Falling in love with Ecuador

I don't think I'll ever forget the afternoon I spent in the home of a woman on the outskirts of Quito, Ecuador. She gets up everyday at 4:30am to make breakfast over an open flame for her husband. He leaves their two room home at 5am hoping to find work that day. Then she wakes her five children to get them ready for school. It is a big sacrifice to send her four girls and one son to school. But she and her husband want a better life for their children and they see education as a key component for that to happen. She then spends her day walking to and from the market to get food for her family. There is no way to refrigerate food so what little they have must be brought in each day. Once a week, she carries her family's clothes several miles to the village washing hole. After cleaning the clothes she then must make the back-breaking return journey up the mountain to her home carrying the now wet and heavy cothes. When I asked her how I could specifically pray for her, she teared up and through the interpretor told me, "pray for my husband to come to know Jesus and for him to have work. And pray for me to continue to have the strength I need to serve my family." So, I am praying for my sister. But I can't just pray and walk away. I must ask God what part He wants me to play in answering her prayer. So, now I am looking for a way to get her a donkey to help her carry her groceries and laundry. (Talk about putting things into perspective for me. I pray I never again complain about having to drive in my car to go grocery shopping or walk just across my kitchen to get to my washing machine and dryer.) The thing my new friend is most excited about in her life is that two of her children were chosen to participate in the Compassion International program through the local church. Because of the vast numbers of families that want to get into the program, Compassion must limit participation to two kids per family. I went to the Compassion project and saw first hand what they do for the children in their project. It is amazing. The kids in the program come to the church after their school day is finished. There they are fed healthy food, given extra tutoring (most of these kids have surpassed where their parents are educated), have access to medical care, and most importantly are taught about Jesus. I was moved to tears working in the Compassion project. The workers care so deeply for these children and are truly a beacon of hope and promise in their life. Meeting the physical needs of the kids through the Compassion project, allows the church to show the reality of Jesus thus attracting the parents to come to church. Whole villages are getting saved through this effort. This sweet lady whose kids are participating in this project got saved at this church and is very hopeful that her husband will as well. All this to say, I have fallen in love with the people of Ecuador and pray I can return many times. I have drawn close to some things that I know must break God's heart and they have broken mine as well. Though I know I can't help every suffering family in the world, I can help those I have been made aware of. So, I will buy a donkey for one family and sponsor a child from another family through Compassion. But most of all, I will continue to pray and ask God to make me a person who is forever aware, forever willing, forever compassionate, and forever couragious enough to step out of my world into into someone else's.