Wow, wow, wow, something amazing has occured! I just enjoyed
the first real shower of my entire mission so far. We all remember my situation
at the coast and the whole bucket-pitcher deal. I promise you, I was in and out
of that shower superquick. Then I arrived here in Tulcan and we got robbed, and
moved over to the house with the elders on the south side of town. I never said
anything bad about the shower there because I was just grateful to be able to stand
under a warmish stream of water. But it was always super cold in that house and
it cancelled any warmth out! However, we are living in our new apartment in our
sector. The first shower I took here was a failure because I was so used to
putting the water pressure as low as I could in the old house so that the
electric-box-wire-mess thingie could have a chance of heating up the dribbles
as they trickled out. Sadly, when I did that with this new shower it didn’t
activate the gas-heating box on our roof, so only cold water came out and it
was freezing! But tonight…tonight I’m just getting home after a long day of extremely
hard work. I tried the shower again and I got it to work and oh, gloria, it’s
beautiful! For the first time in seven months I thought to myself “well, I
guess just one more minute will be ok.”
I really hope you can all feel the excitement in my voice
because I’m really rather delighted. But I also have a weird sense of guilt,
too. I had this feeling once before, when we went to a nice mall in Ibarra and
it felt like home. It felt like my Ecuador-world and my USA-world were clashing
that night…a wave of emotion like I was somehow closer to home and familiar
surroundings but in reality, I really still couldn’t have been farther from it.
Well tonight I am feeling the same way, but in some ways even worse, because I
know and love so many wonderful people here…people I know are showering with raw,
cold water, some in make shift showers, outside, fed by little more than a
garden hose. That night, back in Ibarra, I reasoned I felt bad because I wanted
to keep my Ecuador-life and my USA-life separate. But now I realize I was wrong and jaded. Now I am coming to
appreciate it more deeply. What I’m realizing is, despite loving my first warm
shower in 7-months, I’m actually happier and more comfortable living my life more
similarly to the people I am trying to help. It gives me a stronger sense of
empathy and helps me feel like I can help in a more genuine way when I live as
they do.
I also just need to be more thankful because, truth is,
complaining about waiting 7 months for a sweet shower is just a way messed-up,
backward way of being a spoiled, ignorant kid. In my case, I promise I’m not
complaining. I’ve learned to earnestly pray, with deep thanks and gratitude,
for every plate of food placed in front of me, and every genuine smile received
from these wonderful Ecuadorian people. Sorry for these somber thoughts
tonight. I’ll be back on Saturday to summarize the week.
So it’s Saturday now and we ended up finishing off a great week
here. We held an awesome activity at the Church last night with games, hot
chocolate, and makeshift grilled cheese sandwiches. Yesterday there was an
Easter procession, not related to our Church but intriguing all the same, with
three shirtless men on homemade crosses being carried through town. We heard
about a fight breaking out later between two women in the same gathering but we
had left by that point so who knows? And then today I got to watch General
Conference and will be able to listen to the rest tomorrow. To close this
week’s letter, I’d like to relate a port of a talk given in conference. I hope
you don’t mind.
A man named Gary B Sabin talked on the subject of why we
need to be “All In” to a good cause and why being “All In” can bring us
confidence despite the tasks ahead being difficult. As part of his remarks, he
shared a story about an inquisitive child taking swings at a human-shaped punching
bag that always bounced back and stood back up regardless of how hard he hit it.
The father asked the child why he thought the punching bag bounced back, time
after time. The simple and innocent answer of the child hit me hard and has me
reflecting on my mental toughness. The child replied that the punching bag
bounces back because it is "always standing up on the inside". We need to be like
this boxing training tool. We need to stand up on the inside by putting all of
our trust in whatever goal or good cause we find ourselves engaging in. Once we
reach this level, strengthen our foundation and add weight, we become rooted and
nothing can knock us down.
I feel blessed and thankful for all the support I received
from my beloved family and friends that help me add weight and standing power to
my inside. Life is good! As Elder Quispe loves to say “estamos trabajando como
bestias”…”we are working like beasts.” I miss you all and will see you soon.
Chao!
- EE
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| Plated out of California - last registered in 2009. A little bit of home is here with me :) |
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