Sunday June 16, 2013 A new day

Continuing with the June 15, 2013 post.

It amazes me how greatful people are, whether young or old, when they are shown compassion.  The people in both villages were happy to have us in their midst and were delighted when we gave them, not only medicine or shoes, socks, or blankets, but a smile or a hug.  I think it showed them just how much people do care and that they are not alone in the world.

There was one elderly lady who couldn't talk; had no teeth; and appeared to be a little visually impaired.  We washed her feet and gave her new shoes of which she was very greatful.  Later in the afternoon, she came back and with a little prodding by Anita, one of the soldiers, she told Anita that she would rather have one of the baby blankets than a new pair or shoes, so we switched the blanket for shoes which made her extremely happy.  She lit up and was shaking everyone of our hands, including the soldiers.  Later I took a picture of her from a distance, then after we packed up, I went down to the road where she was standing and said, "Une foto?"  She said, "Si."  She straightened herself up; fixed her black hat and posed for me.  When I showed her the photo she smiled and grabbed my shoulder in appreciation.  I also, when she was in shoes and socks earlier, gave he a piece of chocolate, which she gladly accepted.  One boy, who I will call my lounger, due to the fact that when I was washing his feet he put his hands behind his head and leaned back, smiled brightly when I busted him on the shoe size.  He said they were too big, so I got a smaller size, but they were too tight.  I said, "Nice try.  I think you just like lounging out."  Jessi, my translater, told him what I said and his brilliant white smile broadened.   Another little girl, I absolutely loved.  She was very ticklish and very talkative.  I held her in my lap while I washed herr feet.  Jose, another translator, told me that she said she really liked me.  Getting an abrazo (hug) from her was one of the best parts of my day.
The day was pretty much like that all day.  The little smiles or the "thank you for coming's," made the day that much better and rewarding.
When we returned home that evening, the staff had decorated the dining area for Natasha's birthday.  We all sang happy birthday to her and then the soldiers and translators sang it to her in Spanish.  She turned bright red, but loved every minute of  it.  Louis, a soldier staying with us, gave her a bracelet which she absolutely loves.

Today, June 16, we went to church, which was a little different than it is in the U.S. or at least the churches I've been to.  The music was lively and there was a lot of clapping.  The end was a spiritual healing line where Pastor Ramone prayed for them and then those he prayed for fell back.  It was interesting, but good.

After church we went for pizza, where I had fruit pizza.  It was actually way better than one would expect.  I also told Jason, that if he ate fruit pizza I would try guinea pig, so now I'm praying that there won't be any place along our travels where we will have the opportunity to eat the animal on a stick.  The resort we went to after pizza was nice.  We saw a few different animals and Natasha and Tim went into the pool, but said it was freezing, so Tim went to play futbol Americana (soccer) while Natasha and I took pictures of flowers and buildings, etc.  After we were done, we watched the soldiers, who were dressed in their civilian clothes, and team members, including Tim, play soccer.  It's amazing how competitive they got, but it was a friendly competition.  Poor Pastor Ramone got nailed below the waist when Tim kicked the ball.  He fell on the ground in pain.  Tim, being a gentleman, helped him up and apologized for hurting him.  Pastor Ramone pretty much just laughed it off.  The weather got a little cooler than any of us were expecting, so we left early.  It turns out that this was a good decision since we need to be at the school at around 7:30 or 8:00 in the morning.  We need to fit 158 kids for shoes before school lets out at 1:30.  Coming back early also allowed us to visit and play with Alex, Anita, and Lily.  Tim and Alex were definitely having fun running around chasing each other or wrapping their arms around each other.  Plus they made a boat out of potatoes and Alex and Tim put the salt shaker in the middle of the pile, of which I gently tapped the back of their hands, telling them no.   I also got to meet Anita's daughter Viviana.  She is just as beautiful and sweet as her mom.  It was really nice seeing the soldiers out of their uniforms and with their families. I think it shows just how much people are alike...it's our perceptions or the pictures the media paints of people that make us all seem different.  An example would be when Rene was relaying a story of a case she had seen earlier.  A little boy had been born with a defect, which made it so his heart could be seen beating outside of his chest.  When the little boy would run he would be in pain, so he really couldn't play the way he wanted to.  Rene spoke with  the Pastor with the hope of trying to find help for the little boy, since he needed surgery in order to survive.  At the end of the day, she was informed that the boy would receive the necessary surgery and the family, who could not afford to pay for the surgery, would not suffer any hardship.  After she relayed the story, I looked over at Lily, Alex, Oscar, and Victor and say tears either streaming from their eyes or their eyes were glossy from tears that perched along the lower lid threatening to fall.  Their hearts were truly touched by her story and it shows that ethnicity, sex and other prejudices or preconceived notions are manmade which means that they do not truly exist, for one can see beyond the man made barriers if they really want to.

