truth #12: La Concordia

My first real trip out of Guayaquil! I was so excited to go this last weekend to La Concordia! It took us about 7 hours to get there from the city. It is north of Guayaquil, almost to the city of Esmeraldes. It is number 3 on my map at the bottom. So after spending almost the whole day of Valentines in the car we arrived! Oh and Valentines Day is a little different here than in the states, it is really a day of love and friendship, just as much for friends as for lovers. I explained the joke of 'Singles Awareness Day' to my friends here and they thought it was quite funny. Well back to la Concordia. Five of us from OM went on this trip, Darren, Johanna, Carmen, Maria Jose and me. We lead two church services on Sunday about missiones, and also had christian books for sell at cost at the back. Christian literature is not so abundant here as it is in the States. I got to stay with a real ecuadorian family during our time in the town. Each of us was sent off to a host home for two nights. I must confess at first I was really nervous. Well, the pastor walked with me down the street to the house where I would be staying. It was very dark that night and just as we got to the door all the electricity in town went off. The pastor still knocked on the door and eventually a lady opened it. She was holding up her cell phone for just a little bit of light but it was held at an angle where she could kind of see me but I could see her at all! So the pastor just introduced me to Jenny and then he left. I think at that moment all my Glowing Heart training utterly left me and I was just about speechless. In a home, in a strange town, in the dark with a lady who I had never seen and who could not speak any English... You get the picture. Well finally I got my tongue and the lights came back on. She began to tell me about her daughters, one who was studying in Canada and the other who I was going to share a room with that night. Shortly the daughter, Karlita, arrived with her boyfriend and several cousins. We sat around and talked until after midnight. It was very fun and also very interesting for me to see what lengths of conversation that my spanish could stretch to! My grammar was not at all perfect but we understood one another. I spent most of my time in la concordia with Karlita and her cousins.

Now let me share a little about my ecuadorian family. I stayed in Jenny's house with her, her daughter, son and husband. However we did not eat in her house but instead walked across the patio in the back into the back door of another house (Jenny's mother, the Grandmother). She had a large table that could seat about eight people. Then the cousins, aunts, uncles, sisters, nephews, nieces, daughters, sons, grandchildren, brothers and spouses started showing up. I used practically every word I could think of to describe this family because whenever I was getting introduced it was always a different person introducing, at one time they would say this is my sister, but to someone else it was the aunt or the cousin... So confusing! After the whole weekend I still cannot quite separate the family into sub-families but I can say that I love my family from la concordia! During meals we would eat in shifts as the whole family eats at the Grandmother's house and there are far too many people to sit at the table all at once. I was always put in the first shift as I was the guest.

I would stay up at night chatting with Karlita about her future, her desire to go into missions and about what mission life is like. She is a very sweet girl. Also, the grandmother confided in me that she is sure that another one of her granddaughters, Miriam, would be going into missions too one day! I am not sure what Miriam actually things of missions at the moment but it was sweet to hear that from her grandmothers!

We made it home from our trip on Monday evening without any problems... unless you call the car driving itself at one point a problem.. I did pick up some sort of stomach problem from this trip as the rest of the week I had trouble. I am finally better now. My 25th birthday on Thursday February 19, was a wonderful day. I got tons of notes and e-cards that were so fun to get. Also I received so many presents from my Ecuadorian friends, it was a pleasant surprise. Also some close friends here in Guayaquil, Dave and Lolly Erdel, made me supper and a cake that was shared by half a dozen friends.

Here is a list of my trips in Ecuador, Costa Rica and Peru (see map below)

1. Salinas (1 day in November 2008 - this is where I got burned)

2. Playas (1 day 7 Feb 2009)

3. La Concordia (3 days 14-16 Feb 2009)

4. Saraguro (2 days 24-25 Feb 2009)

5. Baños (2 days 27 -28 Feb 2009)

6. Macas (9 days 28 feb - 9 March 2009)

7. Quito (2 days 10 - 11 March 2009)

8. Costa Rica (9 days 21-29 March 2009)

9. Peru (9 days 4 - 12 April 2009)

truth #11: grace is amazing

Fundacion Jesus Por Los Niños... This is the orphanage that I went to on Wednesday. This is now Friday and I am still not sure what I think of my time there. Here is what I wrote in my journal after coming home:

