One month in

It's raining in Quito now, and all the students are gone.  Gray curtains are obscuring the city and are darkening as the sun sets.  Occasional rumbles roll over the tops of wet buildings.  

Climbing ropes are strewn across the couch  needing to dry.  Several of my own pieces of gear lay on the floor as well, torn but newly patched with shiny, wet seam grip (thanks for the seam grip Audrey!)  The rain on the roof is a nice sound, especially at night.

A month has passed and I still wish to be nowhere else.  I am enjoying the benefits as well as the difficulties down here.  I'm learning a lot.  How to coax hot water out of the shower faucet; how to face a headache and nausea with optimism and jokes (and Ibuprofen); how to tell if I'm actually going to barf or if I just feel bad; how to ask about gluten in Spanish; how to make a bed out of hospital chairs and sleep there; how to put someone's oxygen tube back into their nose again and again and again.  I'm also learning how to prepare for the future but not to worry about--to keep walking as best I can and handle the future as it comes (not referring to a career, Mom and Dad).

Part of our group descending part of Cayambe

I made it up Cayambe on this past trip.  I still did not lead a rope team which is hard for me, but I'm learning a lot of humility.  I only threw up once, and I felt better rather than worse afterwards.  I'm not sure how much the altitude was getting to me and how much it was a previous sickness.  I'd eaten little in the days before due to a fever and stomach illness.  I'd also slept little due to half the population of Indonesia dancing in plastic boots beside my bed (the hut on Cayambe was very croweded).  But I made it up.  I'm impoving.  And I'm hoping to lead a rope team next time.  Mom and Dad have sent down a small pharmacy's worth of altitude pills for me to take.  Turns out they don't sell them in Ecuador.  Hooray for parents.

The mountains have been a bit unruly this year, unruly but beautiful.  Illiniza Norte (17,000 feet) was covered in snow when it is usually a rock route.  That day ended up being 10.5 hours and we got back to our vehicles after dark and in the rain.  Luckily, my mustache kept my upper lip warm.

Notice the sweet mustache (no it's not dirt)

We had some medical issues on this past course.  One of which was a student's brain swelling due to a preexisting condition set off by the altitude.  He was in the hospital for two nights and it was pretty intense for a while.  But he got better and went home.  We had some other medical complications but I don't feel like writing about them.

The students on this last course seemed to be learning from their experiences here.  In our nightly discussions they had some profound things to say and showed they were processing their experiences rather than just letting them slide by.  This was encouraging and helped me believe I'm not the only one learning down here.  I think God is at work, certainly in my heart, but hopefully also in others.  I always appreciate your prayers, health has been a tough issue down here.  Other than that I need prayer about where to go in the future etc. (the whole family nods their heads).

It's stopped raining now.  The clouds are clearing away but the its dark and the city is lighting up.