Settling In....Finally!

Cultural Quip

In Quito the suffix ‘ito’ which means ‘small’ is often added to words. For example, the Spanish word for little (as in not very much) is poco. In Quito they always say poquito which when translated means a little little. Do you want less? You can add the suffix as many times as desired. You can say that you only want a poquit-it-it-it-ito of rice if you want.

What’s Up?

Well things have been changing around here. I have quickly been developing a routine. In the mornings I am generally either at the office helping with English or I am at home doing homework. In the afternoons I am currently spending my time doing several things. Most days I just hit the town and explore. Last time I was here I pretty much stayed in the same areas of Quito. This time I am getting to know every area of the city and it has been good. I can almost always tell exactly where I am now and I know exactly how to get back. I also have been spending time getting to know some of the people I have met so far. I will occasionally eat dinner with the Summers family or go out for lunch with the receptionist for Action Ecuador who has become like an Ecuadorian mom for me this time. She has invited me on family vacations and she wants to go out to her house and hang out with her family sometime soon. I am looking forward to it because she has a son the same age as me who apparently wants to meet me. Should be nice.

June is going to be a little slow, but I am very thankful for it. It has been harder to feel settled in than I thought it would. After a week I felt great. I felt like I could stay here forever without feeling lonely of homesick. Well, now that more time has passed I am feeling a little bit like I just want to text my friends and go hang out. I know this feeling will pass, but for now I am just making sure to Skype with friends and I check my social network sites regularly. Another benefit of a slow month is I have more time for homework. Sure, I am not always motivated and sometimes I do more staring at the wall than actually reading or taking notes, but at least things are moving forward right?

Something I am doing that I did not expect to do is teach piano. I currently have two students. One is Caleb, Mark and Nancy Summers’ kid. The class is an hour each week and I am teaching him to chord. He is pretty good. He is a very fast learner and I really like spending time with the little guy. I constantly quiz him about Canada and now he knows more about our fine country than many Canadians. He even knows the name of the prime minister and his political party! My other student is Kelly. She is the daughter of the couple who are renting me my apartment. She learned to play Mighty to Save today. She seems like she is frustrated by her mistakes, which I think is healthy. She is motivated to move from chord to chord smoothly and I think she is going to be playing well in no time.

My schedule through the summer is going to be very different. In July I am going to be teaching a month long English class specifically for youth ages 15-18. I am hoping to have 15 students and I will be teaching them English using the book of Mark three classes a week, three hours per class. In August I am going to be doing a couple of DVBS’s and going on a church retreat. Then in September I will begin with regular English classes with adults

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Christ is Changing Me!
                 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 
  -2 Corinthians 12:9-

            Towards the end of last week I was really feeling discouraged. Why would God call me to be a missionary? I feel like there are a billion people who would be better at this than me! I cannot see myself preaching every Sunday. I do not see myself as a spiritual leader. Shouldn’t a missionary be someone who already has it all together? I find myself thinking things like “well, what else could I do with my degree besides be a missionary” and I don’t like the way my mind is beginning to travel.

            Thankfully God is faithful. He called me to this and I can trust that He who began a good work in me will carry it to completion (Philippians 1:6). If God only called perfect people then nobody would ever go! I may not be ready to lead large groups of people, but who said that was what I was going to do? Why is missions always about being a pastor in a church or changing the lives of large groups of people? Why do I feel this need to measure my success in the number of lives that are changed because of my life? It is the wrong way to look at missions. I am convinced that my life would be just as well spent discipling a few that God gave me and building long-lasting and trusting relationships.

            I am also trying to assess my life in a way that is fair. I am not going to magically be the perfect Christian. This is a process and I am in a certain place in that process. Without this step I can’t make it to the next one. Maybe one day I will be equipped to lead large groups of people, if the Lord wills it.

Praise and Prayer

-          Praise God that my schedule is coming together. I am looking forward to get to do some more teaching in the near future!

-          Please keep my relationships in your prayers. I am looking for friends my age.

-          I still do not have a visa to be able to stay here for an entire year. Please pray that this will be a smooth process.

-          Last but not least, I am trying to make some decisions about church. I do not want to be a floater.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and pray for me! If you want more info about Action International or if you want to make a donation (I am still only about 50% fundraised) then please visit the following website.

http://www.actionintl.org/missionaries/murdoch