So I’ve gotten all my forms off to International Teams and received my login to keep an eye on my support raising account. Not that that’s extremely exciting, but for me, sitting around wishing it was May 29 for the next 90 Days, it’s just a little step closer to Quito. Everyone just pray for me and Jerry(and the other six Interns from Tennessee to California) as we go through this whole support-raising process preparing our hearts and minds and bank accounts to be the leaders that God and Youth World need us to be this summer.
Photos Up
So I have finally got my Flickr Plugin working and my photos are up. This particular plugin doesn’t update super-fast, so the best way to view the new ones is on my flickr page, quite a few are showing up right now. I’m in the process of getting all of mine moved over there, even the Ecuador ones. So keep an eye on them. Just hit the “photos” link at the top of this page (or if you’re reading this on facebook, click right here).
New Site/Blog
If you are reading this, you’ve either actually found my new e-home or you’re on facebook. In the case of the latter, cruise on over to www.dannypeck.net and you’ll see my brand new site, which at this point is mainly my blog. I’ll be working on changing that in the coming days, but this is going to be the home of all my 2008 Ecuador updates, so check it out regularly.
I also have a new e-mail, danny@dannypeck.net so send me something and make me happy (and let me know I am a good hacker and have actually got it working)
Get out of my tire, Satan
So I’m driving home from COA this afternoon after a long process of trying to do a good deed for my brother. Turning off Road Street1 onto Ehringhaus Street I hear and feel a pop-KA-thunk. No seriously. That’s what it did. Pop-KA-thunk.
I made it back to Riverwind (having already decided my tire was going flat) before I gave up denying I couldn’t make it all the way home.
After a slightly stressful process2 of getting the tire changed and driving over to Merchant’s Tire and waiting for a new tire (BIG slash, had to be replaced), the guy there just grins at us at the register and says “We had an issue with your car.” Sounded scary. But he was grinning. The “issue” was what they pulled out of my tire. Nobody there had ever seen anything this size puncture and STAY IN a tire before.
See image below. And yes, that is a breakpad.3
Although it didn’t screw up my day too terribly, the whole process did make me miss both La Casa at Christ Episcopal and the youth praise band that Adam and I are helping start and lead at First Baptist. Dissapointing. I miss my “chillins”. But I did learn a great deal of patience and acceptance out of this deal. And if I have to walk to La Casa next week I will.
1For those of you not from Elizabeth City, yes, someone actually named a road “Road Street”. That’s just how we do in “No’f Ca-liiina”.
2I say “slightly” stressful because I just decided to be calm about it. Besides finally realizing “Eh, what can you do?”… if there is a non-terrible time to get a flat tire, it’s on your day off and in a safe, non-busy, familiar place.
3No, it was not mine. I asked, and I went over to Jerry at NAPA and he pulled out a set of ’96 Maxima break pads which were not the same.
Quito Quest
So I found out today that Jerry and I have been accepted as interns with Youth World this summer! I’m so excited because I finally know for sure that I’ll be there, and I’ll have a buddy.
For those of you who don’t know, Youth World is an organization in Qutio, Ecuador which exists to identify, teach and equip leaders to impact young people and families to be disciples of Jesus Christ. I was in Quito last summer with the mission team from Christ Episcopal Church and I had such a wonderful/eye-opening/transforming experience that I knew I had to come back. So this year I’ll be leading teams all summer as an intern, and, as they call it, “trying ministry on.”
Pray for me and for Jerry as we go about the fundraising and other start-up procedures. And this will be my main place to update anyone and everyone on what’s going on with that.
PRAISE GOD.
Me? Are you serious?
Quito-
Early. That’s my summation of the first three hours of my morning. I got up at 6:30 when Edla came in the room and I was pretty much a zombie all the way to Mission Reconciliation.
We got to the church earlier than pretty much everyone and got to greet them all as they got there. It wasn’t as big a crowd as I expected for the Presiding Bishop to be there, but maybe that was the point. Lots of important clergy I’d never heard of and the girls danced (which was actually really great).
It probably wasn’t as important to me as I was the only one in the group who was both a non-Spanish speaker and a non-Episcopalian, so I had doubly no idea what was going on (can you double no idea?).
