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| Same beach at sunset |
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| Us in front of the Christmas tree |
Happy New Year.
Feliz Año Nuevo
Friday 30 December 2011
Christmas 16: Beach
Happy New Year.
Feliz Año Nuevo
Water
Water seems to go from one extreme to another here. I have
had to think a lot about water here. When I first arrived in Santo, there didn’t
seem to be much of it. The family I live with had to “get” the water from the
pipes in the road, in the middle of the night, every few days. The authorities
would only send the water every few days. (I say “get” because I don’t know how
they got it… I think they had to pump it in to our water tank from the pipes in
the road.) This meant we had to be careful how much water we used, to make sure
we didn’t run out before there was more in the pipes again. The school I work
in and the flats above used to buy tanks of water. This was expensive and
again, you had to be careful so you did not run out (which often did happen).
Most of the families who live in LF do not have running
water. They buy in what they need. This is hard when you do not have much money.
Cleanliness, hygiene and health are then increasing problems. The children I work
with are always thirsty.
At the moment, we are moving into the hot rainy season. As I
write this it has just started raining… pouring down with rain. So much water
comes down that it is a real problem on the roads; drains get blocked, roads
become a wash with water making it unsafe to drive, landslides etc. There is
more water around.
Today, we have not got water in the house. The tank when the
water is kept, when it comes in from the pipes in the road, has been emptied
and cleaned. Although it is obviously good to clean the tank regularly, it has
left us without water today. We will have water tomorrow when the authorities
send the water in the pipes in the road. It is so strange to be without water.
In England, I do not think about water. I am careful with water; to not use too
much, to not waste it, but I never worry about it running out. In England I would
never ask a friend if they had enough water in the house or if they had any
water for me to drink. I do not know anyone in the UK who does not have water.
Christmas 15: Boxing Day
I love Boxing Day. I think I love it more than Christmas
Day. It is a really chilled out day with the family, normally spent with some
more of the extended family. We go for a lovely cold winters walk. It is also a
day of eating leftover Christmas food, cold meats and turkey and my Dad always
tries to get me to eat the yellow piccalilli chutney on my cold turkey!
This year, Boxing Day was boiling hot. Really sunny. It was
so so nice. I went into town with Victoria, took back her fetching elf costume
and went to the post office. I had received a parcel from friends who I used to
work with. Full of exciting treats and things to make me feel christmassy. I
spent the day at my English friend’s house (with her Ecuadorian boyfriend) and
some other English friends. We had an English roast dinner topped off with a lit
Christmas pudding, brandy butter and “Love Actually” DVD.
Content.
Christmas 14: Christmas Day
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| The drama- Santa, Santa's helper, me (a posh demanding mother and my teengae daughter) |
Back home for lunch- cows hoof soup followed by chicken and
rice and a quiet afternoon with the family. It was nice to skype my family in England
with my Ecuadorian family. In the evening I had some yummy English Christmas pudding
with the Brits to complete Christmas Day.
It was a really lovely, very relaxing day. To be honest, I didn’t
miss people so much on the actual Christmas Day. I knew I would be away from my
friends and family and I was happy with my new family. In hindsight, I definitely
found the lead up to Christmas hard. Everything was a reminder that I would be
far from home and would catch me out at unexpected times.
Sunday 25 December 2011
Grace
Recently I have had some interesting conversations about alcohol and dancing. Here is a completely different culture. Therefore people think differently about drinking alcohol and dancing than my culture.
I love getting to know people better and recently have learnt a lot more about people. People have told me stories of their lives; how they have got to where they are now. I have seen how God has been at work in their lives in radical ways. After one particular conversation I kept thinking about grace.
I kept thinking how we as Christians are saved by God's grace. However far we have gone from God, however wrong we have been, however much we have messed up, we can be forgiven. God will forgive us. We can be saved. It is by his grace.
Ephesians 2 v 8-9
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast"
Efesios 2 v 8-9
"Porque por gracia sois salvos por la fe; y esto no de vosotros, pues es don de Dios: No por obras, para que nadie se gloríe"
Christmas 13: Christmas Dinner
Most Ecuadorians have their Christmas dinner on Christmas
Eve to see in Christmas Day. We had ours slightly earlier. It was such a nice
evening. There were 10 of us in total and it was such a great evening. Although
I knew I was far from home, I had a great loving family here to celebrate with.
