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)
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