After that, Mission Emaus for lunch, presentation of the stuff (TV, amplification system, blender, DVD player) that they were able to buy with the team’s donation, and finally the VBS.
Anita was great with all the kids. She had this whole room of children totally silent and still. Then we did music. In the States I would have considered it a disaster (Julie: “I don’t sing!” Danny: “I don’t speak Spanish!”) but the way it worked out, I’d say I was pretty proud and it was successful and fun, especially considering we translated all the songs like 20 minutes before.
Then it was the “whole world in His hands” project. Not enough glue, not enough directions, TONS of fun. Little Jefferson was who I mostly hung around with the “help” and it was nice just to chill with him, not even really having functional conversation, but a super-functional relationship.
When all was said and done we took probably a thousand pictures with everyone. We’ll get to hang out for a little bit tomorrow, but it felt like good-bye already. I’m going to seriously miss Anita and Maria José and Jefferson and Don Rodrigo.
Finally back to the hostel for 40 minutes to rest before dinner. We tried one place but Dario, Angela and their group were already there. We talked to Dario for a bit and then went about two doors down to Pincho’s. We’re such Americans. Half of us ordered Cheeseburgers and Coke and Coleman got 4 orders of ($0.99) BBQ wings.
Cameron and Roberto came halfway through and we had lots of fellowship.
Then back to the hostel. Debrief was pretty cool. Everyone talked about what they learned about God and about themselves. We pretty much discussed how much God can do through us even though we can do so little on our own. And of course the old man with the guitar was a big topic. (This 83-year-old man at Emaus played classical guitar and he and his daughter sang Ecuadorian songs for us. Most of us had no idea what they meant, but he opened up to us about how our gifts of time and effort inspired him and reminded him of the love of God).
Overall, not much work today. But I have a different perspective on life and faith by actively looking through others’ eyes and at how they can teach me.
Oh- and tomorrow I’m going to be a Godfather for Luis from Mission Emaus when he is confirmed. Big deal, kinda scary, and puts me back in the contemplative mood. Wow.
The most guilty super-sized drink of my life
Quito-
The day isn’t quote over but I feel like we’ve done so much. This morning we had La Red orientation and learned about the youth ministry training that goes on here. Fifteen people will graduate from the leader program tomorrow, so we decorated the Youth World office for them.
We spent the rest of the morning buying shirts etc. from the Youth World store, crafts from a family (that I’m not sure how they are connected with Youth World) and eating lunch at a restaurant close by the office. (In Edla’s words, “We’ve been here five days and all we do is eat!”)
Then this afternoon we went back to the office for Dump orientation. Basically there is a city dump in Quito where people used to live and scavenge for money. This guy Pastor José started a day care there as part of his ministry to help the people there. About a year and a half ago the dump was closed for a year, but now it is open again as a receiving center for garbage and recyclables and the former inhabitants have government salaries as workers there. Day care still functions for their children.
Three kids and two adults from Emaus joined us there and we did a bilingual orientation. Cameron read some pretty startling statistics. The most eye-opening of them was about how 45% of the world lives on less than $2.00 per day. Most of it was about our responsibility- the goal was not to fee guilty (because guilt tends to be pretty useless) but aware. She asked us to calculate how much our clothes we were wearing are worth. I’m not even into clothes or shoes, but my total was well over $100.00 and it’s sobering to realize that 18% of Ecuadorians could live on that amount of money (for clothes, food, shelter, entertainment and savings) for nearly a quarter of a year. There were a few bits of the conversation that Roberto didn’t even translate (TIME WARP- we found out later that Mary, one of the women with us, was one of those people who lives on about $1.00 a day).
Before we got to the dump, we stopped at the Market. There were 20 of us total (12 team members, 3 Youth World Hosts, and 5 from Emaus) split into 6 groups with roughly one Spanish speaker to a group. Each group was given $10.00 to bargain for as much fruit as we could possibly get (which is a LOT at an Ecuadorian market). Bradham, Carrie, and I pretty much stood back and let Vanessa do the bargaining. Overall result: van FULL of fruit for the day-care at the dump.