What helped is that I felt part of the family. Although I still struggle to
talk in Spanish I can understand a lot more and was able to have some really
good chats with various family members. It helped me get to know them better
and for them to know me better.
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| My Ecuadorian family |
This year, instead of Turkey, roast potatoes, cranberry
sauce, honey roasted parsnips, sprouts, fried mushrooms and gravy, we had;
chicken, rice with spinach, salad and potatoes. It was a great meal full of lots
of laughs. After a few silly games, we shared some presents and sat around
chatting. It was a really fun and enjoyable evening. As I write this late on
Christmas Eve I feel content after having an enjoyable Christmas time. I don’t
think tomorrow (Christmas Day) we will be doing very much. Most people have got
to go to work on Monday so I think it will be like any other Sunday. I feel
blessed that I will be with my family. Although I will not be with my family in England but thanks to
God, he has blessed me with a new family here.
Christmas 12: Drama in Laura Flores
Well, this young peoples drama for the children was well and truly Ecuadorian, in so many
ways. Firstly, we organised so many rehearsals, people didn’t show-up, times
were changed, people we late etc!! Eventually it got to the day of the
performance and we all arrived at 2pm.
However, we were down the main part,
Father Christmas. So we waited, and waited, 3pm came and went. The programme
was due to start at 4pm. The bus was picking us up at 3:30pm. 3:30pm came and
went. No bus. No Father Christmas. 3:45 and the bus arrived. We piled in the
bus, 2 to a seat, amongst the elf shoes, bottles of colas, bags or sweets and
biscuits for the children and Christmas bread (like panetone). We arrive to
Laura Flores and we were greeted by hundreds of children, ready and waiting for
the programme to start. They were so excited. Really excited. We eventually
battled through the children, joined in some songs and then Father Christmas
arrived, Praise the Lord! After a quick last minute we rehearsed and then
performed.
The drama went so much better than I had imagined. It was great to
be part of it and see a hundred children watching and hearing something of
Jesus this Christmas time. After giving out the bags of sweets we headed home.
Although initially I was annoyed we had to wait around for ages and I had cancelled other Christmas activities to be there, I was so pleased to have been part of it.
There is so much good stuff happening in Laura Flores. The
Ecuadorians in the church are increasingly keen to work there and take
ownership of the programmes and activities, rather than it be run by English
missionaries. There was a real buzz about the place. I came back feeling very
christmasy. The fact that it was dark and rainy, also reminded me of Christmas!
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| Santa's helper, a child, gran and me, all visitors to Santa |
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| A girl telling Santa about Jesus |
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| Iluminous colas and Christmas bread for the children. |
Although initially I was annoyed we had to wait around for ages and I had cancelled other Christmas activities to be there, I was so pleased to have been part of it.
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| Giving out bags of sweets and biscuits to every LF child |
Friday 23 December 2011
Christmas 11: special school
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| Papa Panov making shoes |
The children performed their Papa Panov drama really well. The children had little black “Russian” hats, matching outfits and were so excited to perform.
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| The street cleaner |
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| The shoe cleaner |
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| The Policeman |
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| The sweet seller |
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| The carol singers |
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| The Chorus |
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| The mother and her child, receiving her new shoe |
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| Angels singing |
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| Singing about the donkey to Bethlehem |
The children received their Christmas gifts from the shoe boxes, and from the Baptist Church school children and received bags of biscuits and sweets. It was a very successful morning. Of course, we also had some lunch; some chicken and rice to finish off the morning. By the end of it I was well and truly exhausted but very proud of the children. (See blog entry below entitled exhausted)
Christmas 10: Christingle
I have never made a Christingle before. In the last “club”in Orphaids before Christmas, we made Christingles. The children loved it. I think it was mainly the sweets that caught their attention!
- The
orange – represents the world
- The red
ribbon – indicates the love and blood of Christ
- The
dried fruits and sweets – symbols of God’s creations
- The lit
candle – symbolises Jesus, the light of the world
Christmas 9: PEPE
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| Mary and Joseph |
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| Shepherds and sheep |
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| Mary and her donkey. Poor donkey! |
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| Singing |
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| Lunch - chicken and rice |
Christmas 8: Staff meal
The staff that work within Fundación Vida en Abundancia went
out for their Christmas meal. Again, it was a very Ecuadorian experience. The meal
was for 7pm, but no-one ever gets to a function on time. There are English who
run late and that’s fine. 20 mins or maybe even ½ hour. Here, you can wait 1
hour or 2hours or maybe even more at time! I wondered what time we would eat! Fortunately
it wasn’t too late. It was a really special occasion. Everyone made a real
effort to dress up nicely and enjoy a lovely meal. It was a chance to celebrate
together, the work that the fundación
has done this past year. We are all so different and offer something very unique
to the team. It was a privilege to be part of the team.
