truth #8: South Africans call it a 'bathing costume'

On last Thursday, Darren's sister, Kerry, came to visit from South Africa. She will be staying in Ecuador until the day after Christmas. It was nice to have a roommate again, even if only for a short while. We hit it off immediately. During the course of the weekend, Kerry joined us in our usual activities. This included Santay Island. First, let me preface this by saying that the children on Santay are absolutely wild and crazy but at the same time very cute. As Kerry was getting to know the kids, of course solely through playing with them and the interpretations of others as she does not speak much Spanish, she would tell them her name. However it seemed that they could not quite get 'Kerry' out so instead she became 'Kiwi'. I, now, call her by this name and will refer to her as 'Kiwi' from now on. Also during this trip to Santay, I had great opportunity to practice my newly found skill of communicating in Spanish. I had several long conversations with some of the girls that came to help at Santay from a nearby church. And also some conversations with the mothers of the children on Santay. And for the first time ever, I could actually understand most of what the children were chattering to me... One little kid, Leonardo, who strangely reminds me of Lennart (the OMer from Holland) particularly talked with me a great bit. I think that both of these boys have more in common than just the name.

Let me tell you a little story: When I got my sunburn two weeks ago, my legs swelled up horribly! Well one of those days, Lennart decided to give me a hard time. So he started calling me 'Chub-itha' instead of Tabitha... No worries it was all in good fun and I will get my revenge one day :) Well when I was on Santay this weekend, little Leonardo, would ask me "What is your name?" I would say "Tabita", then he would respond "oh, Chub-ita", I would say "No, Tabita", then he would say "oh, Aug-wita", I would then quite firmly respond with "No, with a 'T', Tabita" then he would say "oh, Tabita". You might think oh how cute, he finally learned to say her name correctly... No, he knew the whole time what my real name was as we went through this process at least 10 times over the weekend... Kids


Kiwi loved the weekend and the children of Santay. After we returned from Santay on Saturday morning we went to a Historical Park in Guayaquil. It was very nice with lots of the native animals from Ecuador, some of the original buildings and a walk through village/farm from the 1800's. It was fun but also SUPER hot. I think we finally introduced Kiwi to the weather of Ecuador, but the nice thing is that once you experience a real 'hot' day here all the other days feel cool in comparison.

Also during the weekend we went to several church services and also to an Evangelism workshop. Darren was not able to be right next to his sister during all of these things so it actually turned out that I was the translator for her quite a bit. My translation was by no means perfect but I could at least tell her practically all that was going on. I never understood how hard translation is until I had to actually do it, and I mean really translate and not what I did in Peru but as the person is speaking I had to translate even though they never paused... wow! One of the hardest parts was remember which language to actually speak in, if they were talking in Spanish for example about how Jesus is the Light, He would say "Jesús es la luz", I would translate that into English in my mind 'Jesus is the light' but then my mouth would get confused about which language I was suppose to say it in and it would come out like "Jesus is the luz.. I mean light, which is luz in Spanish". Once they were talking about Jesus being Lord over us and they used a word that I only knew to translate as 'landlord' so I turned to Kiwi and said "Jesus is our Landlord, but that doesn't make sense.. but that is the only way I know the word" then I just kept going. Kiwi was laughing so hard at me the whole time about my translations. I am laughing at myself about my translations and now my English. I have digressed, I say things like the sister of Darren, instead of Darren's sister (yes I erased and corrected that at the top of this blog). I hope one day they will finally separate themselves in my mind, English and Spanish, however, they all tell me it will never happen..

Though I greatly enjoyed the company of Darren's sister (they both left for the jungle yesterday morning and I will be leaving for the states before they return) I will not see her again this trip. We had many fun times together, especially over the differences in our English. First, she has an amazingly fun and beautiful South African accent. Second, they say things like "I am going to take my bathing costume with me to the beach". I tend to just turn and stare when she says things like that.. then we have a long discussion about the differences between SA English and American English. It is crazy that even though people speak the same language there are so many differences. But then again I love it as things would be much more boring without all these fun surprises! (let's hope that I still hold to that when it comes down to the wire with my visa!).

truth #7: Change will come

Buenos Dias my friends and family. Finally I can say that I am WELL! After two complete weeks, the worst of days happened to be on the day that I last wrote on my blog, my sunburn is completely gone. I must say this is the first time in my life that I have been SO excited about seeing my own beautiful WHITE (mind you, NOT red) skin... Honestly if being in hell is like being in an eternal fire... those who do not know Christ have never been burned... I was not able to walk for four, almost five whole days, then it took a week after that for all the pain and swelling to completely leave. I think that even all the nasty peeling has finally quit as well. Praise God, I am now so much more thankful for the ability to walk without pain!

