Nebraska in Quito
We just got back from a week in the mountain suburbs of Quito, partnering with the church, “Jesus El Salvador” and a team from Ceresco, NE.
What a fun, incredible week!
The team was made up of six lovely individuals, who came and partnered with the church doing construction together, attending the regular church services, and partnering with the Santiago Partnership and putting on a medical clinic right there in the church.
One of the really, REALLY awesome parts of the week was that we all stayed with host families. I cannot stress enough how much more you connect with a church, with a culture, with a family, than when you stay with them in their homes.
Of course it is hard, maybe you don’t speak their language, maybe you are not use to how they live, maybe you feel awkward, but it is so, so worth it! What a great way to cross cultural barriers and show your brothers and sisters that you care about them and you want to learn about them by being hosted in their homes. So beautiful!
So thank you Ceresco, NE team! Way to be missional, flexible, and open hearted! It was a joy to partner with you and the church in Quito!
Love,
Elizabeth
“Always room for one more…”
I love having people stay with us. I grew up in a home where there was “always room for one more”, where a year didn’t go by that we didn’t have someone from another culture, country, or state, living with us.
My parents were always welcoming people in. And because of that upbringing and home atmosphere, our home, here in Ibarra or wherever home is to us, also has the mindset of, “Come”, “You are welcome”, “Be at home”, “There is always room for one more”.
How much our lives have been enriched by the dear souls that have walked through our doors, by the conversations we have had as we have sat around our table or stood around our kitchen counter or broken bread together…. what a privilege and a blessing!
In May we were able to host two lovely groups of people.
The first guests were a retired missionary couple that had previously lived in Ecuador. They were the sweetest older couple with a daily morning routine of him getting up and making coffee and tea for the both of them with a side of crackers and chocolate (so sweet!).
They were such an encouragement to us, praying with and for us, exploring a bit of Ecuador together, and in the end, introducing us to one of my favorite devotionals to date (prayasyougo.com)
(We didn’t get any photos of us together, but we did get pictures of our explorations with them!)
The next group we hosted were our very good friends from Sweden/Ecuador. We had previously stayed with them in their home in Sweden last year, and we were so excited to be able to host them in our home this time. They also came with her parent’s from Sweden so our house had English, Swedish, and Spanish all going on at the same time, sometimes all within the same sentence. It was such a lovely time and again, such an encouragement to see them and spend time with them. Beautiful people!
No photos…:(
We also were able to host our sister friend, Esther! Who is becoming a regular guest and practically has her own room in our house. WE LOVE HER!
Thanks for coming and visiting!
And if YOU, the friend, family or acquaintance reading this, ever want to come to Ecuador and need a place to stay, there is always room for you. Come.
Love,
Elizabeth