Hi all,
Haven't written here in quite a while! I moved back to the U.S. in February and am learning how to live in the States again :)
My committed time in Ecuador was completed in February and I made the choice to come back. With much time apart from friends and family - and Jeff :) I wanted to start my life in Michigan again.
I am currently in Grand Rapids and living in a duplex that was offered to me rent free for 3 months. That will end this month and I will most likely return to my parents house until I am able to find a job. That is the other big thing on the agenda...finding a job. I am applying and looking at a lot of places, mainly in the world of marketing, advertising, public relations and event planning. I have experience in all of those areas and now it is just about finding the place to put that experience to work!
I have seen a lot of you since I got back from Ecuador, but I know there are some of you I haven't seen either. If you are around the GR area, I would love to get together sometime!
jenny.luth@gmail.com
Thank you for your support and care. Your kindness and generosity has opened new doors all over the world. God has done great things!
Blessings!
Jenny Luth
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Coming to a close
Happy Thursday!
So it has been a while since I have written, too long! I pray that your holidays were restful and a fun filled time of reflection on this past year and the coming. I was thinking of all of you during the season of remembrance upon Christ's birth. What a blessing to celebrate his coming every year! I spent the holidays here in Quito, and was surrounded by so much love and friendship (friendships that have grown to feel just like family). Yet, it was tough being away from home, family, and snow! Christmas just wasn't the same without it.
Currently I am going through the wrap up with my job and the beginning of wrapping up my life here too. It seems like my time here has flown by in so many ways, but on the other hand, I miss so many back home. Can you tell I feel bittersweet? :)
I leave 3 weeks from Saturday and only have two more weeks of work left. I return February 7 in the late afternoon and anticipate resting for a bit once I get back, catching up with family and friends and of course, finding a job, house, car and phone.
I want to take this opportunity to say "THANK YOU" to all who support me in so many ways. I was reflecting today on the importance of recognizing blessing that God gives us everyday, even the small ones. Your support has been a HUGE blessing in my life. It seems like yesterday I was tossing around the idea of going back to Ecuador, just a mere thought and today I am getting ready to leave. God is truly faithful in so many ways and called you to be a blessing to me and my work here. I would not have been able to be here without you.
If you can feel reassured about one thing today, please feel the blessing that you are in my life. Thank you again!
Love,
Jenny Luth
P.S. Please feel free to contact me even after I have returned to Grand Rapids, I would love to hear from you! I will continue to use this blog, as well as facebook, Twitter and my email: jenny.luth@gmail.com
So it has been a while since I have written, too long! I pray that your holidays were restful and a fun filled time of reflection on this past year and the coming. I was thinking of all of you during the season of remembrance upon Christ's birth. What a blessing to celebrate his coming every year! I spent the holidays here in Quito, and was surrounded by so much love and friendship (friendships that have grown to feel just like family). Yet, it was tough being away from home, family, and snow! Christmas just wasn't the same without it.
Currently I am going through the wrap up with my job and the beginning of wrapping up my life here too. It seems like my time here has flown by in so many ways, but on the other hand, I miss so many back home. Can you tell I feel bittersweet? :)
I leave 3 weeks from Saturday and only have two more weeks of work left. I return February 7 in the late afternoon and anticipate resting for a bit once I get back, catching up with family and friends and of course, finding a job, house, car and phone.
I want to take this opportunity to say "THANK YOU" to all who support me in so many ways. I was reflecting today on the importance of recognizing blessing that God gives us everyday, even the small ones. Your support has been a HUGE blessing in my life. It seems like yesterday I was tossing around the idea of going back to Ecuador, just a mere thought and today I am getting ready to leave. God is truly faithful in so many ways and called you to be a blessing to me and my work here. I would not have been able to be here without you.
If you can feel reassured about one thing today, please feel the blessing that you are in my life. Thank you again!
Love,
Jenny Luth
P.S. Please feel free to contact me even after I have returned to Grand Rapids, I would love to hear from you! I will continue to use this blog, as well as facebook, Twitter and my email: jenny.luth@gmail.com
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
The Galapagos Islands
I am currently working on the next story for our quarterly newsletter. It is about the K-12 Christian school in Quito called, Alliance Academy. That will be coming out mid-November, so stay tuned.
