Farewell...

Today was my last full day in Shell. It's been a great summer. I've learned a lot and I've grown spiritually. Yesterday they had a "despedida" (farewell party) for me. It was good to hear how people were blessed by me being there and how they all think I should come back next summer:-).

Last weekend I went on a jungle trip with a group of working visitors/summer missionaries out to a place on the Napo river. It was a lot of fun hanging out with people my age (for once) and sharing our experiences of the summer. We also learned a lot about Amazonian culture and language. We helped a jungle Kichua woman plant some yucca (manioc, or casava). We also went to a Kichua church service, went tubing down the Napo river, and played a lot of games.

Monday and Tuesday the working visitors were all in Shell to help at the Hospital, and I worked with them. Monday we dug a drainage ditch and Tuesday we power washed a pedestrian swinging bridge. Once again, it was great being around people my age :-).

Well, I'm pretty sad to see Shell go, but looking forward to seeing my friends in Mississippi again (one in particular, wink, wink). Thank you all for your prayers, they've meant a lot. For those of you who donated money, there was some left over, but I've asked that it be put in the HVO charity fund, which goes to help patients who can't afford medical care.

God Bless!

Morgan

Musings...

Well,

as of today I have only 2 weeks and one day left of "work" at Hospital Vozandes del Oriente. The time has really flown by. I'd ask for my summer back, but I think it went to a pretty good cause, so whoever got it can keep it, I say.

Let's see, what have I been doing recently...

Well, last week I helped Libia out mostly. There's a storage room full of things that have been donated to HVO, and it was a train wreck. So, I spent most of last week, yesterday, and today putting it in order.

Tomorrow Libia's going to Quito, so I get to fill in for her for two more days. After that, I have no idea. I'll probably go back to working in accounting, or maybe they'll put me on something new for the last week and a half I'm here.

So I've been thinking about what I've been doing over the past two months (almost) and here are some thoughts I've had...

I don't regret coming here at all. God's taught me oodles of things, and He's used me, too.

If could do it over again, I would have liked to go with a team somewhere. Working here at HVO is great, and I've met a lot of good people, but I feel like having some people to live and work beside consistently would have been a great encouragement.

Working in accounting and inventory has also taught me that sometimes as followers of Christ, we have to do some pretty unglamorous things. It's really difficult to see direct fruit from things like balancing accounts and counting inventory. It's all very behind the scenes. It's kinda hard to ask the question "How does Christ want me to count these syringes?" I never met most of the people those syringes were used on, or the people who benefit from me keeping accounts balanced, so it was difficult to see what I was doing as an act of love. But God's been teaching me how we as followers of Christ must do everything out of love and faith. As Paul puts it in Romans 14:23, "everything that does not come from faith is sin." And it wasn't for nothing that Jesus called "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" the greatest commandment."

I've also learned that sometimes loving Christ and serving others will go completely unnoticed or unappreciated by people. Much of what I did this summer was very hidden. The people I helped out will by and large never know about me or what I did for them.

And you know what? I'm OK with that.

God's also been teaching me about what love is and what it isn't. He's taught me that loving Christ and spreading that love around is not something I can "do." It's not a "me" show. In fact, one of the most beautiful things about Christ's love is that we do not have the capacity to love Him back. He has to give us even that. Every part of my relationship with God is a gift from Him. His love is a free gift. So is the ability to love Him back.

Isn't that just the most amazing thing ever???? My Father gives and gives and gives. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:11-13)

Morgan Holland: Quartermaster. Housesitter. Lizard Hunter.

Well, It's been a while since my last post...

Last week was fun. Libia went on vacation leaving me in charge of inventory for a grand total of 7 work days. By the end of those 7 days I was wondering how in the world Libia does it by herself. I fell behind.

I was also house sitting for the Williams, a family with Youth World. They took a team of 98 Americans, Waorani, Argentinians, Ecuadorians, and who knows who elsians to a camp out in the jungle in the northwest of Ecuador. They had a blast. I fed their dog. And their monkey.

Now for the lizard hunting part...

