16 May From the heart of the college students on the trip!
Good Company.
Wednesday was our first day that we began building the church in Mount Olivos. Being somewhere or in the village where we aren’t familiar with their language and they aren’t familiar with ours made it very difficult to communicate, especially in a situation where we had to work together to complete a certain task. Of course we were lucky enough to have Shelton and Gabby there to help interpret, but at certain instances where we didn’t have either around we struggled to communicate. We were working with a few of the villagers, two in particular named Rigo and Will. We exchanged laughter at our lack of understanding of each other’s language. After a while Rigo said,”puede enseñarme ingles” (can you teach me english) which we were able to understand. So, we agreed ”Sí, si puedes enseñarnos español, but only if you teach us spanish (We obviously had that interpreted). After a few giggles and few words that were recently taught or learned, in the midst of his laughter we heard in his limited english he said ”good compañía!!” Good company.
This stuck out to us.. and really caused us to reflect on our journey thus far. We were thrown into and were immediately embraced by this truly awesome family. Little did we know that this family would come with 44 orphans and an entire village. Nor did we expect Rhonda, Gabby, Shelton, Alex, and Gabriel to be quite possibly the most accepting, loving, honest, selfless, and open armed people we would have the pleasure of spending five days with-five short days. They aren’t prideful of their amazing accomplishments here, but are truly focused on God’s plan and fullfilling his works. Its not just the villages and programs they have built here, but it is the things unseen that are so pure and profound, yet so simple. Being a small group of three we felt we were at an advantage in that we were able to build intimate relationships with more than each other. It’s been cool witnessing each of them (The Wicks) and the relationships they have built with every single individual-adult and child- at the village and orphanage. They have genuinely gotten to know each and every one of them and in such serious conditions they manage to get everyone laughing!
Our time has mostly consisted of laughing with this family filled with so much joy. Rhonda is everyone’s mother!! She is caring of every individual who crosses her path and literally hugs anyone and everyone around her- wanting everyone to feel loved. Shelton is a goofy loving, caring and fun kinda guy who can put a smile on any child’s face no matter what! Gabby is a kind, encouraging, sweet, sassy, and a beautiful woman inside and out and has truly been so unbelievably patient with our 20000 questions we’ve asked her. Alex, even though we never could understand each other (slight language barrier), through his action we saw a gentle, selfless and kind man of God. We were very lucky to have had the chance to spend time and shares laughs with him! Ohhhh and then there’s Gabriel! Aahh Gabriel, the typical teenage boy yet sooo loving and such a kind spirit. Each taught us something of value that we will always hold near to our hearts!
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> Coming on this trip we expected to simply be building and helping at the orphanage… little did we know God had something so much bigger in store. Being with the Wicks, the villagers, and 44 children has taught us the importance of relationship and fellowship. At times we as humans forget to slow down and just enjoy the presence of each other and being in the moment.
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> Its all about good company:)
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> …Air conditioning or not hehe
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