Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! I love you!

Agua de Vida

So I fly back tomorrow! after a full day in Quito. I thought I would be beyond excited (which of course I am), but to be honest, I have been on the verge of tears all day. Haha I just realized as I write this I am still on the verge of tears. Geez, and I am so not a cryer. I feel so connected to these people & this place. Today was my last service & the church I have going to for four weeks. It's called Agua de Vida, Water of Life. So far I have seen a wedding, sunday school, the children's program & today they accepted two new members of the church. I feel like a memberTo be completely honest, this experience for me started because I knew there was something missing. This was something I needed to go and find. I have considered this trip my retreat with God, a time to do work for Him and focus on him and other people more than myself. Although I realize (and have judged people for saying just this) that I should/need to learn to do this in my ‘real life’ and in ‘real life situations’ I felt too far into myself to try to figure a way out. In college you spend so much time thinking about yourself, frankly it is almost exhausting. All you think about is your tests, your friends, your classes, your time, your sleep, your job, your future. You spend your time planning for your next move, your next honor, your next party. No worries I am not coming back from this trip holier than thou or really very different at all honestly. I fully expect that I will face the usual high followed quickly by the standard low that follows. I am a realist at heart. The thing that this trip has done for me is that now I know there is more. I have met people who are more, they have encouraged me with the way they have chosen to live their lives. Chosen being the key word. In this opportunity God has not only given me examples through the people of Ecuador but also through the people from the states I have met along the way. Total this summer I have met over 120 Individuals from all over and each has left a different imprint on the way I see people and the way God sees me. Alright now the dork in me is going to show because the only quote I can think of that properly fits is from Lord of the Rings when Frodo gets back from everything “How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand there is no going back. There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep…that have taken hold” I don’t know the path that leads from here, but I am pretty excited about it.

Shoe-Shine boys, continued

Earlier I wrote about the men who during this week take the shoe-shine boys to KFC every afternoon. Just to update you, they are still doing it. And before/after a group goes and plays soccer with them in the park. Not only that, but the guy who started this also keeps up with the older boys. After dinner at the hotel, he goes by a restaurant in town that one of the boys now works at & takes him to the coffee tree (which is a downtown coffee & restaurant place). The boy is now 16 & is one of the boys that the guy from the group first started his ministry with. To watch him interact with these kids is so touching because he loves them so much. At first I thought it was great that he was doing this because these kids are so often ignored (this includes by me), but now I see how much this man is having to love these kids like God loves us. These kids still steal from him (camera, money, etc) & some are probably just using him for food, but he doesn't care because he loves them.

Btw I am turning into an old lady. Today is my free day & I woke up at 7 am on the dot. This means I will probably take a nap later day. Just get me a shawl & a cup of hot tea & I am set for life.

Cryfest 2010

So friday was my last day at VBS. I have worked with these specific women & children for two weeks. The kids are obviously adorable & will break your heart, but it's the women who work with these kids that truly inspire me. They welcomed me with open arms, treated me like another sister, & tolerated my terrible spanish skills. They work every day with these kids with smiles on their faces, but while still dealing with their lives outside of it. These women's stories touched my heart & inspired me. I thought I would make it out with out tears, but totally not possible. I don't think they would ever understand how they have changed me.

On a side note, the power in the hotel just went out for a total of about 30 seconds. Probably the most terrifying 30 seconds ever. Btw I live on the 8th floor of this place & I was having mental images of me climbing down all those stairs with my little keychain flashlight.

Oh & I got pizza hut for lunch. A-mazing.

Crepes & Waffles

Why are ecuadorians so smart? because they decided to combine two amazing items into one perfect restaurant, Crepes & Waffles. Today we went to dinner with the whole group for one of the little girl's birthdays. She just turned 8. I sat next to Dr. Roberto (my boss-boss) and his family. As we were eating nutella filled crepes & waffles, he asked me what I would miss most about Ecuador. This question is hard to pinpoint and it's kind of an important question to think about since I just realized I have less than a week left. crazzzyyyyyy. I know first will be the amazing people I have met here, second will be the scenery, seriously quito is sitting in a bowl in the middle of huge mountains and volcanoes. I must admit I will be so excited to see family & friends, but at the same time, I feel as if I am leaving them here too.