We rode to the dump and met Pastor José and he told us a lot about the history of the dump and the people who work there. Then we went in to play with the children.
I almost immediately learned something. People who do short-term missions and such always say “We held orphans/children,” not “We played with them.” Granted we played with them. In fact we played with them a lot. But the second we walked in(Literally the moment they saw us) these tiny little kids who had never seen us before ran up to each of us with outstretched arms, wanting to be held and picked up and carried and touched and hugged and physically loved-on.
They trusted us instantly. They’d let us hold them and swing them around and up and down. They climbed on us and hugged us. They say in out laps and played. Then they had a meal/snack of bread and juice. The children sang a prayer and we held them while they ate. A four-year-old boy and a probably year-old little girl say in my lap on the floor. I asked them their names (which I couldn’t pronounce or spell if I tried) and how they were and if the bread was good. That was pretty much all the Spanish conversation I could manage. But it was all they needed. Attention and love.
We played outside for probably an hour but it felt like no time at all. Then we had to pack up to take off for the mall with just a minute to unload our fruit from the market to a very appreciative Pastor José.
Arriving at the mall, we split up with the five from Emaus. When we got our directions and $5.00 each for food allowance Roberto explained why: too much cultural/economical difference to let the Ecuadorians join us or even see money being handed out. (Already that responsibility speech kicking in and making us think). So even before our over-budget (thanks to Katie saying “Si, si!”) meal was rung up at the Spanish Deli, I already had a more realistic idea of how much money Deborah had placed in my hands.
I journaled the first half of this entry at the food court in our alone-time. Then we headed home for debrief.
We started with everyone’s highs and lows of the day, which were consistently the children/the Market and leaving the children/going to the mall respectively. Holly talked about how we act at home, ignoring poverty like the people in the mall, just five miles away from the dump. Coleman talked about justice and how it seemed unfair to be so blessed. And Katie got us all thinking about what’s important in life and where our priorities are.
Good thing we started debrief at 7:00(ish) because it was still around 9:00 when we finished, said goodnight to Cameron, Roberto, and Deborah, and started planning for VBS tomorrow.
I actually (sorta) finished writing my song for my part of that and Julie helped me translate the chorus. And by “helped” I mean she translated and I watched.
Overall, exhausting day and it all starts again at 6:30 AM.
Appreciated inadequacy
Quito-
We spent our second day at the church today and it was such and incredible experience. I think everyone was ready to go even this morning. After all week being awakened at 8:10, I found myself out of the shower and dressed at 8:08. I required a lot more coffee, and so did everyone else (especially after most of Coleman’s ended up on the floor) but the morning and the trip there were over in a flash.
Everyone was so excited to see us. They were lined up by the door and the energy just radiated out of everyone. It was also cool to greet people I actually knew and had worked and worshiped with yesterday.
We started off with devotion and it was really cool. Bible verses and “Purpose Driven Life” excerpts in back-and-forth Spanish and English. Then Anita and Julie did the same thing with a “letter from Jesus” while I played guitar and finally Roberto and I played 3 Spanish praise songs and “Trading My Sorrows” (which I ended with “Si Senior, Si Senior…” so it was pretty sweet).
When we broke up into groups, I started with Don Rodrigo, Bradham, and Coleman building a table. The gringos were terrible at it. Rodrigo would saw off pieces in three strokes and chisel and hammer like he was working with cheese instead of wood. And then we’d go behind him and totally screw it up. Eventually the table got finished but I feel like he could have done it in a quarter of the time without us.
After that I went back to help Julie and Hinter with the posters and got commandeered to get lunch. The kitchen was all torn up because they were preparing toi put in cabinets. SO a couple of women had cooked potato soup at their home up the hill. Coleman, Bradham a couple of kids from the church, and I trekked up (and it was pretty tough climbing before we had to carry soup). Then we end up going down with one person on either side of each of two gigantic pots of soup. We managed to make it back to Mission Emaus without spilling anything but our backs and arms were killing us. And here I am complaining about it when I don’t even live there and have to do stuff like that all the time.