We went to the orphanage today, Lennart, Maria Jose, Marina and I. 10am to 5pm. I must confess it was a LONG 7 hours! 30 children live in this orphanage.. that honestly feels more like a jail. All the children are locked in the building that consists of 2 large bedrooms (one for the boys and one for the girls), a bathroom for each, a large closet with clothes thrown all over making it almost impossible to find the right sizes for each child, a dining area and a kitchen that is kept locked. There is a 'jail keeper' who keeps the keys for the door between the children's living area and the office. While we were there the lady in charge didn't come in for more than five minutes. I get the feeling that the children spend most of their time alone. I have started to get to know the girls and a few of the boys. My heart hurts for them. They are hurting and lonely and yet because they don't know now to express it, it comes out in anger! They are soo angry. They don't listen to any instructions, the only look to you to see how they can use you. One of the girls around 7 years old asked me, "Are you a Christian?" I replied "Yes." Then she goes on to ask me the question that Lennart said they asked him the first week he went. "Did Jesus come in the spirit or in the flesh?" I believe the answer is both, however I didn't respond like this as I knew they were looking for the 'right' answer (which to them was 'in the flesh') and would say that you are not really a Christian if you cannot give them the answer that they want. Instead of appeasing them or getting caught in the trap, I simply asked "Why would you ask such a question? Don't you know what matters is that you know God and have a relationship with Him?" They couldn't argue with that and then went on to another subject. Hopefully we can help them to see it is
about a relationship not about religion or 'right' answers.

We plan to go to the orphanage each Wednesday to help with the children. As we get more people to help hopefully we can go other days as well. There are so many opportunities to help and to minister to people in a real way. We also are going in the evenings to work with the children in the streets, those who sell things on the corners and who basically have a sad and lonely life. We will also continue working with the Island Santay, teaching, playing, and discipling the people there. We have several economic projects beginning on the island. My dad is helping with one, a garden on the island that floods a 60-80% of the time in this season. The people don't get much to eat and go without when the fishing is bad. I will post more about that later.

As for the title of this truth... I am currently reading a book by Philip Yancy called "What's so amazing about grace?" Wow, I am only just in the first couple of chapters but already it has been speaking to me. Some of you know how much of the 'middle child syndrome' that I have (well mostly my family...) and from some of you I have hidden it quite well... I want things to be fair, for each to get what they deserve. But that is completely opposite of what grace is. I think before I read this book I would have said that I understood grace but some how I think I separated it in the spiritual sense and in how I see life each day. How can I say that I understand grace and yet become impatient with each thing that is so unfair, like having to wash someone else's dishes or clean up their mess or even do these things but with irritation in my mind... I cannot say that all these things will be fixed overnight but hopefully during this journey I will understand the grace that God has for me and be able to show the same grace everyday!

truth #10: visas, languages, and headaches are not impossible for God.

This truth will definitely take some explaining.



I will start with the visa... As many of you know, we have been praying like crazy for my visa situation. I think now that I have all the details I can give you the complete story. Here it goes. Laws changed in Ecuador right around the time that I entered Ecuador in September with my tourist visa. Which before the laws changed would not have been a problem. However, now the person entering the country cannot change visa types except in their home country. In more simple words, I could not change my three month tourist visa to a two year missionary visa in Ecuador... Then came the words from my field leader in October when we became aware of the situation, "Tabitha, I hate to tell you this but you are going to HAVE to go home for Christmas." My three month tourist visa would end in mid-December. Well, I was not too sad as honestly the holidays are the hardest time for me to be away from the states. Having to return home for a short period of time, however, was not the biggest problem that we faced. To obtain a missionary visa in Ecuador you have to fulfill about 8 or 9 requirements. One of the biggest was to have letter and documents of the supporting missionary organization. Well, when the laws changed concerning the visas, they also changed concerning what makes an organization a legal organization in Ecuador... Making it next to impossible for me to get the necessary documents because my supporting organization no longer qualified as a legal organization in Ecuador. So I came home in December having no idea when or if I would get the documents. Finally, five days before I left I got the documents. So my dad and I drove down to Houston on Monday, January 5, 2009 to apply for the visa. After the office worker in the consulate looks at all my papers, it seemed that he had problems with two of them. What was slightly irritating was that I had called the office three times before coming to make sure exactly what they wanted in the documents and they wouldn't give anything more than general things. Yet the problems that this guy had was specific things, one of my papers was not a date within the last 15 days, and another paper didn't have a signature or seal (did I mention that he did not tell me about either of these necessary things on the phone?). Well after about 3 hours and a fax later, I had my visa! Amazing, right? Now it is over and I could go back to Ecuador.... Ha, the fun had only just begun. On arriving back to Ecuador with my new visa I had 30 days to register my visa and to get my censo (a governmental id). At the visa registration office, it became apparent that there was a problem with my visa, instead of the beginning date being 5 January 2009 for my two years it said 5 January 2008. A whole year different! So, I then with the help of a very patient friend began a week long process of getting the year corrected (with one document having to be changed and resigned three times because they could not get the name right). I finally got my visa registered on Friday morning (yes this last Friday morning). We then decided to stop by the immigration office and see if they had any openings to get the censo (governmental id). With the past foreigners it has taken around three days of standing in lines and correcting of documents before they received their censo. We walked in around 10:15, went straight to the counter, he looked at my papers, took my picture, printed out my id card, had me sign it, laminated it and gave it to me. We were out of the door by 10:30. I was stunned! With all the other problems that I had faced I never imagined that I would get this card so quickly... So now, as of January 30, 2009 I am finished with visa things for the next two year!!!! PRAISE THE LORD! Maybe this will give you a little more insight to the Ecuadorian processes.



