We Made it to Ecuador!

After a week of training in Ensendada, Mexico and Los Angelos, California, along with a far too long stay in the Miami airport, we finally made it to Ecuador. At training, we did work projects, had guest speakers, and met other intern teams who will be serving all around the world this summer. We enjoyed the other teams and were sad to leave them, even though we spent less than a week together.

On Friday, our teams moved on to our sites... or tried to. Due to volcanic activity in Guayaquil, Ecuador, our flights to Quito were either cancelled or postponed (yeah, I know, I have really lousy luck getting to Latin America). We spent Friday night at a hotel in Miami trying to figure out new flight plans. None of us knew Miami, so we walked around until we found a Cuban restaurant for dinner. After dinner, we went back to the hotel, prayed together, and went to bed.

Saturday morning, we got up at 3 am -- some of us for the second day in a row. Four of us were scheduled to fly out at 6 am, three at 6:30 pm and three more at 6:30 pm on Sudnay. We all went to the airport to see if we could get the Sunday departures an earlier flight. We couldn't. There were too many people trying to fly to Quito.

I was part of the 6:30 pm Saturday group. One other intern(Samantha Gale) and I left the airport to save our sanity, but the others stayed to save their money. First we took a cab to IHOP for breakfast, mostly because that's where the driver suggested and we were hungry for second breakfast at 6 am. So, we got to IHOP, spoke Spanish with the servers, and looked up the address of Panera Bread in a phone book. We wanted internet, comfy chairs, and good food. There were a few listings, so we asked a group of Miami Cops having breakfast which was closest to the airport.

We spent a good four hours in a corner of Panera. We took little naps, had some snacks and grabbed lunch to go. It was perfect. Then we went back to the airport (and paid a lot for a cab). We waited with the others, the Sunday group was still trying to get a different flight. Eventually, we parted ways, and the three of us flew to Quito.

After landing in Quito, going through customs, and finding our bags, some Inca Link-ers picked us up at brought us to Casa Blanca, the guest house that Inca Link runs.

Yesterday, those of us who were here went to El Refugio, a camp just outside of Quito that does team building and has ropes courses. If you know Megan Moberly, El Refugio was where she worked last year, which was a fun connection for me. We made a contract with each other to always give 110%, challenge by choice, be here now, and choose joy. Our team is really awesome, and I'm excited to work with them all summer.

Today, we have the day off. Hallelujah. We need it.

And tomorrow, we are starting the "Amazing Race!" We are going to be traveling in small groups all around Ecuador and competing in challenges, much like the TV show. We're excited to explore and nervous for four intense days of travel. Please pray for our health and safety this week!