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.