Proverbs 3:27

" Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act."

This verse has been very important in my life. When I was trying to decide whether to come to Ecuador or not, I heard a sermon on this verse. The preacher interpreted the verse for many different stages of life. One being for the person contemplating foreign missions. "When it is in your power to act", single, no kids, a mission board that wants me, an organization that will pay my loans. I think at this time in my life it is definitely in my power to act. "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it", God says to love your neighbor, love includes doing good for others, and my neighbor is anyone I come in contact with. The people of Shell, Ecuador are now my neighbors, and they deserve good.

This sermon was very pivotal in my decision to come to Ecuador. I remember sitting in church that Sunday thinking about what I should do (because during that time, it was all I thought about). When the preacher starting talking about people doing foreign missions, I knew God was talking to me and telling me to go. This is when I made my decision to go.

This past week, in the bible study book I am currently using ("taking the Old Testament Challenge" by Judson Poling), this verse came up again. This time with a slightly different interpretation. He says "Guided by the Holy Spirit, use you power to cheer a friend, influence a child, take a stand for integrity, or encourage a coworker."

Isn't it interesting how the same verse can mean so many different things depending on the stage of life you are in. This interpretation is what I needed for this stage in my life, the other was what I needed for that stage.

Our God is Awesome!!!!!!

Whatever stage you are in, ask the Lord to show you what this verse means for you right now. It can be very powerful, even life changing!

Bowling in Ecuador

Well, I have been wanting to go bowling since I got here and we finally went tonight. I went with Andrea , Mauricio, and Rene. We had a blast. The game is the exact same game as in the states (10 pin or big ball for my New England friends). Before we started, we had to pick our ball. Well, I looked for the heaviest ball (I bowl with a 15 lb ball in the states). This guy who works there, came up to me and said, the number on the ball is equal to the pounds, I said, I know. He then said, that one is 14 lbs, that is heavy. I said, I know. Anyway, I used that one because it was the heaviest one they had. Typical, he sees a woman and thinks I can't handle a 14 lb ball. Well, I did just fine with that 14 lb ball. I got a 179 the first game. The second game was not so good, Mauricio beat me with a 141. He thinks I let him win, but I didn't, he really beat me. But like I said, we had a good time.

Afterwards, we went to the Flavor of the Burger again. This is the same place that I don't like, where the burgers are very flat and chewy. I did not eat a burger this time, I learned my lesson the last time.

I got lost

Many may have heard me say in the past that I never get lost because I can always get back to where I came from. Well, this was still true the day I "got lost" in Cuenca. I take spanish classes in the morning at a school and I also take classes a few afternoons a week at a lady's house. Well, this particular day, I was walking to her house for the first time. I had gotten directions I understood from my family here. But I was in a different spot when it was time to walk there so I asked another friend for directions. I set out on my walk and I was to go past Supermaxi and continue walking straight until I came to a main road and I would turn left. Well, I passed Supermaxi and came to what I considered a dead end. There was an alley like road ahead of me, but that to me was not a road so I turned left. The next instruction was I would cross 10 de agosto (this is a main road in Cuenca). I never came to that road so I called Loli (the lady whose house I was going to) and told her I was walking and I did not know where I was (of course they were doing construction on the corner, so there were no street names posted. I was standing next to a new building that was big with blue glass windows and orange walls. I wanted her to tell me which direction to walk to get to her house, but she said "I know where you are, wait for me there", so I did. About 20 minutes later, I was thinking about calling her again because I knew I should not have been 20 minutes from her house on foot, let alone by vehicle. I then received a call from my family here asking me where I was. Loli had called her and told her I was lost and that something happened at Loli's house and she couldn't have class that afternoon anyway. So I described where I was to her on the phone and she found me about 15 minutes later.
The whole time I was standing on the corner (which was about 40 minutes or so), it was lightning and thundering. I thought for sure I was going to get poured on. And, of course, I had to go to the bathroom as well.
Everything turned out fine, and now I do know how to walk to her house so this won't happen again. They do make fun of me a little though.

My first visit to Shell, Ecuador

In December, before I returned to the states for Christmas, I was able to visit Shell for a few days. Shell is where I will be working after I have mastered the spanish language (if that ever happens). This was the first time I had been to Shell. I have to admit it is a lot smaller than I expected, and there is really nothing to do there. But it is a cute little town and the people were all very nice. I am glad I got the opportunity to go there before my time in Cuenca is over. Before I went to Shell and before I knew any of the missionaries in Shell, I was not too excited about leaving Cuenca. I know Cuenca now and I have made many friends here. I did not want to leave to go to another new place where I did not know anyone. But now that I have been there and I have met several people, I am excited to get there and begin working. (I actually met almost all the North Americans associated with the hospital becuase they had their christmas party while I was there and I was invited.)

I spent some time in the hospital with the doctors to see if my spanish is sufficient to begin working. It is not, at least that is my opinion. I got to eat each meal with a different person in order to meet more people. It was a very nice stay. Below is a photo of the hospital.

This is a photo of the house I will be staying in during my time in Shell. It is a duplex, I will be living on the right (when facing the house). In the other side is a single nurse who has been in Shell for a long time. The hospital is just beyond that fence to the right. The house is in a fenced in community of missionaries. In front of the house right now is lumbar. The house was infested with termites (this is true of most houses in Shell), they have gutted it and replaced the wood with cinder blocks. It is not finished yet, but will be before I get there.

The most adventurous thing I did in Shell was walk across this suspension bridge. I was not too sure about it at first, and I did not like it either. I was staying at the guest house and I had to walk across this bridge to get to the hospital. The children who attend the Nate Saint school have to walk across the bridge everyday. I do not envy them. It took about 1 1/2 min to walk across, it is probably a 50 foot drop below it. It doesn't move side to side, only up and down a little. It is solid metal, not slats and the cable is metal, not rope. This bridge is maintained by HCJB, there is another suspension bridge in Shell that is maintained by the city, the missionaries advised not walking across that one.

Overall it was a good visit to Shell and I am excited to finish my languge training and begin my time in Shell.