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
2 Comments
Thea Weetjens
10/9/2016 11:28:32 am
Your a nice woman, coming from a nice family.
Reply
sakda
11/16/2016 04:53:47 am
Great experience! and did you really eat that giant Amazonian grub. Do they use english language over there too (Equador)? it was fun reading your blogs.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorOlivia DeLaney is a recent college graduate that blogs about her transition into adulthood and the adventures along the way. Archives
January 2017
Categories |