(2018) - Thank yous and transitioning home

There’s no better way to end a long, tiring week of service than a red-eye flight followed by a seven hour layover. As we flew those many hours late at night we all remembered what an amazing and once-in-a-lifetime mission this was. We thought about all the caring people from the church that we gave a long goodbye to, and the moving moments that we experienced. In one week, we went from a team to a family that will always be connected by this mission. The goodbyes were definitely not final, whether that means coming back with St. John's or becoming a team host in Quito (which many people now have interest in). For me, the small things will stick with me the most - like playing soccer at the hostel, singing random songs while painting, or starting impromptu dance parties in the street.

We thank the chaperones who made this trip both safe and fun. Caroline, Mrs. Strayer and Julio all brought something special to the table making a perfect team. They gave amazing emotional support, listened to our requests, and made sure we were all very safe. This trip would not have been what it was without their patience, organization, and care.

We also thank the incredible team hosts who made this trip what it was. Pablo and Danishi are both incredible people who were always on top of everything. They connected with each one of us and were the ones who really made us a family. They were somehow strict with the schedule while never being rude and always having fun with us. We would be lost in the middle of Ecuador without their planning and organization.

We thank all the members of Buen Pastor who opened their church and home to us. They provided us with amazing meals and new ways of thinking. They made us all feel included whether it was giving us paper roses or teaching us how to dance (which is much harder than it looks). They most definitely trusted us a little too much with our painting abilities, but somehow we pulled through - meaning we thankfully did not destroy any rooms there. A very moving moment came when the youth minister told us we are her family and she would die for any of us at the end of the week. She didn’t even know all of our names, and with a language barrier hadn’t been able to have a full conversation with many of us. Yet she truly meant what she said, and we could feel the love behind it.

Finally, I would like to thank my whole youth team, which were the fourteen other youth who went on this mission. Each one of them worked very hard and showed a side of themselves I had not seen before. I was able to make new friendships with members of the team that I had known for years. We all had a connection with one another by the end of the week that has bonded us together. Before we went on the mission there were a few different groups of friends all going, but by the end it was one big, loving team.

This Sunday morning many of the mission team members attended the 10:00 am service that Caroline had invited us to the night before. During the service many moments reminded us of the work we had done. A particular moment was in the Psalms, “The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in a time of trouble.” This reminded me of the two women I met during the home visits. Both were going through very hard times, yet were very faithful in God. At first this confused me, how could they struggle so much, yet be so calm in Him. But after hearing this Psalm, it all clicked. The Lord does not leave us during these hard times. He is the one pushing us through and comforting us during the hard times. Instead of the women thinking about why God would put them through this, they instead turned to God, knowing he would be the one who would help them through it.

As we adjusted back into our life in Tallahassee and the heat, our mission has not ended. We are all changed in some way and have brought this change back home with us.

(written by Annika Strayer)

Day 7 (2018)

Dear Reader,

I’m currently sitting in our plane about to take off from Quito. I have been assigned the task of recapping our day.

Our group boarded the bus at 8:30 a.m. sharp and left for Buen Pastor. Upon arrival, Tommy, JH, and Jack took the altar and conducted a morning devotion. The guys discussed the importance of helping those in need through the use of personal anecdotes. It was quite clear that they were speaking from the heart.

Once the devotion had concluded, next on the schedule were home visits. Basically, we divided into groups and each group would visit the home of a parishioner of Buen Pastor who benefitted from some hopeful moments. 

My group visited the home of a 91 year old Ecuadorian woman located not far from the church. Her situation was especially unfortunate. Due to the fact that the woman had owned the home for more than 40 years, the landlord could not legally evict her from the property without paying the woman somewhere in the region of $15,000 to $20,000. Unsurprisingly, the landlord refused to pay this hefty price and opted to go with the alternative option, which is to simply wait for the woman to die. Unable to cultivate plants, the woman depends on her 60 year old son to pay the rent. All things considered, the son does not currently have a steady job, as his only source of income is offering labor at the local markets. He pulls up to the market and asks vendors if he can help them unload rice or skin chickens in exchange for a small wage. One thing that stood out to me about these people was that despite the tough situation they were in, I could detect that they still had faith in God. Looking around the place, the only picture she had in her bedroom was a small black and white illustration of Jesus on the cross.

