Ecuador- Serving Together (Field day 3)

We were in the full of swing of things where breakfast came earlier each morning, and the days grew longer, but I never once heard the kids complain. Breakfast was always such a blessing and a wonderful way to begin the day.

We returned to the first community to help host a wellness clinic alongside the local church and helped get everything set up.

The clinic included stations for checking vital signs, activities for children, and a spiritual station where our ministry groups had the opportunity to share the gospel with the help of our translators.

One of my favorite conversations that day was with a woman named Ruth. As we talked, I shared the biblical story of Ruth, which she had never heard before. Her face lit up with joy as she told me she had never really liked her name until that moment. Hearing the story completely changed how she viewed it.
Her husband, Gary, was with her, and we joked as he had been named after the character from SpongeBob. I had to admit I did not have quite the same encouraging story for the origin of his name!

It was also so much fun watching Zoe throughout the day. She especially loved spending time with the children and seemed completely in her element. 

Even after we had finished cleaning up the clinic, she stayed behind playing with a few of the kids. Watching her love and serve so naturally filled this momma's heart.

One of the greatest blessings came at the end of the clinic when we learned that we had served more than one hundred people and we prayed over them. The pastor shared how meaningful the day had been for both the church and the community. He was especially encouraged to see so many young people willing to give up part of their summer to serve on a mission trip. 

We had a group photo of all of us who worked the clinic that day.

 

The pastor prayed over our team, and the presence of the Holy Spirit felt incredibly tangible. In return, our group gathered around the church members and prayed over them as well. It was a powerful reminder that encouragement flows both ways.

On our way back to the guest house, we stopped at a grocery store. One of the first things we noticed was the enormous escalator leading directly into the store. 

Everyone enjoyed browsing for snacks and chocolate, while I naturally wandered over to check out the coffee aisle. 

Shiloh picked out a dragon fruit to try, which made for a fun snack later.

Back at the guest house, we gathered for our daily training, complete with plenty of hand motions to help us remember what we were learning.

Dinner that night was pizza, and I had to snap a picture of the "veggie" pizza because it included corn, which definitely looked a little different than what we are used to.

After another encouraging debrief, we finally had a little downtime before heading to bed. As full and tiring as these days were becoming, I was so greateful to be a part of what the Lord was doing.  While we had come to Ecuador hoping to be a blessing to others, the Lord was faithfully shaping our own hearts along the way.