My Leap of Faith: Remember that one time I went to live in Ecuador for a year?

So much to cover! About a month to be exact...here we go! :)

Arrived in Ecuador safe and sound. Despite having to run to to grab our connection in Miami, we made it! Our luggage on the other hand, did not. Luckily we have an awesome crew and everyone was really great about living out of our carry-ons for a bit :)

We were welcomed by the fabulous ´10-´11 volunteers and Megan, our In-Country Director. We took a silent van ride from the airport, just taking in our surroundings and the country we´ll be living in for the next yera. Driving through Guayaquil, a large, bustling, metropolitan city, held many similarities to home and yet was distinctly different. I couldn´t tell you how, it is just something you have to experience to know.
Starting our 2-week in-country orientation, we headed to our respective homes. Monte Sinai, the area I will be living in, is a more rural-feeling invasion community outside of Guayaquil and the newest Rostro site. Unlike Guayaquil, it bears little resemblance to the United States. We have gorgeous sunsets, hills/mountains and one main newly paved road amongst and around mostly cane houses with interspersed concrete homes. Born and raised in Idaho, I am loving feeling like I don´t live in a city.

Our puppies! Wookie and Clubber

Our orientation included getting introduced to neighbors, visiting potential worksites, learning the ´Ecua´ ways and picking the old volunteers´brains for practical ways to apply everything we learned in Boston. It was an encouraging time and a true blessing to witness the relationship and presence that were developed here in the last year as the old volunteers greeted neighbors, led music in mass and everyone knew their names. It fostered a hope and excitement for what this year will come to be for me and my communitymates. I am looking forward to learning everyone´s stories, getting cooking lessons, playing with and loving on the kids and just truly becoming a part of this neighborhood.

*Quick shout-out to Mt. Sinai - Aaron, Becky, Jeff, Jenn and Marita - for making our transition such a warm, loving and easy one. We were all completely aware you were in your own transition and you welcomed us into your lives and home with open arms. Thank you! I was hard to say goodbye...you guys are awesome :) I am so thankful we are here to create our own year and not replace you because it would be impossible. Miss you already!*

Another blessing in Mt. Sinai is the thriving parish, Bautismo de Jesús. There are 3 churches: Corpus Cristi, Santa Teresa and San Felipe. Between youth groups, music ministry, rosary, catechism and more, there are so many fun and life-giving ways to get involved. All 3 churches have a bit of their own identity but are connected through the parish. There is an Irish priest, Father John, who actually just returned from a trip home! I am looking forward to getting to know him and learning his visions for Mt. Sinaí. Being a non-Catholic, I am encountering a lot of new things in my structured faith experiences and I am excited to see what God does with that! I had just gotten the hang of Mass when we left Boston and now I´m trying to catch on in Spanish :)

So while Arbolito and AJS (the other two Rostro houses) have a lot of crossover between worksites due to proximity, Mt. Sinaí has our own set. There is a wonderful organization, Hogar de Cristo, which has 3 different positions for RdC vols: one in Pastoral Ministry (establishing women´s groups in the area), Proyecto Mision (community organizing) and Salud (healthcare). Additionally, a teaching postition at San Felipe - an elementary school a few blocks from our house - and two placements with the Salesians in afterschool prorgrams at Bastion Popular and Casa Don Bosco. Touring them, meeting with potential co-workers and getting a feel of the programs, I had a problem: I liked so many of them! From the atmosphere to the missions to the people, I felt like I couldn´t go wrong!! Some would say that is good, but we have a discernment process were we decided, as a community, where everyone will be for the year and I felt I wasn´t going to be able to contribute. I spent a lot of time in prayer and talking things through iwht the old volunteers who had so much wisdom to impart! I was torn between finding the right balance of following my heart and passion, getting a challenge and God´s plan for the year. After much tribulation, we all figured it our and - this may be a surprise to those who know me well - I am not working in a medical placement. (Insert shock here! Haha) I have felt God pressing on my heart since I was accepted to Rostro that this year was going to hold something big and different for me and what better way to do that than pull me out of the thing that has governed my life and especially my last four years? I could not deny the joy I felt in my heart (and huge smile on my face) when I was surrounded by the kids at Casa Don Bosco, so that´s where I´m working! (More on the awesome-ness this entails in my next post). My community fit so wonderfully in the other positions: Mandi teaching at San Felipe, Bernadette in Pastoral, Katie in Proyecto Mision, Patrick in Salud and Matt at Bastion working in a similar program to mine.

Orientation wrapped up with us visiting Las Playas (the beach!) to the old vols a chance to say goodbyes and then cleaning each others´ houses so that the first time we came home it would be clean and beautiful and we could focus on settling in. It is a very cool process to be dirty and tired, feeling gross, cleaning a house that isn´t yours but knowing someone is doing the same thing for you. Some photos at the end of our awesome house!

The short walk to the beach!

It is starting to feel like home as we get in the swing of things. Keep us in your prayers, you are all in ours!

Just a little something to share that was really reassuring to me as I thought about my purpose here, trying to be the Face of Christ to others and to see His Face in them, and how daunting it is, especially with the language barrier:
¨When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn´t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God´s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness – timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.¨ - Paul (1 Corinthians 2:1-4, NLT)

Fe, Esperanza y Amor <3
Marisol

Oh! P.S. I am going by Marisol here. It is a lot easier for the Ecuadorians to understand and pretty much sounds just like Madison spoken with a Spanish accent anyway! (Mahr-ee-sole vs. Mahd-ee-sohn) I even have some people who call me Mari like Maddie :)