Language, I struggled so much at the beginning of my time with miscommunications and the inability to really talk with people. I took classes three to four times a week and would listen to Spanish during our meetings, church services, prayer meetings, outings with friends, movies, and in the office. I am not at the moment by any means fluent but I am able to communicate and I even am writing daily emails to people interested in missions in Spanish! Of course I always get someone to check it over before I send it... :) God has been so good in helping me in this area and I need to make sure that I continue to study and learn to be better able to work and minister here in South America.



Headaches. I don't understand them. I don't like them. I had at first a great struggle when I returned to Ecuador with a consistent headache that just kept getting worse. After about a month and a half of this headache, it is finally getting a bit better. But even more importantly I am beginning to trust God more in this time. Please keep praying that I will find joy and strength each day no matter what comes my way. I had a long talk with some friends last night that really helped to to gain perspective on my situation and gave me great encouragement.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which
surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus."
Philippians 4:6-7

My goal this week is to be constantly giving thanks and praying.

truth #9: clothes don't dry in the rain

I have been thinking for quite a while about what to write this time. I probably have enough to talk about for two or three blogs, however, I will be efficient and put them all into one. :)

First, I returned from my three week trip to the states last Thursday.

Second, it was with my two year Ecuadorian visa! Praise the Lord for that one!

Third, it has been raining here ever since I came back.

In fact, at this very moment I am soaking wet, but I will leave that story until later. So many of you were encouraging to me during my time at home. I think I was blown away by all the interest in what I am doing in Ecuador. Well back here in Guayaquil things are as crazy as ever. Another thing... not all the visa stuff is finished, as I found out today. Another Ecuadorian process is to register the visa after you get it. So I went to register my visa today, only to find out that when I was at the consulate in Houston they forgot to give me a document necessary to register my visa here. Now we are in the process of obtaining that document, of course in the one-month-after-entering-the-country deadline : FEBRUARY 8, 2009! Another thing to add to your prayer list. :)

And now to be really honest with you. As strange as this sounds to many of you who know that I value honestly, it is sometimes really hard for me to be entirely open about all that I am going through. This last week has been a really hard week for me. I am having trouble with my headaches again. It is beginning its fourth week with me, a very unwelcome companion. Normally at this point a bit of a depression begins to hit me, part of it could be sleep deprivation, I am not sure. It is hard to get up in the mornings, almost impossible to sleep, every moment reminding me what a blessing it is to have a clear mind, it carries me in endless circles that I honestly have no idea how to get out of. Really what I desire most that you pray for me about would be that I have the strength for each day, that I will not believe the lies that Satan constantly throws at me and that I will not give in to fear. It has been a while since I have had a headache for this long, other than three weeks in October it has been almost two years since I have headaches that lasted longer than three days. I think they are getting better but who knows since no one can seem to figure out why I get them in the first place.

Well, I left the cold cold weather of Texas to what I thought would HOT weather... instead I got rain, rain and more rain. And the funny thing is that they say we have not really entered the rainy season. Every night it rains, every morning it rains, most afternoons it stops rain for a brief period (but no sun), then it rains in the evening. Today, during the afternoon the sun began to come out! I was so excited! I decided that I had better wash my clothes and get the on the line to dry while there was a break in the weather. So after two hours of washing clothes I get it all finished and get back to work. I was not in the office for 20 minutes when it began to rain... and I mean rain! I stood up from my desk with a involuntary yell, causing everyone in the office to turn and look at me. I responded to their wide eyes with "MY CLOTHES ARE ON THE LINE", comprehension dawned and they all looked at me with sympathy. If the clothes get wet again, I would have to go through the entire washing process again but this time there is absolutely no sun to dry the damp clothes. So I grabbed my little purse size umbrella and dash to the door... not really sure why I bothered with the umbrella as the tiny size didn't stand a chance in the downpour! I practically ran the three blocks to my house, though at this point my clothes would have been soaked! But as I got through the second gate, none of my clothes were on the line! One of my friends had seen my clothes on the line and had taken them down right before it started to rain cats and dogs! What a blessing! Such is life in Ecuador.

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!