Day 5 in Ecuador

View from Panecillo

Today was packed full of activities, which is why this blog isn't getting posted until 1:00 ET. In the morning, we ate breakfast at 8:00 and were divided into new teams (I was with Dale, Brad, and Matt - all Ecuador guys). Our first task was to go a park where we were to climb a big white ball. This sounds weird but it was awesome the view from the top was incredible, as you can see from the picture.

On top of the white ball with Bonnie and Josh

Next, we made our way to a beautiful cathedral, called Basilica, where we were to count all the gargoyles on it. After that we made our way to la Plaza Grande, where many different activities were planned for us, such as finding out all the names of the Ecuadorian presidents, trying to catch a pigeon, and eating a unique sugary candy. We also visited a beautiful church called la Iglesia de San Francisco. 

The next place we went to was Panecillo, the pit stop for this leg of the race. We had gone their last year with the soccer team, but this year we went during the day. The view is stunning and once again my words don't do it justice. Here we prayed for the city of Quito.

Basilica

I'm gonna reverse time here a little and talk about a cool event that happened on the bus to the park. We were talking with each other and this Ecuadorian man asked to talk to us in English so he could practice his English. His English was very good and it was neat to get to hear about him. Eventually we asked him if he knew Jesus and he pointed to his heart signifying that Jesus was in his heart. We found out that his wife was sick and once we left the bus, we prayed for her quickly before he had to go to work. It's amazing how many lives I have already seen impacted. God has been working in so many wondrous ways.

After the race was over for the day, we ate lunch at a marketplace and then left to go back to la Casablanca. Dale and I had to quickly finish the statistics for the Cumbre Alta game on saturday, which Nate asked us to do before the film session which was at 7:30 tonight. We barely got done in time, ate dinner quickly, and left to go to Nate's house. 

La Iglesia de San Francisco

At Nate's house, we watched film of the game with some Cumbre Alta players. Then one of the players offered to take us home and we got the chance to talk with him in Spanish and English. He is the most committed player to the team and Nate said he thinks he is very close to becoming a believer. It'll be awesome to get to know him more throughout the season.

Once we arrived back at la Casablanca, we got to meet two new interns who came down this evening. We then played an awesome game of mafia and headed to bed. 

I just remembered that our first task this morning was actually to go to Casa Elizabeth, which is a pregnancy home that partners with Inca Link. Here we had three challenges to complete: get your fingernails painted, hold one of the babies for 10 minutes without it crying, and memorize all of the teenage mom’s names. I volunteered to get my fingernails painted (mine are the red ones in the picture), so the rest of the day I was self-conscious of where my hands were placed so people wouldn’t notice. I managed to get the nail polish off right before we went to watch film, which was nice so that the Cumbre Alta players didn’t judge me forever. It made for a very humorous day.

God is continuing to teach me that I may feel weak or useless at times, but He will prepare me for His work. Just looking back on the many different stories of people we have had the chance to impact already has made me realize how powerful God really is. He is at work down here at Ecuador and it's an awesome thing to see.

I may or may not have internet access tomorrow, so my blog will most likely be delayed. Keep praying over this trip and the many relationships being built! They are very much appreciated!

Dios Bendiga,

Nich