Overview in Ecuador

Hey friends, I’m here with a little summary from month four on the field. This month we have had the joy of staying in Ecuador, which has been an amazing, yet super different month. This is our last month in South America, before we head to South Africa, this is also our last month before we switch up teams. With that being said, we are soaking up all of the moment, but for now lets just talk about the basics! 

Where are we staying this month? 

This month we are staying in the city of Quito, which is the capital here in Ecuador. We are near the outside of the city, which has made our stay feel very nice & homie. We also have an actual house this month, which is something I didn’t realized I was missing so much. For the first time in the past four months I have a cozy bed, I can come to the sofa to type up a blog, & I can get a cup of tea from the kitchen & then get cozy for my bible time. The Lord was really kind to give us a place to simply come & be this month. 

What does ministry look like in Ecuador?

This month my team & I have been partnering with CRU. CRU is an organization that focuses mainly on college campus ministry, but also branches our in to teacher & high school evangelism as well. We have been partnering with them in both high school ministry & college evangelism. Our first & third weeks here in Ecuador we have spent at an International school called ISM, working alongside teachers. Each person on my team has partnered up with an English teacher & assisted in the classroom. We thought our ministry was going to be more of the student side of things, but it has been much more teaching & grading. This has been really beautiful to come alongside a teacher & just be able to encourage them. I will tell you more about my experience here in another blog, but I have had the best time! 

The week in between those two we spent evangelizing at local college campus here in & around Quito. CRU has five graduates from the United States that are here in Ecuador starting campus ministry programs. Our goal in our week with them was to go from camp to campus & evangelize to the students. This was something I was a bit nervous about at first, but as we dove in, we just got to make friends wit people, which naturally brought up the gospel. 

What have our meals been like here in Ecuador?

Ecuadorians have been very passionate about their food here, however we get so many recommendations tossed our way I couldn’t tell you if we have tried many local foods. Our amazing host Fabi has done most of our cooking for us, which has been incredible. We have eaten lots of corn & rice here, more cheese than any other country, & overall we have eaten far healthier here than other place, I have been so grateful to have a variety of fruits & veggies throughout the week! Fabi also makes us tea, coffee or hot chocolate almost every morning which has been a huge treat. No, we haven’t eaten guanine pig, or any bugs here this month, though we have been asked to try it many times…

How has Ecuador been different from the other countries we have been to this far? 

Ecuador has been one of our most stunning locations for sure. From the mountains, to the jungles, there is always something to explore here. Also, the people here are the most kind, we have made a friend everywhere we have gone. I also have noticed a drastic increase in the amount of English speakers in Ecuador. We obviously haven’t traveled within Ecuador very much, but in our area almost everywhere you go, someone speaks English which makes it very easy to get around! 

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Overall, I have loved our time here in Ecuador. It has felt very comfortable, which makes me ready for a little change, but has also been incredibly sweet for a month. Thank you all for keeping up to date on my journey, I can’t believe its been four months! There is so much more ahead, so stay tuned! 

Love you lots, 

                    KEN