Back from Ecuador!

So, I actually got back on Monday. I've just been either too busy/tired/lazy to post. ;)

ECUADOR WAS AMAZING, to say the least.

I think through the trip God really proved to me that He is there, with me, always.

It wasn't so much the ministering as it was the evenings the group spent together.

Every evening all the 8 teams (400 of us) would gather back together for worship, a time of sharing personal experiences from the day, as well as a message. Every single message related to something I have been thinking about in the past couple months.

I made some incredible friendships in the two weeks I was gone. Some I think even deeper than those that I have spent months and many hours building up at home. I miss my galfriends quite a bit!

One thing I learned was that the connection of Christ is a very powerful and overwhelming foundation for any friendship. I never knew any of these people before, and I may never know if I'll see any of them again (besides Heaven) yet they were some of the most powerful and heart stirring friendships. It was simply the fellowship of two believers that drew us so close together so quickly.

I was able to pour out my heart to others and vise versa simply because we shared the love of Christ. We skipped past the more shallow beginning parts of a friendship rapidly and instantly began sharing our hearts, even the parts we so desperately wanted to hide. Nothing compares to the love of Christ shared between two believers. It's amazing!

All in all, Ecuador was amazing. The children there are so sweet, adorable and far more kind than those in the U.S. (it's true)! I believe the count for those who declared salvation was around 500-600 Ecuadorians. That's not a for sure number, of course, but I do know many were saved... may God's name be glorified!

Some things that happened to me while I was there:

-Got "I" surgery

-Got a blood tranfusion

-Ate PBJ everyday for lunch  (that totals around 20 pbj sandwiches in a week... I think I'm set for life)!

-Got to barter at a market

-I got married!

-I got to stand on the Northern & Southern Hemispheres of the Earth! (The Equator for you simpletons).

-I got to meet Britt Nicole (woop woop!)

And many other wonderful things. :D

I really want to blog about other things though and so I will be occasionally posting about the things I listed above to give more detail rather than making an uber long post about all of it at once. This way I can do my normal blogging and mix in my Ecuador experience. :D

Until my next post, enjoy some pics!

ECUADOR

My Miami Roomies :)
Me, Emily, Carolyn, Bailey, Caroline, Crystal
In Quito I had Bailey and Crystal.

YEAH, TEAM 2 REPRESENT!

Crazy hair night :D

All of the 'Cats' :D We would do our thumbs up like cat paws.. it was so silly looking. :)

Carolyn and I on 4th of July :D

A little sweetie she was :)

Right after the 'King Cat' slaps 'Jesus'

Pretty much the coolest people ever... I love these girls! :D

Team 2 at the Equator... With the boys being silly... ;) I miss them all so much!

My Last Post for Now

Hey guys!

So I arrived in Quito, Ecuador last night around 6:30pm (CST). It is so pretty here! It's kind of strange though, sometimes it feels as if I am just in another city, not an entire other country. It's definitely an interesting place, and people are different. The Ecuadorians sure are sweet though!

A lot of flights got messed up, sadly, so a lot of people aren't even here yet, and won't be arriving for another few hours at least. But God has His way and His reasons!

Since so much of our team was missing, we couldn't do the drama today. Instead we went to a park, played with the children, talked to people, and some really cool stuff happened. One woman was lead to Christ, and fortunately, one of our team mates had a bunch of NT's with her, so she gave the woman one. After that she was reading it, and even showing it to others! It was so wonderful!
The children here are so adorable and sweet. It's definitely difficult some times though, considering I know next to nothing in Spanish. But it is fun, and a learning experience all around!

I can't believe my first week is almost already gone! It's been so crazy and amazing all at the same time.
God is definitely at work though!

Sadly, I will no longer be blogging after this, since internet here is $4 for a 30 minute session. All in all, it's not that expensive and I technically could pay, but I would rather not, and save my money for more important things. I will miss sharing, perhaps near the end of the trip I will get on once more, seeing what money I still have left.

Please keep me, our team, the people of Ecuador, and the trip in general in your prayers. We need it so greatly!

Since I will no longer be blogging, I will leave it up to http://www.neverthesameec.com/ to keep you updated of what we're doing, my team, etc. So check it out, go to Team 2, and you can keep up with us there. :)

Lots of love from Ecuador <3

Ecuador Update!

Hey guys, it's me! :D

WOW, the past two days have been INTENSE. Yesterday we had a total of eight hours of drama training. I was up from 6am until at least 12am. WOOO. BUT IT HAS BEEN SOOOO AMAZING.

On my team there is a total of nine 'Cats', which as I said in my previous post is a gang (of demons) who beat up Jesus, bring Him to the cross, and nail Him there. However, the 'King Cat' does repent and comes to know Jesus in the end, unfortunately the rest of us stay evil. :(
Anyway, the costumes, training and everything else have been really tiring. Sometimes I can see and feel the impatience. Nevertheless, we have nearly perfected (or I'd like to think so) the whole drama. The drama is approx. 20ish minutes, at first it seemed really long, but once we begin now, it goes so fast!

A funny part from yesterday:
There was a session about modesty for girls, so there was a fashion show of bad outfits/good outfits. For the bad outfits, guys came out dressed in girls clothing and it was absolutely hilarious... One guy was wearing this super super short dress and bent over.... that's when I let out a shriek and nearly went blind. Pics will come later! :D

I really am beginning to truly enjoy all my team mates and the fun we're having! We have had some really, really great worship time! I cannot wait until we get to Ecuador!