On thursday I was doing my inventory thing when three kids appeared at the door and said, "hay un lagartijo!" I didn't know what that was, so they went away confused and I stayed there confused and continued working. A few minutes later I went back between some shelves and there it was, a lizard.

It's about a foot long and green and freaked out about seeing humans. And so, of course, it ran away. It got under some shelves and stayed put, just where I couldn't reach it.

As of today, he's still in there somewhere. I didn't really have time to go chasing after lizards last week, and this week is no different. I've been working with Libia to get her caught back up, and she's terrified of lizards, so there were some tense moments when our stowaway/mascot decided to show his face.

I'll keep you updated as far as the lizard situation goes...

Thank you all for your prayers!

Until next time,

Morgan

Crazy Love

So I'm reading this book called Crazy Love. Actually for the second time. It's good. You should read it too. But read the Bible first.

Chapters 4 and 5 of Crazy Love were extremely convicting. Chapter 4 is a look at what being lukewarm is like. Chapter 5 is about how inappropriate being lukewarm is. I realized that there are areas in my life that I have not surrendered to God. I'm not talking about things I haven't been convicted of. I'm talking about things that I have been convicted of, but I thought they were insignificant, or infrequent, or acceptable enough that I didn't really need to give them over to God.

I changed my mind.

God's really been teaching me about just how extravagant, ridiculous, and fabulous His love is.

I may have talked a little about this in an earlier post, but I'm going to repeat it, if I did.

God is not a merchant. He does not do quid pro quo. It's not "I loved you this much, see, now you're obligated to give me 10% of your earnings, a quiet time, and some ministry."

It's more like... Well, it's like if you were a fishmonger, living by the sea. Not only are you a fishmonger, you're also the ugliest person in the whole kingdom. And even if you weren't ugly, it wouldn't matter, because you smell so badly of fish all the time that nobody can stand being near you. Then one day the prince/princess (depending on your gender) rides right up to your fish stall by the dock, overlooking the smelly harbor, and says, "will you marry me?"

The trouble is, many of us, myself included sometimes, think we have to earn Christ's love, even though we're already engaged. Some of us think it's a trick. After all, why would the prince/princess want to marry me? The smelliest, ugliest fishmonger the world has ever known? But Christ proved His love for us fishmongers. He came and lived among us. He sold fish in the stall next to my second cousin's. And then He died for us, and rose again to free us.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm beginning to understand that Jesus isn't looking for our ten-minute devotions and work in the nursery, done because we feel obligated. That's what being lukewarm is. Instead He wants people who are captivated by Him. People who just can't get enough Jesus in their day. He wants a bride, not a prostitute. He'd rather get a fishmonger who loves him than a princess who thinks she can buy him.

And that's why I'm surrendering to Him.

Inventory

Today was Libia's first day of vacation, leaving me in charge of inventory. She came in anyway for about two hours to work on some personal stuff.

So far, inventorying has been pretty calm. Tomorrow there will be a little more work. We'll see how that goes.

So... I'm trying to think of things that happened in the last week that were interesting...

On Sunday there was a gathering here at the Schmidt's house - where I'm staying - to say farewell to a family that's leaving. It was really fun. There were hot dogs (or, the most hot dog-like things we could find), people that I knew, people that I didn't know, and a lot of Spanish practice.

Oh! as of yesterday, I've been in Ecuador for a whole month. It's been a month full of learning, and I'm sure the next month is going to be just as full. Thank you all for praying for me and for supporting me. It means a lot. Only one month and 11 days left.

I miss the people I know in the U. S. (one in particular), and I'm looking forward to seeing them again, but I find that I don't really miss all the "stuff" I left behind in the U. S. It's funny how a lot of things become unimportant when you discover that you don't actually need them.

I've been reading the book The Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning. I recommend. It's shown me just how much I still, still don't truly believe that I'm saved by grace alone, without any input on my part but acceptance. God loves us so much. More than we can fathom. He loves us so much that we (I) have a hard time accepting it. I'm so glad that I don't have to prove myself to Him - or anyone, for that matter. Sometimes I just forget I don't have to prove myself.

