The Lord has awakened my heart over the past few years to be a part of what he is doing globally. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! Psalm 96:3. How I got here is a long story for another time but I have no doubt the Lord is up to something. I love to love and serve in his name and I have been seeking out what it looks like for me to do that best. I will share later how this door opened but for now I will jump to the present for those of you interested in how things are going here!
I was recently hired for a company called EBS Healthcare. I will be moving to Nashville when I get home from Ecuador to work for them in the Davidson County school district. I was also accepted into a bilingual program EBS offers and am now a part of EBS United. EBS United is a branch of the company that does SLP work internationally. Any group that is into serving kiddos of all cultures count me in! My heart’s desire is to be the light that the Lord desires for me to be. If his desire is for me to do so as an SLP then so be it! I can't wait to see what all he has planned.
On my first flight from Memphis to Houston I ironically sat next to a man who only spoke Spanish. This gave me a chance to practice my Spanish skills which at the time primarily consisted of what little I remembered from high school. I was thankful for Pedro and his enthusiasm for helping me learn. When I arrived in Quito I thought I might be putting my skills to the test pretty quickly considering that I could not find my host family in the airport. There were tons of people with signs. Thankfully I finally found them in the very back of the group near the exit! They spoke very little English so the ride home was pretty interesting to say the least. Lots of smiles and "si's." The next morning I met mi hermana, Kelly who is also a part of the EBS group. It has been such a blessing to have a roomie who is also from Mississippi! Our family is precious. We have breakfast and dinner with them every day. Fruit mixed with yogurt and cereal on top with coffee=breakfast of champions. Thankfully Kelly and I have had other roomies that speak more Spanish than we do so they have been able to help carry convo however we are very proud of ourselves at how much we are learning and improving! Our family takes in students year round and has been doing it for over 12 years! They are so loving and such a sweet couple! I’m starting to get used to being greeted with a hug and kiss at all times. We have good times at dinner watching The American Cup and Who Wants to Be Millionaire Spanish version which helps us with our Español. Mi padre is an architect. He has taken us around to show us some of his work. He has such a passion for what he does. He mainly restores old buildings. I truly believe whether we realize it or not God places passions within our hearts that are aligned with his character. His joy and enthusiasm for the restoration of these projects was a beautiful reminder of the joy we have when the old is made new. Praise God for making all things new!
I am actually finished with my volunteer site now. We were with the kids for two weeks but now school is out so we will just be writing reports and discussing our work there this week with the teachers and therapists. I was with a group of other EBS SLPs and OTs providing therapy at a Cerebral Palsy school for children. I was assigned two kids, Max and Liz. Max is verbal but has some language and articulation delays. Liz is nonverbal and appears to have spastic cp with language delays and feeding difficulties. We were able to assess Max and come up with some activities for him to do to enhance his artic and language. I spent a lot of time with Liz especially during feeding. The school has to feed the children whatever the parents send from home. A lot of times there are foods that are very difficult for her to eat. We spent a lot of time chopping up food and providing feeding therapy and we put together some low tech communication boards for our nonverbal kiddos. She was able to point to the picture for juice when she wanted more juice and a picture for spoon when she wanted more to eat. We had to get pretty creative because supplies here are limited and very expensive. I wrapped the end of her spoon with some foam material we found so that the end would be thicker for her to be able to hold independently. She still needs some hand over hand assistance but it was exciting for her to be able to grip the spoon herself. I am going to miss all their sweet faces!
Our days are very busy! My group volunteers in the mornings from 8:30-12:30 and then we grab a quick lunch and head to school for Spanish class from 2-6pm. Another favorite food is sanduche aguacate con pollo! Mmmmm (avacoda and chicken in a pita)! Our teachers don’t speak much English so you are truly forced to learn the language! I learned really quickly that I should have played dumb on the placement test. I was placed in a class that is definitely more advanced than what I truly know. Of all tests this was one that I did NOT need to be a good guesser. But, I have caught on and class has become a little less frustrating. I have learned so much more than what I give myself credit for! Who knows how the Lord will use what I am learning here but I trust that he is holding my life in the palms of his hands!
On the weekends we are free to explore! So far I have been able to see some incredible views and waterfalls, do lots of cheap shopping at the markets, and I got to mark one off the bucket list of being in two places at once! We went to “Mitad del Mundo” or the “middle of the world” to stand on both sides of the Equator. I have been reading through Romans and am continually reminded of Romans 1:19-20 that says: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. The beauty of his creation here is breathtaking. A true picture of creation displaying his eternal power and divine nature!
I love and miss all of you! Only 4 more days! Praying for more opportunities to share his love and truth and that he will continue to open my heart and eyes to how I can be a small part of the expanding his kingdom!
Final thought!...
God is pursuing with omnipotent passion a worldwide purpose of gathering joyful worshipers for himself from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He has an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the supremacy of his name among the nations. Therefore, let us bring our affections into line with his, and, for the sake of his name, let us renounce the quest for worldly comforts and join his global purpose. If we do this, God’s omnipotent commitment to his name will be over us like a banner, and we will not lose, in spite of many tribulations. Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church, worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. The Great Commission is first to delight yourself in the Lord and then to declare, “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy” (Psalm 67:4). In this way, God will be glorified from beginning to end, and worship will empower the missionary enterprise until the coming of the Lord. ~John Piper Let the Nations Be Glad
Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for you righteous acts have been revealed. Revelation 15: 3-4.
Max!
More pics soon!!
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