Simeon and I (Kim) recently spent a few days in South Quito with Simeon’s babysitter (Martita) and her family. I must admit, I was a little nervous about it. The whole goal was to be immersed in Spanish all the time to help increase my knowledge and especially speaking Spanish. It was a little nerve-racking thinking of speaking and understanding Spanish 24 hours a day. I defintely did better than what I thought I would. I understood a great deal and thanks to my dictionary, I was able to speak pretty well also. We learned a lot about culture and everyday life for Ecuadorians in Quito. The whole family loved Simeon and Martita’s 2 daughters would hurry home from school to spend time with Simeon and to ask me LOTS of questions! It was so much fun!
We had some interesting experiences while there. Hireq, one of our dogs, got sick the first day we were there so we had to take her to the vet. Additionally, Simeon got sick the 3rd day we were there. It was his first time being sick with a fever and vomiting. It ended up that Joel came back early from Santo Domingo so that we could take Simeon back to the north of Quito to our pediatrician. She told us he had a throat infection and he has been on antibiotics. Today, Monday, is the first day he is feeling more like himself. We are thankful for God’s healing. It was hard on me as a mom to see him sick. Even being a nurse practitioner, I wasn’t thinking as a nurse practitioner, I was thinking as a mom. Joel had to remind me when I was thinking we needed to take Simeon to the doctor like “RIGHT NOW”, he said “what would you do if your friend brought their son to you with this problem”? I thought about it and remembered, all kids have fevers. It was an interesting contrast for me to try and balance.
I am grateful for this experience. It forced me to use my Spanish more than I have, because I had to! This was good for me to realize I know more than I think I do. I praise God for safety for Simeon and I and for Martita and her family for opening their home and their lives to us.
Simeon loved playing the piano at Martita's
Robin (Martita's Husband) showing Simeon how to play
More with Simeon playing the piano
The Santiago Partnership