Day 3...church

Sorry this is out of order.  The next three posts (Day 1, Day 2, and Day 4) are emails I sent from Ecuador on those days.  I did not have time on Sunday to type, so I am writing after the fact. 

On Sunday, we went to church in Ecuador.  Everyone was dressed their best for church.  For some, that meant a suit.  For others, that meant washing their one outfit so it was clean for Sunday.  Everyone was visibly joyful to be at worship at church.  They were grateful to be there together.  There was no grumbling about the time or lack of seats, glancing in judgment or taking note of who walked in late, or glaring at the moms with the crying kids.  Everyone, including the moms with the crying kids, was praising their King.  The songs were in Spanish and I knew very few of the words, but my heart was praising and I was worshipping my God just the same.  It was a beautiful picture of worship, different languages being used to praise one God.  Thank you, Lord, for the opportunity.

After much singing and jumping and shouting, the pastor stepped to the stage.  We Americans were sitting in the back three rows of the church (which left many standing all over the place, but they didn't mind a bit and were thrilled to honor us with seats) with our two translators strategically placed amongst us so they could whisper translate what the pastor was saying.  That man brought it!  He was preaching the Word of God, socking it to everyone in the audience, and stepping all over our toes. 

In case I haven't used this analogy before, let me say one thing.  The Bible is like a mirror.  When we take a serious look at God's Word, and study it for ourselves, we cannot help but to be shown our shortcomings before a holy God.  The Bible tells us about God, but also reveals our need for Him.  If I read the Bible and walk away feeling good about myself, something is probably wrong.  If I hear a message preached from the Word and walk out thinking "whew, I'm doing good!", something is probably wrong.  More often, I read the Bible and get whipped with how good I am NOT, how good I am NOT doing.  He often shows me areas where I fall far short of holiness.  So no, I don't think we should be feeling good about ourselves after opening the Bible.  Hold on, keep reading.  We ought not feel good about ourselves, but we should most definitely be encouraged by who God is.  I do not feel good about myself when I study the Bible, but I also do not feel defeated.  When He shows me an area that needs improvement, He also gives me the help I need to improve.  I will never, ever measure up.  I will never, ever be good enough to *deserve* being a part of God's family.  But that's why He sent us a Savior!  And that's why He gave us the scriptures!  And that's why He gives us the Holy Spirit!  That's why I praise Him, that's why I serve Him.  Because He wants me to grow up and mature as His child.  Through His Word, He says "Hey, Tricia, you're sinning when you are impatient with your children."  Then He shows me a way out of that sin and He helps me to overcome.  How could I not praise Him? 

Okay, so that was more than "one thing." 

Anyways, the pastor was preaching and stepping on my toes and God was saying to me, "Tricia, here are some areas in your life that need drastic improvement and here is what I expect of you."  The same God that my friends in America were worshipping and studying that Sunday morning back in Texas, was also speaking to a group of Americans and Ecuadorians in Quito.  He is truly everywhere at all times!  That is something to be grateful for!!

Change gears.  Here's a little funny story for you.  I was holding a little 2 year-old during church (of course!) and she fell asleep.  She was totally out and it felt wonderful to hold her while she slept.  About half-way through the sermon, I felt warmth.  Hmmmm.  Not good.  I couldn't wake her.  I didn't want to shame her mother by letting her know that her little darling peed on the American visitor.  I wasn't sure what to do so I just kept holding her.  She was sitting on my lap, soaked with pee.  My dress was soaked, my undies were soaked (seriously, gross).  It was not comfortable.  After the sermon, they wanted the Americans to come on stage so they could pray for us so I handed her back to her mother and prayed that she would think her baby peed during the transition.  I was so, so grateful for the dress I chose to wear that morning.  I had taken two dresses, my favorite and my second favorite.  We only needed one dress for Sunday but Jeff said to pack them both since I had room and I couldn't decide.  Sunday morning, I wore my second favorite dress...a very busy all-over print.  Even on stage, under the glare of lights, you could not see the wet spot.  Thank you, God!  I was also grateful for having two dresses because our sweet trip-planner allowed us to detour (not a small one) by the hotel for me to change before we went to lunch. 

Now that you all know I've been peed on by a cute Ecuadorian 2 year-old, I will share my victory story from Sunday.  Between church and lunch, we visited the Equator while we waited for the other group to get there.  There is a lot of science about the Equator that I won't explain here, but we got to do a couple of experiements to test the theories. 

First, the water swirling experiment...when going down a drain ON the equator, the water does not swirl.  Move the basin 6 inches into the northern hemisphere and the water swirls clockwise (watch your bathtub drain sometime).  Move it a tiny bit into the southern hemisphere and it swirls counter-clockwise.  Kinda crazy.  It's because of the magnetic forces pulling to the poles.  Hurricanes in the different hemispheres swirl in those same respective directions.  They do not have hurricanes along the equator because there isn't enough pull.  Interesting, right.  Also interesting, you cannot walk in a straight line, heal to toe, along the acutal equator.  The forces are pulling your body in both directions and you can actually feel it.  Nobody could pass a sobriety test if they were on the actual line.  Last, my favorite experiment, is that it is truly possible to balance an egg on a nail when on the equator line.  It's very difficult just because it's an egg and a nail, but since the magnetic forces are pulling equally, it is possible.  I have a picture to prove it because, after much persistence, I did it!  I even got a cheese "diploma" certificate thing to prove that I did it.  I think I am pretty cool.

Sunday was a "fun" day for us.  We got to worship at an Ecuador church, eat a delicious lunch, go to the Equator, do a bit of shopping, and take a short tour around some interesting areas of the city.  We were regular tourists on Sunday!  It was refreshing and restful day, which was much needed between Saturday and Monday.