Inspiring Generosity

Every team that comes down here is generous, so don't get the wrong idea that I am singling one team out or anything. The new team just arrived! They are a combination of teams from Pensacola, Fort Walton, & Birmingham, a total of 40. As we came back from the sunday service, two of the guys from the group asked the bus to pull over at the KFC close to the hotel. My first thought of course was "Geez, can we not wait like 10 minutes for some KFC" (in my usual cynical voice). We pull up to the hotel and there are like 5 of the boys who shine shoes waiting outside our hotel-this never happens btw. Nanny (my boss) rolls her eyes and tells them to go to the KFC. Confused I asked her what was going on. She told me that every year this couple of guys from this specific team take all the local boys who shine shoes on the street to KFC when they are here. They do it literally everyday, without being told, without being asked, without the boys asking. The only reason the boys were waiting for them was because the guys had gone out earlier and already fed them once and told them to meet them there for dinner. What a cool thing. I have been so amazed at the generosity that comes from all these teams, whether just between themselves or with citizens of Quito or even with me.

Another story I heard last week from the medical team:

One of the women from the site when to the bank to get money for food for the kids for the month-total of $300. When she was on the bus, she was drugged and someone stole her money & purse (apparently they have a powder here that can be rubbed into the skin and can knock the victim out). The money is from Compassion & the government and not exactly retrievable. When the group leader from the medical team heard the story without even a blink of an eye, she reached into her purse and gave them money that they team had brought for an occasion they had not yet decided.

Every team, every person this entire trip has taught me something, about life, about me, about others, it is so inspiring.

Sorry no funny stories today, but as we speak I am watching the Illusionist in spanish, kinda funny, right?

Ok so this is not really a post, but my cord is not working that downloads pictures from my camera, so apologies! I will post pictures soon or at least when I get home!

Daniel

I am not sure if I have mentioned Daniel before, but I figured he should have his own entry. The construction is run by Edwin-he is the head engineer for SIFAT and he designs all of daycares SIFAT has. He has two employees-Julio & Daniel, Julio is the foreman, and Daniel basically the one that shows me what to do 90% of the time. The interesting thing about Daniel is that he is deaf. And he doesn’t know sign language at all. Ironically enough he is probably the easiest for everyone to understand. He and Edwin have created their own language together and we mimic that. Daniel is probably the best boss I have ever had. Everything that we do he shows us (normally more than twice), and he guilds us every step of the way. He never gets mad when we screw up (please imagine my eternal screw-ups at a construction site). He laughs, shakes his head, and helps me fix the problem. He not only does this for me, but for every other team and individual that is working with him. He never gets frustrated with the fact that he can’t communicate, and I have worked with him for 2 weeks and never seen him angry. He is inspiring to work for and such and interesting way for God to choose to reflect Christ to me.

A game & A wedding

¡Viva España! Spain won the world cup. Yes, being here has made me obsessed with it too. You just can't help it because literally every front page headline for the past two weeks has had to do with the world cup. Plus it is one of the few conversations I can have pretty easily in spanish.

Sunday was not just the World Cup. The group that came down Saturday night from Alex City brought a bride and groom with them. They decided when they got engaged that they wanted to actually get married at Mama Yoli's church (this was SIFAT's second completely finished daycare center and church in Quito). Most of the teams that come year round have spent a couple of summers building this and it is one of my favorite things when a returning group comes to see it. This time they not only can they brought a party. The bride and groom are probably some of the most chill people I have ever met. It was raining and everything when we arrived at the church and the bride just put on her tennis shoes and hiked up her dress. This was the first wedding this church has had & the excitement on the faces of the members of the community was so cute. They brought in fresh roses and hung ribbons everywhere. They even had a cake. This was a party for sure. It was really inspiring for me and I don't know if the bride & groom realized it or not, but it seemed as if this event sealed the church as finally being complete. It gave the community something to be proud of and celebrate. I even teared up a little. Not only did this couple get married on the first day they showed up at the construction site for the honeymoon. Now I will be honest, I don't know if I would ever be this chill on my wedding day, but it was so refreshing to see how happy they were with just being with each other.

