and waited...
and waited...
AND WAITED
until around 10am when they finally sent two 7-passenger vans to drive us the four-hours into the mountains. After the first hour or so, we hit the mountainous region. The winding street did not slow our driver down, but seemed to actually speed him up. Between falling over each other and sliding out of our seats, we attempted to capture our time spent in and above clouds and looking over deep valleys and towering cliffs. Unfortunately, cameras cannot properly capture God's creation. Fortunately, we all got to enjoy it in real life this weekend.
We stayed at a super hipster hostel with a really chill atmosphere. The cafe had a glass roof and led to our rooms which faced a courtyard. After settling in we walked past various cathedrals reminiscent of 16th-century Europe. Pictures will be up at some point. Our destination was the outdoor art market that sold the one product every person on the team desired above all: a llama sweater. We scoured the stands for the single sweater that spoke to each of us. I had no success on the llama sweater front that day, but made many other purchases for myself and for gifts that I'm quite happy with.
That night, we found out that there would be an "electronic" dance party in the cafe of our hostel.
That night, we found out that there would be an "electronic" dance party in the cafe of our hostel.
"I LOVE DANCE PARTIES," most of us thought.
Eagerly awaiting 9pm, we spent some quality time around the camp fire in the courtyard with each other and other people staying at the hostel. Once the party started, we quickly realized that it would not be the Cru-type dance parties we're used to (lots of random flailing and laughing). Everyone was standing around just kind of swaying to themselves. No matter, two of our guys decided to take over the dance floor with their flailing limbs. Apparently we didn't realize that this party was "slow dancing" only and any obnoxious movement was considered "break dancing" and therefore offensive for this scene. Well. We let them have their night of "slow dancing" to the same song for seven hours.
The party ended around three in the morning. I seem to be in this disgusting habit of waking up at seven no matter how much sleep I get. My morning consisted of a freezing shower (thank goodness for the hair-flip method), french toast in the cafe, and another trip to the art market. After much more desperate searching for the perfect llama sweater, Helen mentioned that she saw some in a shop around the corner. Approaching the sweaters hanging up, I suddenly felt very warm inside. I knew the one hanging in front of me was meant for me. I imagine it's the same feeling wizards and witches feel when their wands choose them. I haggled it down to $20 from the original $23 and didn't really care that that was still a bit over-priced.
For lunch, six of us went around the corner to find some food when Jason pointed out a place with a picture of nachos on the outside. The lack of name and real kitchen seemed promising so we all ordered.
After determining that we didn't get food poisoning, Jason, CJ, Jeremy, Courtney, Chris, Megan, and I left for a hike up a nearby mountain. Apparently Chris had climbed it last year with some guys, who named it Naked Face, so we had a bit of direction. We walked about a mile or two to get to the mountain and then started the ascent. It wasn't a huge climb--a little over 500 feet (about 50 stories), I think--to the top. The first part was on a road and the rest was through forest and underbrush. It was a strange feeling because even before we were tired, our hearts would beat faster than usual because of the altitude. Anyways, it was a fun climb and the top had an amazing view of all Cuenca and the surrounding Andes. There was even a creepy graveyard at the top with broken caskets and clearly looted graves. Our conclusion was zombies. After many pictures were taken and the view was properly enjoyed, we headed home.
The descent was a lot of fun. At one point we just crouched and slid down a dirt path, keeping hold of what I assumed was a small water pipe. The whole adventure took about four or five hours and we were all very ready for dinner at a pizzeria that evening. Upon arriving back at the hostel, some of us gazed at southern hemisphere stars and played cards.
Instead of a "rave" in the hostel, there was a live show put on by two guys playing guitars and a slide. Thankfully they ended much earlier. We left at around nine on Sunday to arrive home around one. The rest of the day was free until praise and prayer at seven.
Overall the trip was really cool. It was nice to get out of Guayaquil for a few days and experience more culture in Ecuador. This is our last week on campus and already it's continuing to be fruitful. Just today, Jeremy and I had a conversation with a professor at ESPOL who had so many questions that we were able, thanks to the Holy Spirit, to answer and hopefully shed light on. We were actually talking to a student when the professor heard us talking and came over to ask questions. The student was so interested that he missed part of his class to listen.
The professor has clearly been searching for God for a very long time in many different ways, and it's crazy to see God use two 20-year-olds to share truth into a highly-educated man's life. Prayers for him are greatly needed! Jeremy and I didn't even want to continue sharing after such a great conversation, so we had lunch. Of course, God wasn't about to let us rest, so we went up to another group of students, which turned into another fruitful conversation.
God is definitely still at work in Ecuador. I'm still learning and growing everyday as I'm faced with sin struggles and a community that demonstrates moment by moment God's love and grace. Even though it's my last week in Ecuador, I'm excited to go back home and to school and continue doing ministry in "normal" life. For now, I will enjoy every second I have left.
Ashley
For lunch, six of us went around the corner to find some food when Jason pointed out a place with a picture of nachos on the outside. The lack of name and real kitchen seemed promising so we all ordered.
After determining that we didn't get food poisoning, Jason, CJ, Jeremy, Courtney, Chris, Megan, and I left for a hike up a nearby mountain. Apparently Chris had climbed it last year with some guys, who named it Naked Face, so we had a bit of direction. We walked about a mile or two to get to the mountain and then started the ascent. It wasn't a huge climb--a little over 500 feet (about 50 stories), I think--to the top. The first part was on a road and the rest was through forest and underbrush. It was a strange feeling because even before we were tired, our hearts would beat faster than usual because of the altitude. Anyways, it was a fun climb and the top had an amazing view of all Cuenca and the surrounding Andes. There was even a creepy graveyard at the top with broken caskets and clearly looted graves. Our conclusion was zombies. After many pictures were taken and the view was properly enjoyed, we headed home.
The descent was a lot of fun. At one point we just crouched and slid down a dirt path, keeping hold of what I assumed was a small water pipe. The whole adventure took about four or five hours and we were all very ready for dinner at a pizzeria that evening. Upon arriving back at the hostel, some of us gazed at southern hemisphere stars and played cards.
Instead of a "rave" in the hostel, there was a live show put on by two guys playing guitars and a slide. Thankfully they ended much earlier. We left at around nine on Sunday to arrive home around one. The rest of the day was free until praise and prayer at seven.
Overall the trip was really cool. It was nice to get out of Guayaquil for a few days and experience more culture in Ecuador. This is our last week on campus and already it's continuing to be fruitful. Just today, Jeremy and I had a conversation with a professor at ESPOL who had so many questions that we were able, thanks to the Holy Spirit, to answer and hopefully shed light on. We were actually talking to a student when the professor heard us talking and came over to ask questions. The student was so interested that he missed part of his class to listen.
The professor has clearly been searching for God for a very long time in many different ways, and it's crazy to see God use two 20-year-olds to share truth into a highly-educated man's life. Prayers for him are greatly needed! Jeremy and I didn't even want to continue sharing after such a great conversation, so we had lunch. Of course, God wasn't about to let us rest, so we went up to another group of students, which turned into another fruitful conversation.
God is definitely still at work in Ecuador. I'm still learning and growing everyday as I'm faced with sin struggles and a community that demonstrates moment by moment God's love and grace. Even though it's my last week in Ecuador, I'm excited to go back home and to school and continue doing ministry in "normal" life. For now, I will enjoy every second I have left.
Ashley
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