These past few weeks PW students have been part of the staff preparing for and leading M101 Boot Camp.  There were a few days of training at our base, then the team of 25 went into the jungle and served the people of Chichico Rumi with work projects, athletic events, and daily children’s outreaches.
Thoughts and comments…

Rachel:  One major aspect God has been teaching me over the past week has been being flexible in any circumstance. It was easy to be flexible when a staff member would inform us that our plans for that day had changed or been cancelled or moved around. It was a lot harder to be flexible when I would return to my tent completely exhausted and find everything in disarray…monkeys can be really good at opening tents. I had to ask myself: am I still willing to be flexible if it means hunting for my missing possessions rather than brushing my teeth and going to sleep? Am I still willing to be flexible when I feel like the victim of injustice? After many surprise pillages and two days without a hairbrush, I realized that curveballs can come when you least expect them. But no matter how frustrating it can seem, your attitude in those moments truly determine what’s in your heart.

Greg:  I have been learning a lot in the past few weeks.  I have the opportunity to really dig into God’s word, serve others as a part of a missional outreach, and learn a language (Spanish) in an environment full of opportunities to practice.  I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to do all of these things, but I realize that I can do all of these things in the United States as well.  A question I got a lot before I left the US was: why am I going to Ecuador? My answer then was that I felt God’s call to come here and I liked the idea of a challenging experience.  But I don’t want my time in Ecuador to just file into a neat little “experience library” that I can whip out anytime I feel like story-topping somebody back home or when I feel like justifying myself with my “unique” experiences.
We recently returned from the jungle where we (the mission 101 team + CC staff) did a lot of things to serve the local church there.  One of those things was to dig the foundation for a bathroom and the septic tank for that bathroom.  The hole for the septic tank had to be six feet wide by four feet long by six feet deep.  The first three feet weren’t bad because the ground was very loose; it only took us about four hours.  However, the water table is very high in the jungle.  We hit the water table at three feet, and it took us two days to finish the rest of the digging.  To keep digging deeper, it required that one person be dedicated to scooping out water with buckets.
As I’m in this hole on the last day of digging, I reflected on a lesson Steve had given us earlier, in which he asked us, “So why are you here?”  At this point, it’s hot, stupidly humid, and smelly.  I’m covered in sweat, mud, and bug-bites (repellant only goes so far).  My feet are sore from jungle-boot blisters and my digestive system is all awry.  In his teaching, Steve recalled his time in the military, in which his drill sergeant told all the trainees: “I’ll tell you why you’re here…you’re here to die.”  As I’m in this soon-to-be septic tank, it began to make sense to me that I am here in Ecuador, ultimately, for the same reason: to die.
It’s not like I had to come down here for this, but there is something very challenging about living long-term (six months) in a place that is void of my family, friends, culture, and most comforts that I take for granted.  God’s using this challenge to teach me more and more how to rely on him and how to live a lifestyle that seeks to die to myself and follow him daily.  Also, and this is something that I cannot learn in the States, God is teaching me how to connect to and feel for another people, another culture: Ecuador.
Also, love you Mom.

Siji: These past few weeks have really been eye opening. Recently there has been many experiences that make you realize how small we really are and how we take  what we have for granted… but we had to promise to keep things on the down low because it would ruin the experience for those who will eventually come down, so this is all I can say… Everyday i’ve grown spiritually, more and more I learn to die to myself and my selfish desires.  When summer groups came down it was a really neat experience to meet some kool people from the east coast and some people from the valley, which gave me a reminder of home… the jungle was awesome… me and few other people almost rocked the boat over LOL which was hilarious… I miss home, but the more I’m here the more I feel like this is becoming home. Peace.

Jessica (past Potter’s Wheel student, Summer Staff this year): I was a PW student five years ago and was an intern for Compassion Connection three years ago. It’s been three years since I been able to return and visit Ecuador. In the last two weeks God as really helped me to refocus my life and regain my confidence in Him. In the states it’s really easy to become like a ZOMBIE with life and just walk around doing the same things over and over again.  Avoiding the issues of the heart - that God really wants you to trust Him and depend on Him when it gets hard.
During our time in the jungle God really cleared up some foggy pictures for me and really helped me to understand the true meaning for sacrifice. I’m excited to return and take up the cross that Christ asked of me, and TRULY follow HIM!!!
Three more PW students will post tomorrow : )

Update: After M101 Boot Camp, PW students and Summer Staff took a couple of days to clean things up and then have some fun.  Pictures: celebrating Cate’s birthday, then celebrating Greg’s birthday (early because he will be on his home stay for his birthday), a hike up to “the cross” on the mountain (peak is 10,300 feet!), and a very “special” spaghetti dinner…oh and those endless games of “Mafia”…