Lydia and our host, Rolando.
Stained glass window inside the New Cathedral
(notice who is worshipping Jesus)
Sunday, August 5, 2007
More Pix
Gardens outside of Museo del Banco Central
Lydia and our host, Rolando.
Stained glass window inside the New Cathedral
(notice who is worshipping Jesus)
Lydia and our host, Rolando.
Stained glass window inside the New Cathedral
(notice who is worshipping Jesus)
Having some Fun
Friends from Virginia, also vacationing.
At Parque de Paraiso
At Hosteria Duran´s Mineral Pool
At Parque de Paraiso
At Hosteria Duran´s Mineral Pool
Thursday, August 2, 2007
This is Missionary Work?
Orphanages, poverty, teaching, hard work, building, feeding, providing clean water, administering medicine, digging holes for toilets – these things are what I envisioned missionary work to be, before I came to Ecuador.
We came here, as a friend of mine calls it, on a “faith-based mission.” In other words, it means that we weren´t sent by any organization but rather came because we felt God called us here. There are good points and bad points when responding to this type of calling.
The good points are that God directs you in ways you never could have imagined. Since there is no agenda you’re free to wander in any direction and let Him lead. Every gift is a surprise, a joy, something to praise Him for.
The bad points are…as you’re wandering you really don’t know why you’re here. This lack of direction goes against how, as U.S. citizens, we´ve been programmed. Typically, we have a goal and work toward results. With a faith based mission, there is no plan, so it feels haphazard.
With my preconceptions of what missionary work was like, I contacted several people in Ecuador via e-mail prior to our arrival to arrange meetings to find out where they needed help. What orphanages they wanted us to stay in, where would we be swinging hammers and should I bring my own shovel?
Come to find out, God meets you where you are most gifted. As I have met each of my contacts I have found that most of their work is conducted in offices similar to those of the United States. They all have cell phones, a computer; they dress professionally; and they are all reaching out to the lost.
Curtis Gee works for Unsion Television. Ecuador (and all of South America for that matter) does not have a broadcast station where family values and moral standards are upheld. Most stations, if not all, offer what we would call “Rated R” television. Unsion stands apart and lets its viewers know that certain moral and ethical standards will be followed. Although, they do not overtly proclaim the gospel, it is there in everything they do.
Gustavo (I only know his first name) works for Radio Familia – A Christian-based radio station broadcasting from the heart of downtown Cuenca. Radio Familia is directly tied to a rapidly growing Christian (Non-Catholic) church called “Verbo.” They broadcast mainly Christian music in both Spanish and English and sometimes they throw in a little crossover English songs.
Tamara Ramirez works for Clinica Medical Cuenca – A low income clinic with doctors that volunteer their time for services ranging from General Practioner to Orthoscopic Surgery. Tamara arranges Doctors, Nurses and their families from the United States to come down, volunteer their time for a week or longer to help the poor in Cuenca. Patients pay as little as $5 for a doctor visit and $50 for cataract surgery.
What could I possibly offer to these organizations? All three of my contacts had the same request: Help us with our marketing! And so, based on my experiences in corporate America, God is using me to suggest things that, to me, are no big deal but to them are very good ideas.
Yes, it is wonderful to embrace orphans, provide medical services to the poor, and offer TV programming that has good values. But in order to do all those things it takes informed decisions, smart people management, and tenacious fundraising.
Call me blind to the obvious, but…I never realized being a missionary meant being a businessman!
-Blake
We came here, as a friend of mine calls it, on a “faith-based mission.” In other words, it means that we weren´t sent by any organization but rather came because we felt God called us here. There are good points and bad points when responding to this type of calling.
The good points are that God directs you in ways you never could have imagined. Since there is no agenda you’re free to wander in any direction and let Him lead. Every gift is a surprise, a joy, something to praise Him for.
The bad points are…as you’re wandering you really don’t know why you’re here. This lack of direction goes against how, as U.S. citizens, we´ve been programmed. Typically, we have a goal and work toward results. With a faith based mission, there is no plan, so it feels haphazard.
With my preconceptions of what missionary work was like, I contacted several people in Ecuador via e-mail prior to our arrival to arrange meetings to find out where they needed help. What orphanages they wanted us to stay in, where would we be swinging hammers and should I bring my own shovel?
Come to find out, God meets you where you are most gifted. As I have met each of my contacts I have found that most of their work is conducted in offices similar to those of the United States. They all have cell phones, a computer; they dress professionally; and they are all reaching out to the lost.
