Hardcore Jungle Trekkers!

NOTE--This post is incredibly long. I just kind of wrote a bunch of thoughts. I hope you enjoy it (and please just comment something, I love hearing from people!), but I apologize for the length!


Hey everyone! I am writing from the small town of Bahia de Caraquez. We arrived here at about 6pm—by the way, I am safe. If you heard about the riots in Quito, we were far away from them. So Mom, DON’T WORRY! ☺
Wow. So let’s see. We were in Los Naranjos for almost a week. We arrived there last Friday, and we pretty much immediately went to our host families.
Gosh, it’s hard to sum up everything I’ve experienced in the past week.
I’m rooming with Alex, the baby of our group. ☺ She’s 16 and from California. We’ve been having a lot of fun together. We’re living with Carlos and Anjelica—they are pretty much the sweetest couple. They are so great and generous to me and Alex. We have two host siblings: Nayely (or Michelle….but she introduced herself as Nayely), who’s 7, and Andy, who’s like…4. They are adorable, and I’m kind of obsessed with them.
It’s really difficult for me to process all that’s happened. Already, I know!
We started planting trees on Monday. It’s really hard work. They are literally cutting paths for us with a machete so that we can plant the trees. We’re planting along three different rivers. This week we planted probably 1000 trees….only 7000 to go! ☺ I’ve gotten tons of bug bites—ants, sand fleas, you name it, I probably have it. (Yes Mom, I’m taking my malaria meds.) So yeah, the work here is hard, but it’s good.
And just FYI—you know how I’ve been nervous about Machu Picchu? Well no worries—Alex and I (along with Connor and Eirann who live 5 minutes from us), have figured that we walk at least 10 miles a day. Up and down hills! At this point, Alex, Connor, Eirann, and I live the farthest from everything. As we work down rivers and stuff, we’re hoping we’ll get closer to home.
So Machu Picchu, here I come!
Our seminars have been interesting so far. We’re studying the environment and natural resources, so we’re looking at what it means to conserve the environment and be environmentally responsible, all while considering basic human needs and energy needs…Personally, it’s been really challenging (Hahaha Ty, I miss you!). Being environmentally responsible for me usually means giving up a lot of creature comforts. Or at least feeling guilty for the things I have that are environmentally destructive. I dunno. It’s something I am struggling with, and I’m interested to see how my mind changes over the next three weeks. I’m realizing that I am stubborn on this issue and I don’t want to change my mind. So I’m praying that I’ll be open to new ideas and ways of living. (For those of you who are concerned, NO, I am not becoming a vegetarian, haha.)
I’m really enjoying myself though. I think Alex and I are really blessed with our host family. We are having a great time with them. My host mom is so adorable. She laughs a lot, and I’ve actually had a conversation with her by myself! I can understand a lot more Spanish than I can speak. But yeah, Anjelica likes to joke around with us a lot. A few nights ago we watched one of the Anaconda movies. So ridiculous. Yeah by the way, we have TV and a DVD player. Our house is a one room hut, but it’s warm (not too warm though) and dry. There are two queen sized beds with awesome mosquito nets, and the first night they told us the beds were for us and they would sleep on the floor…Alex and I immediately told them absolutely not, thank you so much, but they needed a bed.
I was really convicted the first night in Los Naranjos as I was walking to our house with my family and Alex…I was carrying my two backpacks—my packs that have made everyone say, “That’s ALL you’re taking for EIGHT MONTHS?”—and I was thinking about how heavy they are. And then I realized, walking next to my sister and Mom, that I probably have as much as they do in their whole house in those two bags. And it’s a lot more expensive. I don’t know. These people have so little and seem so happy. Sure they have to walk a while to get places, and they don’t having running water, but you know what, they have a toilet! And they have a place to shower (we use two buckets, it’s actually pretty nice). And they have food and a TV and movies and school. They seem happy.
And here I am with all my STUFF. We watched a documentary called The Corporation (I definitely recommend it—Jaron especially, you’ve got to see it), and we’ve been talking about how ridiculous our consumer culture is.
Anyway. Sorry for how disjointed this post is. I feel like these posts will only get worse, haha.
So yeah. I’m having a grand time. But please pray for endurance, patience, and positive attitudes as we’re planting. I’ve been drawn to 1 Corinthians since I’ve been gone, and God is teaching me a lot. Please pray that I would continue learning and digging deep in the Word. Also pray that I would have grace to be humble and bold with the gospel.
I miss ya’ll a lot! Sorry for the long post. But thanks for the prayers and concerns. I may have internet next weekend (I’ll be on my Independent Student Travel—probably to Banos). By the way! Everyone here is SUPER excited for my birthday tomorrow. No worries Mom, I will be well loved on my birthday. ☺