I was on their website this morning and came across an interesting story. A group of art students were invited by a church to paint a large scale version of the creation story on walls of the birthplace of evolution - the Galapagos Islands!
Here is the link to the their website, then click on link for the story: http://www.alliance.k12.ec/
I was on their website this morning and came across an interesting story. A group of art students were invited by a church to paint a large scale version of the creation story on walls of the birthplace of evolution - the Galapagos Islands!
Here is the link to the their website, then click on link for the story: http://www.alliance.k12.ec/
Monday, October 27, 2008
You are a missionary and you have a maid?
A common question I get from friends, family and supporters when discussing my life here in Ecuador is, "You have a maid? Some of your support money goes to having a maid?" Proudly, the answer is yes.
The change in culture here is different. As an American living in Ecuador, I am seen as wealthy solely because the color of my skin. For example, if I was riding in a bus and it was robbed, I would automatically be a priority target (even if I am not carrying anything of value with me). I usually carry only $20 on me during the day, but because of my skin color they would demand more of me.
With that in mind, there is a big population of people here in Ecuador that provide services like street vending, furniture making, neighborhood stores (tiendas) etc. You can buy gum out of your car window at almost any major street light. People (usually lower class) are always trying to make a buck. With much respect to that population of people, it is natural to give a quarter to a 7-year-old boy juggling in front of my taxi, just trying to earn some money as he lives on the streets everyday.
With that also in mind, my roommate Christy and I, just like every other American or wealthy Ecuadorian I know has a maid, also known as an "empleada" in Spanish. Do we need to live up to their cultural expectations as a wealthy person? Well no, we don't. We choose to. With the massive amounts of poverty in the country and even in Quito the capital city, having an "empleada" is providing a job for a woman who is trying to support her family, sometimes with a husband but usually on her own.
Our empleada, Gladys comes every Monday morning from an hour south of town to make $11. She comes at 8:30am and works till around 2pm for a mere $11 to us, but a solid wage for her. She has been cleaning for Christy for over a year now. This morning, like every Monday morning, Christy asked how she was doing this week. With just that simple question, Gladys began to tell her all about what has been happening in her life with her husband and family (it is common to have conversations, lunch and tea or coffee with your empleada. I have an Ecuadorian friend who's family empleada helped raise him and is now seen as a part of their family).
Gladys has 6 children and a husband who was recently injured and in need of a surgery. She began to cry as she told Christy that ever since she began leading the women's discipleship program in her church, life has been one thing after another for her family. And now, with her husband's condition, her family is looking to her to provide not only money but the spiritual leadership in her family (a gift that God has given her). Gladys is a strong Christian who has dedicated her life to the Lord and seems to be quite the prayer warrior for many.
This particular morning, Gladys and Christy were standing in the kitchen crying together at the pain that she is experiencing. With multiple hugs and encouraging words from Christy, they talked for almost an hour about God, family, work and life. The part that struck Christy was Gladys' overwhelming amount of thanks for the job that she has at our house. A few months ago, Christy went from having her clean twice a month to once a week. Gladys said that that change has helped her family immensley in these hard times.
It is natural for Christy and I as American's to want to hand her an extra $20 each week, but that would be like someone handing me an extra $100 every week. And even though that can be thoughtful from time to time, their is a level of pride that lives in every human being where thoughtfulness can lead to feelings of pity.
The amazing part of this story happens in the relationship. Gladys expressed so much thankfulness to Christy for not only giving her a job, but also for being her friend. For her to have a good and healthy work enviornment with another Christian makes her job so much more enjoyable and worthwhile. Just like we want to have good work relationships with co-workers or bosses around the water cooler or on lunch breaks, it is only natural for anyone in any work situation to want to have those benefits of a job.
So, yes, we proudly have a maid at our house and look forward to her arrival every week. We thank God for the amazing work she does here, but also for the opportunity that we are able to be a part of - providing a job, being a friend, and a living as sisters in Christ.
The change in culture here is different. As an American living in Ecuador, I am seen as wealthy solely because the color of my skin. For example, if I was riding in a bus and it was robbed, I would automatically be a priority target (even if I am not carrying anything of value with me). I usually carry only $20 on me during the day, but because of my skin color they would demand more of me.
