Day 2 (2023)

Hello from Ecuador! My name is Collins Barton, and I am a rising Junior at Maclay School in Tallahassee, FL! Today was our team's first full day in Quito, and it was BEAUTIFUL! We woke up, ate breakfast, and met for an orientation at 9:15 sharp. Everyone met together in the upstairs room and we talked about the general history of Ecuador. One of our group leaders, Tripp, led this and it was very thorough. A few things we learned about were: when Ecuador switched to the US dollar, the four main parts of Ecuador, the meaning of the colors on the flag, the bird on the flag, and the major exports of Ecuador. We all loaded up on the bus and headed to the Basilica. 

The ride there was gorgeous and bumpy. There were murals of animals that lined the roads, gorgeous art installations, and the blue sky was dappled with clouds while the mountains met with them. Seeing all the colorful signs in Spanish was interesting and I was surprised with how many of them I could understand! Many colorful signs and buildings of pink, blue, and orange caught my eye while driving in the bus! 

As were got out of the bus we walked up a cobblestone sidewalk to get to the basilica. After the Basilica we walked to Plaza Grande and saw more culture.

When we returned to the hostel we went to the Youth World offices to learn about Esperanzart, a ministry that makes organic beads from local Ecuadorian seeds. It is one of four branches of End Slavery Ministries Ecuador, which gives hope to women coming out of sex trafficking or harmful situations. After learning of the ministry and having a chance to buy some of their unique jewelry made from açaí berries and tagua nuts, we returned to our hostel. 

At the hostel, Caroline Allen led our partnership orientation where we learned how to do missions well and to know if you are doing it well. We don’t like calling it a “trip” because a trip has an end and a beginning. We also learned the Five F’s:  Fun, flight, fight, fit, fruit, and how those fit into the three parts of a mission: pre-field, on-field, and post-field. The fruit stood out to me. The “fruit” of your mission is gaining a life-changing experience from your time in Ecuador. It could be as simple as trying harder in Spanish class. It can be forgiving a sibling. Our ultimate goal is an authentic partnership that emphasizes giving and receiving!

After a break to recharge, we took a quick bus ride and walk to get to Casa Gabriel, which is one of the branches of Second Chances Ecuador. They help provide former street boys with income, routines, and an overall better life! We arrived with a WARM welcome and we quickly made connections with the boys there. 

We were able to speak with the leaders and the boys in a big group and over a lovely dinner! While making these connections we realized we may be different, but we are all still people. (Thanks Jack!)

After dinner, we had our daily debrief and went in a circle and shared our rose (high of the day), thorn (low of the day), something we learned about Ecuador, and a new word we learned in Spanish. My word was calzado which means foot ware! Today was an incredible first FULL day in Quito. It was full of culture, memories, laughs, and most importantly God! 

- Written by Collins Barton