Monday 4 June 2012

Long Weekend = Long Monday

The weekend was a ton of fun but as you know, I did not get much sleep. On Sunday, I slept in until about noon but it was on and off sleep so I woke up not feeling very rested. To add to my fatigue, I went and played ultimate frisbee for an hour and a half followed by basketball for an hour and a half. Afterwards I was toast. I tried to go to bed fairly early but did not get as much sleep as I would have hoped. This meant that todays work day dragged on very slowly. It was a lot of fun don't get me wrong, I was just dead tired all day. 

Work wasn't bad, I did some more weed eating from about 9 to 12. It was so much easier when I had my phone to listen to music with. Even without it though, it is still not that bad. It beats shoveling rocks. No, it was just fine. I needed a good lesson in being a servant. I had a lot of time to think as I ate weeds and I thought that helping and serving are two different things. Helping gives you some type of entitlement and makes you feel good about yourself, at least for me. It makes me feel like I am offering something that I should be thanked for. As a result, I feel entitled to pick and choose what I want to help with. Serving is much different. There is no entitlement and for me in service. I am simply doing whatever is needed with a good attitude and gracious heart. When serving, I am thankful and am receiving a blessing from being allowed to do whatever it is I am asked. I am here to serve, not help.

Around lunch time on my long walk to Alexanders, I walked beside Eddison. He is the youngest Maestro if you didn't remember. I tried my best to ask him and his family to dinner some time to which he understood and responded that tonight would be a good night for them. After a long time trying to tell him where to meet me, I finally had Heidi, who was walking close by, translate. He didn't know where Tablitas or Johnny's was which was weird because it was one of the most famous restaurants in Shell. I think it is probably because he doesn't ever eat out. Anyways, he knew where Alexanders was so we met there at 6:30. I went a tiny bit early expecting them to be like typical Ecuadorians and be 20 minutes late but as I arrived, I was proved incorrect. Eddison, his wife, and their beautiful little girl were waiting for me even a little early dressed up a little bit and ready to eat. 

I introduced myself to the Mrs and we sat down to eat. I knew little Spanish and they knew no English but I blessed the meal and we had a great time eating and talking together. The talking was a little rough but I think we did okay. It was such a blessing for me to be able to eat with them. I really wish I could speak more there language but I would rather be able to take them out to dinner with only smiles than nothing at all. I had to urge them to get what they wanted as they seemed very hesitant to order. It was a wonderful blessing buying them food. They were super respectful and I could tell they didn't want to make me spend a lot. Once we were done eating, we said our goodbyes with huge smiles on our faces and I left being better off because of it. I don't know if half the stuff I said at the table translated correctly but I hope the love of Christ made it through. 

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Today I got to play with a different Eddison at Casa de Fe. This one is quite a bit younger and he is deaf. We became friends because I played with him today. We played with squirt guns and he loved spraying me with water. My heart goes out to him I think partly because my sister was deaf. I couldn't communicate with her but smiles and attention always did the trick. The same was true with Eddison. For the rest of the day, every time I saw him, he smiled real big, squealed to get my attention and then waved. I have gained a new friend, another of which I can't wait to play with in Heaven where we can communicate better.

What a blessed day!

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