Dale, Megan and I's attitude as we lead this team. We can get frustrated easily which can hurt our chance to try and connect with them so be praying that God would fill us with His grace and allow us to see this team in His eyes.

Finally, a big shout out to my awesome father, Jonathan Leaman. Thank you for all the support you have given me throughout my life and especially as I have been here in Ecuador! Love you so much!

Dios Bendiga,

Nich