End of the Season

The last time I had played on a sports team was 2010, but back in September I had the privilege of joining the Santa Ines basketball team that competes in Quito's "neighborhood" league.  Coming back to the sport and getting to know a great group of ladies from my part of town has been so much fun.

We just finished up the season this weekend, losing by one point to Las Casas to place 4th overall. While ending on a losing note isn't the best way to end the season, it was a great game and I would say that losing a close game is much better than an easy win.

Our team after the last game of the season

Turkey Day and Tree Hunting

I missed the previous two Thanksgivings, so spending last Thursday with my family was extra special.  In addition to my immediate family and Beppe (grandma), we also were joined by the Cho family.  Joe, Kelly and their 6-year-old daughter Ohana drove in from Ohio to spend the day with us.

Between my 16-month-old niece shrieking with joy as we chased her around the house and showing off her animal sounds, Diego the dog trying to convince everyone to play fetch with him, and Ohana challenging us to virtually every game in the house, there was never a dull moment.  Oh, and we ate a lot.  But that goes without saying on Thanksgiving.  Overall, I absolutely love Thanksgiving when it's spent with family hanging out at home without anywhere to go or any agenda for the day.

Too big

The next morning I did cave into the US consumerism culture and participated in some Black Friday shopping in the morning.  But the highlight for the day was definitely driving out to a Christmas Tree farm to do some tree hunting.  Both my siblings have reverted back to real trees even though my parents continue re-using the same 18-year-old tree.

It was cold.  As in snowflakes-falling and wind-whipping-around-trees cold.  But we braved the elements to find that perfect tree.  My brother-in-law showed off his mad jumping skill by trying to jump over a few trees (unsuccessfully), and eventually everyone found that perfect tree.  For me, it was the first time in...18 years? to go tree hunting.  Fun times.

Too small

Just right!

The tree I tried to import to Ecuador...just kidding!

Congrats Rachel and James!

One of my reasons for spending an extra week in the US after the Partners Worldwide conference and training (besides being home for Thanksgiving) was to attend my friend Rachel's wedding.  The two of us go all the way back to high school, and we had weekly coffee dates during the last two years of college.  While we've barely been able to see each other in the past two years due to the distance, it was fun to share in her and James' special day on Saturday.

College friends

High school friends

Eat Drink DANCE - we even learned contra dancing :)

Receiving Training

Most of the time when I write about training, it's something that I'm teaching or that I'm helping to organize.  But in order to be effective at teaching, it is important to first learn.  And that's exactly what about 15 other Partners Worldwide country representatives and volunteers did this past week.  

Over the course of five days, we spent time studying in-depth the materials from Partners Worldwide's small and medium business training curriculum.  After learning more about everything from Business as Mission to balance sheets to customer service to SMART goals, I believe more than ever in the value of practical business training.  As I return to Ecuador, I look forward to supporting our local training teams as they improve their materials and teach courses that have a lasting impact in the lives of Ecuadorian businesspeople.

Part of our train-the-trainer group

Moving to Cuenca

Over the past six months, I have spent an increasing amount of time traveling to one specific location--Cuenca Ecuador.  Located about 265 miles south of Quito in the same mountain chain, Cuenca is the third largest city in Ecuador and the home to colonial architecture, artisan crafts, the production of Panama hats, and countless ornate Catholic churches.

At the same time, the Verbo Christian Church of Cuenca has been at work, following the Spirit's leading to grow from one small congregation in the 1980s to three vibrant churches that today support a radio, English language school, hospital, dental clinic, orphanage, K-12 school, ministry institute and much more.  One of their newer ministries is growing out of a connection with Partners Worldwide and the strong desire to affirm businesspeople in their calling and help them to see their work as their mission field.

To better support the Verbo Church and our joint ministry--Cuenca Partners, I will be moving to Cuenca at end of January to be involved in the ministry full time.  This is very much a new development, so I look forward to the challenges, joys, and adventures of spending the next three months getting to know the city, exploring apartment options, and figuring out how to move my "stuff" over an 8-hour drive through winding mountain roads.  God has truly been leading and preparing me up to this point for this move, so I trust in him and his providence as I begin developing new connections and putting down roots in this city to which I have been called.

I'm just gonna eat worms

Literally.  But not because no one likes me.  It's because worms are considered a delicacy in the Amazon jungle of Ecuador.  They also are high in protein and are supposed to help with asthma.  But I'll stop with the propaganda trying to convince people to eat worms.  The basic fact is that grub worms are a healthy staple of the diet of most families in the jungle, and they have become a delicacy that is served to curious tourists willing to try unusual food.

Last week when we visited the family of Bolivar Andi, an indigenous farmer in Guacamayos, his wife was preparing maito--a dish made of palm heart and some form of meat (in this case worms) seasoned with salt and wrapped in a palm leaf to cook on an open fire.  They showed us how they pull out the animal's intestines and then cover them with heart of palm.  When we asked where those squirming fat gusanos (worms) came from, Bolivar took us out to the forest that surrounds his house and pointed us to a palm tree he had chopped down about three months earlier.  Over time, the larvae grow into the worms we had seen inside, and they chop out 2-foot sections of the tree to harvest 5-10 worms each time.  As soon as Bolivar opened a new section of the tree trunk, we saw one of the worms, and Lenin, one of the Ecuadorians with us, picked it up and offered to prepare it for us to eat.  He carefully snapped off the head, pulled out the guts, and then asked, "who wants to try a worm?"

Everyone was a bit hesitant, so one of Bolivar's daughters demonstrated how to bite off a piece of chewy skin.  And yes, I followed her lead.  Let's just say that I'd eat that again over guinea pig, but it's definitely a new experience.  Back inside the house, we also had the opportunity to eat the maito, which I would say is much more appealing and actually quite delicious with the palm heart flavor baked through.  It's not something I plan to do everyday, but when I'm in the rainforest again, I'm just gonna eat worms. :)

And now for the story in pictures:

Bolivar's wife sprinkles salt over the worms mixed in with palm heart

Lenin opens up a section of the felled palm tree to find worms

I'm going for it - first time ever eating a worm

Biting off a little piece.  Yes, that is a worm in my mouth!

Bob checks out the unusual food selection for the day

This little guy absolutely loved eating the rest of the worm.  He was definitely savoring it.

Trying maito hot off the fire

A New Partnership

Introducing the newest Partners Worldwide partnership--Cuenca Partners.

Last Tuesday, during the visit from North American members of the Partners Worldwide team, we signed a partnership agreement to begin actively working together with Cuenca Partners to bring business development under the vision of Business as Mission to the city of Cuenca.

As a volunteer-led group of businesspeople from the Verbo Christian Church of Cuenca, this local partner seeks to engage Christian businesspeople in service while supporting small businesspeople and entrepreneurs through business training, mentoring, and access to capital.  While there is still much work to be done, we hope to host a mentor's training day on October 20 in order to prepare mentors to connect with small business owners who need that extra support of a knowledgeable business profession with expertise in a certain area such as marketing or bookkeeping.  We will be offering a 3-day business training course in January to officially launch this ministry.