First Days in Ecuador

It took lots of deep breaths and 5-second smiles to try and hide my excitement as I stepped off the plane and onto Ecuador land. I had traveled all day by myself, and as much as I wanted to scream with joy, I figured all of the airport’s strangers would appreciate it if I kept it to myself. It was a long hour and a half of working my way through the lines in Migration and Customs, but once I finally made it past and walked through the doors, I saw my team was front and center, cheering to welcome me to my new home. Immediately, my new friends ran up to me and greeted me with sweet abrazos y besos (hugs and kisses), taking my luggage, and making sure I was comfortable. As soon as we walked through the airport doors and took a deep breath of fresh air, I felt this foreign place so quickly feel like my home.

We piled into the van and made our hour-long trek to my new home, talking, laughing and singing the whole ride. I was taking in every new sight, anticipating what my new home could possibly look like. Once we arrived to our new place, I saw how big and beautiful everything was. It was so much better than I imagined, and the first night of sleep on my top bunk provided the rest I so badly needed.

I’ve officially been here a week and somehow this foreign place feels so familiar to me. In no time at all, our team has bonded. It seems as though every person I’ve encountered has been intentional to get to know me. My heart feels at home with how their culture works, and I see so much of my personality and passions mixed in one place. This week has been packed with training, and there's still lots more to learn, but I'm excited to be learning it with this team.

(Exploring caves in boots and bathing suits)

(5am hike with the team)

For those of you who don’t yet know or understand what I’ll be doing this summer, let me share! My position this summer (for three months) will be as a short-term Team Host through an organization called Quito Quest. My pareja de trabajo (work partner) and I will team up with U.S. schools and churches to serve local churches here in Quito, Ecuador. Quito Quest has been working for years to make connections and build relationships with the community around them. Through those relationships, they have come to know the people and understand the needs of different areas. As a new summer team, we have spent this past week learning those needs ourselves, while building relationships with the people around us. With our new knowledge, we will be hosting different teams from the U.S. to help the areas in need. As a Team Host, I will be in charge of accommodating, navigating and discipling teams of 15-25 people for 10 days at a time. After the 10 days are up, our hope is that the teams would go back to their own communities transformed and share what they learned, creating a lasting effect. As for the churches in Ecuador, we will continue relationships with them, as an organization and individually. One of the biggest challenges in short-term missions is creating that lasting effect. Our team has been working hard to learn how to make a more impactful outcome for U.S. teams, as well as the communities we’re serving. Our goal for our teams is to leave with a mission’s experience that has forever changed their minds and hearts. We still have so much to learn, but we are excited for the summer ahead and can’t wait to see the ways God chooses to use and mold us all!

(Home sweet home)

(Backyard views)