Ecuador

I have had the AMAZING opportunity to study abroad in Quito, Ecuador for the past three weeks. I took a two week spanish course and spent the last week in the Amazon Jungle in a small town called Misahualli. While we were in Misahualli, we spent two days doing work at a small school and we spent two days at a small village where we did VBS with the children there. That was one the best experiences I have ever had. Seeing those children's eyes light up every time we arrived and spent a few hours teaching them about Jesus and just playing with them was one of the most rewarding things of my life. One verse that we talked about while in the jungle was Joshua 1:9 which says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Looking back, it was the perfect verse to sum up the missions work we did in Misahualli. Not only was it the perfect verse for our jungle trip, but it was the perfect verse for my entire trip in Ecuador. Take a look at this picture: 

I took this picture after we left Cotopaxi (the world's second largest active volcano in the world) and were driving back to Quito. It wasn't until I upload this picture onto my computer that I noticed there was a cross in front of the mountain. As soon as I saw it I froze and was flooded with emotions. It reminded me that there are times that we forget God is with us because we are so wrapped up in our own lives, but He is always there, he never leaves and never will. And when we were in the jungle talking about Joshua 1:9, the very end of the verse says God will be with you wherever you go and once again I was reminded of the love God has for me. This has been a life changing trip and I can't wait to get back to the states and share all of my experiences with the people I love and continue to spread God's word.