Carnival...Cuenca-Style

While Travis and Alicia were in Brazil, all I heard about Carnival was that it was a week long party with an equally long parade of the world's most elaborate floats and costumes.  I was pretty excited that the timing of this short term experience coincided with Ecuador's Carnival.  What a cool cultural experience it would be to take in such an amazing celebration.  Upon our arrival here, we learned that Carnival officially lasted a weekend, but that the festivities started a couple weeks before.  What might those festivities be?  Spraying strangers with water guns, tossing water balloons from the back seat of your car or the box of your pick-up truck, dumping buckets of water on unsuspecting pedestrians from your second story window, throwing your friends in the river, getting people wet and then tossing corn starch on them, and spraying people with "carioca"- a spray foam with a fresh flowery scent.  Yep, Carnival in these parts is a little different from Carnival in Brazil.  Apparently some cities in Ecuador have parades, but those we talked to here were either unaware of the parade or certain that one didn't exist.

We were told that in the past Carnival was a time when communities came together to enjoy each others' company and share meals.  One Ecuadorian told us that it was not uncommon to eat at a different neighbor's house every meal, every day.  The custom was that you would invite your neighbors (from either side of your house and across the street) over for a meal that you prepared.  At that meal, one of the neighbor families would invite everyone over to their house for the next meal.  And so on.   Now-a-days, Carnival has become more about spending time with family.  People take the weekend off, head back to their home towns, and spend time eating, drinking, and getting other people wet! 

It is tradition in the Church of Christ here to host a youth event on the Saturday of Carnival.  Early in the week, Travis and I were asked to come up with 4 hours of organized water games for the youth.  Going back to my days at Bible camp, I came up with a couple good ones and then filled in the gaps with games I found on the internet.  As the youth arrived that Saturday morning, they were greeted with a bucket of water.  The students were wet from the moment they set foot on the property.  I tried my best to stay out of the line of fire but eventually made a fatal choice to walk across the church grounds to where lunch was being barbequed.  A family of two sisters and one brother who attend English classes, chased me down like heat-seeking missiles.  I was wet for the rest of the day. 

When lunch time arrived, the water valve for the whole place was actually shut off!  Extreme measures needed to be taken in order to get the youth to sit down and eat.  Who would have thought?  The organized games went well, but at the end of the day, both Travis and I commented, "We didn't actually need them.  These kids would have been content with a six-hour water fight!"  I noticed two differences in how the youth from the church interacted compared to how the Canadian youth that I have worked with interact: 1. Age didn't matter -- from 13 to 30 everyone was 'cool;' and, 2. Complaining wasn't an option -- I never heard, "This is boring," or "I don't want to play."  If they didn't want to play, it only took a little convincing from their friends and they were smiling and laughing with the rest of them.

So what can I take home from this experience?  Simple fun and generosity build community.  I remember neighborhood barbeques when I was growing up.  What has happened to them?  Community happened outside of official church events.  If we as Christians claim to be about loving our neighbors, maybe we need to take a page from the Carnival book and apply it to our lives.  Let's ditch the independent, individualistic Western ways and have a little fun sometimes.  Who knows, maybe friendships will develop that lead to others coming to Christ!

A "Chance" Meeting

Some might call it chance.  Others might call it coincidence.  I call it Divine Intervention.  It may seem like a trite, insignificant moment in time to some people, but the casual acquaintance that I made with a university music professor in a corner store last night was what I believe to be a meeting initiated by hand of our Heavenly Father. 

Realizing that Lena was out of diapers, I headed out on a heroic mission to save her bed sheets from the inevitable soaking that comes during a relaxed night of rest.  As part of the mission, I was also given a list of other necessities to purchase.  With list in hand, I walked the ten minutes to mall only to arrive just as the grocery store was closing.  Apparently on holidays they close an hour early.  Undeterred, I tried to convince the armed security guard and the manager at the door to let me rush in a get a package of diapers.  My best sob story in broken Spanish was not convincing enough, so I headed home a little disappointed.