Yesterday, June 14, we went to the second site.  It was very different from the first site.  For one we were no longer high up in the mountains or near a volcano, so we really didn't have any smoke in the air.  The new site was in farm country.   There was a lot of corn, cabbage, and quineou, hopefully I spelled that right.  They plant down steep mountain sides.  It seems like it would be difficult to harvest the crops, especially since they have to go down the steep slopes and then take the crops up hill.
When we got to the new site, Maopote, again I'll have to check my spelling, we were greeted by kids in their best clothes.  They all stood in the square and the local teacher gave us a welcome speech.  Set up didn't take us long, but since we were late in getting there due to one lane dirt roads and switchbacks.  Really the driver was asked to drive slow, so he wouldn't terrify us.  Double yellow lines don't mean much here.  Anyway, the kids were super excited to get their shoes and socks or even two pair of socks if we didn't have shoes to fit.  I was supposed to be in children's in the morning and socks and shoes in the evening, but due to the late arrival, I spent the entire afternoon in socks and shoes.
Today was a different story.  On our way we got a flat tire, so half of us walked about twenty minutes to the village.  Half of it was downhill, but the other half was uphill.  It was a gorgeous walk.  The lush vegetation and river created a peaceful atmosphere.  Once at the village, I went to pharmacy.  It was interesting and I really liked helping there.  Mainly I gathered the necessary pills for the patients and counted pills.  The afternoon I was back in socks and shoes.  There weren't that many people for shoes so we played with Alex, Anita, and two new soldiers.  Alex kept cracking me up.  She layed across Natasha and played like she was sleeping.  We also took group pictures and a few fun and crazy pics.  Then Alex drew eyebrows, a goatee, and a mustache on Jason.  Basically we were all having fun.

So since its late here, I think I'll finish this tomorrow.  Until then.

Yesterday was our last day at Pachancho.  It was sad to leave them, especially since we had so many shoes we still could have given out to people.  We gave shoes to everyone, but we had to close to pack up, so we couldn't give evereyone who was waiting shoes.  We did, however give shoes to several older people.  One elderly lady was extremely appreciative since her shoes wer falling apart.  An elderly man who was wearing worn out canvas shoes got a new pair of boots, which made him beam from ear to ear.  It was great to see the smiling faces when they got new shoes, no matter what age they were.  We also gave out blankets and hats to women with babies who were not big enough for shoes.  Even these seemed to be greatly appreciated and the woman would smile and thank us for the blankets and hats.

When we left we had little kids running by the bus waving and smiling at us.  It was great.

I'll catch up the blog tomorrow on the new site.

Second day at site

Today was extremely busy.  I spent my morning washing the feet of several children.   One child I had laughed every time I touched his feet.  He was absolutely adorable.  The kids were so happy to receive their new shoes and socks and even if we didn't have shoes in their size, they were happy to get new socks.  My group this morning did an outstanding job of making the kids laugh and the soldiers are absolutely wonderful.  I thoroughly enjoy working with them and hope to get moe names.

This afternoon I was in children's which is where we play with the kids and read them bible stories while Jose interprets the stories into Spanish.  The kids seem to enjoy stories and the crayons they got.  They really seemed to like playing soccer and the parachute game where you put a ball in the center of a parachute and have the kids pull it tight.  The idea is to keep the ball in the parachute.

We had a little time left over after most of the kids left, so we played with the kids.  They loved coming over and tickling our sides.  We would act like it was extremely ticklish so they would do it some more.  I gave Jason some candy I bought and he took it out to give to the kids.  He really didn't have a chance to hand it out as he was mobbed.  The candy quickly disappeared.  It was great.

I have to say that so far I prefer to work in shoes and socks.  I really feel like that is where I'm supposed to be.

We are taking extra shoes and socks to the village tomorrow.  Hopefully we will have enough for those who show up.

I can't download the pictures I took due to the iPad not having a port, so it will have to wait until I return home.

I have to say that so far the kids and I are having a great time.

So this is the first day I've been a le to have Internet service, so I'm going to try to put in as much information as I can.

We arrived in Quito on time, but got stuck at customs.  It was only because our paperwork didn't get one final stamp.  Luckily, we didn't have to wait long before we were loading up the bus and van and driving the approximately hour and a half drive to the hotel.  By then the whole team was exhausted and ready for bed.  So we packed everything into the hotel, picked our rooms, and tried to sleep.