On a slightly more serious note, pride is something I struggle with. I think we all do to some extent, some worse than others of course. In the past month or so though, I've really felt God tugging at that spot in my heart, and consistently reminding me that He is above all things, the most important, and my King, not me. I think it's kind of ironic since my whole blog thing is "Beautifully selfless" and being humble and meek in spirit. I have really felt that tug even more now, being on this trip. There have been some things that have bothered me, some attitudes, motives, and actions from other people. It's really easy for me to look at them and judge them for it, and be upset that they aren't acting the "proper" way. I think technically, we're probably both at fault. Nevertheless, when I feel that way, I seem to feel that God instantly reminds me that I am nothing too, and it's only by HIS continual grace that I am where I am, physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc. And when I feel I have 'the right' to make assumptions about another, I try to think of myself inside, and what I could do to be more loving to those.
I think (and hope) that God will teach me more of this especially when we get to Ecuador. One of my goals is to truly be selfless, as much as can be in my human state, and glorify Christ through it. It's hard, really, really hard, since it goes against all that sin represents and is. Yet, I know and try to remember that I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. :)

Anyway, my dinner is waiting for me... KFC... yay? Who cares. It's food. And after today, having another 8 hours of drama training.. I AM READY TO EAT!!

Last note: Tomorrow I am leaving for Ecuador! My flight is at 11:15am and I will arrive at 6:50pm (we have a three hour layover, bleh!) central standard time, woooo!

Hopefully I'll update you guys soon on how it goes!
Until then, keep praying!

Oh P.S. I forgot to mention but on my flight from Altanta to Miami, I sat next to this really cool lady. We talked for nearly the whole flight about all sorts of stuff, and when we landed, I asked if I could pray for her and she said yes, so I did! It was so great and it was such a great way to start off my trip. :)

And lastly, remember: http://www.neverthesameec.com/
Check it out for daily updates on what we're doing per team. I am team 2, for the millionth time. :D

<3

Ecuador Update - Miami

Hey guys! :)

So after traveling from my hometown in PA, I arrived in Atlanta, GA, where I was so excited to meet some people also going on the trip. (Thanks to our super bright and cool green shirts, it was easy to notice people)! Then I took a two hour flight to Miami, FL, where I was united with approx. 50 other students.
We drove 40 minutes to our hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, where we are staying.. OUR HOTEL IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!

Last night we all were united together in a room, between 350-400 of us all singing praises to Jesus and worshipping together. It was absolutely beautiful and wonderful... God is so good! We had time to meet all of our team, and get our room keys! Awesome room-mates I have! I love how everyone brings something unique to the table through their own personality and love for Jesus.

Last night we had drama casting and we tried out for all the parts in the skit, which took several hours. I ended up getting the part of a Cat, which essentially consists of a gang of 5-6 people who are evil and beat up Jesus. :( How sad! BUT, I'm excited and can't wait to learn! The moves are really fun! The next two days should be filled with some pretty intense practicing before we head off to Ecuador.

That's about all I got for now.... Miami is absolutely beautiful though. I'd have to save one of my favorite parts of this whole thing is being able to travel and see so many amazing places... Which could certainly be considered a once in a lifetime opportunity!

ANYWAY. Before I ramble on any longer! I just want to thank you all for the support, encouragement and prayer! Keep praying, please! God is going to do amazing things and I can't wait to see what happens when we finally get to Ecuador.

That's all I got for now! I'm not sure when I'll post next, but I'll be around here and there. :)
Once again, if you wanna see more updates, then please check out the link below:
http://www.neverthesameec.com/

I am on Team 2!<3

I'M GOING TO ECUADOR!!

So if you're newer to my blog, you may not have heard that I am going to Ecuador. If you haven't, check out the cool God story of how it all worked out by clicking HERE!

If you'd like to know a little more about my getting accepted and some other cool info, then click HERE!

That link will take you to all my posts labeled with "Ecuador" - that way you can get the whole scoop. :)

Scoop.. that reminds me of ice cream. I could really go for some mint chocolate chip right now.. anybody?!?! Represent all you lovers of the delicious flavor! :D

Anyway, where was I!

So I am leaving tomorrow for Miami to take part in the training (learning the skit, culture sensitivity, spanish phrases, etc), and then on the 30th I will be headed to Ecuador along with 300+ students and leaders. I'M SO EXCITED!!

I won't be returning back home until the 11th of July, so it'll be a little while that I'm gone. HOWEVER, I do believe I will have internet access and there is a possibility I may blog here, but I may not. The creators of this mission trip, along with Susie Shellenberger, have created a website + blog where we'll be able to post. If you're interested, you can keep up to date with what's going on with the crew by visiting the website/blog, which you can do so by clicking HERE!
Just so you know, I am on Team 2. :)

I think that's about it. Please please, PLEASE, pray for me, the trip, the others going, and the people of Ecuador. May the see the truth, light and joy of Jesus and be blessed!

Enjoy the following pictures. :D

P.S. I wanted to briefly say that my blog has exceeded 5,000 views and I'm so glad that so many people, whether intentionally or not, have been able to view my page and (hopefully) see and read the truth of God! Thanks to all my followers... May you be blessed. :)

Certainly not perfect and certainly a little messy..
but I think whoever ends up getting my costume
(we trade them) will hopefully enjoy it. :D

Team symbol... pretty good one, right? ;)

OMGOSH LOOK AT MY SWEET SHIRT..
I'm so excited!!