Forever Changed

So on Friday I got back from my Immersion trip to Mount Sinai, Ecuador. It was one of the most incredibly rewarding and assuring trips I have even been on. The people I met were incredible. And the lessons they taught us were inspiring and shook us down to the very fiber of our beings. It was like one giant wake-up call. (Also a real wake-up call considering the roosters that were our neighbors.) 

Mount Siani and the Rostro de Cristo house we stayed in

The place we stayed was an invasion community and the people there lived without the basics of clean water and safe roads. The conditions were desperate and sometimes dangerous, but I have never seen more joyful and grateful people in my life. 

This is the group with Monica. She was an incredible inspiration.

Everyone was just happy if they made it to the next day, if their child was able to go to school, or if their home didn't wash away in the flood. The simplicity of their lives and their love was so incredible. I literally cannot think of a more inspirational group of people. They made the way we live in the US look so cold and unfeeling. They decided everything based on other people and never made a move without considering everything. 

I also had the most incredible group of people with me. My group from JCU was amazing. We all were able to click and connect with each other so fast. We had so much fun together. It really was like we were a giant family. We joked with each other but when it came time to have serious conversations, everyone was insightful and caring. 

This is the after-school program we worked with. Such intelligent kids. 

You see, I went down to Ecuador thinking that love was impossible. I went there thinking that me being an idealist was probably pretty stupid. That the world just didn't work like that...

I have never been happier to be proved wrong.

The amount of love I saw from the couples that had been together for years and could still act like teenagers around each other. The children who tried so hard in school and were excited to practice their English. The unconditional love and joy that radiated from the kids. How every time they saw us, they jumped into our arms and showered us with hugs and kisses. How a woman took $4000, a risk, and a dream and turned it into the premier school of Guayaquil. How everyone gave you a kiss when you walked in their door. How I could talk about my life and have people to compassionately listen and challenge me with questions. 

IGUANAS!! (Friends, not food)

A part of my heart will always be in Ecuador. I fell back in love with life there. I fell back in love with love. I fell back in love with idealism. I became hopeful that I can create any future I choose and that not only do I have the power to change the world, I also have the obligation. 

Nothing will ever be the same and for that, I am eternally grateful. 

Little Diana. She totally stole my heart.