My work in Laura Flores is the highlight of my week! I always leave exhausted, hot, sweaty and mentally drained but I wouldn't miss it for the world.

On a Wednesday I help out a ladies Bible study group. Here we all are sitting at kids desks and desperately trying to get the right answers. I help a couple of ladies find the right verses and write down the answers. I do this because they've "lost their glasses." First week in my innocence I thought they had actually lost their glasses and laughed that I had too which caused some sharp intakes of breath. It turns out that the need/lost/forgotten glasses excuse is a polite cover up for women who can't read. I now tactfully sympathise and offer to help them until the glasses are found and don't make jokes!

On Thursdays I give massages to the women of LF. I'm in a new room now, a classroom, which still has no windows or privacy and has the public toilet in the same room as me ...but I do have an electric light and no dogs come wondering in.  Hooray! Today I gave a treatment to a disabled girl in a wheelchair. Due to her disability and the fact that she is constantly in her chair her muscles in the legs are contracted and she can't bend her feet or straighten her legs. Plus her mum said that at home she won't let anyone try to work on her and shouts so I'm sure you can understand I was little concerned about massaging her. I was soo thrilled today when she lay peacefully for the whole massage and after treating her, her legs had straightened a lot more :)

My work in Laura Flores is the highlight of my week! I always leave exhausted, hot, sweaty and mentally             drained but I wouldn't miss it for the world.

My week so far

Here are some pretty (and not so pretty) pictures to delight, inform and entertain you!
School:

I love you because you are mine

Last weekend I went away on a women's retreat. The theme was "The embrace of God" and we looked at God as a loving father. Nice stuff but to be honest God as my loving dad is a concept I've been familiar with for quite  a long time. Bit like the Nativity story-can be hard to make it feel fresh and special again.


     I'm not sure how but somehow our speaker, Clive, made it real and here is what I've learnt...
                                  "I love you because you are mine"
It's not about what you do, don't do or how good you are-God loves you because you are His.
   God says "I don't care what you've done, in you I see my son."


  Remember John 3:16? Everyone knows it so you must know it! Clive told us to make that personal so here goes-
" For God so loved Victoria that He gave his only begotten Son..."


  How fab is that?! For God so loved me. I don't know about you but when I said that out loud I couldn't stop smiling! If you don't mind looking like a demented but gloriously happy person give it a try and say it.


  At the end of the session when I didn't think I could feel any more joyful or loved I was given this message...

viva the weekend! part1

This has been the most...interesting weekend I've had recently. Friday began with my alarm not going off and my waking up an hour late! 3 minutes later I was in school in an unwashed uniform, no make-up on and mad unbrushed hair-I may have scared the children! Happily it turned out our planned trip out is next week so I wasn't left behind. On the other hand it meant we had a bunch of excited kids and no work planned and 4 long hours ahead. For some reason (I still don't know why) the teachers vanished to do "stuff" and Amy (the other volunteer) and I were left doing Christmas crafts with the children. Neither of us knew why we are doing festive activities in September but it's Ecuador so hey! just go with the flow. 3 hours later and with glue, glitter and paint all over the tables, children and me I decided to do something a bit more calming-lego. BIG mistake, BIG BIG mistake. I'm too tired to go into detail but lets say there was an incident involving an angelic looking girl who was not so angelic, a wolf puppet and several acts of violence involved.


  Saturday I was meant to be going for a hike in a crater in Quito but it was decided that I was not strong enough (not sure if I'm relieved or not) so instead I was packed off to a church retreat for the weekend. A retreat sounds lovely and relaxing doesn't it? Slight hitch though-it wasn't with my church. I was sent off with the next door church where I knew nobody and nobody speaks English-oh happy day!


    Cold water showers,many cockroaches and a fresh can of repellent later I am back home. Yesterday afternoon I had planned to lie out for a bit in the garden and soak up the sun, unfortunately something else got there before me-a wild, baby Coral snake! After that I decided to join everyone else and have a siesta in my bunk.

           latecomers to sessions were punished! Ladies doing a dance in front of everyone.


