ME: I can do it all by myself! GOD: Okay. Let me see you try.

I guess I should first apologize that I am super behind in blogging. I cannot believe we have been here almost 2 months! It surely has been a busy two months! As with many experiences, through working at Casa de Fe Orphanage, the Lord has opened my eyes to more important things than the trivial items I dwell on sometimes.

Since I have been here, it has been overwhelming at times. Not only is there a lot to do, but emotionally, it has been a difficult couple of weeks for me. I am reminded that the power of prayer and faith in God is greater than anything I or anyone else can do. It is not until I completely surrender myself to God (through integrating Him in everything I do) that He can use me and work in ways unimaginable to me. I am still working on that though. Sometimes I finish my day and think “I never talked to God today”—bet things could have gone a little smoother if I did. I want to be so passionate for God that I cannot go a day without relying on Him and spending time with Him. That has not been easy for me this year.

The orphanage currently has 10 infants and 44 toddlers and school age children. There is a wide range of disabilities among the children. A few children/infants are not able to respond appropriately or communicate due to disorganized brain activity and/or brain structure (secondary to various diagnoses). Other children have unique congenital disorders, such as a single heart ventricle or chromosomal defect. Some children have cerebral palsy or orthopedic problems that require special devices to improve mobility. There are others who have no physical or developmental handicaps. Overall, many of the children have emotional and spiritual needs because they have endured abuse or negligence in the past.

Below are just some random pics of the kids! :)

The boys got a little hyper with the camera :)

Samy and Jhony, chillin after bathtime--I love Samy's hair, all combed back!  Handsome fellas!

Snack time!

I have been working closely with another nurse, Mary Jane, to try and organize health care at the orphanage. We are the first full time nurses the orphanage has had and many of the children have special medical needs. There is a pediatrician and Ecuadorian nurse that visit occasionally, but unfortunately, there is so much to keep up with! We are all needed!

Since we have been here, A LOT of the children have had bad skin infections due to staph bacteria erupting in the orphanage. Unfortunately, the kids rarely receive showers with warm water, and usually they each take 2 minutes or so (unless it is freezing, then it is- jump in and jump out). Therefore, hygiene is a big factor. We have been doing countless amounts of Clorox baths, along with giving the children antibiotics occasionally. We are thankful to be moving in a week to the new orphanage!!! I am praying sooo much that this situation will improve. They will have warm water, longer showers, and soap dispensers! 

                                                Greis and Kevin taking clorox baths!!!

Javier, Edy, and Pablo--Pablo is a little big for his tub :)

                          
This past month we were able to update weights, heights, vision, and hearing. For the new orphanage, we are trying to implement a more organized system so the children have consistent care from the caregivers and problems are communicated well. We just finished making medical folders for each room in the new orphanage in order to improve quality of care and continuity of care. We REALLY hope it will help!

After we get moved in, the next big chore is to organize all of the kids’ medical charts. I CANNOT WAIT until every child has a pretty medical folder  I am excited to get them going!

Please pray for the BIG MOVE this week. Patti Sue and the babies are moved in, but all of the rest of the kids move in to the new orphanage on Saturday! Please pray it goes smoothly. It has been a very stressful time for many. Please pray that everyone is able to get rejuvenating rest and strength from God. Also, please pray for these infections…maybe the Lord can take them all away when we move!

THE NEW ORPHANAGE!!!

I hope the Lord blesses you (in whatever way that may be), so you can bless others with guidance, knowledge and strength from the Lord.

Ashley

October Highlights!

*Hiking through the mountains, climbing a volcano, AND viewing a waterfall in the same day. Love the beauty of this country!

*Watching a Korean break dancing crew (Last for One) and eating sushi with friends in Quito (oh how I missed you little rice rolls!)

*Learning some Ecuadorian recipes and getting one step closer to killing and preparing my own chicken by buying a whole dead one, cutting off its toenails, and frying it. Note that I said only the toenails. The feet are prepared here. Yummy!

*Jovencitas (young girls) Bible study on Friday nights with Daniella and the girls from Casa de Fe orphanage

*Learning Spanish worship songs

*Successfully shopping and bartering in Spanish!

*Flowers and a card from Solomon! -- via Kimmy

*The discovery of a coffee shop in Puyo (15 mins away) with mochachinos!!

