Turning the Other Cheek
In the month of July, I wasn’t robbed once, but twice. Since moving into my new apartment mid April, I have been living without a table. I’m still a recent college grad, so it wasn’t that different from my life two years ago, but by mid-June I was feeling ready to actually have a place to sit and eat, so I started researching and found a company to buy a table from. I placed the order in full confidence, but as the weeks started to tick by with less and less communication, I started to realize that I had fallen for an elaborate scam. I spent several weeks pursuing legal options to try to get my money back, but unfortunately, due to the judicial system in Ecuador, it is impossible to press charges or receive a reimbursement.
As this process was coming to a close and I began accepting my reality, I was robbed. Thank God it wasn’t anything super traumatic, just a simple pick-pocketing. I had been on my way to the historic center to be part of our weekly outreach with my newest (North American) coworker. Having been here for nearly a year and a half without incident, I was watching her closely, making sure she could get off the bus safely. As she slipped by the person standing in front of us, I immediately felt myself surrounded by three, older men. My first thought was claustrophobia, and my second was “I’m about to be robbed.” I immediately placed my hand on my bag, and didn’t notice anything different, but couldn’t see it for the men surrounding me. As I got off the bus, I looked down, and alas, the zipper on my cross-body bag was open. I jumped back on the bus shouting “¡Chuta! ¡Mi billetera!” (Shoot! My wallet!), but unfortunately, it was too late, no one had seen anything, and while I have my suspicions, I couldn’t exactly go chasing the old men, asking them to turn out there pockets.
As my brain starting rushing through all the things I needed to do: canceling my cards, reporting my stolen ID, etc. I felt the Lord whisper Matthew 5:40 to me, “And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.” Now, let me be clear, I do not believe that was God asking me to run after the men, asking if they wanted my purse in addition to my wallet. But I did have this moment of, “What would Jesus do in this moment?” and the realization of how far I am from Jesus’ perfect example.
In both of these situations, I first turned to the law to look for my defense and comfort instead of the Lord. How beautiful could that moment have been if I immediately turned to the Lord instead? What sort of example could that have demonstrated to the women we serve? But despite my initial errors, God was so gracious to meet me in the moments afterward. I have seen him in the way my team took care of me, in the peace I experience getting on the bus every time since, and the way that he promises to be with me in the highs and the lows.
Update on both these situations: thank God for US credit cards and dispute claims (please pray that I win the dispute even though it would be crazy if I lost, still good to cover in prayer), I have also bought and received another table, so I’m grateful to have somewhere to eat! And I’m grateful that in my wallet I only had $3 in change and was able to immediately cancel the two debit cards I had as they didn’t steal my phone. The only really difficult thing that was taken was my Ecuadorian ID. I thought I wouldn’t be able to get a new one, but by God’s grace and good friends, I was able to get a new one last week!
Update on Ministry and the Emergency Relief Program!
I was so overwhelmed by y’all’s support for our Amadas and your desire to support them! Thank you to everyone who sent me a Venmo to buy grocery cards for our women. We were able to buy them and even distribute a few to those who needed them over the month! In everything we do as an organization, we strive to be good stewards of what God has given us, so we have not distributed them all yet: however, the women who did receive them this month were so appreciative. Sometimes it can be hard to hear their stories and know there’s nothing we can do, but what a blessing it was to be able to be a part of the tangible difference made in the lives of these women this month.
In other news, the most recent outreach that I was a part of was very meaningful for me. For the first time ever, I understood, followed along, and was a part of every conversation. Usually I’ll miss a reference or I won’t understand a part of a story, or sometimes I just won’t understand a woman at all, but this past Wednesday felt like a breakthrough in language learning. For months now, I have been conversational, but no where near fluent. Being converstational is amazing and a huge blessing from God, but sometimes it can be hard to see my progress. So this week felt like an extra special blessing from God in my language growth and my ability to talk with and be part of the discipleship of our Amadas women.
Speaking of discipleship… the discipleship meetings that I went through with our Amada Paula* while my coworker was in the States were a success! I’m really grateful for the opportunity I had to be a part of this process and get closer to being able to disciple an Amada on my own in the future!
*Name changed for protection
Answered Prayers
• The blessing of the Emergency Relief Grocery Cards
• All our recent events went amazingly!
• Being able to host people in my new apartment and feeling very at home
• The Lord’s provision, protection, and peace in this season
• A new alliance with an organization who can offer additional training and programs to our women
• Seeing response in our women to God and what He is doing through us
• My first discipleship in Spanish went really well!!
• The openness and breakthroughs we’ve had with Amadas this month!
Prayer Requests
• For all of our Amadas searching for new jobs and opportunities
• For an Amada who recently lost her baby, for her as well as her coworkers as it has the whole community very shaken
• For our new Relief Program, that God would use it to reveal himself
• For our women to see their need for Jesus and his love
• For God’s strength for the team as we pursue his will for our ministry
• For financial support as I’ve lost about $300/month in support over the time I’ve been here (more on this in a future newsletter with some exciting updates!)