Reflections on What I'm Learning: Part I (Halfway Through Our Trip)

 By Monique:

The month of March felt like an absolute whirlwind. Our days were filled with either socializing, learning Spanish, tagging along on a missions trip around Ecuador, exploring the incredible Galapagos, or trying to maintain some sense of normalcy with homeschool and sabbatical project work. Now that we've been getting settled in Scotland over the last 4 days, my brain is finally starting to slow down enough to begin processing all that I've been learning since we left California on February 2. Here are just a few snippets of what I've been reflecting on over the last 2 months...

• It has been so good (and humbling) for me to suddenly not be the expert in anything. I didn't realize until being on this trip that I am so used to being an expert in my life - I am confident in the language and culture of my home, I am competent in my profession, I mostly feel confident in navigating social situations, and I have a general sense of mastery over my daily life and environment at home. And then, all of that was taken away from me! I struggled to communicate in Spanish (in Puerto Rico and Ecuador), I was constantly taking in new information about the place and culture I was living in, and I took on a new role of observer and learner. Most days I didn't feel useful (which was especially challenging in missionary settings), and many days I had no sense of my purpose, other than to listen and learn. However, I have a sense that those things are of great purpose to God and his desire for my growth. 
• To go along with the humbling task of not being an expert in anything, I am gaining a sense of just how small I am in this great, big world. And honestly, that realization is relieving and freeing. I am but one tiny person doing tiny things in my tiny sphere of influence. There are so many other lives out there living in different ways and impacting their own spheres of influence differently. I find the variety of lives in this vast world to be beautifully inspiring. And it lets me see that there is not just one way to live. 

• Perhaps the thing that impacted me most during our month in Ecuador was witnessing the ways that God is working there. I developed a deeper love for my church denomination in meeting many of the village Nazarene churches embedded in the jungles and highlands of Ecuador. Those churches welcome the help of Americans, but they are sustainable and thriving on their own. I was especially blown away by learning that a group of churches in the Riobamba district of Ecuador have taken responsibility in caring for over 10,000 children from Compassion International - with food, shoes, after school care, tutoring, and Christian education. I also was inspired and moved by my conversations with many missionaries that live and work in the Quito area - our Nazarene missionary hosts, our friends working at a Christian international school and running a large ministry organization, and others serving through study abroad programs and retreat centers. I loved learning their stories about what led them to serve abroad, and what gives them a sense of purpose and joy in their service. Truly, I think that is what all of us need to be fulfilled no matter where we live - a deep sense of purpose and joy in our service to the world.
• Finally, I'm learning that this trip is giving my kids the thing I most hoped it would. Lots of people have said to us - You're giving your kids the gift of a lifetime! It's going to change their lives forever! And I am starting to see those things become real already. At the end of our time in Ecuador, we asked our kids what their highlight was from that country. Christian named the Galapagos, and Eve named friends we had made there. But what has really stuck with me was Soren's response: "I just love seeing different places and cultures around the world. I love taking it all in." That's it. That's all I want - for my kids and for me. To open our minds to those that live differently than us, and to relish in the differences and beautiful varieties of the brilliant world God has made.