Dream Job

It is Day 5 in Ecuador and we have already seen, experienced, and felt so much. In Guayaquil, the patients at La Fundación Padre Damien we so happy and welcoming to us. We could hear their stories of how they were diagnosed and ended up at La Fundación, how La Fundación has impacted them, what they enjoy doing there, and celebrate Ecuador's World Cup win! Every patient had something wonderful to say about La Fundación and Sister Annie. Sister Annie's passion for the well-being and happiness of the patients was overwhelming. She was always talking about how we could help, how the patients' stories were unbelievable and inspiring, how she loved them all so much, and how much the loss of one of the patient's lives was so hard for everyone at La Fundación. Saturday and Sunday we had the opportunity to meet and get to know some teenagers from Guayaquil who wanted to practice their English. I immediately became friends with Genesis and we talked about everything; we talked about food, music, school, and so much more. The other teenagers, Abel, Joselin, and Bryan, helped us translate when we talked to the patients. They were wonderful translators and they were all from Durán, the very poor city we visited Durán. I was amazed that they lived there because you would never guess that they lived without electricity or running water since they looked and acted just like us, and it was the same for every kid we saw from Durán. It really put the reality of "being happy with only a little" into perspective. Sunday, our final day in Guayaquil, we had a "despidida" or farewell with all of the patients. We had an opportunity to say something to the patients and have it translated by one of the teenagers, but I decided to step out of my comfort zone and say "thank you" in spanish. I was really nervous, but I did it with the help of Genesis and my eyes began to water from all the different emotions I felt. 

Now that we are in Quito El Centro del Muchachos Trabajador, it feels completely different. In Guayaquil it was hot and humid; here, the altitude of 9,300 feet gave me a painful headache and it is much colder and it has sprinkled outside everyday. We have a set schedule for every day we are here, much unlike Guayaquil and the flexibility of our schedule there. Our first day here was a free day, so we took the day to relax and recharge after our early flight and long bus ride. Today, we began our day with orientation to get our schedule and learn about El Centro. We then had a tour of the place with Rodolfo, who didn't speak English, so Sabrina and I were the translators for the group. We made a great team! After our tour we helped serve lunch (which was very hectic and crazy but the kids were so cute!). After a short break we went to play with the kids in the Casa Cuna, or daycare. The kids were so happy and excited to see us and  be able to play wiht us. It amazed me that even though there was a language barrier for most of the group, everyone had a little kid that wanted to play wiht or climb on them. The work that El Centro does for these family is so amazing and inspiring; this mission work is something I consider to be my "dream job" so the work done both here and in Guayaquil at La Fundación has driven me to reach that goal. The happiness that the people we have met get when we meet them is so overwhelming and excitng to see; it gives you a warm feeling of love that is addicting. Just like how difficult it was to say goodbye to the kids in the Casa Cuna, I don't know how I'm going to be able to say goodbye to Ecuador. And it's only been five days...

--Laurel Naylor