Hello, everyone! I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to give y'all an update. I have had very limited wifi, so far, so I haven't had the chance to write on here. Let me update y'all. I am currently in Manta, which is the beach. I have been in three cities since I last wrote. Leaving Ambato behind was extremely difficult. I had connected with the kids so much, and neither the kids nor I wanted us to leave. We said goodbye the night before we left, and it was truly one of the most tear-filled nights I have ever experienced. It was truly heart-wrenching saying goodbye. Those kids touched my heart in a way that I have truly never experienced before. I know, without a doubt in my mind, that I will never forget them or the time I spent with them. Being in Puyo was absolutely incredible, though, which somewhat makes up for the heartache of leaving Ambato. We stayed at a church in the city, and the pastor, Pastor Roberto and his family were SO gracious to us. Pastor Roberto set up a lot of the work we did, which was a lot of children's evangelism. We worked three days at an orphanage, which was really fun. We did skits for them, did crafts with them, taught them Bible lessons and played with them. We also had the opportunity to go spend a day at a school in the city as well as a school in the jungle. The school in the city was an absolute blast. There were so many kids there, and they swarmed us. Sometimes, it was a little frightening, I'm not going to lie. Some of us were literally pulled to the ground by 10 kids jumping on us at the same time while others were being chased by a gleeful mob of at least 30 kids. It was lots of fun, though, and the kids just wanted to play and be loved. Our team putting on a skit for the kids. The school in the jungle was absolutely amazing. We were the first outside group to ever come visit. Their building was nice because the government built it, but the kids who go there are so poor that they don't even eat lunch most of the time. While we were there, we got to serve them lunch and gave them donated clothing. We also did clown skits for them, did crafts with them and taught them a Bible lesson. At eleven, all of us, including the students, went swimming in a river in the jungle. That was OUT of this world awesome. The current was really strong, but the kids were so good at swimming. It was amazing. We would swim out to giant rocks in the middle of the river, jump off them and let the rapids carry us down to a smoother part of the river. It was an absolute BLAST!! There were also SO many GORGEOUS butterflies flying all around us- so many different colors and incredible patterns, including the vibrant blue ones that live in the jungles. On a bridge over the river! That day was absolutely amazing. Saturday was our free day, and it was one of my very favorite days. We went for a canoe ride in a branch of the Amazon River. IThere were lots of wild monkeys in the town, and I got to feed them! I ALSO did something totally crazy. I ate a giant Amazonian grub! It was an experience I will never forget, to say the least! Later that night, we went back to Puyo and had a church service from 7:30 until 2 in the morning... it was definitely an experience, to say the least. Haha. It was awesome to spend that time with Pastor Roberto's church. The next day, we had a church service, and we and some of the congregation went swimming at a GORGEOUS river in the jungle. It was absolutely breathtaking, and I had a blast getting to know the people. They are all so kind and so fun. We had such a blast! The next day, we headed to Quito, the capital city, where we were last week. We worked with an organization, Niños Con Un Destina, that helps kids who are illegally working underage get out of that situation and into school. The organization is absolutely amazing, and incredible work is being done there. The staff is such a hardworking group of people with hearts after God. Face painting was quite the hit, there! Some curious kiddos helping me play guitar. ;) Our AMAZINGLY gracious host, Erika, who let all eleven of us stay in her apartment for the week. She guided us around Quito while we stayed there, too. It was such an incredible opportunity to work with the foundation, but, honestly, last week really pushed me to my limits in many ways. The children at the foundation were very troubled and quite closed off until the very end, when we had to leave. Many of the people in Quito were cold and closed off, too, outside of the people who hosted us and the staff we worked with. I found that really difficult, since I'm such a people-person. I also ended up getting really sick on the last day, which was a free day. I stayed in bed all day because I was too weak to be walking around the city all day. As difficult as it was, though, I know that God used that week to test me and mentally strengthen me. My sick day was also almost a blessing in disguise because I was able to get a lot of mental rest, which I really needed. Now, we are in Manta! We traveled 7 hours by bus to get here, but I couldn't be more thrilled. God seriously has blessed me so much. We are staying at a bunch of host homes with two people per house. My host parents, Francisco and Maria are the kindest and most gracious people EVER. Their home is amazing. We each have a bed, which is glorious since there have been quite a few nights of sleeping on floors. They have the warmest shower I have been had even since before Louisiana, and THEY HAVE WIFI (WOOHOO!!)