Anyway, I appreciate the prayers!

Stickers

For the past two days I've been spending most of my time in inventory. Where there are lots and lots and lots of stickers, hence the title of this post. Why am I working in inventory? Because the lady who's in charge of the inventory is going on vacation and they need someone to replace her for two weeks. And that's me!

I'm a little nervous about that. I've never been in charge of anything quite as important as the inventory for an entire hospital. It's only for a couple of weeks, but still... it's a lot of responsibility. So please pray for me about that.

The good news is, there are people there who are more than willing to help me out. That's one thing I've learned since I've gotten here, is that having good people in an organization makes a HUGE difference. The staff here are all Christians, as far as I know, and they all work really well together.

Steve Wilson, the hospital administrator, and his wife, Diane, are going on vacation for 4 weeks. Steve's last day is Friday. Please pray for the hospital while he's gone. Alex Weir, the head of the maintenance department is going to be acting administrator, and I know he'll do a great job, but please pray for him anyway.

The other day I rode a motorcycle for the first time in as long as I can remember. I was walking to the hospital in the morning when Henry Cabrera, the hospital chaplain, pulled up on his motorcycle and gesticulated toward me, asking if I wanted a ride. I said yes. It was a pretty short ride, but fun anyway.

Oh! I almost forgot...

Yesterday we had a special cafecita for father's day and for birthdays. It was AWESOME!!! Some nurses and lab workers put on a play about the prodigal son. It was really funny because they were all women and wore these huge ridiculously fake beards. AND there were prizes for the guys in the room (fathers, grandfathers, potential fathers). And coffee, lemonade, flan, and these balls of meat and potato that I can only describe as delicious.

So, Ya, that's my life this week.

Quito

This weekend I'm in Quito. I took Friday off and left at 6:30ish in the morning to get here.

Last night was graduation at Alliance Academy, which was fun to watch. I also ran into several people from my class at Alliance. It was really great to see them again. We're planning on hanging out today and catching up a little. It's good to be around people my age for a while. I can't wait to find out how they're all doing in life and how their summers are going and all that stuff.

I knew some of the people who graduated this year, but not well. They were all a lot younger than me when I was at Alliance. After this year I don't think I'll know anyone.

Please pray for the graduates of Alliance Academy. They've all got crazy summers coming up and big transitions.

The jefe's meeting was moved to Tuesday, and I have some things I need to have ready by then. Please pray that the meeting will go well and that whatever decisions are made are made with eternity in mind.

I love crunching beans!

Well,

It's been a whole week since my last post. My war with the numbers continues unabated. Today the numbers definitely scored a major victory, leaving me a little worn out but eager for tomorrow's battle.

On Friday there's a big "jefe" (boss) meeting of all the department heads that Steve Wilson wants me to attend and give some input about. Makes me feel like some kind of fancy business consultant.

Please pray that the meeting goes well with few conflicts. He also wants me to try to find a way to get a weekly budget report to the different department heads. Please pray about that. it will be a really big help to the jefes to see where they are on spending, but I've really been having trouble finding a way to get the numbers from the different accounting and finance programs they use at HCJB.

So... Something I've been thinking about lately...

I understand that accounting is important and a great help to missions, but I kinda feel a little "un-missional" right now. Missionaries are supposed to slog through the jungle carrying fifty pounds of Bibles, a wife, three kids, and food for a month on their backs, or plant churches in inner city Nairobi among rapists, hitmen and guys who steal candy from babies and that sort of thing. But here I am slogging away at a computer eight hours a day. Sometimes I wonder just why I'm here. I know that God has me here for a reason, which is abundantly clear by the ridiculous amount of money I was able to raise for this summer - thank you, God, and thank all of you who contributed.

Please pray for me to find peace in Christ alone, and not in where I am and what I'm doing. Pray that I will be able to see Christ work through accounting and administration. Pray that God would be able to touch lives through me being here. And pray that I would grow. I desperately want to know God more and to love him more deeply. If that means spending my whole summer counting beans and crunching numbers then I'll consider it a very small price to pay. Or is it counting numbers and crunching beans? I guess we'll find out.