Lunch was fabulous! Potato soup with avocado and (I think) little bits of chicken. Not like potato soup at home. In fact it really kind of defies description beyond “delicious.” We ate all interspersed, Ecuadorians and North Americans, and they even let Julie and Edla help serve. In fact, they had something else planned for lunch and Cameron talked them into the potato soup because the team loved it so much last year. Doesn’t sound like too much of a big deal if you aren’t familiar with the culture, but they were both big steps for a group that wants to serve us so much and has very different ideas firmly in their head about what is proper and what your place is in the world.
After lunch, Deborah and Maria conned me into playing soccer. The field was halfway back up the hill and there were two pigs and a cow there (and Deborah didn’t even come- what a hater). I played for a bit and spent a lot of time walking back and forth from the field to Anna on the hill with Priscilla dragging me by the arm or riding on my shoulders. Then we ended up sitting and talking with the boys asking Sophia and me about school and our names and what we wanted to do with our lives (“Mismo Lourdes” and “Come se dice…?” pointing to teeth to try to get across “Chaplain” and “Dentist” was pretty hilarious).
When we went back we played some games and the girls had some dancing lessons. It was great bonding even though I didn’t feel like I actually got much physical work done.
Finally we sang again and said good-bye. Don Rodrigo shook my hand, gave me a hug, and mimed playing guitar with a smile on his face. Even though I was so terrible at construction I felt like we could both appreciate each other’s different gifts. Pretty cool.
We came back to the hostel after dropping off Roberto for band practice. We hung around for about ten minutes and then Cameron came over and took us to this BBQ Express place to get shish-kebabs. (Seriously). They were really good, and so was the rest of the food (potatoes, corn with cheese and garlic sauce, cheese-stick-like-thingies, etc.). I actually sat and talked to Betty for the first time and that was pretty cool.
Then at last we came home to debrief. It’s become a pattern that we just laugh for 30 minutes before we get down to business. Conversation went from “de-thonging” to “underwater panties” to “Pikachu in the Christmas pageant” to a horrifyingly hilarious accidental inquiry into a group member’s virginity to finally actually about what happened today.
We talked about the warm, open culture here. How “besitos” affect our relationships. How we are surprised at the people’s faith and they are surprised at our efforts. How we feel inadequate but appreciated. How important relationships with little children, soccer games, and serving people food can be.
I got my two cents in, but I particularly enjoy listening to Sophia and Cameron and Deborah and Hunter. Especially their perspectives on the same things I notice or wonder, or how there are so many little connections like Sophia and I talking about getting outside our comfort zones and her talking about really trying to do that today.
Overall, I’m emotionally exhausted, and have a ton more pictures. Tomorrow we’re going to the Dump, La Red orientation, and the mall. I can’t wait.
"Do you have any liquids?"
Quito-
We’ve just said our good-night prayer here at the hostel in Quito. It’s been an amazing day already even after sitting on planes for most of it and not really doing anything productive.
We started the day early at Hunter’s house and already had a story by the time we got to the Norfolk air port. Poor David and Holly Wright had to listen to Hunter’s travel alarm going off in her luggage in their back seat all the way there.
We got through our check-in pretty smoothly. I didn’t really want to let go of my guitar, but otherwise it was fine. We had pretty much two hours to kill before the plan was supposed to leave at 10:45- which turned into noon. So the whole group had plenty of time to eat breakfast/coffee at Starbucks, check out the airport shops, and relax.
So then we all start heading through security. We had to take off our shoes and I set off the metal detector with my belt. Katie was behind me and as I was finally getting my stuff, the security officer comes up to her and asks “Is this your bag?” to which she timidly replied “Yes…?” And the guy just grins and says “Come with me,” in a tone that seemed to say “This will take a while,” as he began to sing to himself. I just laughed and went to tell Sophia her mom was in trouble.
Edla, Carrie, Hunter and some others started trickling through the line, each giving us an update on the situation (and the contraband in Katie’s bag). Bug spray was a liquid and not allowed. 1 bottle of Pepto-Bismol, larger (by a significant amount) than the 3 oz. limit also would not pass. Neither would the second bottle. Then out came the brownies and in inquiry as to whether or not they were “funny.” This resulted in an offer for a trade: bag of brownies to the security officers for 1 bottle of Pepto allowed through. Response: adamantly “no,” (probably a good thing in hind-sight as a liquid-bomb-building terrorist would have chosen the Pepto and aroused suspicion). Brownies returned. It was then reported that Katie wanted to chug the Pepto down to the three ounce limit. Ultimately not entirely true, but hilarious enough that we pretend it was.