*Zoos galore!

*Helping my students learn to play their marimbas for the parade next month. Although, nine girls playing their instruments in a small room for an hour helps me remember why I chose to teach English instead of music. :-)

*Meeting tons of new people to share life with here in Shell. God is so good!

Love you all,

Kristin

A Few New Encounters

I am blessed to have had a handful of opportunities to travel abroad.  Each trip to a different country has brought unique encounters.  Here are a few of my Ecuadorian experiences and findings:

~Ecuador has the most beautiful scenery EVER with mountains surrounding all!

~The weather changes rapidly here. I understand that our weathermen don’t always predict the weather correctly in Michigan, but here, it could be dead sun with a clear blue sky and thirty minutes later there is a down pour. Not sure we could predict anything here. I love it…we have variety!

~Need some amoxicillin? Bactrim? Don’t have a prescription? No worries! In Ecuador, you don’t need a prescription…just walk in the pharmacy and buy it.

~You can legally ride in the bucket of trucks here—even on the main roads! So fun!

~Rats are not uncommon visitors; we have had 2, along with a mouse!

~Construction galore! Adding a plumbing system underground has been quite the event here in Shell. Instead of tearing up one road at a time, the workers seem to tear them all up at once and then go back to fix them one by one.

~Went bridge jumping (not quite bungee jumping, but similar); NEVER thought that would happen!  I have a video, but unfortunately it won't load :(
~Had my first motorcycle ride here—granted, it was for ½ mile, but still!

~In Ecuador, dogs are EVERYWHERE. I like dogs, usually. Some are household pets here, but many are stray dogs roaming the streets. One day Kim and I were walking when I began talking to a child playing a construction hole. Apparently, I looked like I was going to harm the child because the next thing I know, the child’s pet dog, a Saint Bernard, ran up and bit my butt. Thank goodness rabies has not been present in dogs here for about 15 years. Still have the hole in my skirt to prove it haha!

~Babies ride bicycles and motorcycles here…a lot!

~Ecuadorians don’t love peanut butter nearly as much as gringos—very sad; granted, it is $7-8/jar here—CRAZY! I guess I only bring this up because I am pretty much obsessed with peanut butter…I eat it by the scoop.

~It only costs $5 to ride the bus for 5 hours ($1/hr)—what a deal, huh!?

Ashley

Learning to share

Ok. I'll admit it: Teaching elementary school isn't all that bad.

Now, that's not to say that a room full of first graders doesn't strike fear into my heart anymore. When they stream into my classroom and begin touching every new object in sight, it still overwhelms me a bit; however, their exuberance and easy laughter is absolutely contagious. It's completely foreign to me how I can rather severely discipline my fifth grade class (who might be my personal nightmare), and five minutes later they're laughing and enjoying testing each other on body parts while calling me over to show off how well they're doing. Their recovery time is astonishing.

Moreover, they're extremely generous. Smiles, hugs, stickers, pictures, food. They'll give them all away. If one of my students bought food during lunch they will inevitably share it with me and their classmates. I mean, today four of my fifth graders gave me candy, a seventh grader gave me shrimp, and a third grader gave me a pear. Like many Haitians I've seen, they will take whatever they have and share it with the five people around them -- without thinking otherwise! I've not yet heard a kid ask another for something (like food) and received, "No!" for an answer. Really? Does this happen in the States too?

My Ecuadorian friend, Mika, expressed that one difficult aspect of adapting to life in the States was their independence. It's something we value, right? If we can have our own car, job, house, and dog we've reached the height of success. We're proud that we did it on our own and only used people if we needed something from them. And so we sit back in our houses, turn on the tv, and enjoy being independent of those around us.

Is that it? Is that all we have to live for?

Now, I'll be honest: I'm hugely independent. It's difficult for me to rely on others for help. Call it pride (for that's what it is really), but there's something about showing my weaknesses that scares me. My tendency leans towards serving others while maintaining a steel wall around my own life. Why bother them with my own struggles if I'm supposed to be helping them, right? Wouldn't my ministry be compromised if people saw that I struggled too?

Due to hateful talk of hypocrisy in the church, many Christians have retreated into themselves. They display a beautiful, composed exterior as they rot away on the inside from trapping all their addictions and sins. Instead of sharing, confessing, and praying for healing together, they try to handle it on their own.