Many of you know that one of the most frustrating things about moving to another country (non-English speaking) is the language barrier. This one area has been a HUGE struggle for me during my three months here. More than I ever imagined it would be. I am finding out that my experience here is entirely new and different from my experiences in Thailand. My lack of Thai in Thailand didn't bother me or get in my way of ministry near as much as my lack of español here. Maybe it is because my job in Thailand revolved around English, as an English teacher of course, and my job here requires Spanish. This has been quite a bit of stress for me, especially since my English speaking, Norwegian roommate returned back to Norway a month ago. I think I floundered for a bit, and I am talking the frustrating floundering! It seemed that everywhere I turned there was some sort of miscommunication (normally it had to do with me agreeing to do something that I had NO idea I was agreeing to) which now looks a bit funny but at the time just made me want to pull out my hair and cry... I say all of this to add a HUGE

HOWEVER,

This week, something happened, something clicked. Suddenly I am talking in Spanish to people in the office, I am understand my non-English speaking Spanish teacher entirely in her explanations, I am talking with children, young people, older people, ok, basically everyone! Mind you it isn't always pretty or even the correct grammatical form but I am COMMUNICATING! This is mind blowing! I even shared my missions testimony in Spanish, talked with a woman on the Santay Island about her life and God. I know that these things must sound so simple to you. Most of you are able to do this with EVERY single person you meet in a day. I think that sometimes we don't realize what abilities that we actually have until they are taken away from us. Just think, you have the ability to walk outside your door and have a casual conversation with your neighbor, to share your testimony of God's work in your life, to impact someone by showing interest in their life! At times I find myself even asking God why I couldn't have stayed in the United States and done ministry that I know I can do. Why do I have to come and work in a place with a language that I don't speak and ways that maybe I am not used to. Why? Because He has called me, because it is Him that works in me, because when it is all said and done it will not be the work of Tabitha that is being done but His work! I don't know all the outcomes, I don't know all the changed lives, I don't even know how this will change my own life but I can tell you this, change will come. What is it that God has called you to do? Don't give up, LET Him work in you, listen to His voice.

truth #6: ¡the sun in ecuador is very strong!

Ok, so I actually cheated with this picture.. No worries though, it was for a very good reason. Sadly for this same reason you will not get to see anymore pictures either. It has been some time since I have talked with you and so much has happened.

First, one of the changes that has happened since we talked is that I will be returning briefly to the states Dec 15 - Jan 8. There is a very good reason behind it, other than the very nice one of getting to be home with my family over the holidays. A lot of the laws have changed here in Ecuador, that also included the visa laws. Before I arrived in September it was perfectly ok to change your visa type from Tourist to Missionary in Ecuador. But then after I got here we found out that this is no longer possible. So that meant that I would have to return to the states to get my visa within three months. That put the date right at Christmas (my family is really excited about that). However there is still one catch. They also changed the requirements of what makes an organization and official one here. That means that the organization that will supply the documents for my missionary visa now has to re-prove that they are an organization. We are not sure how long this will take, it has already been a month that they have been working on this. So keep praying that the documents come in time for my trip back to Texas or I may be spending more time at home than planned!

Ok, as for the story about truth #6, honestly, I have a bit of trouble telling it. It is probably my pride (which I am losing a lot of this week..). On Sunday, I visited the beach with a friend. We spent the whole day there and before you ask or even think it, YES i did put on sunscreen! We had a lot of fun during our time there, playing in the ocean, going on a boat ride, seeing a dolphin, and just having a day off. It was not until the two hour bus ride home that I began to realize something... THE SUN IN ECUADOR IS VERY STONG! I am very burnt, the worst in my whole life in fact. The worst would be my legs. I say this because this is Wednesday night and I have not been about to walk since Sunday night... Ok, well I do walk but lets just say one of those granny walkers would be a GREAT help.

First, let me describe how i have to get up off my bed, which takes a full five minutes (yes, I timed it). I begin by taking my poor swollen legs carefully off of the nice fluffy pillow and just lower them by a few degrees every 20 seconds. You see, if I were to just put my feet straight down on the floor what happens is an excruciating wave of pain hits me and liquid comes out of my tear ducts. Still the lowering by degrees is quite painful (excruciating has become my favorite word this week) but at least it is bearable. Then after I finally get my little feet -well maybe my chubby, swollen feet would be a more accurate picture- I do this funny rocking thing where I end up leaning over holding on to the bed (this is where is walker would come in handy as I already have the posture down completely). From there I do this shuffle walk/hop/dance thing that must look totally ridiculous, therefore I keep my door shut at all times and have REFUSED to take pictures! I also have this lovely pain medicine that also makes me a bit loopy, this also adds a bit of fun to the mix of things. In fact, I am on the medicine at the moment so I hope that I am writing in understandable sentences... There are some good things that have come out of this thing though. First, I realized how much pride I still have in my life and am learning again to be dependent on others. Second, because the pain in my legs has been so bad I have hardly noticed the burn on my arms and back. Third, it has given me a lot of time to sit and think (did i mention that it has already been three days?). Fourth, I have learned to avoid the sun in Ecuador at all costs!!!!!