Christmas 7: BBQ
Yes, that’s right. A BBQ in December! The staff in the
special school were invited to Bayron’s house for a BBQ. He is the director of
another charity here which works with children with disabilities. Our children
go to their charity once a week for horse riding therapy. It is the highlight
of the children’s week!
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| Victoria and I preparing the salad |
We all contributed something and as a team, prepared the
BBQ. It was very Ecuadorian… Yuca, special Christmas rice (cooked in coke not
water) salad, with lemon dressing and lots of meat, big bits of chicken, beef, sausages
and chickens feet. Not a burger in a bun in sight!
It was a great evening
together, full of Ecuadorian traditions, and exchanging of presents. It was a
great experience in December!
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| Meat! |
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| Staff |
Christmas 6: Latin Link
I joined the Latin Link team for their Christmas meal. It
was so lovely and I left feeling very Christmassy. I had arrived not feeling
very enthusiastic and not very sociable, however that soon changed. We had a
great meal, of which everyone contributed something. (Pears cooked in red wine
from the Dutch couple were a definite favourite!)
We had a great meal, a surprise visit from Santa who gave us
all a gift, Christmas games, tea and Christmas cakes, (sent from England) and
Christmas Carols. It was a lovely Christmas Day. A time with good friends, good
food (and lots of it) fun games and celebrating Jesus through singing Carols.
It was a great time together to really remember what Christmas is all about;
Jesus.
Christmas 5: Women
The women who live in Laura Flores were invited to a special
church service and lunch (chicken and rice!!!)
Afterwards, they each received a Christmas present for their family.
They received clothes and children’s toys. Most of these gifts were donations
from England. The women were delighted with their gifts.
I do not really have anything to do with the women’s work. I
see some of the Laura Flores mums on a Wednesday afternoon.
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| I love this picture. It gives a glimpse into Ecuador; the chicken and rice, the illuminous drinks, the traffic passing by just outside the church, Victoria chatting to the women, and happy faces. |
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| One of the PEPE school teachers recieving her Christmas present for her family |
I do not really have anything to do with the women’s work. I
see some of the Laura Flores mums on a Wednesday afternoon.
Whilst they have a
bible study, I do some therapy work with their children.
The more time I spend with the Ecuadorians who work with
these women and with the English volunteers I learn more and more about the
lives of these women. Some of the stories would shock you, make you cry and just
wonder how anyone can live in such awful/difficult situations. Some of the
stories are just beyond belief.
Within the charity I work with the children; in the special
needs school, the Baptist church school children and Laura Flores children. The
charity also works to support women, many of whom have lived/are living with
abuse.
The couple which works within the Laura Flores community are
amazingly servant hearted people, with a genuine love for these women and a
real heart to serve God.
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| Everyone enjoyed the chicken and rice! |
Although I do not know many of the women very well, I do
know some of their children. I can not begin to imagine what their life is
like. I do not want to imagine some of the things they have seen or heard. I so
often wonder what their future holds. Will they ever leave their community? Will
they get a decent job to support their family?
I wonder how I can help them? I know
my contribution to their life is so miniscule. Some days all I feel I can offer
them is some time, an interest in them, encourage them and share a smile
through my therapy sessions.
Christmas 4: Shoeboxes
Last year the charity received loads of shoeboxes from Samaritans
purse, Operation Christmas Child.
www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk
www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk
Thousands of people each year package up shoeboxes to give
as gifts at Christmas time. They are sent out to needy children all over the
World. This year, our school received loads of shoeboxes full of amazing
things. Victoria and I had the joy of sorting through the things and finding Christmas
presents for each child in the school.
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| Wrapping the presents, ready for the end of term |
We both had prepared shoeboxes before
and both found it great to see where the shoeboxes go. It was great to know the
children and be able to find just the right gift that we thought each child
would like. There was so much that will go a long way, not just only for the
children as Christmas presents but also toiletries that can be given to poorer
families for example in Laura Flores.
Please keep preparing your shoeboxes. They bring and share
so much joy to many many children and families.