New Beginnings, Sad Endings

Just said goodbye to my second team! I am not down with this whole getting to know a group really well and then having to say goodbye thing. The group from Texas was awesome and really touched my heart. In construction we finished 6 columns of concrete and a flight of stairs just with a group of 6 of them (4 girls and 2 guys). The cool thing about this group was because it was smaller it gave the community a chance to get involved and be a part of this project. A couple of guys showed up every day to help-I am talking mixing concrete help, not passing out water bottles help. They are just volunteers and members of the church we are building the daycare for, it is really inspiring to me how much they are willing and sweat for this church.

Oh and did I mention that they served guinea pig at lunch for the last day. no joke. I was going to be brave and try it, but it definitely came out with a face and I had to say no gracias. A guinea pig costs 30 bucks here, crazy right?

Today was my free day so i did some sightseeing. This really is a beautiful city. It is basically a bowl surrounded by mountains and volcanoes. I went to some churches, la basillica & la compañia. La basillica is basically straight out of a harry potter movie-i am in love. And I saw my first ecuadorian traffic accident (no worries I was not in it). A taxi opened its door and a motorbike hit the door-straight out of a Geico commercial.

Random fact: Have you ever wondered where all those sacagawea coins went too?

They are in Ecuador. Seriously every time I buy anything I get sacagawea coins back.

Second Verse, Same as the First:

First day of construction! I feel so hardcore (just kidding, as i was failing to move a wheelbarrow full of rocks, I could tell the workers were thinking, dumb girl, haha). I feel it already in my arms and back. The construction SIFAT is doing is on a Church/daycare in the middle of town(ish) It is a one room church with a kitchen and they want to turn it into a daycare also for kids ages whatever to stay while they are at work or after school. The first team put up like 17? columns last week on the second floor and this week we are going to finish them up. Just in case you were curious they mix the cement by hand (or shovel) It basically involves moving around wheelbarrows of rocks, dirt, dry cement and water until it is all one consistency. It makes you appreciate a cement truck.

The second team is great! much different than they first (two boys and 10 girls). They work really hard and it's looking to be a fun week. Later gator!

Bittersweet:

One week down! And 3 to go. This week has gone by so fast, and I can believe it’s already over. I just said goodbye to the first team and am waiting on the second team to arrive. They were the perfect first team, and I am pretty sad to see them go. I am not going to be able to handle this if I get attached to every team, it’s kind of ridiculous (seriously, i can't cry every week, a kid could get dehydrated you know?) Today we went on a zipline in the coolest area.

Fun fact of the day: What is the difference between a cloud forest and a rainforest?

A cloud forest is when there is a ton of vegetation, but the trees absorb all of their moisture from the clouds

Thought you would like that, but yeah we went ziplining in a cloud forest today. The people who run the zipline are all family and they live on a self-sustaining farm. It is pretty much my dream life style (except for the fact that I don't know how to farm, cook, or build anything). Seriously they live on $100 a month which mostly goes toward electricity and everything else they raise or cook there. Our lunch was pizza, and some heavenly chocolate goop that was all made and grown there. So cool. They are all about conservation and researching friendlier ways to farm. If interested you can get more info at:

www.tucanopy.com (seriously, very cool people)

Random Fun Facts about Ecuador:

One of their main exports is roses. They exported over 131,010,000 dollars worth of roses in 1997. Basically if you have roses in your house right now, they probably came from Ecuador.