About a block from the mall, a light bulb flashed over my head! Alicia said that some corner stores cell diapers.  I made a quick b-line to the corner store.  I was greeted by a nice elderly couple who laughed when I tried to communicate my need for diapers.  After a couple minutes, I was ready to begin another search for a corner store with diapers.  Fortunately, a young man entered and was quick to offer assistance. His translation efforts were well received and the kind store owner produced the needed diapers.  She open the packaged and pulled out five.  Another cultural experience that would never happen in Canada!  I paid the required $2 and was on my way triumphant. 

Over the course of that short interaction, I discovered that the young man was actually a music professor at the university.  He had learned English because his classical piano teacher was from Canada.  I asked him if he was interested in improving his conversation skills as my brother-in-law works at a foundation that offers free English classes twice a week.  He was ecstatic.  He told me that he was planning to take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) test so that he could further his education in the United States.  When I mentioned that my wife was high school music teacher with a vocal specialty, he suggested that she could teacher his daughter voice lessons.  I told him that we were only here for another two weeks, but his daughter could come to English lessons.  This sealed the deal.  He told me that he was going to call Travis on Wednesday and he and his daughter would be there.

This 'chance' meeting really helped me discover that being able to use the skills that I have acquired to help people free of charge is an amazing way to show the love of God.  The people who come to English conversation evenings are aware that we are Christians and as relationships get built we pray that they we see the difference in us and desire the freedom and hope that we have in Christ.  May God place 'chance' encounters in your day today!

Simply Serving Satisfies the Soul!

I love the feeling I get when I help others.  There is something about helping out that enlivens the spirit, that fills the lungs with fresh air, that relieves the mind of burdens, and is simply satisfying to the soul.  How long has it been since you've experienced similar sensations?

These feelings were spurred on by yesterday's fence building experience.  Travis, Len, and I returned to Fabian and Marie's house in response to their invitation to see the finished shower that we recommended on our last visit.  By using monies set aside in their work fund, Travis was able to help them purchase both the supplies and the manpower to have their shower installed.  The plumber/electrician did an amazing job.  Unfortunately, the photographer (yours truly) forgot to snap a photo. 

Before Marie invited us in for lunch, Len, Travis, and I shored up the pallet fence they have in place for their chickens.  On our last visit, the chicks were escaping and the fence was barely standing.  For the cost of our $.35 bus tickets and a pound of nails ($1), we were able to stabilize the fence and repair some of the holes. Len even fabricated a makeshift gate out of random pieces of wood!  Seeing the finished product made my heart smile as fixing up the fence was something I wanted to do for them since out last visit.  Fabian's hands work well for shoe-shining, but are not strong enough to hold a hammer.  I can swing a hammer just fine (it is hitting the nail that sometimes causes frustration :), so why not give an hour of my time to improve their living situation? 

Maria made us a home-cooked meal of cauliflower soup, cooked beans with onions and cilantro, and rice.  She scolded us when we tried to excuse ourselves before eating it.  We had to allow her to say thank you in her way, even if it meant eating food that is sometimes scarce for the family.  She told us when we were done, "If you don't eat, you don't leave!"  We all had a good laugh. 

May God continue to open our eyes to simple opportunities to serve and may we simply take them as we learn to love our neighbors as ourselves!

The After Thoughts of a Whisper of a Prayer

Feeling drained by not sleeping and giving a lot of energy to helping out with English class, I did not want to go out for coffee with Jonathan.  After spending the better part of an hour talking to Leah about how much I was missing life in Canada, I got myself ready to meet Jonathan at Casa del Pollo--a five minute walk from our apartment.  When I got to the restaurant, there was not even any wait staff to be seen.  As I sat on the concrete half-wall outside the patio, I said a quick, half-hearted prayer, "Lord, I don't have the energy to do this right now and I wouldn't be surprised if the little coffee time ended poorly.  I just don't feel like I can invest much of anything."

Jonathan and Sandra, both 27 years old, have been married for 2 years.  Jonathan is a chef at a restaurant in city center and Sandra isn't working at the moment.  I saw the two of them walking up the street about 5 minutes after I had whispered my faint prayer.  I motioned that we go sit in the restaurant and they both said no.  Jonathan told me that we could have coffee at his house which was just behind the restaurant.  How could I refuse?


