Friday night update!!

(Thursday)
My leader Amy does this thing where every day, she makes a list of the days events, and every time I sit down to write a blog, I wish I would do that. I think that’s going to be one of my goals for heading to Ecuador!
All that to say, it’s been awhile since I’ve given an update, so buckle up!
First of all, thank you to everyone who has been praying for V! The night I wrote that, she left the program. Our hearts are broken for the hold that the enemy had on her mind, but apart from that, God has given us each so much peace that he will continue to work in her. We shared the hope of Jesus with her, and we can pray that He will call her back to himself, and that she would remember what she’s been told about finding ultimate comfort in God. Join me in praying that whenever God brings her to mind, you will pray for her. I believe in the power of surrendering her to God, and he’s been so faithful to show the results of his goodness.
The weeks have been so full. We only have the rest of this week left at the foundation, and then we go to Guatepe for a 4 day mini debrief/reset before Ecuador! Yesterday we went one last time to the Inquilinatos, and then we had a meeting with Harry, our host, ate dinner, had church church, and went to the Bronx. In-between those things, we celebrated Jada’s birthday, I made sourdough, took a nap, and stayed up late doing hair checks for lice 🤦‍♀️. Today we have our ATL! We are currently sitting in a relaxing cliff side restaurant waiting for Jada to come back from hang gliding. We all went paragliding, and have rosy cheeks from the sun. It’s sometimes hard to find a balance between fun and evangelism, so the posture of our hearts is to Ask the Lord (ATL) to lead us to certain people, conversations, and encounters. Tomorrow is our sabbath which I’m really excited about. It’s gonna be good to stop and really choose to be with God intentionally, and to have the whole day to do so since it’s so hard to find time alone with God. And lastly, tomorrow night, we have a goodbye party with the people of the foundation (it’s getting real, we’re actually leaving)
After that, we have one last busy weekend with the kids in the morning, and teaching English classes on Saturday, and then Church on Sunday!

(Friday)
It is now Friday, our sabbath, because I forgot to finish writing that yesterday, so I’ll finish it now. So, on the way home from paragliding, we caught a city bus down the mountain and this was the best part of my day. We were all sunburnt and exhausted, but God said he wasn’t done using the day. I sat down next to a girl, and I didn’t even notice for a few minutes, but she was breastfeeding her baby under a blanket. I love sitting next to people with babies on transportation vehicles so I was really excited. She was named Abigail, and she had just turned 16. Her baby was 3 months old, and she had been on this bus for 8 hours. She said she was moving from a place that I wouldn’t know the name of, and meeting her family in Medellín. I think lately, I’ve gotten caught up in trying to make every conversation “productive”, that I haven’t really spoken to someone without trying to share Jesus with them. I asked about her life and what she liked, and about her family and it was sweet to just enjoy talking with her. I told her about our mission trip, and I held her baby for awhile while she ate an apple, and now we’re friends on Facebook. All this to say, I didn’t feel like I was very productive, but to be able to love someone by just talking to them and hearing their story is something that I think Jesus would do. I think I need to slow down a bit. Anyways, that was really sweet and then we got home and i fell asleep in about 3 seconds after my head hit the pillow.
Today has been pretty restful for the most part. I had some time to read and pray and talk to people, so that’s good. We also made banana bread and had our party to say goodbye.
Tomorrow I’m going to be intentional with the last Saturday that we have. We have kids in the morning, and then I’m taking a piano class and teaching an English class. (A few years ago, I tried to teach myself piano and got really frustrated so I decided to quit, but there was an opportunity here to be a part of a piano class on Saturdays, and I gave it a chance. I’ve been twice.. the first time was really fun, and the second one was almost tear-provokingly frustrating. But I’m gonna try again) Then tomorrow night we have one last youth service which is a highlight for a lot of us, so it’s gonna be sad to say goodbye to some of our friends that we’ve made.
I’m feeling drained this week, trying to figure out plans for what’s next at home, and balancing life with 11 other humans. It’s definitely been humbling to live with the same people and to figure out how to be Christlike when it’s easier to isolate and ignore how I feel. I’m just praying that God would soften my heart, and help me to see each person on my team through his eyes.

Really quick before I sign off, I have some praises and prayer requests!!
Praises-
– we have had many new men join the program in the last week!
– Nobody has gotten super sick while we’ve been here
– A teenage boy from youth night gave his life to Christ last week!
– We have a 4 day debrief in Guatepe
– The part of Ecuador we are going to is safe
– We had some specific evangelism and missions training classes from a ministry here at the beginning of the week
– Sourdough
– I met a woman named Sandra at the Bronx who really seemed genuine about coming to the foundation for help
Prayer requests
– I got accepted to go on a mission trip for the summer with cru, and I have to decide in a few days, but it’s a big decision because although I feel called to go, I would need to fundraise while in Ecuador, and I need to pray about that and see what it would take.
– Prayer that our hard goodbyes would become sweet “see you laters”
– Diligence in our last days here: that we would be productive in sharing the love of Jesus, and that we would not grow weary of doing good
– For the men and women in the program to stay committed to their yearlong rehab
– For V as she is on the streets
– A few of us have lice, so we’re praying that we don’t take them with us to Ecuador, and that we can treat them quickly.

Thank you for reading this. I know I’ve said it before, but I really mean it when I say that it’s such a blessing to have people at home supporting where God has me, and supporting me and my team with prayer. Thank you so much! Genuinely!