So I have a friend named Lenin. I met Lenin at the Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C. and really connected with him. He was the 5th person that I met from Ecuador and lived at Casa Victoria, and was the 'straw that broke the camel's back' to get me down here. 5th time's the charm I guess.
Anyway, Lenin is from a really small village called 235. It is called that because it is 235 kilometers from the coast and there's a railroad track that goes through it. The name is simple, much like the lifestyle and the people. For any of you that have been on the Mizzou mission trips to Jamaica, this place is just like that.
I went out there with Lenin a few weeks ago and it was going to be a surprise birthday party for his mom. We successfully distracted her in a neighboring town while Lenin's 8 other brothers and sisters made their way to the house to set up. We made our way back and it was fantastic. Tons of food, two dudes popped out of the kitchen with guitars singing happy birthday in spanish, you got the lady who's already drunk prancing around yelling out happy birthday at the most random times. It was awesome.
This party was a little different than many of the parties I have ever been to. We're in a small house (really small...like a house made for ants...i jacked my head several times), concrete floor, and several
people of all ages sitting around telling jokes. There are two guys walking around passing out home made moonshine and Pilsener beer...and everyone's drinking, even Grandma. As the night progressed the guitarists started working again and people started to dance. Thanks to the drunk guy who made it interesting. We gave him a little device that was used to pump balloons as a microphone. He was dancing around, grabbing all the girls to dance
with him.
We danced. We drank. We celebrated the life of an amazing woman.
I started to think about the lives of these people. They just got running water 1o years ago. They're a farming people who live off the land. Their stresses are different than my stresses, and they probably have a lot less. The go to bed every night and wake up every morning with the sound of the raging river below. There's honesty, there's trust, there's
no crime. People look out for eachother and yes, most of them are related. The air is some of the purest air in Ecuador and they are in the mountains. They're separated from 'the real world,' from traffic, from technology. Many people there don't have cars, have never driven, and have never flown in airplanes. Even Lenin's mom is afraid of them because she says, 'they take my babies away!' It's a different life, one that seems more pure, and I was honored to be a part of it.
This is Lenin's Dad repeating a few phrases that we taught him in English. He's the man. It brings a smile to my face every time I watch it.
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