Hey! It’s been a while, but I decided to write another blog to sum up the last half of my semester in Ecuador.
This last half was definitely the hardest, but so many amazing things came out of it!
Our halfway point started with a week to debrief and have fun on the beach. Then we were robbed in the middle of the night. You can read my blog it’s okay to not be okay to get more details on that, but just know we are all okay and God’s goodness was so much greater than those hard parts!
Next up we got to go to a new ministry!! My team spent five days at Dunamis and while it was the shortest part of the whole experience, it was definitely the most impactful! Dunamis is a safe home for girls that have been rescued from human trafficking. Ministry looked like working long hard days in the green house taking care of the tomato plants, helping out in the kitchen, watching the babies, doing worship and Bible study with the girls, and also lots of dance parties! We weren’t even supposed to end up going here, but God worked it out for us and WOW am I honored to have seen the amazing work God is doing through this ministry. Not only did we get to serve, but God was speaking to us in so many ways.
I got celebrate my golden birthday (I turned 20 on the 20th) with my amazing team and the sweet people from Dunamis!!
Straight from Dunamis, we went to our next ministry El Refugio. At El Refugio they use outdoor adventure to bring people closer to God. It was some of the hardest physical labor I have ever done, but it was really awesome to know that we got to help create a space that many people will experience God in. Our work days looked like scrapping roof tiles clean, building a gazebo, landscaping and making trails all the way up the mountain.
Then the hardest part–the goodbyes 🙁
It just got harder and harder each place we had to leave. Coming back to the States was hard, I didn’t want to leave my new home–my new family. Trying to figure out how I fit in back at home is hard. Knowing that semester is over makes me sad.
It was hard, it is hard, but it is still so good. God’s got me right where He wants me and as I am in this next season of life I will continue to choose joy and follow Jesus!
