Crossing the Equator

It's almost time for me to head south, just far enough to get to the southern hemisphere.  Unfortunately I will be missing out on the festivities of Super Bowl Sunday, and instead traveling to Ecuador early that morning.  Although I guess that's not too bad of a trade.  The anticipation of this trip has been building up, and I'm definitely ready to go.

Ecuador has quite a variety of climates in different regions with the Pacific coast, Andes mountain range, Amazon jungle, and the Galapagos Islands.  After experiencing the heat and humidity of the Amazon region of Ecuador last year, I am thankful that this time I will be living in the mountains.  The capital city of Quito, where I'm headed, is at a high enough elevation (9350 ft) to stay cool despite being near the equator.  Obviously it's still a whole lot warmer than Michigan in February, even when all our snow is melting.


My housing for my eight weeks in Quito will be with an Ecuadorian host family.  How much English they speak I have no idea, but hey I'm hoping to get some practice speaking Spanish anyway.  It looks like part of my time will be spent working in the HCJB office in Quito.  That's where several full time missionaries and nationals are on staff with the water projects team.  We will also be traveling to different communities to work on drinking water and sanitation systems.

This experience is definitely going to be challenging and will require flexibility.  Hopefully I will learn a thing or two about development work through providing clean water and how that can be used as a testimony to God's love.  I'm very excited to work alongside and get to know the HCJB missionaries and Ecuadorian nationals.  Also I hope to grow my faith perspective by seeing the church in a different context.  I would really appreciate prayers for my trip preparation and smooth travels.  God is going to do some great things; I wouldn't expect anything less.