Once all the groups had returned to the church, we sat down for lunch. Much to the delight of several of my fellow missionaries, the chefs served us fried chicken and French fries.

After lunch, we all went into the church. It was there that the people of Buen Pastor bid their last farewell to our group. The Ecuadorians suddenly began blessing our feet in what would be a very touching display of compassion and prayer. Hugs were exchanged, tears were shed, and before we knew it, we were on our way to the Artisan Market as the bus left Buen Pastor for the last time.

The market was an experience that I’m going to assume the majority of the people on the trip were not used to. There, we were able to bargain with the vendors over the price of their products. Personally, I was impressed with my bargaining skills, as I was able to get a $22 sweater down to $11, but decided not to buy it in the end. Our time in the market would eventually end. We returned to the hostel looking like the true American tourists we are (many of us were dressed in the new Ecuadorian clothing we had just purchased).

After showering up, we gathered for the final debrief of the trip. We spent a good chunk of our time reminiscing on all the things that had happened since we arrived on Friday night. It wasn’t until the end of our final debrief that we started to discuss the serious stuff. One of the questions asked was whether or not we felt as if we were blind before this trip to the harsh realities of poverty. The majority of the group said that they were indeed blind before the trip and this week in Ecuador had exposed them to levels of poverty that are practically unheard of in Tallahassee.

Once again, tears were shed as Pablo and Danishi, our team leaders, expressed how much they have grown to love us throughout our week in Quito. Shortly after that, the bus was here and it was time to go. At the airport we said our final goodbyes to Pablo and Danishi, as more crying ensued (tears were a very common theme today).

We then checked our bags and hoped on this plane, from where I’m currently writing to you. We are now 36,017 feet above Panama going 526 miles per hour. It’s 1:41 a.m. and I’m absolutely knackered. Can’t wait to see you all tomorrow.

(written by Danny Killeen)

Day 6 (2018)

This day started with me opening up my window and being partially blinded by the Ecuadorian sun. This week has been very rewarding and challenging for all of the team members.

Today we went to Buen Pastor to finish up some service work for the week. We walked in and greeted all of our new friends. We walked into the church and had our devotional. Today's devotional was lead by the youth minister Señora Ana. She talked about her ministires and how God has impacted her life in wonderous ways. She is resigning and is not going to be the Youth Minister any longer. She was very emotional and so were her youth. She talked about how God calls each of us to serve in different ways. She mentioned that her calling was towards the youth. The reason why is because the youth are the people who change the community. They are the people who change the world around them. This really spoke to me because I realized the immense value of what I came here to do. I am the youth and I am here to help change the world.

The day went along and we were assigned to our jobs. I was put in a group with Madeline and a Quito Quest intern named Destiny. Mrs. Strayer also accompanied us for the job. Our job was to paint the office green, so we moved all the furniture and got to work. We began painting the walls, and as we started to get into the job, Destiny and I had a very meaningful conversation that consisted of ways to be a better person. This talk really made me realize that I am more than just an oxygen-breathing, walking chunk of flesh. I am a human being who has a purpose. We finished the talk on a happy note, talking about our family history and culture. The room was almost halfway done and Destiny put on some old Disney channel hits. It was so much fun to sing and dance around while getting our work done.

We went downstairs for lunch and smelled the delicious Ecuadorian cuisine. We ate our lunch and had a quick break after lunch. This "quick" break actually lasted for about one hour. In this break, we danced salsa and bachata with the Ecuadorians. Personally, this was one of my most favorite parts of the entire day. I was partnered with my now good friend Jorge. He taught me how to correctly salsa and bachata. Along with Jorge, I also danced with Pablo. This was a great experience for me because I was really able to immerse myself into my Latina heritage and culture.

The break ended and it was back to work. I continued working on my painting and finished quite quickly. I went downstairs and saw my favorite little boy in the whole wide world. His name is Jamie and when he saw me he ran up to me and gave me a giant hug. He kissed my entire face for a solid thirty seconds. It was the sweetest thing ever.

As time went on, the day got harder and hotter. Once Jamie left it was time to start youth group. Our youth group lesson was about dancing and how we can praise God through our dancing. I taught the Ecuadorians a little dance that I had learned at my dance intensive from the previous week. They caught on pretty quickly, and it was fun to see them dancing.