I also wanted to give all of you a run down on what I do here with OM in Ecuador or more accurately what I have been doing. Mostly, I have been studying the language like crazy! I feel that I am getting a grasp on things but my speaking and listening is still rather slow. I will need to be able to communicate well for many of the things that I will be doing. The other part of my work has been focused on the Personnel side of things. I get to work with the new applicants to OM Ecuador, the ones who are already out on the field and the ones here in the office. I also have been doing in on our weekly projects, the University English Club and the Santay Island project. Then as this is Latin American, you never know from week to week what might pop up. I have participated in a Mentoring clinic, dressed up as a Swedish girl in a missions parade, participated in an Evangelism training and many other things. I have pictures from all of these things but as those are in my camera which is in a place currently unknown and as each move I make at the moment is weighed carefully against the certain excruciating pain that it will bring. I am not going to post those pictures at the moment.

Please pray for these following things:
1. The visa situation - that all the documents will come in time
2. My health and the health of our team here (sickness has been hitting all of us!)
3. The unity of the churches here, they are very individualistic

Muchas gracias mis amigos! Dios te bendiga! Y espero te voy a ver pronto!

truth #5: I'm not in Ecuador anymore

October 17 - 25 Pucusana Peru - Medical Missions

From one Latin country to another in one day and though so close together, Peru and Ecuador are very different. Please as you read this do not try and figure out which one I love more as I view countries like children.. not that I have any of those.. my love for each is different and deep. This was the third medical mission trip that I have taken to Peru and yet was very different from each of the ones before. Before I began my journey to Peru, I was asking God what it was that He wanted to show me, what the reason was that He wanted me to go on this trip and I was given the answer in so many ways.

The group consisted of around 20 people from the States, some from Texas and some from Georgia, and 8 Peruvians. Our first day we unpacked the suitcases and began to arrange the small church into a medical area. Let me give you the basic run down of how our clinic worked. First, the people would line up infront of the church doors. Then we would take around 30 people into the Evangilism area where the gospel would be shared with them. From there was the Triage where basic information and basic complaints were written down. The person would then be sent inside to see the doctor. After the doctor the person would move on to the pharmacy where the prescriptions were filled. If the person came with an eye complaint they would be taken to the eye screening line where they would take an eye test and depending on how well they read it would either be sent home or would be given a 'golden ticket' to see the eye doctor. Also we had several people work with the children, coloring, face painting, making balloon shapes.... some of them even had the bright idea to make balloon swords...

Yes, that is me buried under the gazillion balloon swords, no worries Terri, I don't hold grudges. :) We also had a brilliant team that helped with interpretting as the language of Peru is Español. Three from the United States also spoke Spanish fluently and worked as intrepreters. However, the first day of clinic we had a minor crisis because three of the intrepreters were either sick or had to make a trip back to Lima. The next thing I knew I was nominated to help translate in Triage... yes that is right, me the Spanish beginner worked as a translator. Honestly it was rather funny and sometimes downright embarrassing (I must admit that I have a much greater respect for what nurses and doctors have to hear about and see). It did seem that all the awkward problems ended up in the chair in front of me, making for some funny stories as my vocabulary is not so advanced. The pictures below are of the Peruvian team and then one where I was working as a translator for Van.

The next four days I helped to screen the eye patients with my new friend 'Vanna White' or better known as Carla. I got to inform the person where to stand, to cover one eye and to read the letter that Carla was pointing at. Then if we did not give a 'golden ticket' to the patient, I got to hear the reason why they were sure that they needed glasses even though they had perfect vision... Keep in mind that all of this happened in Spanish. One of our greatest moments was when we gave a pair of reading glasses to an elderly woman who had probably not been able to see up close in a very long time. Her face turned into sunshine as she realized that she could actually read her bible! Then tears running down her face and with the biggest smile she proceeded to kiss and hug each of us.

Each day after we finished the eye screenings for the day, we would go to the pharmacy to help out... And we did actually work...