!! To top it all off, Manta is a costal town, and the beach is my favorite place in the whole world. I am thrilled to be here. We are partnering with another young missions group from Ecuador. We have done prayer together, evangelism and we eat with them for every meal. It has been so wonderful getting to know them! On our own, we are working with a school about 20 minutes away. Us with some of the students after we had an cake icing war. Haha. So much about this place has been such a blessing, but I am sick again, which is not fun. I lost my voice worse than I ever have before, so if y'all would be willing to pray for a quick recovery for me so that I could pour into these people here with everything I would really appreciate it. Thank you for taking time to read my update! I know it was a lot, but I haven't had the chance to update y'all. Until next time, Olivia
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Hello, friends and family! It blows my mind how quickly time has been flying. I can't believe that I am already in Ecuador! I will catch you up a little bit on our time in Louisiana, first, since I ended up not having time to post again during my time there. We went to Baton Rouge for three days and were able to do flood relief in quite a few houses. We mostly gutted houses, but we were able to do some work in some homes that had already been gutted. Honestly, it was so heartbreaking. So much of the area was destroyed. Hundreds of homes and businesses had all of their destroyed furniture, insulation, wood, belongings, etc... in a pile outside of their houses. The first house I worked in was flooded up to the rafters. Mold was growing all the way up to the ceiling. Mud and mold covered the floors, and it smelled absolutely terrible. We tore up the floors, carpets, took out the wood doorways, fireplace, and everything else that needed to be taken out. It was so heartbreaking, but it was amazing being able to give those people some hope and encouragement. After Baton Rouge, we went back to the N.O. base and continued working with the people in that city. We worked with the kids in the projects more and did several days' work at a homeless shelter. We put on a service for them, and I led worship with the cahone player on my Ecuador team, Jonathan. Louisiana was absolutely amazing, and it was great for getting into outreach mindset. I was able to connect with so many amazing people. I wish I had the time to go deeper into all of the stories I have and the people I encountered. There were so many amazing people that I got to meet. I wish so much that I could be a part of their lives for longer than two weeks. That has probably been the most difficult part of all of this, so far. I become so attached to the people that I meet. Then, I have to leave and hope that they were able to see God in me and can grow in their own faith and walks with Him. Exploring a Louisiana swamp! Now, I am officially in Ecuador! We have spent the last week in Ambato, staying at a Mission for orphans and children whose parents aren't around or can't afford to keep them. At the entrance of the mission! There are about 50 kids living at the mission, and I have absolutely FALLEN IN LOVE with them. They are so sweet and intelligent, and I love being able to play with them and pour into their lives. During the day, we do labor like gardening and construction work, and when the kids return from school we spend time with them playing games, teaching them English and doing fun stuff like playing music on my guitar with them and painting the girls' nails. We got to put on a church service for them, too, which was really fun. Me with some of my sweet, new friends, Liliana, Natali and Marlene! We let the girls paint our nails. Josh even let one of the girls paint his pinky. The girls LOVED it! Doing face painting on the kids! Me with 6 of the 12 girls in my group. We went on a hike with some of the girls to a volcanic lake near the orphanage! Group photo! Two of my favorite girls, Liliana and Natali. It has been awesome to see how much my Spanish has come back since studying abroad in Costa Rica three years ago. I still have forgotten so much, but I remember a lot more than I realized. It has been SO helpful as I try to communicate with the kids. We are leaving tomorrow for Puyo, which is in the Amazon. We will be working with another orphanage for three days and will be doing other various things that need to be done there. I will try to post as often as I am able to! The posts may be lengthy because of everything that is going on, but I hope y'all enjoy hearing about how God is working here! Thank y'all so much for taking the time to read this and keep up with me! God bless! -Olivia |
AuthorOlivia DeLaney is a recent college graduate that blogs about her transition into adulthood and the adventures along the way. Archives
January 2017
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