Our day ended with going into Father Juan Carlos's house and dancing even more. This was the best part of my entire day becasue we were all in one small space enjoying the magic of the music. We had a delicous grilled dinner that filled our hungry bellies. We said our goodbyes and got on our bus. We got back to the hostel and had our nightly debrief. All of us talked about how our day went and how we can work even harder.

Now that this blog post is coming to a close I am realizing the importance of what we have done this week. I am so proud of our team and all the things we have accomplished together and by ourselves. Now as we depart from this outstanding country I hope we can all use the things we have learned to make a difference in our hometown and the world around us.

(written by Emilia Minton)

Day 5 (2018)

Hello, my name is Davis Shelton, and I am a 15 year old parishioner at St. John's. Additionally, I am on my first mission trip, EVER!

Going into Day 5 was definitley interesting; our day started a little later than thought to be and we had to pack for the hottest part of Ecuador (The Equator) and the coldest parts that we would visit (El Refugio). To simply summarize the clothing choices some thought shorts and a sweatshirt were best, while others packed for Antartica.

After everyone had settled on their clothing choices and/or their decision to eat breakfast, we borded the bus to go to "Casa Gabriel" (for those who don't speak Spanish, it loosley translates to "Gabriel's House"). In brief summary,  starting eighteen years ago, Casa Gabriel is a house for up to ten Ecuadorian Street Boys to have a second chance at a newer, better life. Recently the laws have changed, so the house can now only accept boys who are eighteen years or older. At the moment Casa G (as it's called at YouthWorld) has ten boys, seven attending high school and 3 at the local Quito universities. Besides providing a second chance at education, Casa G allows the boys to have a sense of community, a brotherhood in a sense. All meals are eaten together and the boys are responsible for their messes and keeping up with school work. Casa G has had many success stories, one of which being that there is currenly a previous member who is getting his masters degree in Belgium in theology. With him he has his three kids and his wife, Desi (the founder of Casa Adalia).

Casa Adalia (Casa A), is a house similar to Casa G, but is for the girls of Ecuador. A majority of the girls in Casa A, are victims of prostitution and human trafficking. Most of these girls are picked off the streets under the promise of a job or support, and are flown out to the city where the new "job" or "house" is, but they are then thrown into a brothel, where they are subjected to physical, mental,  and sexual abuse. In Ecuador, prostitution is legal (but is illegal for people under the age of eighteen) and brothels will have an ocassional police inspection. When these brothels are inspected and underage girls are found, they are typically sent to Casa A. Most of the girls at Casa A have no education greater than grade school and have so little self-confidence. One of the activities for Casa A is jewelry making. Jewelry making allows art therapy and simple counseling to occur, leading to easier communication between therapist and girl. So, after learning about Casa A and G we were given the chance to buy jewelery made by the girls in Casa A.

After buying jewelery, finding out who knows their mothers jewelry colors, and if one is or isn't
colorblind, we boarded the bus to travel to the Equator. In Ecuador, there are technially two Equators, the historic French monument (as Caroline says, "it's the fake one") and the GPS calculated Equator. At the Equator we learned both about the Equator and the Native tribes of Ecuador. At the actual Equator line, we played many games/experiments, such as rotation of water in each hemisphere, balancing an egg on a nail, and strength games depending of gravity.

After the Equator games and quick browsing of shriveled heads, we proceded to the bus and back-tracked about ten minutes to a resturant next to a gas station (it's better here in Ecuador than in America). Here we had a South American staple, empanadas (a savory turnover), with a Chilean twist. These empanadas contained boiled eggs, onion, pepper, and some sort of protein. The outer shell was a very fluffy and dencently fried dough.

After eating our fill of empanadas and ice cream, we boarded the bus to drive to El Refugio (a 300 acre section of land that serves as a retreat crenter based in Christian beliefs). Started in 1999, the retreat center serves as a place of "solo time" in which mission workers are allowed to walk among the land, alone preferably, for two to three hours. This is done so that a mission person may have time to reflect on the work they have done, people they have met, and their relationships with God.