Finally she made it. Lots more hanging around and then at last we boarded the tiniest passenger plane I have ever traveled in. You could feel every bit of speed, turbulence, take-off, and landing. I watched out the window and slept for most of it, except for a roller-coaster-like descent which left my mouth open and my eyes firmly shut, Edla’s hands clasped on her cross, and Julie’s arms clasped around Edla.
Arrival in Atlanta was pretty chill. Kinda like being home for me. Interesting after reading Genesis for Old Testament class and God commanding people to return to the land of their birth. Spiritual connection on the trip already.
Lots more hanging around and a gazillion-mile hike. Yes, seriously. A gazillion. We had lunch at a food court in Concourse E and felt like we were in the middle of an Army camp. We took the opportunity to teach Sophia about military uniforms, resulting in a half-hour debate about whether the flag really would be backwards if you carried it on a pole and ran forward (yes, if it was held to your left).
Much less security the second time around and first real passport check. We were mostly together on the play. I got a window seat again with Edla, then Julie next to me and Sophia, Betty and Bradham behind. When we took off (after being 11th in line on the runway) I actually saw the air go over the wings like the show you in 6th grade science class.
In-flight movie: Premonition. Good message, weird ending. I do find it obnoxious how movies can talk about religion and faith and even the priest won’t actually say “God.”
I happened to look out the window while we were over the ocean. All you could see was this floor of clouds stretching to the horizons in all directions and several hundred feet beneath us. I just wanted to get out and walk on them. I know it was a really simple thing. In fact stuff like clouds doesn’t usually get to me. But I think the fact that they were so perfect and everywhere, I was on top of them made me realize that it wasn’t something you see or experience every day. I hope and pray our whole trip will be like that: a new experience that I can’t have every day, and something that will make me think.
So after that most of the flight was pretty chill. My contemplative mood lasted through several stupid television shows, a surprisingly good chicken dinner, and finally flying smack into the middle of Quito.
The airport is seriously crammed into this miles-long metropolis with buildings all around it. It’s in about the only really flat place in the city: the dead center. You just feel like your are scraping the top of every building as you descend. And the whole city was lit up and we could see it miles and miles away.
As we started landing, the first sign I saw on a building say Xerox. Also not something I expected. Maybe it just shows globalization or Americanization, but aside from being cynical it felt like I was at least a little connected to home because of a big bright red English sign.
Disembarking took no time at all and before I knew it I had a stamp on my passport, a guitar and a bag in my hands, as was walking toward a jumping, waving South American man with three super-excited women.
As I guessed, it was Dario, the multi-lingual Youth World host who everyone met and loved last year. I could tell why immediately. He was so energetic and knew who I was the second Julie said my name (“Oh, you’re the musician!”) Pretty soon I met Cameron and Roberto and had Ecuadorian people kissing my cheek and somehow we eventually ended up on a bus and at the hostel. Quick briefing and some snacks and it was time for journaling and bed. Don’t feel extremely productive, but definitely excited, spirit-filled, and completely exhausted.
"You don't HAVE a smoke detector on your phone" (or "Old people and technology")
I spend a lot of time around old people. And just so that if any of them read this, I use “old” as a relative term.
I know I’ve grown up with technology and I have an advantage when it comes to using it or figuring it out. And sometimes I feel like constant use of cell phones, instant messaging, e-mail, etc. has given me an edge in communication skills in general. So I found it hilarious this afternoon when a certain individual I work with and a certain client at the store tried explaining their mobile phones, phone service, and accompanying technology to each other.
I’m not really sure when smoke detectors entered the conversation (it was hard enough to try to keep up with two different people with two totally different topics in one single conversation) but the first quote in this blog entry’s title was actually spoken, exactly as I have typed it above.
No further profound statements. I think that says it all.