This is Any, giving the evangilism message to the people. She is an incredible speaker. Even though I cannot understand everything in Spanish I am completely hooked when she speaks. People responded to the message of hope and out of the 874 people we saw in the clinic, 124 prayed to recieve Christ! That is absolutely amazing! So much more than just helping to heal earthly bodies and give better sight went on during this week, lives were changed forever. Each person could tell so many stories about how they saw or heard God working during the week. Also during the week we were able to establish a good relationship with the authorities in the area. They were very impressed with the work being done in the community and the way that this church was trying to meet the physical needs of the people. We pray that these relationships will continue to grow between the people of God and the authorities.

Another huge part of my week in Peru consisted of working with the children. This was one thing that I was definately not expecting. Most people that know me well know that I like kids ok but they would not be my prefered ministry. In Pucusana, however, I didn't have much of a choice. They were drawn to me almost as though I were a magnet. We colored together, painted faces, talked, fought with balloon swords, played games, sang songs, told stories, and basically just loved on each other. God really spoke to me about putting everything into where He puts me, even if I don't preceive it as my talent.

My aunt and uncle were also on this trip. I would like to brag on both of them for just a moment as God has used both of them incredibly in bring me to work in South America. My uncle, Eddie, is an emergency room doctor and has been working a great deal with medical missions in Latin American and more specifically with Peru. I went on my first trip to Peru with them last September, just two weeks after returning from a year long trip to Thailand. I felt called to this trip from the emails that my aunt had sent me about her previous trips to Peru. After hearing her excitement God began to place a special interest in my heart about South America. I have also been so impressed by the way that my uncle puts everything that he has into what he thinks is important. He is even working on learning spanish, and it is not afraid to try and use it even if he doesn't know how to say what he wants perfectly. This trip because of the close proximity of the pharmacy to where he was working, I could hear him ask each person at the end of their visit with him "puedo orar por ti?" Which is "can I pray for you?" It was a great blessing to work with him and my aunt.

Overall, I would say that this was an awesome trip. I don't have the room to mention each person that I interacted with and the special stories that happened. I made so many new friends, got to know old friends better and even had the chance to work on my Spanish. I am so blessed and going on this trip helped me to see that even more and to realize that God uses all types of people in all types of circumstances.

I hope that each of you will have the blessing of

seeing God work in another country!

con amor,

Tabitha

truth #4: Row, row, row your boat

In the couple of weeks that I have not posted, many things have happened. First, I was sick with a cold, then I had stomach problems, then headaches - and all during the two weeks of being sick (with one thing or another) I kept having my low blood pressure spells. I must admit that it is really frustrating to be sick just are you are entering a new country and work environment. Thankfully that seems to have all passed. I have now been in Ecuador officially for one month and one day. It seems like the time has flown. This week our whole office is at a Mentoring Clinic. This is a four day clinic where we learn about... yes, mentoring. Unfortunately for me - the squirmy kid - we are at this conference area from 9am to 9:30pm cada dia (each day). It has been two days already and I am dying of having to sit still!! On Friday, I will leave directly from the conference and go to PERU! I am joining a one week medical mission group that is flying in from the States. My uncle and aunt (Eddie and Jeanette), Heather Noga and Carolyn Butcher will all be in this group as well. I am excited about ministering in Peru again and also to work with these amazing people. I wish that I could say that my Español is good enough for me to be a translator there but unfortunately I am still in the beginning phases of speaking. ¡Yo quiro a hablar español rapido! Soon, hopefully.

There are two sets of pictures below that I wanted to share with you. The first is from a local attraction in Guayaquil. It is a very nice, 4km long. riverside park/tourist attraction. In this trip we were saying goodbye to Giuliano as he was returning back to Belgium.

Here is the whole gang, Darren, Lennart, me, Giuliano, Vibeke, & Daniel

Vibeke, me and Sarita - we are sporting the new style


The boys had lots of fun playing on the playground equipment..

The following is my first trip to the Island of Santay.

