Needless to say, Renae and I have had an awesome last couple of
weeks. We got to spend another perfect week in Latacunga with the
best group of kids in all of Ecuador (no, not exaggerating). I can't
really explain what it is about that place, but the moment we step
through the doors we are both immediately filled with so much love
and happiness. We know we are needed there, the kids are SO
affectionate and deserving, and we love giving every minute of our
time to them. Again, I think we left the orphanage gate maybe two
times the whole week. The last time we were in the 'Cunga, we were
there with our friend Andrea, who spent most of her time
Somehow we ended up having the best timing ever and were still in Latacunga when Dr. Bob Brunsvold, the guy who set our whole trip in action back in Fargo this summer, came through on his way from Quito to Shell. He picked us up on the side of the road and brought us along on a little leg of his journey. We spent about 24 hours in Shell (you know, right next to where we had just been in Santa Clara the week before... so much traveling!), pigging out on hamburgers and ice cream, listening to Bob's stories, and getting to visit another orphanage, Casa de Fe. It was good to see the inner workings of another site, and to meet more inspiring people and adorable kiddos. And of course getting to hang with one of our favorite guys... if you're out there Bob, thanks for everything! You are always so encouraging and are a huge inspiration for us. We love you!!!
After that it was back up to Quito for another one day stint, this time helping out at a church and school in the slums of the city. We had hoped we would have longer to work with Pastor Fabian and his crew, but like I said, time was ticking. It was an amazing day though, and we are super glad we got to meet everyone and see what Carmen Bajo is all about. We got to help in a pre-kinder class all morning, while the kids made glitter angels and practiced for their Christmas program. I wish I knew how to upload videos on here so you could all see them screaming Feliz Navidad for us at the top of their lungs: unnecessarily loud but still adorable. We spent the rest of the day helping out in the kitchen with the 5 or so lunch ladies. The school feeds about 300 people every day, in one small dining area. It took hours and let me tell you I will never complain about hand washing and drying dishes again, assuming I never have to do it for that many people! But the time was spent in good company, and we are hoping we'll be able to go back and do more work there the next time we're in Ecuador.
That night we took another dreaded night bus back to the coast, to
spend Christmas and our last week in Ecuador with the guys who we had
become so close with and couldn't imagine leaving the country without
seeing again. We were prettyyyy sick of bussing anywhere and
everywhere by that time but it was definitely the perfect way to end
our time here. Back to the care of the abuelitas, to starting every
day with an ocean swim, to knocking mangoes out of the tree to snack
on, to making the trek to Bernardo's shack at the edge of town every
night to cook, watch movies, and play cards with the guys. We took
day trips to the beaches in Ton Supa and Mompiche, spent a day in
Bolivar visiting Jonathon’s family, and a night on the island of
Portete, where we stayed in tents and spent a few hours in the middle
of the night looking for sea turtles. We didn't end up seeing any,
but the night was absolutely gorgeous and it was low tide, so still
well worth the trip. We spent another day helping out at a Christmas
party for all the kids in Bernardo's neighborhood, which is one of
the poorer ones in Sua. There was a sack race, egg race, and of
course tons of soccer. There was also a game in which the kids had to
figure out how to get someone to the top of a huge pole to get the
presents down from the top. I should mention that the pole is all
greased up so all you do is slide right down it until you can figure
out how to stand on top of each others heads to get up there...
hilarious to watch, but they got it eventually! Everyone was given
candy bags and little presents, and they were SO happy. For the
majority of those kids, that day was their whole Christmas.
Renae and I both thought we were going to be pretty homesick for Christmas, since it is about as opposite here as you can possibly get. No snow, just sand. No oven to make cookies, so we settled for dipping animal crackers in frosting. Couldn't find any Harry Potter movies in town, so we watched a crappy recording of the Grinch in Spanish instead. But we did both get to skype our families, went to Spanish church, and got to share Christmas with more people than either of us ever had before. We ate a big lunch out at Jonathon’s house with his family, jamming music as usual and hanging out in the yard in hammocks. For dinner we were invited to eat with the abuelita that owns the hostal, Anita, and her family. It was just her, her husband, their daughter, and Renae and I, but it was super heartwarming that they thought to include us, and we got to try some delicious traditional Ecuadorian desserts. After that we went to spend the night with Bernardo's family, eating even more (we both thought we might puke at some point but that's pretty normal for both of us on Christmas I'd say), and hanging out while the kids lit sparklers. So although it was a very different Christmas than anything we'd experienced before, we went to bed feeling yes very full but also very blessed that we got to spend it with three awesome families. It's amazing how a part of it all each one made us feel. It's more than we could have asked for.
And actually, our whole time here in this country has been more than we could have asked for. I can't even begin to explain how much I've learned in the last three months, or how much my heart has changed. I'm so thankful for every single person I've met, and hope I can hold onto every lesson I've learned.
As for now, I need to try and squeeze in some sleep before heading to the airport at 3:30 a.m. It's going to be a long couple days of traveling, including a 23 hour layover in Santiago, ick! But we're both beyond excited so start off a new part of the adventure- I can't wait to see what it has in store for us. And actually we literally do not have ANY idea what's coming, since we failed to do any research whatsoever on Argentina before today. Where should we stay? What do you mean the Spanish is way faster and harder to understand there? How exactly do we exchange our dollars for pesos without getting scammed? What documents do we even need to be let in? Don't ask us. But guess what, it's all part of the adventure, and we have never once said we're actually that good at traveling. So as usual we'll stumble through it somehow... Bring it on!
Missing this amazing country before I even leave it,
Jenna Flynn
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