Well, most of you probably are wondering why I didn't update any after my last post, so I was going to apologize for that. The Internet was $4 for 1/2 an hour, so I didn't want to use it very much. Also, we were really busy and I was hanging out with all of my friends and stuff, so I didn't always even have time to use the computer. :)
Wednesday wasn't a regular ministry day, instead we were able to go to the market in the morning. I was able to get a bunch of cool souvenirs and gifts, and had a lot of fun bartering. ;D Wednesday afternoon was AWESOME! I got to meet Erika, the child I sponsor through Compassion International. I've been sponsoring her for a few months now, and I was super excited to get to meet her. They had a park set up for us with slides, swings, a bounce house... They also had a bunch of tables set up under tents where we ate lunch.
Erika recognized me right away, and ran up to me to give me a huge hug! :D She is soooooo cute. She was really excited to meet me as well, and was having a great time running to all the different things to play on. I gave her a bunny that she loved, and she carried it around with her for the rest of the day. Our lunch was delicious. We were fed a traditional Ecuadorian lunch, which consisted of some meat, rice, beans, and four or five different types of corn, including popcorn! Yes, regular popcorn. They ate it with a fork and a knife, just like you would eat peas. :) They even had dessert for us, two scoops of ice cream with a little cookie.
Erika and I got to play all afternoon before it was time to say good-bye. :'( I also got her a jump rope, a coloring book and crayons, and some stickers. She was really excited about the coloring book as well, and sat down to color as soon as I gave it to her. It was so great to meet her, though, and it makes it even more special to be able to sponsor her now. <3
Wednesday was also Wacky Hair night. That was a lot of fun... I did my hair, but not as wacky as some people. A lot of girls (and guys!) got really into it, and were very creative. I'll be posting some pictures later.
Thursday we went to a Downtown Plaza to do our drama, but we had to leave sooner than expected because there was a few dangerous things going on. Don't worry though, everyone was fine. :) We got a pretty good-sized crowd for it though, and I got to lead 2 people to the Lord there. After lunch we went to a park, where we did the drama twice more, and I got to lead 2 more people to the Lord at the park. :D Praise God for all that is doing (and did!). I also got to buy an ice-cream bar at the park, I got a Mora bar. It was really good. Ecuadorian ice cream is the BEST.
Thursday's FUAGNEM was amazing. We had a wedding ceremony where each person was able to get married to Jesus. It was really awesome. All of our FUAGNEM's have been really great, with such intense worship and powerful messages.
Friday was our last official day of ministry. We went to an orphanage, there was 15-20 kids there. We did the drama for them, had lunch, and then split into two groups. The first group took them to a park and played with all the kids, and the second group (that's where I was) stayed at the orphanage to help them in the garden area. We raked, swept, cut and moved tree branches... everyone found a job to do, and we were able to help them out. After about an hour or so, we switched. We didn't take the kids to the park again, but just played with them around the orphanage. :)
On Saturday, we walked around Quito, and our translators explained to us about the buildings, what they were and things like that. It was really fun to just see all of the beautiful buildings and get to take some pictures. After that, we went to the market again, and I got to finish up all of my shopping. Saturday afternoon we had a farewell party at the hotel. Some of our team had to leave on Saturday afternoon, so we had to be able to say good-bye. :'( It was one of our team member's birthday, so our leaders bought cake and ice cream, and we also had a Pinata. It was lots of fun (well, except for the good-byes part, that was definitely NOT fun) and we got to exchange addresses and things like that.
Saturday night I wasn't feeling well at all, so I just made sure I was packed and went to bed. I was, thankfully, feeling a lot better on Sunday, which was my travel day. We went to lunch at Crepes and Waffles, which is DELICIOUS! And I am going to miss it, and then left for the airport. We didn't get into the Miami hotel until 2 in the morning, and I didn't get to bed until 3am because I was saying more good-byes. :'( Our team got soo close in just two short weeks, I miss all of you guys already! <3
I hung out at the hotel on Monday until 4, when two of the leaders took Anna and I to the airport (we were the last two people to fly out), and I got home at 11-something on Monday night. I didn't get home and in bed until 1 or 2am, of course, but my plane actually landed around midnight.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. Our total salvation count was 1,024. Remember, there may have been countless more salvations that for one reason or another, didn't make it into our count, but that's our best number. It's amazing what God can do in just two short weeks. I want to thank you guys all again, it was such an amazing trip, and I couldn't have done it without you. <3
Love you all!!!
P.S. I'll be posting some pictures on here later. I might go back and add them to my posts, and/or put them in a new post of their own. :)
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