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