    The retreat was not at all what I expected but then I hadn't expected to enjoy it much. It was just for women so it was 37 ladies, the pastor and our speaker Clive from Kent (wohoo for England!) I shared a cabana (house/cabin) with Katie, my next door neighbour missionary, and 2 teenage girls. Whilst straightening hair, negotiating a longer lie in, fighting over sweets and sharing make up I realised some things are the same no matter where you are.

                                                this is me and my cabana mates.
   
   Talking and praying with the women who shared their stories about violent and abusive fathers and realising how common this abuse is I realised "I'm not in Kansas anymore."

"if a picture paints a thousand words, why can't I paint you?"

I am sitting here chatting with my friend Amy. We're discussing whether we should add photos to our blogs and newsletters. Photos are colourful, they add interest and SHOW you what what we see and do but just how accurate are they?

  You will see a picture of cute children from Laura Flores.   A pretty little girl in a dress smiling shyly to the camera. The problem is, there is so much that you won't see. You won't notice the fact she has no shoes on because she doesn't own any. You can't see the marks and scabs on her from constant flea bites and ringworms. A picture cannot show you that her hair is filthy and uncombed, she is unwashed, her clothes are dirty and she might even smell.

A photo can't tell you that although she is only 4 that little girl will be responsible for caring for her younger siblings. In spite of being so young and vulnerable, she will walk to school and go to the shops alone. She will be left alone for hours every day to play and walk about the streets while her mother works.


   The really shocking thing is, in spite of her poverty, difficult future and neglect-she is happy.

tu eres todo poderoso

La unica razon de mi adoracion
eres tu mi Jesus
Mi unico motivo para vivir
eres tu mi senor

Mi unica verdad
esta en ti
tu eres mi luz
y mi salvacion

Mi unico amor
Eres tu senor
y por siempre
te alabare

CORO

Tu eres todo poderoso
eres grande y majestuoso
eres fuerte, invensible
y no hay nadie como tu


This is my favourite song out here. I think it's amazing! For those of you who aren't fluent in Spanish here is my rough translation. Hope it inspires too!

The only reason for my worship
Is you  my Jesus
My only reason for living
Is you my lord

My only truth
is  you
You are my light
and my salvation

My only love
Is you my Lord.
and forever
I will praise you

CHORUS

You are all powerful
are great and majestic
are strong, invincible
and no one like you

Great is thy faithfulness

My happy Quito time is drawing to an end, Saturday will see me being whisked back to Santo.

   I´m tired of resting, I want to get back to work and have fun!

  But I want to say this, being ill has given me lots of time to pray and I am so grateful for that chance. Having all that extra time to talk to God has been amazing. I´ve ben able to tell tell him about everything that upsets me, give him all my doubts and concerns and be reminded of his faithfulness and love. My prayer times have usually ended up with me crying (not a pretty sight!) but God always give me peace.



"Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided –
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!"

so here I am

So here I am back in Quito. I´ve been sent up here for a bit while I recuperate and rest. It´s been 4 days and I´m loving it. It is so much more restful here and relaxing.

 One of the side effects of being ill is losing weight. Not that I recommend Typhoid as a weight loss plan but..it is nice to have everyone tell me I´ve lost weight! The paleness isn´t so good but I´m going out  every day and I´m hoping to catch a bit of surnburn. Lobster red might not be pretty but it´s got to be better than the ghost white shade I´m currently stuck with ;)

 My mum is coming out to visit me in 40 days (not that I´m counting!) so I´m borrowing guide books and trying to plan what we´ll do and where to visit. There are soo many amazing places I want to go to!! Inca ruins, ancient gold treasuries, volcanoes, native markets, stunning beaches and lush tropical jungles. I read about these fantastic places and I look out of my window and I see hummingbirds and I remember how wonderful these last 7 months have been.

  I am soo lucky to be here. I can´t wait to get better and start having adventures again!

for once in my life....

Today is a day of days! Today I had a once in a lifetime moment. For the first time in my life I......lent a pair of shoes!!!! Oh yes you heard right, I lent another woman some shoes!


    For the last 30 years, not a day has passed by without somebody making a comment on my height or without my generally feeling like an unofficial dwarf, well no more! Those days have passed and over here I am NORMAL in fact there are quite a few ladies smaller than me!!!!!!!


OH HAPPY DAY!