youre in kichwa country now boy!

This week has been one of many adventures, challenging experiences, surreal images, and encounters with the radical love that only Christ envokes. My week started on Monday morning at 10 am outside a church in cayambe. We loaded up three pickups with as many clothes, food, blankets, and mattresses as they could hold. Then we took the 1.5 hour winding road through the mountains to oyacachi, a distant remote village situated right in the middle of kichwa country which is an indigenous group in ecuador. This village was recently hit last Friday by a devastating landslide which destroyed over 25 homes and ruined much of the economy in trout farms and artisan workshops. Over 100 people have no homes or work which may not sound like a lot of people but they have nowhere to turn being located in a remote village. Our trucks brought materials that these people desperately needed. People swarmed the trucks and we distributed the goods to people waiting with desperate arms in muddy streets. It was incredibly humbling to say the least. We watched as the 100 or so people lined up with half a two liter bottle or old bowl they found in anticipation of a lunch being served from giant caldrons. It was something you see on commercials or movies but this was happening right here. I got a chance to talk with some people and often times they were smiling and laughing. They were grateful for just an extra set of clothes and food for the week. They talked about the ways God was already at work to restore the village physically and spiritually. They didn't complain about what they had lost or how long they would live without a home. Taught me a lesson on optimism for sure and truly trusting God. Houses were strewn everywhere typically just a roof or a wall. Check out the facebook page for covenant world relief for some pics and also the Santiago partnership. I worked there doing these things on Tuesday and Thursday as well. Working with various other local church's near cayambe who don't have much but give generously to these people. The church dropped work dropped chores dropped life for a few days to give and work for these people. I asked myself how many people would drop everything to help out another community in the States. I would like to think some but I really don't know. It was inspiring to see these people taking their faith seriously and truly putting it as the first priority. I could certainly do more. On Wednesday I worked at the medical clinic with Kim and played futbol with some kids at the local field. Friday I went to Otavalo which is close to cayambe and well known for its expansive market. It was really cool to wonder among artisan stands and meat shops wig Anthony you could possibly image inside an animal for sale. I met some cool Swedish people who were also staying with the host family I was staying with, pastor Jose. Some other experiences throughout the week: on Tuesday, we were driving back from oyacachi and I was talking with some of the guys who were in my truck. The leader of the kichwa district and a director of the covenant church and I were talking when the car started moving right like the covenant director did many times to avoid rocks but this time we kept moving right. All of a sudden we collided with a huge rock turned parallel to the road hit another huge rock and returned back to the road. The driver had fallen asleep mid conversation and we nearly died. If we had been about 6 feet back we would have shot a gap over the cliff into the river below. The only injuries were bruises and neck pain from whiplash for the directors wife. The car had a seriously busted up radiator but was functional none the less. :he directors name is Rolando and he is a good friend of mine. Hes an amazing man and had gotten only a few hours of sleep because he was collecting materials from various churches. Im not mad at all and very thankful for God putting that rock there. Definitely said many prayers of gratitude after the experience. On Wednesday, I went down the valley behind the house of the host family with a friend. There were no trails but it was fun avoiding creeks and cows along the way. I was walking along a small ledge when the ground gave out and I slid down into a thornbush. No major injuries but bloddy legs. These are the kind of adventure I love. A little danger no agenda just exploration. It was incredibly cool and fun to hop stones in the creek through the valley. On Friday, I climbed up the nearby loma or big hill/ small mountain. I climbed with my two swedish friends and one the daughters of the host family. We climbed through farmers fields, jumped creeks, hitchhiked when we could, and climbed a few fences. Not strictly legal but whimsical! And when we reached the top, we could see across the whole valley behind leading up to a the snow covered volcano cayambe as the sun set showing brilliant shades of orange and red. A truly incredible show put on by the One who made it all. This week has been full and amazing. I cant image a more beautiful week of Gods love and people living for Christ. I saw disaster up close but the more moving piece was certainly the hope found only in Jesus. Jesus plus nothing! Thanks for reading and I apologize for kinked autocorrect. Funny moment: the pope is coming to Quito on Monday. I was talking about how 1.5 million people were coming to see him. I was discussing the traffic rules and I said la papa which means potato not el papa which is the pope. The family cracked up for a good 10 minutes before explaining my mistake. So remember when the potato comes to your hometown "there are gonna be a lot of goofy traffic rules :)