We turned the corner, passed a little store front and made a right down the alley.  After passing two barking dogs (a sight so common I would have barely noticed them if Jonathan hadn't told me their names!), they both pointed to a quaint little brick house no more than twenty feet away.  They invited me in and offered me a candy from a pretty cool candy jar on their coffee table.  Their two bedroom house was well furnished and well kept, considering the budget they are on.  Jonathan makes approximately $250 a month and they pay $130 a month rent!  We conversed as best we could for about an hour and forty-five minutes.  We covered everything from their personal backgrounds to the kind of music they like to the breakfast menu that Jonathan prepares at work.  They are both quite funny, so we had a great time laughing at our language difficulties and joking with each other.  It was like a really bad, bi-lingual game of charades!

The charades got serious when I asked what Sandra was up to during the week.  She proceeded to tell me that her 62 year old father was recently diagnosed with Cancer (from what I could tell, it was some kind of abdominal cancer that was pretty serious).  She said that she had spent the previous two days helping out at her mother' house five blocks away because her father had chemo treatments on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We talked a bit about the effect that it had on her family and then moved to brighter. more cheerful topics.  I was able to communicate to both of them that I will be praying for him (don't know his name, but please join me).  They were quite appreciative.  I later learned that Jonathan is nominally Catholic and I'm not sure what Sandra's background is.

Nearing the end of of time at their house, Sandra stepped out to put some money on her cell phone.  When she returned, we sat a the table and had a quick cup of coffee and some crackers.  Supper?  Ya, this was likely all they could afford and their hospitality was a humbling thing.  I used Sandra's phone to call Alicia to let Leah know I was going to English class with them and we headed out to catch the bus.  On the bus we continued our humorous game of get-to-know-you.  As the conversation played out, I noticed the young mother in the seat across from us laughing along with us.  We included her in our conversation, handed her a piece of paper about English class, and Jonathan and Sandra explained it to her.  When the bus reached the stop in front of the Bible Institute, this young mother and her six year old son hopped off the bus after us.  Apparently, a free English class was a good idea and mom thought she'd try it out.  As she joined the class, the laughter continued.  She told me that it was only her and her son--no father or other children. 

These are the people that the English classes exist for--the Jonathan and Sandra's who are trying to get their feet under them and the Elizabeth's and Brian's who are just scraping by.  If learning English can help them down the road, than count me in!  Travis has said that he is not teaching English to be the best teacher out there.  He is doing it to build relationships and share the love of Christ.  Teaching English is simply the tool...

Speaking of tools, we had another new student last Thursday night--a migrant laborer named Louis.  We met Louis after Travis told the taxi driver to stop early one day.   We had just passed the mass of migrant workers waiting at the outdoor market to see if anyone would pick them up for a day's work.  Len (Travis' dad and mom are visiting now) spotted of one of them reading a "How-to-Speak-English" textbook.  We walked over to the man and Travis had a short conversation with him.  While he was talking, half a dozen other men came over to see what was going on.  One of them was Louis.  He was handing out handshakes and quite humorously exclaiming, "Hey man, how are you? (with a Spanish accent of course).  Never did I expect to see him at English.  And then the door bell rang.  There was Louis.  "Hey man, how are you?"  I had the privilege of helping out in class that night.  Boy was he eager to learn.  Turns out, he is from Azogues and comes into Cuenca looking for work.  I told him that I'll be in Azogues on the 19th and he was quite surprised.  If he returns on Wednesday, I'll invite him to come to the little space that the church rents and participate in a worship service with us.  With a little prayer...even a half-hearted, faint whisper of a prayer, maybe the Holy Spirit will prompt him to show up!!!

The lesson this time (one of many I'm sure): God is greater than we will likely ever know and desires to use us to impact lives for eternity.  May he use you in ways you least expect!

A Diamond in the Rough!

Yesterday I got another glimpse into the life of  cross-cultural missionary.  I now can see why nailing down a job description is next to impossible: the act of loving others has as many different angles as a brilliantly cut diamond.