Curtis Gee works for Unsion Television. Ecuador (and all of South America for that matter) does not have a broadcast station where family values and moral standards are upheld. Most stations, if not all, offer what we would call “Rated R” television. Unsion stands apart and lets its viewers know that certain moral and ethical standards will be followed. Although, they do not overtly proclaim the gospel, it is there in everything they do.
Gustavo (I only know his first name) works for Radio Familia – A Christian-based radio station broadcasting from the heart of downtown Cuenca. Radio Familia is directly tied to a rapidly growing Christian (Non-Catholic) church called “Verbo.” They broadcast mainly Christian music in both Spanish and English and sometimes they throw in a little crossover English songs.
Tamara Ramirez works for Clinica Medical Cuenca – A low income clinic with doctors that volunteer their time for services ranging from General Practioner to Orthoscopic Surgery. Tamara arranges Doctors, Nurses and their families from the United States to come down, volunteer their time for a week or longer to help the poor in Cuenca. Patients pay as little as $5 for a doctor visit and $50 for cataract surgery.
What could I possibly offer to these organizations? All three of my contacts had the same request: Help us with our marketing! And so, based on my experiences in corporate America, God is using me to suggest things that, to me, are no big deal but to them are very good ideas.
Yes, it is wonderful to embrace orphans, provide medical services to the poor, and offer TV programming that has good values. But in order to do all those things it takes informed decisions, smart people management, and tenacious fundraising.
Call me blind to the obvious, but…I never realized being a missionary meant being a businessman!
-Blake
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Outsiders Getting An Inside View
It´s 6:45 AM. I shiver my way into my exercise clothes and sneakers. Rolando and Nori are already downstairs, ready for their daily walk. We have been invited to come along. We cut across streets and descend a steep staircase that leads down to one of the main thoroughfares bordering the Tomebamba River. We cut through a university, wander along a residential street, and climb another hill over to the Yanuncay River. There we follow the river in a park-like setting, with other disciplined people. Soon, we stop to stretch, and Rolando hugs a tree. When asked why, he said that it relieves stress.
The unique thing about Cuenca, I´ve realized, is that it is defined by its rivers. Although the city has sprawled outside and past its rivers
, the rivers remain wild and natural. Someone had the foresight to leave enough grass and trees along each one that they give visual respite from the cluttered South American hodgepodge of construction.
Then we climb another hill, (which is no easy task when you are at 8,000 feet above sea level) and take a different route back, covering our noses when buses barrel past, spewing diesel fumes.
In front of one of the main plazas, a woman sits with her large basket of baked goods. Of the countless vendors and bakeries, she is the one they buy their breakfast rolls from. Same goes for the market. Nori has her two favorite women that she exclusively buys fresh fruit from.
We enter the house and lunch is already bubbling on the stove. Aurora is just finishing the colada avena, a warm oatmeal drink that goes with breakfast. Nori calls her daughters to come; they eat, clean up, and disappear in less than 20 minutes. They are down in the store by nine, looking perfect.
This is the daily routine. But then there is Sunday.
Blake and I discovered why the crumbling bathrooms and draftiness of their downtown home is not a major concern. It is because they put most of their effort into their quinta. (Quinta: country house, cabin in the mountains, place to unwind after a busy work week.) Every Sunday they go ten minutes up the hill to their absolutely gorgeous and charming quinta.
They call it camping. To me it is anything but. The house, built in the style of Rustic Cuenca, reminds me of a hotel in Scottsdale. My favorite part is the covered porch, with lots of benches to sit on and take in the panoramic view. The kids really loved playing by a dainty, spring-fed stream that cut a little trench along the side of the property.
Now mind you, this is Ecuador, so don´t get too dreamy-eyed. Just off their property is a tile-making outfit with shacks and tarp, very ramshackle. Dotted everywhere are bare bones shelters where people and their children scrape together a living with their little plot, a few chickens, and if they are lucky, a cow or a llama.
The night previous, while we were playing Rummy with Rolando and Nori, there was a telephone call. It was regarding Rolando´s mother Marta; she had just been taken to the hospital because of heart problems. This was a shock to Rolando, because his father has serious health problems but his mother is considered to be perfectly healthy. Rolando quickly left, and the mood turned somber. With some uncertainty and help from Blake´s electronic dictionary we managed to ask Nori if we could pray for Rolando´s mother. Claro! Yes! She said, half to my surprise. We prayed in English of course, and she in Spanish. Then we looked at family photos, and I felt, well, as if God was there. The next morning Rolando returned, we found out Marta was fine, and she had returned home.
