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Monday, August 18

Praise the Lord! Not only was Jacob finally tired enough to let us sleep in this morning, but clean showers (where flip flops are not needed) and floors that have been swept and aren’t slimy, have lifted all of our spirits! The smell of our work in Esmeraldas has faded and our cleanliness is back to normal.

The sights of downtown Quito, which we visited in the afternoon and evening.

Our morning/afternoon (depending on when each person crawled out of bed) was filled with moments of praise for the great works the Lord did in the lives of the people of Esmeraldas! We were overflowing with praise and gratitude to be part of God’s plan.

During our group devotions the Lord really opened my eyes while reading Luke 15 (the lost sheep). God desires those lost to be found. But how can they be found if no one is willing to find them? So many times we disregard people that are lost. Maybe they’re not like us. Maybe they’re dirty and smelly. Maybe they are so different we can’t relate to them. In my own life, I find myself drawn to these people. God brought out a side of me I had forgotten about: a passion for people who are lost and can’t find their way back. A passion for people living life for the wrong reasons; drugs, alcohol, sex. A passion for people lost as I once was. That passion comes from living that life. Can you imagine if all the lost sheep were found and rejoined to the Shepherd? God rejoices over one lost sheep - one! What if they were all found? The magnificent rejoicing of our Heavenly Father and His angels would be astounding.

As our day of shopping in majestic downtown Quito ended, we were faced with the reality of the closing of our trip. Our first departure and goodbye was Chris. I was hit with the sadness of the trip ending in just a few more days. There is so much more we could do here. Feeding the hungry, hugging more children, providing clothes and shoes to those in need, sharing Jesus’ love with everyone! I’m already looking forward to the next adventure in South America!

April, for the team

 

The national cathedral

 

They call their climate here “perpetual spring.”

Main square in downtown Quito. This is a beautiful city!

Inside one of the cathedrals

Photos courtesy of Christina Dickson, Laura Clawson, Loriann Hodgdon, and Elizabeth Fox.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 18th, 2008 at 9:06 pm and is filed under Blog, Ecuador 2008. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.