The next day we had a wonderful fresh fruit breakfast and after we were finished we packed everything back up and after the military showed up, we loaded up again for the long drive to Riobamba.  Since we got in so late we couldn't go to our first site so we began prepping instead.  It was a long evening of trying to find the right shoe sizes for the site next Monday, but we seemed to manage it.

Today was our first day on site.  I washed a lot of feet and saw some blisters that looked like they were extremely painful.  I actually, after washing and fitting for shoes, sent one young girl to medical due to the severity of her blistering.  She, of course, refused to say she hurt.  I also got a lot of hugs and smiles from kids happy to get new shoes and the glove balloons that Jason, Nate, Tim, and Janny made.  We didn't see as many kids as we wanted to, but we were told that it was a holiday there and that many had gone to the next village or someplace like that.  All in all it was a great day and the team members are bonding and creating great friendships.

I have taken a lot of pictures and will attempt to upload them, but they may need to wait until I get home to do that.  Oh and my translators in shoes and socks are wonderful and patient as are the military that are helping.  Lily seemed to remember me from the first bus ride and hugged me this morning and remembered my name (for those of you who don't know hugging and a kiss on one cheek is a customary greeting in Ecuador).  And another soldier Alex is very nice and loves helping.

Before I forget, I should mention that today we had some babies who were crying and in an attempt to get them to stop one of the male soldiers was making silly faces and saying something (my Spanish is not great) to the baby in an attempt to help calm the baby.  Tomorrow I will have to remember to get his name.  Their was another female soldier along with Alex who were great with the babies and kids.  They were all, both female and male, playing and cuddling with the kids.  It was great to see.

So it's getting late and I think I need to go wash a bit and head to bed.

Preparing to go...

     We have been really busy preparing for the Medical Mission.  At one of our meetings we learned the proper ways to wash and size feet.  One of the things we will do, along with providing medical care to Ecuadorians is to provide shoes and socks for students.  These are necessities for the kids so they can go to school.
     At another meeting we counted and packed supplies.  We have over a thousand shoes, unfortunately we can't take them all since we have to have a person for every two bags.  If we had a couple of more people going we could have taken them all.  We still have the majority of the socks and shoes to take, which will help the kids and elderly.
     We also were told that we would get a chance to relax a little at a resort which contains a zoo and pool or hot springs.  At the end of our trip, after all medical care and shoes have been given to those who need them, we will get to see other parts of Ecuador.  We will be traveling to a leather town; woodworking town; and textile town.  We will also have the opportunity to take a boat ride inside an inactive volcano. 
     At some of the meetings, our fearless leader Nancy Gregory, explained the use of the toilets, which isn't what we are used to.  We were told that we are not to actually sit on the toilets, but we squat over them and we can not throw our tissue into the toilet once finished.  It goes in a can on the side. 
     In preparation for the trip, I asked one of the ladies, Sherley Alvarez, to give me some sayings so that I could actually speak with our translators and maybe some of the soldiers.  I don't know how much I will remember, but I am going to try.  I actually took Spanish in college, so about a year ago, but I don't think enough stuck for me to be able to speak fluently with anyone.  I actually thought, while I was taking Spanish, that I would never use it.  So to my past Spanish instructor, I say thank you!
     The past few meetings we have finished packing all the supplies, although Nancy and Wendy Delzer repacked them (they've had several years practice to perfect the packing necessary).  Those of us who were not packing were making little bracelets to give to people.  We used a lot of beads and twine, but I'm sure the bracelets will be greatly appreciated by those who receive them.
     So today, Natasha, Tim, and I packed up everything to go and have lists of what we still need to put in our bags for our home departure Sunday, June 9 at about 2 AM so we can arrive at the airport by 3:45 AM.  Plus we began our altitude sickness medicine so we won't have to worry about that once we get there.  Tomorrow, I will ensure we have everything packed and ready to go and ensure we have the necessary travel documents put where we can easily get to them once we get to the airport (forgetting our passports, travel insurance, and other documents would not be a good thing.)
     My goal in the posts that will follow this one will be to post nightly, but I have to be real too, since we will be working hard all day; the posts may be every other day.  No matter what I will keep a journal so I can update the blog and I will have pictures to add, which if I can add them while in Ecuador I will, if not then I will do a final blog once home again.
     So the next step is early Sunday morning for the airplane boarding and the real travel through Ecuador to begin!