Attention:

I know this is going to be a shock for everyone who is aware of my phobia of kids, but I am loving VBS. The team is split into two groups, and everyday some people go to VBS and some go to construction. Personally I like the construction part of missions because I love seeing the end result of what you have done, and let's be honest I am an accounting major and it is probably the only time ever that I will be able to do manual labor. So just imagine my face when told I would be working with VBS this week. BUT as usual God knows what's up and I am loving it. Basically I (attempt to) play soccer and do arts and crafts, AND my spanish is improving so much because of it-in a way it would not if I was doing construction.

Today was awesome btw-after work we went to the highest point in Quito (14,000) we were above the clouds-so cool-except for the no oxygen part because I was breathing like a 500 lb woman.

The Scoop

Ok, so today we went to the equator! imagine that equator, ecuador, get it?

But seriously today we had a debriefing about what exactly SIFAT is trying to accomplish in Ecuador. Really interesting. You always know that there are underdeveloped countries all over the world, but to be honest rarely do I think about the reasons for their underdevelopment. Obviously there are plenty of reasons like corruption of government and lack of resources so I will spare you the details about that. I just want to focus on the area that SIFAT has seen a way to aide people in Ecuador.

Ok so I am not as well-educated with this as one probably should be so don't quote me or anything, but apparently Ecuador used to have the highest inflation rates in South America (and that is saying something). To try and fix this problem, the government switched over to US dollars. Instead of fixing the problem, it caused unemployment to shoot through the roof. This has lead to a huge immigration of Ecuador's population to Spain (it is more than 30% of the Spanish population). The problem here (well besides the obvious ones) is that in this great immigration, children are being left behind. The parents go over there leaving the children abandoned and uncared for. These parents are not heartless, I know that is how I am painting this pictures, they are victims of poverty and desperation. NO JUDGING until you are in the same situation.

So here is where SIFAT steps in:

Seeing the need for care for these children, SIFAT has started building daycare centers all over the city (this is a young dream, but one that it is slowly but surely succeeding in). They have trained neighborhood mothers to give them the skills to educate these children. The Ecuadorian government gives SIFAT $10,000 a year to pay the mothers and feed the children. Keep in mind that equals out to about 100 a month for each woman and 80 cents to feed each child three meals for five days a week. With the different teams that SIFAT brings in they help construct these daycares/churches. This cuts down labor costs by about 30%.

Again SIFAT amazes me with their simple genius. so interesting.

I am thankful for:

Ipod earplugs to avoid screaming babies

Getting one of the last vegetable plates on the airplane

Having a hotel above and beyond my expectations

Having amazingly supportive parents whom I love (and are probably one of the few people reading my blog, thanks guys!)

Random Facts:

In Ecuador you can’t flush toilet paper-ironic right, and yes, yes I have already had to reach my hand down into that stupid bowel.

Altitude is 10,000 ft

I ran over a woman's toes at the airport . . . oops

God has given me such an amazing opportunity here to practice my spanish. Of course it is also an opportunity that is going to make me feel painfully awkward . . . because you know . . . that is the way He works. (why? because He likes to torture us to make us grow, no worries, He knows I overexaggerate). Seriously the people here are awesome, and I can't wait to learn/see more. Promise future posts will not be so boring and random, oh wait it's me so they probably will!

Thanks for being awesome!

Oh and feel free to email me at jlynnsimons@gmail.com

Yikes! I leave tomorrow! I have officially stuffed way too much stuff into my poor bag, downloaded new music, and made way too many packing lists. I will probably be forgetting my toothpaste and some kind of important cord, but I am sooooo excited for this trip! Hopefully I will have internet and will be updating on here with pictures and info stuff. I just wanted to thank everyone who has been so supportive of this trip and of me. I love you guys! ¡Hasta luego!

Hey Everyone! I leave for Quito, Ecuador June 26th through July 26th. I am working with SIFAT (Servants In Faith And Technology). They have partnered with Compassion International to construct a three-story building in Villaflora, outside of Quito, that will house a kitchen, cafeteria, & classrooms for over 400 children between the ages of 6 and 17. I can't wait! Hopefully I will be able to update everyone with this and let you know what's going on. Thank you for all your support and prayers!

If you are interested in learning more about SIFAT, you can visit their website at http://www.sifat.org