With Her Skinny Jeans

Just a little worship: God is so good. One of Ecuador’s volcano erupted the day after we arrived in Cuenca. If it erupted while we were in Quito or on our 10 hour bus ride to Cuenca, we would have been in a pickle. All the time, God is good. God is good, all the time.

Some random thoughts I had yesterday and into the morning:

On our ride from Spanish classes, I noticed how Cuenca is surrounded with mountains. This is something that I took for granted when I first got here. Indiana is flat. Texas is flat. Since my family moved from New England to Texas, I have longed to be surrounded by the mountains. Here in Ecuador they are everywhere. I love it. It’s crazy how much nature has an effect on us humans. Whenever we are faced with different scenery, we are amazed of how beautiful it is. I think it’s great that we are always reminded of God’s beauty and His masterwork. A problem that I have every day is that I do not recognize it. Every day should be a day of His creation. We should be marveled of God’s handiwork in the mountains, trees, sunsets, starts, flowers and so on. (Sure, you can make the snide remark of calling me a “tree hugger”) My point is that I am guilty of not recognizing God’s beauty every day. I complain too much of how the cornfields of Indiana are boring. Yet, I forgot of how resourceful they are. I complain of how hot Texas can get, yet I forget how beautiful Texas’ sunsets are. I complained of how cold it got in New England, yet I forgot how beautiful the leaves turned colors in autumn. I have no reason to complain, I actually have no right to complain. Every place God sends me has a beautiful aspect to it. The problem is that I become so blinded by the negative parts of the place that I do not see the beauty. Beauty is everywhere. We just have to humble ourselves to see the true and raw beauty. That’s where God shines the most in His creation…in the hidden beauty.

I have a list of people that I would like to be when I grow up. I have never kept track of this list but I’m pretty sure that it’s about 20 people on it. I’ll admit that as I go on in my “adventures”, as some like to say it, that I will come in contact with more people that I would love to be when I grow up. Right now I would like to write about one person that I recently added to list. (Don’t worry I will go back to the list and elaborate more)

When I grow up, I would like to be my Ecuadorian host mom, Janet Abad. I have only lived with her and her family for 4 days, and I already have such a respect for her. She is probably in her young 40’s and skinny. She is a mother of two lovely daughters and a wife of a crazy husband. She also is a working woman. Right now, as I type this, she is on a business call and making lasagna. She has her cell phone on one hand and the mozzarella cheese on the other. I would like to add that she is also a cute sense of style. With her skinny jeans and cute tops, my host mom can out dress me any day. She has a soft voice, yet can be stern when she knows when to be heard. I found myself talking to her into the late night about all different aspects of life. From marriage to family, she always know the right things to say. She listens with true honestly.

Yesterday I had a hard conversation with one of the staff members from the program. We talked about how in America there is more of an opportunity for a successful future. Higher education in the states is more valuable and respectable. She struggles with the fact that her son may not come back to Ecuador to live. Why? Because in America is where her son can be more successful. It’s crazy how now in the 21st century; America is still seen as the land of dreams. My parents believed in the American dream in the 70’s when they immigrated in the states and there is still that influence here. Life is hard, especially when resources are thousands of miles away.
As I talked with her, she began to tear up of how hard it was to have her son graduate without her being there. I could just feel the mother’s love pour from her heart into my soul. For a moment, I could feel how much a mother loves her child. I was beginning to understand how hard it is to let go of your children, especially to go to another country. She loves her son and wants the best for him. Yet she misses him and I saw that. What was I to say when she asked me for my advice about higher education in the states?

How could I reassure her that God will provide to pay off school loans, when I myself struggle with that promise?

How could I encourage her that her son will always be true to his roots here in Ecuador while embracing life in America?

She told me that once I will have children of my own, I will understand...I can’t wait for that revelation to happen.

As I listened to her, I thought of my mom. I was given a glimpse of how much my mom misses me while I’m in Indiana or on one of my crazy travels. Now I’m beginning to understand why my mom would randomly call me just to say Hi. I was also reminded of how much my mom worked so hard to stay in the states to provide a better life for me. I easily forget that even with culture shock and being separate from family, my mom's love for me was greater. She wanted me to have what she didn’t have…an education, a career, a respected job, a healthy family...a successful American life.

Yesterday afternoon/evening we had a mini tour of down town Cuenca. Since the church and our host families lived in the “new” part of Cuenca, we made the trip to down town “old” Cuenca to gain a deeper understanding of the city we are staying in. We were able to see the colonial house they are lined alongside the river (the river is significant because it separates the “old” Cuenca from the “new” Cuenca). That was pretty cool. We then visited the main cathedral downtown. The cathedral is not as “golden” as the one in Quito, but it’s still pretty awesome. My favorite part is seeing the Santa Rosa de Lima. Yes, that is right…Santa Rosa de Lima. It’s a saint of roses that originated from the city of Lima in Peru. (From what I know, It’s placed here because there must be some faithful followers) Not only does it have the name Lima in it, which is an automatically 100 million cool points, but it’s the Saint of roses. My mom’s name is Rosa and my favorite flower is the rose…for that reason. I was pretty excited about that saint. Plus, I think it was the prettiest one in the cathedral.

I have a confession to make. When I was a little girl, I was deathly afraid of cathedrals and catholic churches. The statues and images of the gothic looking Jesus’ and saints scared me. When we would visit Guatemala, my family will make a road trip to the biggest cathedral in Guatemala. I dreaded that trip. My mom and I would have to wait outside while my family would do their thing inside. As I got older, I gained enough courage to enter them. My mom would always whisper to me that to see it all as art work. Now I still have to brace myself before I enter a cathedral. I am always amazed of the beautiful painting and statues that are made out of devotion for a belief. Everytime I watch the locals kneel and with their eyes closed whispering prayers, I can never fight the urge to pray to my Savior above.

Now I'm hearing news about the deadly storm that is hitting Guatemala and other Central American countries. I haven't heard anything about my family yet, if they are ok or not. It's in times like these that I continue to hold on to the promise that God knows what He is doing, despite how painful the situation is.