On Sunday, Travis was approached by a gentleman in the church to see if he could help his family install a shower.  Having never been to their house, all he could go on were the descriptions he was given.  He was told that the family was given the land and the house by a priest in the area.  He was also told that the shower should only cost about $50 for the parts and that the installation shouldn't be that difficult.  He arranged to meet the husband and wife in the city center on Tuesday morning and invited me and his father to join him in assessing the situation.

Taxi Truck Ecuadorian-style

What a humbling experience!  We met the husband and wife at his place of employment: his shoe shining stand in front of a restaurant.  His wife took us, by bus, out to their home.  We had to transfer from the city bus to an inter-city bus that took us out the highway towards Azogues.  After close to an hour of travel we stepped off the bus and into a taxi truck.  It was a good thing we got into the truck as we found out later that it takes the family about 20 minutes to climb the steep, winding dirt road.   When we came to a stop, the three of us climbed out of the box and were quite surprised to not have to walk more than ten feet to their home.

Cistern for drinking H20 - $5/month to fill

Laundry station

Relationships are definitely more important than tasks in this culture.  Maria was happy to show us around, explaining their water situation, describing the plants in her garden, showing us their 2 roosters and 2 hens, letting us in on how they raise the 10 chicks they have, and giving us a bit of the history of their home.  We had a look at the washroom situation (which was surprisingly newer than some I've seen over the past 5 weeks!).  She told us they would like to build a shower room on the side of the washroom.  She said that she calculated it to be about $300 worth of work.  We talked a little longer about what it would take to build the little addition and then that conversation drifted onto other topics.  She welcomed us into her three room house, asked us if we'd eaten and offered to prepare a snack for us.  Knowing that the family lives on very little we declined.  It was touching to see how, even though their furniture was aging, they really took care of their household.

The washroom and the pallet-fence for the chicks

After about 20 minutes, conversation again turned to the shower situation.  This time we were brainstorming how things might be done at less cost and by an earlier date.  We moved out to the washroom once again and began to envision how it would look if the shower were in the same room as the toilet.  With all three of us having seen the shower/toilet shared washroom before, we managed to convince her that this was a better option.  Right in the midst of our discussion, I noticed that the kitten was chasing four of the chicks that had escaped from their roughly fenced in area.  This turned my attention to how the fence might be reinforced to keep the chicks in.  These little birdies mean a to a family that works hard to make a living.  By raising them themselves, they save a lot of money by not having to purchase them from the store like we do ($.50/chick compared to $8-10/roasted chicken).

When our time came to a close, Maria had a list of items that she was going to price out and we had roughly set a date to meet again.  As we walked the steep, road down to the highway I snapped the picture above.  What a contrast between rich and poor--and only a hillside apart!  One might say that, on this little day trip, I discovered a diamond in the rough of sorts.  All of the extravagant haciendas in the world can't compared to the beauty of a family living on what the Lord has given them.  These are the kind of experiences that I pray we all have someday as I am certain that God uses them to help us see the world through his eyes.  If you haven't had the privilege of sharing time and conversation with someone less fortunate then yourself, step out of your comfort zone and watch what the love of God can do!

Mysterious Joy

"How are you so happy all the time?" asked one of the youth at the youth event yesterday.  She'd only just met me a couple of hours before she mustered up the courage to compose the question in English.  Apparently she saw something different in me.
"Honestly, I'm not happy all the time.  Yesterday I was sad.  What you see in me today is the joy of the Lord,"  I replied.  Did I just say that?  I usually have a tinge of doubt when I hear people say, "It's the joy of the Lord," or "She's so full of the joy of the Lord."  Sure... 
"Why were you sad?" she wanted to know.
Knowing she wouldn't understand the term culture shock, I simply said, "I miss Canada."
The conversation carried on with both Travis and I trying to encourage her to find a Christian girlfriend to confide in.  It was apparent that she really needed a friend she could trust.

I share this little snip-it of the youth event to say that I was surprised to hear myself recognize that Joy of Lord at work in me.  Two days prior, I was wrestling with feelings of frustration with how this culture operates; with desires to be back in Regina where I could share my life with others without a translator; with longings to have a little space to be alone with my wife and daughter (we are blessed to live next door to Travis and Alicia and have Len and Carol visiting, but sometimes I crave more independence than we have right now); and with the unfamiliar urge to have a rifle to play target practice with the neighborhood canines!--sorry all you dog-lovers,they are not this man's best friends at the moment.