Nowhere in the Bible does the Lord support this habit. The early church was built through community. Even in the days of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob people lived in massive family groups that supported each other. When did we decide that independence was a better way to live?

When did we decide that independence from God produced happier, healthier, and wiser people?

I am learning here that community is essential. There's no way I'd survive here in Shell without others. Hearing their stories of struggles, hurts, breakthroughs, and healing strengthens me and reminds me that I'm not alone in this battle. Maria, my house mom, cries at least once a week. Actually, many of the women I've met here in Shell cry. . .often. Their hearts break for others and themselves and they're not afraid to show their emotions. They're not afraid to call out to God for help. They're not afraid to share their short-comings and their walk towards redemption.

And what's produced is renewed strength, peace, understanding, wisdom, and eventually joy.

Why are we forsaking this?

Praise be to God that He loves me so intently that He won't let me retreat into independence. Instead He pursues me fiercely through his Word (read Jeremiah 31) and through situations that force me to rely on him -- particularly those dealing with language, conflict, and cultural differences.

As I watch my students interact with me and their peers, the Lord gently reminds me to learn from them. To learn to share with Him and with others.

I guess working with little kids has some benefits. . . other than free food. :-)

Grace and love to you all,

Kristin

Photos

Here's the link to my online album: http://picasaweb.google.com/Kim.Kirk81

-Kim :-)

La Selva

Hi Friends!!! Wanted to write a little update on my help with the diabetic/metabolic study in the jungle! Last time I blogged (which was quite awhile ago...slacker, I know :-p ) I mentioned about a possible opportunity to help with diabetic and metabolic research designed and funded by a doctor in Sweden. Kerstin, a nurse from Sweden and Florence, a nurse and missionary in Shell were organizing the study in Ecuador and asked if I would help! (and I of course jumped at the opportunity.) The study was first conducted 7 years ago and published in 2004

Lindgarde, F., Widen, I, Gebb, M., & Ahren, B. (2004) Traditional versus agricultural lifestyle among Shuar women of the Ecuadorian Amazon: effects on leptin levels. Metabolism, 53(10), 1355-1358

The study originally was comparing metabolic statuses of women from villages who still practice the hunting/gathering lifestyle of diets vs. those in a neighboring village who have adapted to an agricultural lifestyle diet. During this research we examined the same women and also a group of women living in Shell, who had grown up in the Jungle but had moved to "the city."  The study consisted of a social questionnaire regarding diet, lifestyles, activity, family, ect., a simple exercise activity which tested heart rates, blood pressures, a biometric exam which included BMI and fat and muscle indexes, fasting blood glucose and obtaining blood samples to exam back in the hospital lab in Shell.

So, the three of us flew in Monday morning! Our first stop was in Makuma to pick up a doctor who would be seeing patients in our first village. So the four of us took of again and headed to Yuwientsa. Yuwientsa was beautiful and we actually stayed in a 'guesthouse' with running water and a SHOWER. :-) Once we arrived we set up and got started right away. Everyone in the village was very welcoming and friendly. Along with the study we were able to spend time with the families and have a mini tour! They kindly provided all of our meals...which was interesting but yummy!

Giant flying ants...a delicacy. They're only in "season" in the fall-so it was a treat to try! :-)

Where we ate all our meals

The clinic/guesthouse in Yuwientsa

Wednesday we packed up and flew to our next village of Yampuna. The doc did not go with us to this village-though I wish he did. Through miscommunication, the village thought we were a medical caravan seeing patients and giving vaccines. It was heartbreaking to turn away patients, but without any supplies, there was little we could do but refer them to make the journey to Makuma or elsewhere for medical care. Yampuna was pretty different from Yuwientsa, with no running water and river for a shower :-) We set up camp in a community/school type building and starting to see the women. This village was beautiful as well and reminded me more of the communities in the mountains of Haiti. The people here also provided all of our meals, by which I experienced grubs-giant grubs.... :-)

Bath time!

We flew out Friday afternoon and I was pretty ready for running water and a shower :-) But my time there was amazing. God is good and His beauty is so evident through his creation and people. I'll hopefully post more pictures from the jungle and Shell of facebook-so be lookin' :-)

Much love to you all and I am truly blessed by your love and support!
-Kim