A wrap-up post from Nic Mandolini, Director of Youth and Family Ministries at St. John’s.
The alarm goes off and the room is dark. The day has finally come to set off on an adventure that has been planned for months. As you travel to the airport, all the things you may have forgotten flood through your mind. The team all joins together, and the bags get checked in with the airline. As we walk through security and board the plane, it finally feels real.
A few short hours later we are eating lunch in Ecuador and talking of how the week will seem long and the work will be hard but we are excited to be here in a new place with friends. After a few orientations and dinner, bedtime finally seems in sight as the excitement of the day ends.
The next day or so is spent exploring the historic basilica, wandering around a new city, and eating fantastic food. Before you know it, Saturday morning is here, and we are meeting new friends at the church of Carmon Bajo.
As the nerves begin to set in about what may happen, you look around and see the children and volunteers that have come to play games and worship. And before you know it, dinner is being served and another bedtime is just around the corner. After church on Sunday, the team is joined by members of the church for lunch before heading to the equator for an afternoon of fun and bonding. After a short bus ride home, the afternoon is rounded out with team building, bonding, dinner, debrief, and bedtime.
Monday morning comes and after breakfast the team loads into the bus for what seems like a long ride. Today, the team will be serving in the mountains of Otavalo at a camp planned for the kids of Carmon Bajo. As the bus comes to a stop at the end of the hill, the nerves set in again. After a short climb up the hill, you finally reach the camp. For some of the team, this was their first time to pitch a tent, take a hike, or be in a landscape where all the stars are out at night. The children arrive and you notice something is different than what you had imagined because you know these kids from visiting their church over the weekend. The next three days seem to fly by as you play, go to the pool, hike, eat great meals, and laugh with the volunteers and children who are around you.
Thursday morning finally comes, and the weather is perfect, but something is different. As you walk up the hill to camp, the thought hits you “the team will be leaving today after lunch.” But there is still time to enjoy with friends before this happens. And after sharing stories, taking pictures, playing games, and eating lunch it’s time to say our final “Ciao” and load the bus for another long ride.
The team then arrives at El Refugio for an afternoon of hiking, reflection, and dinner. At the fire that that night you start to process the events of the next day. Emotions start to come back as the thought of traveling home, getting back to family, and the stresses that may come along with this.
After checking in your bag, getting through customs, and eating lunch the time has finally come to load the plane and head home. After arriving in Miami after a long day, you finally get settled into the hotel for a short nap before rejoining the team for a flight to Tallahassee on Saturday morning. After landing in Tallahassee, the flight taxies to the terminal and you see the words “Welcome to Tallahassee International Airport!”
But then it happens, you blink. And just like that it’s back to reality. The problems that you left behind are back. The stress that you left behind seems to be creeping back in. The post-mission field work is here and may feel scary. You start to ponder if the feelings of joy, the relationships that we built were real, and what happens next.
But Jesus doesn’t call us to the mission field for a week at a time each summer. The Bible says, "For I was hungry, and you gave me food, I was thirsty, and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked, and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
This week our missionaries learned what it means to serve our neighbors as ourselves through laughter, stories, meals, and prayer. As we move back into the routines of life and the things that pull us away from a clear vision of who Jesus is, I want to encourage you to look for Jesus the same way you did while serving.
We are called to serve others, not just around the world but within our own community. And for our prayer partners, please know that you traveled with us this week either through the blog, in prayer, or in thought. Without your support, this team would not have been able to learn, grow, and spread the love of Jesus in Ecuador. We are looking forward to telling stories at the annual shareholders’ dinner on Sunday August 27.
Que Dios te siga bendiciendo y protegiendo
(May God continue to bless you and keep you safe)!
- Written by Nic Mandolini
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