The trip really began once we entered the fish market on the side of the river opposite Santay. We needed to rent a boat to carry us to the island. I cannot say that I am very fond of fish markets but it was an interesting experience. Then we boarded a tiny boat (even smaller than the one in Peru) and slowly crossed the river. I have been rather curious about this project since early this summer and finally I was approaching the real thing! As we landed, several children came running to greet us with bare feet and huge smiles. The island has limited electricity (as we would see that evening) and no running water. The buildings and houses for these 200 people are built out of bamboo with tin roofs. Everything is built up on stilts as it floods quite often. This year is bound to be at its worse since El Niño is coming again. The children were much more shy with me than I expected but as the night came they began to warm up. We first split into groups and visited almost every house on the island inviting them to the adult service and youth services. The last house that we visited was quite fun to find as we had to walk across a narrow bridge made only of bamboo to get there. In the afternoon we had the adult and children services. Around a dozen adults came to sing and listen to Darren (or Dario as he is called here) speak. I help with the children. I have been contemplating for several days exactly how to explain the children here. They remind me of the lost boys from Peter Pan - completely lovable yet 100% wild. There was not 5 seconds that they could sit still to listen, and believe me, I even counted!! At one point five of the little boys attacked Lennart and he had quite a bit of fun holding them all down with one hand. Mostly I just played the games with the children, held their hands and let them sit in my lap - once they quit staring that is. It is sometimes frustrating to me how little I understand in Spanish and this weekend had me the most frustrated yet. Five Ecuadorian girls joined Darren, Lennart and myself to work on the island this weekend, Betsi, Vivian, Maria José, Ruth, and Diann. I love them but to be honest none of them speak English very well, so that left me to try and understand with my small knowledge of Spanish. So you might be thinking 'well this is great, Tabitha can practise her Spanish as well as minister' but then you probably forgot to take in account the fact that they are girls and speak quite quickly, not only do they speak fast but they NEVER stop speaking! Literally! One would pause for a breath and another would pop right in with something else. My head was spinning by Saturday morning! We had the youth service that evening but the electricity was broken in the school so we had the service outside in the soccer field by moonlight. It was quite fun. Afterwards we went to bed, more so I went to bed and the girls stayed up past 2 talking. I also woke up in the morning to the same speed and consistency as they were at the night before. If any of you remember what a wonderful morning person I am, you can only imagine my response... I also learned that the mosquitoes are a totally different breed on Santay! I still have the scars to prove it! I have added a few pictures so that you will get an idea of what I am talking about.

This is the playground to the school on Santay, in the back are the nice toilets...

truth #3: I do not blend in

Who would have ever guessed that a 5'3" woman with light skin, long blond hair and blue eyes would actually stand out in a country of dark skin, hair and eyes? Yes, you guessed it, me. I don't know why I thought that this time and this country would be different but I didn't really prepare myself at all and was caught by surprise. Let me explain briefly. After four days in Guayaquil, I was feeling pretty comfortable with my fellow workers, my house and even the office. I was ready to explore a bit. My roommate Becky offered to take me to see the mall after church on Sunday. So off we went, just the two of us as Lennart made it very clear that he would rather have teeth pulled with out anesthetic than to go shopping with several women. I don't have a clue why.

So off we went to the mall. Here is where I recieved my first culture shock. The mall contains several stores that malls in the US have, there is almost any product and brand that you can think of, minus Starbucks and Dr Pepper. I was have shock over how similar the mall was to ones that I have been to in Texas! After we walked through everything we decided to drop by the grocery store on the way home to pick up just a few items... Now that I think about it we could have done without them for a day or two... We were in the produce section when I asked Becky a question from several feet away. There was an Ecuadorian man standing between us and some how decided that my question to Becky was his opportunity to talk with us. One problem, he spoke only Spanish and I only speak basic Spanish ... Becky ended up translating all of the conversation for me. To make a long story short, he tried to take advantage of the Ecuadorian greeting with me (a kiss on the cheek), quoted poetry about how my eyes captivated him and ended up following us around the store until we left. Poetry in the produce section!?! After returning home I told Darren and Lennart that I would never again visit the grocery store without one of them! They are quite protective and agreed whole heartedly.

One other interesting experience this week, was on Tuesday, at lunch. We were invited over to my Spanish teacher's house to eat lunch with her family. Lennart and Becky almost didn't go once they heard what was being served. I tend to have a rather strong stomach so I was looking forward to trying a new dish - how silly I was... The dish that we were going to eat is made with the stomach of a cow. Don't ask me which stomach but after my experience I am not sure that it matters! As most of you know I can be rather stubborn, here is one of my moments. I should have known after the first bite not to continue but I was determined. It took me at least half an hour to eat a dozen bites. To say that it isn't my favorite food is far too watered down. It took every once of determination to keep each bite in my mouth... I am breaking out into a cold sweat from just remembering the experience. However, I can now say that I have eaten the stomach of a cow.

The pictures below were taken on Saturday. We were having two people over to cook and eat with us but some how 6 turned into 9 and we ended up having a party. I think that happens a lot here. The key is to always make extra food!
Yes, that is us playing Uno. As many of you know that is my new favorite game. There is a picture of Sarah (Sarita) and me, then one with Becky and her Ecuadorian boyfriend Daniel. The last two pictures are Darren and Lennart before they went to get a haircut and after the haircut.