Some friends of Nori came over and spent the day. One of them, Anna Maria, spoke English. She would translate now and then, which made me feel included. When she met Lydia and Luke, her eyes misted over because she missed her 5 year-old daughter who was visiting her ex-husband in Quito. Originally from Columbia, sent to Fort Lauderdale to study fashion and textile design, she had been working for a major textile manufacturer in Quito. Three months ago her job brought her to Cuenca. She shared with me how concerned she was for her daughter since relocating, since they have no family members in Cuenca. I suggested that a church community could help. I felt that God was working in that conversation as well.
Nonetheless, it was mostly a carefree Sunday. For awhile, when the sun came out, everyone stretched out on a blanket outside. Inside, during lunch, we got onto the subject of how many times people chew their food before they swallow. Apparently, I chew ten times. Nori´s friend Marta chews only 5 times. The ladies also had a good laugh trying to pronounce my name without rolling their R´s. To top off the day, at nightfall, I saw something I hadn´t seen since childhood: the glow of fireflies. The children were completely enthralled.
Trudenski
The unique thing about Cuenca, I´ve realized, is that it is defined by its rivers. Although the city has sprawled outside and past its rivers
, the rivers remain wild and natural. Someone had the foresight to leave enough grass and trees along each one that they give visual respite from the cluttered South American hodgepodge of construction.Then we climb another hill, (which is no easy task when you are at 8,000 feet above sea level) and take a different route back, covering our noses when buses barrel past, spewing diesel fumes.
In front of one of the main plazas, a woman sits with her large basket of baked goods. Of the countless vendors and bakeries, she is the one they buy their breakfast rolls from. Same goes for the market. Nori has her two favorite women that she exclusively buys fresh fruit from.
We enter the house and lunch is already bubbling on the stove. Aurora is just finishing the colada avena, a warm oatmeal drink that goes with breakfast. Nori calls her daughters to come; they eat, clean up, and disappear in less than 20 minutes. They are down in the store by nine, looking perfect.
This is the daily routine. But then there is Sunday.
Blake and I discovered why the crumbling bathrooms and draftiness of their downtown home is not a major concern. It is because they put most of their effort into their quinta. (Quinta: country house, cabin in the mountains, place to unwind after a busy work week.) Every Sunday they go ten minutes up the hill to their absolutely gorgeous and charming quinta.
They call it camping. To me it is anything but. The house, built in the style of Rustic Cuenca, reminds me of a hotel in Scottsdale. My favorite part is the covered porch, with lots of benches to sit on and take in the panoramic view. The kids really loved playing by a dainty, spring-fed stream that cut a little trench along the side of the property.
Now mind you, this is Ecuador, so don´t get too dreamy-eyed. Just off their property is a tile-making outfit with shacks and tarp, very ramshackle. Dotted everywhere are bare bones shelters where people and their children scrape together a living with their little plot, a few chickens, and if they are lucky, a cow or a llama.
The night previous, while we were playing Rummy with Rolando and Nori, there was a telephone call. It was regarding Rolando´s mother Marta; she had just been taken to the hospital because of heart problems. This was a shock to Rolando, because his father has serious health problems but his mother is considered to be perfectly healthy. Rolando quickly left, and the mood turned somber. With some uncertainty and help from Blake´s electronic dictionary we managed to ask Nori if we could pray for Rolando´s mother. Claro! Yes! She said, half to my surprise. We prayed in English of course, and she in Spanish. Then we looked at family photos, and I felt, well, as if God was there. The next morning Rolando returned, we found out Marta was fine, and she had returned home.
Some friends of Nori came over and spent the day. One of them, Anna Maria, spoke English. She would translate now and then, which made me feel included. When she met Lydia and Luke, her eyes misted over because she missed her 5 year-old daughter who was visiting her ex-husband in Quito. Originally from Columbia, sent to Fort Lauderdale to study fashion and textile design, she had been working for a major textile manufacturer in Quito. Three months ago her job brought her to Cuenca. She shared with me how concerned she was for her daughter since relocating, since they have no family members in Cuenca. I suggested that a church community could help. I felt that God was working in that conversation as well.
Nonetheless, it was mostly a carefree Sunday. For awhile, when the sun came out, everyone stretched out on a blanket outside. Inside, during lunch, we got onto the subject of how many times people chew their food before they swallow. Apparently, I chew ten times. Nori´s friend Marta chews only 5 times. The ladies also had a good laugh trying to pronounce my name without rolling their R´s. To top off the day, at nightfall, I saw something I hadn´t seen since childhood: the glow of fireflies. The children were completely enthralled.
Trudenski
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