The youth event, a photo scavenger hunt, was like an oasis in the midst of the dry disorientation that comes with culture shock.  I found myself soaking in the energy that youth exuded in all the games.  I loved their laughter and embraced their enthusiasm.  Over the course of the afternoon, it was like I had switched over to the reserve tank and forgot that the main tank was bone dry.  Simple put, I had so much fun.  And this is what the young lady unknowingly summarized as me being "happy all the time."  I was surprised by the joy that I received from seeing a youth event that I had planned workout so well.  I was even more surprised that I acknowledged it as joy from above and not simply the energy of the moment created by all the efforts of everyone involved in making this event a success.  This mysterious Joy showed up and gave me the strength to make it through the day!

To add a little icing on the cake, God capped off my afternoon with a touching sight that reminded me of how He loves His children.  Nearing the end of my walk home I saw a family on the grassy slope beside the river.  The father had three balloons in his hand: one pink, one purple, one blue.  He was kneeling side his wife and his two children were joyfully looking into two boxes that we in front of them.  As I looked closer the boxes were green shoe boxes with red lids.  A smile came to my face.  I was getting to witness  the joy of children opening shoe boxes sent as part of Samaritan Purse's Operation Christmas Child.  I wanted to take a picture of them, but I didn't want to intrude.   I walked past, giving thanks to God.  When I got the bridge, roughly a hundred meters away, I turned back to see if I could take a picture from a distance.  To my dismay the old camera wouldn't zoom that far.  As I looked up from the camera I saw to other families starting down the hill and the children were holding green and red boxes!  I took a few pictures of the river below and waited to get a good shot of one of the families.  One of the boys ran ahead and as he approached I asked him for a picture.

 I don't know much about Samaritan's Purse.  In fact, Operation Christmas Child is their only program that I've encountered.  But I do know, by seeing the joy these packages brought these children, God works through them.  I've never put much thought into how the joy of Lord presents itself day to day in the lives of His children.  Yesterday's experiences have certainly sparked my curiosity.  And I pray that God would give us all glimpses of, if not full on, experiences of His mysterious joy in the days to come!

Holistic Development on a Personal Level

This one goes out to all my health conscious, working out, running, physical training friends...and everyone else interested in my random thoughts :)

Being that I've been reading about holistic child development, I thought that I should consider my own development in a holistic way.  I've always enjoyed physical exercise but just never been able to make it a consistent part of my life.  Travis, my brother-in-law, does his best to run three times a week.  I figured that I used to run, so maybe I need to join him and try to become a healthier person.  He runs pretty much uphill for the first 20 minutes and then downhill for about ten and then finishes his run with a little uphill stretch and a three or four block cool down.  Thinking I was up for the challenge, I changed into my running gear, plugged in my earbuds and followed close behind. 

Running at 8500 ft.  is a little bit different than running on Regina's prairie flatland roads where the biggest hill you encounter is a pothole!  Oh did I mention that the last 6 or 7 minutes of the 20 minute up hill is a staircase?  Ya, I counted 555 steps (give or take a few) as I was definitely not running up them.  What I was doing was more like the slow climb of a crippled over elderly man combined with the winded wheezing of punctured tire!  After the 5 km 'run' was finished (in 42 minutes)  I felt quite a sense of accomplishment (after I caught my breath).  I told Travis that I started the run in Chariots of Fire mode and finished in Eye of the Tiger victory!  It felt good.

So why do I share this little victory?  Because little victories can be built on.  I have been running with him twice since that run a couple weeks ago.  I even went for a run on my own a couple days ago.  I elected for the much more picturesque run along the river though.  I'm not so much a sucker for punishment when I don't have positive peer pressure (encouragement right?) to motivate me.  The 35-minute run at this altitude was still enough to get the heart rate up and make me feel as though I'd run a marathon.  And that sense of accomplishment makes me want to go again.  Maybe later today?

If you struggle to be in the Word, to spend time in prayer, to eat healthy, to develop close relationships, to exercise, build on the little victories this week and ask God to continue to mold and shape you into the image of His Son.