Traditionally, most people chose to hike and find a spot to journal, while I decided to stay closer to the built up property. I had decided to do this because I personally feel God's presence/his ministry in animals. With that, I decided to interact among the many animals of El Refugio, from llamas to goldfish, I tried to talk/interact with all of them. I orginally started with the llamas, because they were quiet, miding their own business, and seemed to not be concerned with my presence.

After being lured away by the crowing of roosters, I proceeded to the large chicken coop, and to its adjacent cuy (guinea pig) pin. I was quick to notice a mother hen who had fourteen whole chicks under her wings, about three being different ages. This reminded me of something Caroline had said the previous night about how Ecuadorian children were not raised by only their parents, but more by their community. The bird made me think about this becasue she was raising multiple chicks of different ages, similar to the Ecuadorian mothers of the community.

After all the chickens, other than the hen and her chicks, had fled to the forest seperating the fields, I proceeded to walk down to the goldfish/koi pond El Refugio has set up. It was maybe a ten-foot by twelve-foot long pond that had roughly one hundred fish, all varing in size, color, and shape. In the center of this goldfish pond was a stone that protruded out of the water; this was where I sat to watch the fish. I jumped my way across the pond and proceeded to sit on the stone for roughly thirty minutes, watching the fish. It was interesting because at first the fish all went out to the edge of the pond, but some sooner or later proceeded to make their way into the center where I was. This, in a way, remided me of the ways we interact with people. No matter the size, color, or shape of the fish, it was only the fish who had enough courage to come to the center that I could tuly observe and marvel at. Simply put, one cannot learn the stories or simple facts of a person until they have the courage to be up close and personal with the person they are presenting to.

After the fish had decided to come to the center, I look up and out about fifteen feet and see two pure white roosters, and I assume it was God telling me to move back to the chicken coop. And with that, I did. I walked over into the chicken coop and proceeded to dust off a spot and sit down. Walking around me was a single rooster, he just walked in a semi-circle around me and avoided eye contact when I looked his way. This reminded me of the older woman I had helped yesterday, when we were doing home service work. She was a ninety-one year old woman who gave us our jobs and then proceeded to walk around while we worked. She would occasionally look at us, but would avoid eye contact if we turned her way. This is what I was reminded by when I saw this rooster around me. After this moment, I heard the bell for solo time to end and I proceeded down to the main hall, where I met the rest of my group for a fellowship filled night - a campfire and our debrief (processing time) for the day.

(written by Davis Shelton)

Day 4 (2018)

Today when we arrived at the church, we broke up into four different groups. Each group was assigned to four different houses up on the mountain near the church to complete work for the people living there.

My team (Pablo, Danny, Mary Mac, Neil, and Juan Carlos) were assigned to help assist an elderly woman at her house in the mountains. She needed her kitchen to be cleaned, a door to be repainted, and the roof to be redone. When I entered the kitchen I was shocked to see the state of it, and the smell was nauseous. I spent about 20 minutes just cleaning burned rice off the bottom of a skillet. After we were done with the kitchen, the roof, and the door, I went back into the kitchen to grab my bag and was surprised to see a young lady cooking with the same pan I had worked so vigorously to clean. She was preparing food for the lady's young son, who she had not been able to cook for because the pan had been so dirty. It made me happy knowing that I helped with something that she was passionate about, especialy since it needed it done for not just her but some else she loved.

Later on in the day we led activities at a festival for children who also live up on the mountain. Catie, Sibley, and I were in charge of the "fishing" station (which was a blanket suspended buy a swing set to act as water). Although I don't think the kids quite believed they were fishing, it was pleasent to see how happy they were when they got Sweedish Fish clipped onto their fishing poles. It was also special to see the joy on all of their faces, just from being at the carnival.

After the carnival/festival we played a very intense game of "What are the Odds" on the bus with our new Ecuadorian friends. It was a good experience because it invited everyone who wanted to play. It was also a good way for language barriers to be broken down between one another. To cap off the day, everyone went to the mall and ate at KFC. - we filled up an entire section of the food court with our team and the youth from Buen Pastor.

The day was full of manual struggles and mental struggles. However, it was filled with love and passionate emotion, and I believe it was one of the best days we've had so far. I pray for a good, succesful rest of the trip.


(written by Bella Stoddart)