Ecua-door of Opportunity
January 14, 2022
¡Estamos aquí! We are here!
By the grace of God, Claire, Emma, Hannah, Katherine, and I successfully navigated various airports and safely arrived in Quito, Ecuador. God’s grace truly covered us at every turn, from check in to security to immigration to customs. The hiccups were minor and we know the power of God carried us in answer to a flood of prayers.
I ordered in Spanish (!!) at Miami International Airport, and enjoyed my first Famous Cuban Sandwich. Stan, Lucy, and David from the Nazarene International Language Institute communicated with us regularly to ensure a smooth travel experience, and settled us into temporary accommodations on the seminary campus … at 3 AM. ¡Gracias, David y Luis! We are now spending the weekend in a brief quarantine together before beginning our classes and meeting our host families.
Speaking of family, I miss mine already. I wish they could see what I am seeing and be on this adventure with me! Dad, Mom, and Nathan, thank you for packing me up and letting me spend 3.5 months on another continent to learn, grow, and have the time of my life.
Thank You
And thank you for reading my blog! I am humbled by this opportunity that God orchestrated for me. I am continually amazed how God goes before us to prepare the way and equip our hearts for service to Him. This study abroad is something He has always had planned for me!
I would like to thank my boss Brian McIntyre, Media Ministry Director at Shine.FM (Olivet Nazarene University). He offered to post my blog here, and I am grateful to Gary Dearth, Network Director of Broadcast Systems at Shine.FM, for working with me to do that. Besides the chance to experience study abroad itself and the details of planning it, this is one way I see God’s provision and preparation in advance.
I also witnessed this on a recent trip to the orthodontist. The ladies there are so kind and asked if I would take a box of 144 toothbrushes to the children in Ecuador! Of course I said yes! I praise God for the generosity of Dr. Aldo Largura Orthodontics in Wheatfield, Indiana.
This is not to mention countless family members and faithful friends who are praying over this trip. Thank you for loving, serving, strengthening, and supporting me. I hope I can do the same for you, even if in a small way through this blog.
… And this has all been happening in the States. Here in South America, the NILI team has been tirelessly toiling and praying over this semester! I am so thankful to each of them for their love of the Lord and dedication to His Kingdom. This program is clearly filled with and blessed by the Spirit of the Lord.
What’s Coming
The fact that I am actually here is a little surreal. I am having trouble believing God would give me such an incredible time to learn and grow! I am so unworthy yet so thankful! Though I cannot imagine what is to come, I am thrilled for everything the Lord has planned!
I hope to highlight an aspect of His provision in my blog each week, as well as what He is teaching me, what I am learning here, and what we are doing in this beautiful country. I am thinking of including a word of the week: a Spanish palabra, what it means, and why it is special. Finally, I hope this blog helps you worship God. That is what I know I will be doing as I meet His children, immerse myself in their culture, explore God’s majestic creation, and learn to trust Him so far away from my family. I invite you to join me because He is worthy!
In closing, I would like to share a verse to guide our journey. It comes from Paul’s speech to the Athenians in Acts 17:
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being.’” (Acts 17:24-28a, ESV)
¡Dios está con nosotros! He is with us!
Abby
Internal Hyperlinks:
Olivet Nazarene University: https://www.olivet.edu/
Dr. Aldo Largura Orthodontics: http://www.aldolarguraorthodontist.com/
NILI: https://www.gonili.com/