Christmas 3: Cards
At the end of a tiring week and generally feeling tired and
a bit sad that I was so far from home at Christmas time, I received loads of
Christmas cards and letters and words of encouragements. Perfect timing.
Thank you.
Christmas 2: Pancakes
Although it wasn’t really very festive, in December Victoria
and I made pancakes for the church youth. Well, I use the term “youth” very
loosely. “Youth” can be from 15 upwards… u to any age if you are single. As you
can imagine it makes for a very mixed group of people every Saturday evening!
This particular week I volunteered to make the pancakes and introduce the
Ecuadorians to lemon and sugar. After an afternoon of cooking, kindly assisted
by Victoria eating all the pancakes that weren’t good enough to give away, we
took them to church and they were successful. It was strange to be
cooking/eating pancakes in December, rather than February but never mind! It
was great to be able to serve the “youth” and great to feel a little bit more a
part of that group.
The following day I also made loads more for my extended Ecuadorian family here. The grandson LOVED them!
Christmas 1: Rehersals
This December there are so many Christmas “programmes”
happening. It is great but very tiring! Working in several different settings
has meant there have been so many programmes. Each has been different but
really great and Jesus can be seen in all of them!
The special school began their Christmas rehearsals back in
October. It certainly felt strange talking about Christmas then!! The children
love to dress up, act, dance and sing. The Christmas programme was going to
contain all of those.
The Christmas drama was called “Papa Panov”. Set in Russia,
the children began to act out the story of the old village shoemaker and his
visitors over Christmas. The children acted out several people who Papa Panov
welcomed into his house.
The rehearsals were great. Victoria and I had to use
our imagination to put the costumes together, with the limited clothes we had!
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| This has got to be my favourite! The Police man! |
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| The shoe shiner with Papa Panov, looking very Russian! |
We
had an Ecuadorian boy dressed as a Russian policemen with a Ben 10 woolly hat, a
shoe shiner wearing jeans, and a poor, shoeless child wearing a pink summers
dress! The children loved it!
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| Papa Panov fitting new shoes onto the shoeless child. It was a bit tricky! |
The story explains how Papa Panov was told in a dream that Jesus
would visit him! It goes on to talk about all the people Papa Panov welcomed
into his home, but he became disheartened that Jesus never showed up. An angel
then reminded him of the Bible passage that when Papa Panov fed, clothed and
helped all the poor visitors he had, he was actually serving God.
“Then the
King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father,
inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you
gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was
naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in
prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these
righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you?
Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or
naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and
visit you?’
“And the
King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of
these my brothers and sisters,[f] you were doing it to me!’ Matthew 25 v
34-40
Music
It is interesting how music can trigger certain memories.
Listening to the Carpenters always reminds me of the lead up to Christmas. My
mum will put on her CD and do her Christmas baking; make her mince pies, ice
the giant Christmas cake (that seems to last until March) and steam her
Christmas puddings. The music is so cheesy but brings back good memories. This
year I won’t be there with her. December has been harder than I thought. I am
not sad about missing Christmas Day in itself. I will have my new Ecuadorian
family to celebrate with. I am looking forward to the new experiences, which is
likely to include eating Christmas dinner at midnight on Christmas Eve.
For me,
I miss time with my family and friends. Everyone has the time off work and
there is plenty of time just to spend with people. I love that. For me,
spending time with people is so important. This year, although I have new a
family and new very supportive friends, it is not the same. It is not the same as
spending time with my family.
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| Christmas 2010 |
Exhausted
When asked what my “one word Wednesday” would be; a word to
sum up the past week, I replied with “exhausted”. The past few weeks have been
exhausting in the run up to Christmas. As I write this at 8.30 on a Thursday
evening, I wonder if it is too early to go to bed or not!? My day to day life
is probably not as tiring as my life in England. I work less hours than in
England. In England I probably do more in the evenings and weekends, but I am
definitely more tired here.
Today, after the school Christmas production, I
went for a walk. I was so tired but wanted to get out of the house, on my own,
to get some fresh air. It was really nice. Just a walk twice round the park,
but really nice. I thought about why I was so tired and it dawned on me how
different my life is here, than it is in England. One of the most tiring things
in my life is speaking in Spanish. Having a conversation is far more tiring
than it would be in English. My brain is working hard not only listening to the
words and understanding what people say, but also on another level, working out
what they mean. Sometimes people assume you know what they mean; not only what
they have said, but what they infer also. A lot of that can only be picked up
through knowing the culture. My brain also works hard at forming a sentence to
continue the conversation. I feel I have got worse with my Spanish. I certainly
understand more and more each day but my talking really isn’t good. This
frustrates me and the Ecuadorians are so nice, that I am never corrected!
