Day 1 (2023)

St. Johns Youth started off our morning bright and early and headed to the Tallahassee airport. Our flight took off around 6 a.m. and we landed in Miami. We all had a fun time walking around the airport and enjoying each other’s company while we waited to board our flight to Quito, Ecuador. After landing we were all very happy to see John and Caroline Allen and to meet our other hosts, the Education Equals Hope staff. 

We got through customs and drove on a bus to an Ecuadorian Greek restaurant. We ate delicious gyros and had a great first lunch. After dropping off our luggage at our hostel, we walked to the Youth World office and had an orientation where we talked about the nine different partnering ministries of Youth World. 

Some of these ministries included La Red and Second Chance Ecuador. We can’t wait to learn more about these different ministries and how they benefit the lives of others throughout this coming week. Later that evening, we ate a traditional Ecuadorian meal of chicken and rice followed by a debrief with our whole team. 

This debrief included independently reading and annotating John 15 and then discussing what it means to us as a group. We discussed what we noticed throughout the paragraphs, words that were often repeated, phrases that we liked, and also things we may have disagreed with. Though exhausting, we greatly enjoyed our first day in Quito, Ecuador, and can’t wait to see what the rest of the week will bring.

- Written by Anna Blalock and Sadie Bowersox