Challenge Week: Orientation for Ecuador
Hello friends and family! Welcome to my first blog post.
I just finished eight days of orientation for my year in Ecuador in Markham, Illinois and Elkhart, Indiana. "Challenge Week" was intended to stretch us in ways that would help prepare us for our time in Latin America. It almost felt like I was back at school as my teammates and I participated in mini workshops from MMN staff, pastors, locals, and professors about topics such as white privilege, anti-racism, cross-cultural discipleship, biblical hospitality, nonviolent communication, and global poverty.
There are six of us who will be spending the next year in Latin America, three in Peru, and three in Ecuador. Elena, Bryli, and Aaron are going to Peru, and Shannon, Karina, and I are going to Ecuador. We come from Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Virginia. It has been a pleasure getting to know them this week and I look forward to the time we will have together this year. I will post links to their blogs when I have them so you can also read about their adventures.
At the beginning of our training, Sharon, our director, told us that the most important questions to be thinking about during Challenge Week and our time in our countries is "What is God doing in this city?" and "What is my role in God's work?" These central questions have helped focus my learning for the week as we connected many different aspects of living/working/serving abroad.
Some of our other "challenges" included trying new foods at a Colombian festival in Chicago. From there, we were told to find our way to our Ecuadorian or Peruvian consulates using public transportation. We ate cookies with bugs (since this is normal in other parts of the world), and attended a Spanish-speaking church service.
One of our more intense challenges was a rich/poor meal meant to simulate how the rich, middle-class, poor, and extremely poor eat. At random, Sharon drew names which would indicate our dinner fate that night, and I happened to be rich. I had a three course meal, a choice between merlot and rosé (grape juice and sports drink), mood music and excellent service. It was both uncomfortable and kind of humorous to be singled out of my friends. I was told I couldn't share even though they were begging me for a bite of my steak and pie. In middle-class, Shannon had a hamburger. The poor, Elena and Bryli, had a potato and hamburger mixture, and the extremely poor, Karina and Aaron, ate plain, baked potatoes. The spirit was light because we were fairly certain we would get an adequate meal when the challenge was over, but we were also reminded that this is many people's daily reality.
We also spent the mornings volunteering at a daycare that is run out of the church in Markham. I spent my time with the three-year-olds, and was reminded what fun they can be -- so loving and lovable. I did a lot of reminding kids to share, shoe-tying, giving and receiving hugs, and hearing about all of their fidget spinners.
That was Challenge Week, in a nutshell. Thanks for reading. In the meantime, I'll be practicing my Spanish! Stay tuned for more updates.
