May 20, 2009
Today was pretty much amazing! I felt like hermana Balle, a sister missionary – except I was teaching nutrition instead of the gospel (certainly a significant difference).
Ryan and I spent the day in the community in the homes of the people. It was nothing less than amazing, and left me craving a mission. We’d knock on the tin gates, if they had them, and try to get in! Sometimes we did, and sometimes we got rejected. After a bumpy ride over potholes and ditches in our Ambulance/SUV, we arrived at Maria Alegria, the school I originally assessed. It was so fun to return to the kids! They remembered me, and consequently I received a very warm welcome. We had the kids write down what and how much they ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Almost everyone was hungry, but I didn’t realize how little they had to eat until I went into their homes. One of the girls led us on hike to her house – literally, we were bush-wacking. It blows my mind how these people live. There were 13 people living in a bamboo house the size of my brother’s bedroom. The father worked construction and was currently out of work. The father completed up to the 6th grade, and the mother had completed up to the 2nd grade. The bathroom was a hole dug behind the house. I felt like they were always camping. Everyone in the house had a little bit of coffee for breakfast, maybe some lunch, and rice and beans for dinner. When they were lucky, they got a little bit of chicken or beef. I began to taste real life in Ecuador. It was truly humbling. It was interesting to see into their home life. They were so welcoming and so kind! They LOVED the toothbrushes and tooth paste we gave them after the interview!
By the way Matt… most of them have cavities – obvious to the naked eye. You won’t need your little mirror to see them! We may have to come back when you finish dental school and see what we can do about that. It’s hard though – because just filling the cavity doesn’t fix the problem, they need dental hygiene promotion, encouragement, and the means to keep their teeth healthy. Just a project for us to start thinking about.
By the way, my watch broke today… cheap thing…good thing I wasn’t super attached to it!
It was interesting to compare the first household with other household we visited. Even among the poor, there is great diversity –both in lifestyle and knowledge. It costs too much to get married here (They have to have a civil and religious ceremony), so basically everyone co-habitats. They don’t see the actual “marriage” as a priority. However, most couples had stayed together 20, or 30 years, which I thought was really awesome! Another challenge is the prevalence of affairs. Most men in the community have a “mistress.” Even if they’ve been together for 20-30 years, the men have also been “together” with other women. The reality of affairs was magnified when I was in Sotomayor. A LOT of the women I worked with were unmarried and did not live with the father of their child.
Another family was very welcoming! The mom let us interview her while she was breastfeeding – it’s not a private matter by any means down here. People do it during church, on the streets, basically anywhere. I got to play with the kids who were darling. It was SO beasty hot. They offered us some juice which was MOST appreciated. We talked to them for a while, actually quite a while – the ambulance was late to pick us up – everyone runs on Latin standard down here. The mom had attended some collage! She knew about vitamins and vaccines which was very impressive!
I know the Lord blessed me with the Spanish I needed in these interviews. Somehow, I understood and was able to be the scribe and translate with Ryan’s help during the interviews. God strengthens us always, but especially when we need him the most.
We went to the temple for the last time tonight. I LOVE the temple here! There were 2 women doing baptisms for the dead with me who couldn’t have been younger than 80yrs. I never cease to be amazed by their faith. Another group of young men tried getting my number and email again…but not to worry Matt, I explained that I was very old (21) and getting married in 4 weeks. They were fun to talk to though.
Oh WONDERFUL day!