I am
also tired because I need a place i can go to chill out. I
love being with people and around people. I do not like to be alone. However, I
need just a small amount of time on my own, recharge my batteries and then have
enough energy to be sociable. I am missing that. I miss being able to go for a
walk at whatever time of the day/night, on my own and to think.
Chilling
out in front of the TV is different here. I only have the brain power for an English programme which
narrows it down to a very random English spoken film, CSI, Hawaii 5-0 or
House. Slim pickings! It is often House!
I also miss being able to phone people
when I want to. Skype is a God send. It is amazing to be able to chat to and
see my friends and family. I am not sure what I would do without it. However,
sometimes I want to speak to somebody now. There and then. But I can’t. I often
have to arrange a time to speak with friends.
Re-reading this sounds so negative. However, it has been helpful for me to realise some of the
things that affect my life here, make me tired and therefore grumpy. I love my
work and my life here. It is good. It is a whole load better when I am not
tired. For 2012 and I am going to make time to chill out and properly rest.
Hopefully that will mean there will be a better, more energised Amy to serve
here!
After my walk I had a lovely afternoon sleep and was very
refreshed for the evening ahead of which you never know what happen! I helped
make Victoria some Elf shoes for the Christmas drama, burnt my fingers on
boiling glue from the glue gun, went to a drama rehearsal to find it was
cancelled and finally finished off the day with some very nice chips for
dinner!
Tomorrow is the first day of the Christmas holidays. Hooray!
Wednesday 21 December 2011
Blogging: a waste of time?
The last 2 weeks have been full of ups and downs. At times,
writing this feels a waste of time. I don’t share everything I have done,
thought or places I have been to or children I have worked with. I often feel people are not interested. In a way, what I write about it doesn’t
reflect what I really have been doing. I want to try to be more open about all
the things I have been doing and learning, to share with you. Recently I have
thought no-one really reads my blog or is interested, but over the past few
weeks I am thankful for the 250 or so page views. Thank you for your interest. I
hope to have a bit more time to myself after Christmas, before school begins
again in the New Year. I will try and
write down a whole load of things I have been doing and give you a greater
insight into my life here. There are so many funny stories to share, difficult
situations which I have seen, and some great work I have had the privilege to
be a part of.
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Christmas
I don't feel Christmasy at all. It is hard to feel Christmasy when it isn't cold, there are no familiar traditions and I'm sat wearing shorts and t-shirts. Having said that, I recieved the best gift in the post this week which will help me count down the days until Christmas... an advent calendar!
Being here has certainly helped me remember what Christmas is really all about. It is about Jesus. Jesus being born and the importance of his life; living to set us an example and then dying so we no longer have to live with the burden of all the mess ups we have made.
Christmas for me this year is not about making mince pies whilst listening to Carpenters music (family tradition), going on wintery walks, putting up the tree, eating turkey and cranberry sauce, buying a Christmas radio times (family tradition) or eating party rings (another strange family tradition). It is still a joyful time to celebrate with the family, but this year I will have a different family and can celebrate with them, the birth of our saviour.
"They will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1 v 23
Christmas for me this year is not about making mince pies whilst listening to Carpenters music (family tradition), going on wintery walks, putting up the tree, eating turkey and cranberry sauce, buying a Christmas radio times (family tradition) or eating party rings (another strange family tradition). It is still a joyful time to celebrate with the family, but this year I will have a different family and can celebrate with them, the birth of our saviour.
"They will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” Matthew 1 v 23
Sunday 11 December 2011
Autumn 2011
I am here with CMS but as there are only a few of us, we frequently link up with some of the Latin Link missionaries.
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| Latin Link team conference - Oct |
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| Making pom poms for the Special Needs Olympics |
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| Christmas decorations made from yoghurt pots (right) and Father Christmas made by the children |
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| The most recent birthday in the school |
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| Enjoying work |
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| Learning about animals and making their noises using the instruments |
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| Some children needs a little more persuasion to work, than others! |
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| Delivering Speech and Language Therapy |
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| Working in Laura Flores. This girl has made such good improvement with her attention and listening |
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| Measuring water |
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