Until next time...

Thus far...

Today is Monday.

I don't know why Mondays make me tired, but they do. I'm still learning new things about the accounting/administration office here... and I probably will still be learning new things on my last day here. Which is ok by me because I love to learn new things.

On Sunday I went with Chet and Katie Williams to a Waodani church they helped start. It meets on the roof of a house in Puyo, a city close to Shell. It was really interesting! Many of the people there remembered my mom and dad from when we lived here. They talked about how small I used to be and how much I've grown. I felt really welcomed and I could tell that God is really working through that church.

It was also really great to see Chet and Katie again. They were my dorm parents when I was going to school at Alliance Academy in Quito. Their kids have grown so much!!!

Well, I'll keep you posted!

Well

It's been a while since the last post. Since then I have completed two full days of work at Hospital Vozandes del Oriente. For the most part it's been a lot of frustration as I learn the accounting systems they use. I'll get it eventually, but in the meantime it's slow going. My Spanish is coming back gradually, which is really exciting.

I've met all the people who I'm going to be working with this summer. The Hospital Administrator is named Steve Wilson. I went over to his house for dinner last night and met his wife Diane, too. They're both very nice people. It was really great to talk to them about how God has been directing their lives and teaching them.

The people who work in administration and accounting are all really nice, too. And excellent teachers! There's Monica, the head of accounting, Lurdes, Jose, and one other woman who's name I can't really remember right now (embarrassment!). They've all been really patient with me as I learn Spanish all over again and ask silly questions.

Well, dinner smells about ready (Fred and Desi Schmidt have also been really nice to me, letting me stay and mooch off them) so I'd better go.

I'm in Shell!

It's very similar to the way I remember it. It also has some differences. I was looking through the "phone book" of all the missionaries here for people I know. There aren't many.

Of course, it's still just as rainy, cloudy, and wet as I remember.

Tomorrow I start as a working visitor with HCJB. I'm still not entirely sure what I'm going to be doing, but that's half the adventure. I'm also not yet settled into the place I'm going to be staying. Uncle Fred and Aunt Desi (they aren't actually my aunt and uncle) aren't at home right now, but they should pick me up soon.

I'm tired.

The road here was scenic, as always, and windy. BUT IT'S PAVED!!!!!!! That's really different from when I was here last. It took 4-5 hours (I wasn't really watching the clock), whereas before it too 5-6 hours.

It actually took us longer because we stopped at a really interesting place along the way to eat lunch. It's an orphanage in the town of Banos. It was really beautiful and the people/kids were really nice. The food was good, too! I haven't had "real" Ecuadorian food in a very long time.

Ok, so, in the middle of writing this post I was interrupted and a lot of things happened. It is now 10:00. I am now about to go to sleep in the bed I will be using for the rest of the summer. I'm really tired and excited about tomorrow. Please pray for me!!! And pray for God's children in Ecuador.

One more try

Today I am going to try to leave the country. Again. Please pray that my flight isn't cancelled!

Well, there's been a delay in my departure to Ecuador. Tungurahua, a volcano in Ecuador, decided to spew a bunch of ash everywhere, so my flight from Miami to Quito was cancelled. So now I'm stuck in Miami. I'm scheduled to try again Sunday, but we'll see how that works out.

I'll keep you posted.

Morgan's Very First Blog Post

Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for Ecuador, South America. I'm going to work as an administrative assistant in a small hospital in the town of Shell. I'll be there until August 12. I honestly have no idea what's in store for me. I have a pretty vague job description and a few things I might be working on, but beyond that, I guess I'll just wait and see what God has to show me.

I grew up in Shell, so I'm looking forward to seeing familiar places and old friends. Of course, it's going to be different. Before I was really young. People have come and gone, and I've grown up a little (I hope).

Today I am packing and saying goodbye to Mississippi. I honestly haven't a clue what else to write about so... um... goodbye???