Ecuador 2012- Mary

      This trip to Ecuador is the first mission trip I have been on outside of the United States. It is also the furthest distance I have ever traveled from home. I was nervous about the long flight from Atlanta to Quito, Ecuador because I really don't like flying. We took off, everything was going smoothly and my anxiety was in check. About an hour into the flight, the pilot came on and said he had some bad news and some good news. The bad news was that there was a pressurizing problem with the plane. This meant we would have to return to Atlanta to get the plane checked out. I'm still not so sure what the good news was. My brain could only focus on the words plane and problem. All I wanted was to get on the ground safely. I even considered staying in Atlanta and catching a shuttle home to Chattanooga. But now I can honestly say after this first day I am so glad I didn't chicken out. 

      I didn't know much about Ecuador and all I knew about Quito was that it was a city there. Boy is it a city. For those of you that might not know, Quito's population is 2 million people. It situated in the Andes mountains which are incredibly beautiful and insanely tall. In between the mountains there are a sea buildings as far as you see; more than I have ever seen in my life. It is a truly amazing sight.

      This morning we went to Middle Earth on the equator. There we learned about past traditions and interesting customs of the native people of Ecuador. For example, they used to shrink the heads of their enemies for pride and their loved ones for remembrance.  They were very creepy still having eyebrows and hair on their heads. We then went to a small cafe in Middle Earth and had empanadas and ice cream. There was a children's festival going on with kids singing and dancing. It was so much to take in but I loved it.

      After lunch we drove up a mountain to attend one of the local churches. The bus dropped us off and we had to walk down a steep dirt road with houses and people on either side. Seeing the conditions of the buildings and people made me feel so grateful for the life God has blessed me with. As soon as I got to the church doors a little girl ran up to me with such excitement and gave me a huge hug. My heart melted. The service was in Spanish but was translated for us. I can't describe how exited it made me to be here and do the work of God for these people. 

      Even after a rough start to the trip for me, God reminded me today why I wanted to come in the first place, to serve the underserved. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds.


Mary
UTHSC Dentistry Student Class of 2014