With that in mind, there is a big population of people here in Ecuador that provide services like street vending, furniture making, neighborhood stores (tiendas) etc. You can buy gum out of your car window at almost any major street light. People (usually lower class) are always trying to make a buck. With much respect to that population of people, it is natural to give a quarter to a 7-year-old boy juggling in front of my taxi, just trying to earn some money as he lives on the streets everyday.
With that also in mind, my roommate Christy and I, just like every other American or wealthy Ecuadorian I know has a maid, also known as an "empleada" in Spanish. Do we need to live up to their cultural expectations as a wealthy person? Well no, we don't. We choose to. With the massive amounts of poverty in the country and even in Quito the capital city, having an "empleada" is providing a job for a woman who is trying to support her family, sometimes with a husband but usually on her own.
Our empleada, Gladys comes every Monday morning from an hour south of town to make $11. She comes at 8:30am and works till around 2pm for a mere $11 to us, but a solid wage for her. She has been cleaning for Christy for over a year now. This morning, like every Monday morning, Christy asked how she was doing this week. With just that simple question, Gladys began to tell her all about what has been happening in her life with her husband and family (it is common to have conversations, lunch and tea or coffee with your empleada. I have an Ecuadorian friend who's family empleada helped raise him and is now seen as a part of their family).
Gladys has 6 children and a husband who was recently injured and in need of a surgery. She began to cry as she told Christy that ever since she began leading the women's discipleship program in her church, life has been one thing after another for her family. And now, with her husband's condition, her family is looking to her to provide not only money but the spiritual leadership in her family (a gift that God has given her). Gladys is a strong Christian who has dedicated her life to the Lord and seems to be quite the prayer warrior for many.
This particular morning, Gladys and Christy were standing in the kitchen crying together at the pain that she is experiencing. With multiple hugs and encouraging words from Christy, they talked for almost an hour about God, family, work and life. The part that struck Christy was Gladys' overwhelming amount of thanks for the job that she has at our house. A few months ago, Christy went from having her clean twice a month to once a week. Gladys said that that change has helped her family immensley in these hard times.
It is natural for Christy and I as American's to want to hand her an extra $20 each week, but that would be like someone handing me an extra $100 every week. And even though that can be thoughtful from time to time, their is a level of pride that lives in every human being where thoughtfulness can lead to feelings of pity.
The amazing part of this story happens in the relationship. Gladys expressed so much thankfulness to Christy for not only giving her a job, but also for being her friend. For her to have a good and healthy work enviornment with another Christian makes her job so much more enjoyable and worthwhile. Just like we want to have good work relationships with co-workers or bosses around the water cooler or on lunch breaks, it is only natural for anyone in any work situation to want to have those benefits of a job.
So, yes, we proudly have a maid at our house and look forward to her arrival every week. We thank God for the amazing work she does here, but also for the opportunity that we are able to be a part of - providing a job, being a friend, and a living as sisters in Christ.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Wrong Date...
The date below is wrong...please note that I posted it on October 6, 2008.
Also, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY today to my parents Randy and Sheryl on the 30TH wedding anniversary! Wow!
and
Sara Westerhof and Jason Stout on their wedding anniversary today as well.
Love you guys.
Jenny
Also, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY today to my parents Randy and Sheryl on the 30TH wedding anniversary! Wow!
and
Sara Westerhof and Jason Stout on their wedding anniversary today as well.
Love you guys.
Jenny
Monday, September 8, 2008
Working my way into Autumn...well not so much on the Equator.
Good Afternoon!
I hope your summer went well and that you found much relaxation! As we move into our wet season here (one of two seasons in Ecuador, the other being dry) things are also slowing down around the office. All of our teams and interns have left for the summer to resume life in the States. I am still working at the office Tuesdays and Thursdays and out of my home Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Speaking of home, I moved into a new house and now am living with my friend Christy. It has been great getting to know her more too. My previous roommate Ashley who I have spoke of in the past is now in CA raising money to return to Quito for two more years.
Part of living in Christy's place is taking care of a yellow lab named "Cooper" for the next 4 months. His brother "Dakota" is with us for a little while too which makes for fun times (Their picture is to the right).
Some other great things happened in August...my parents came to visit in mid-August and Justin arrived just before they went home. All four of us spent a weekend (just happened to be the weekend of my birthday ;) in a small town called, "Banos." It has the reputation of being an adventure town which we took full advantage of. Saturday the 23rd was my birthday and we started the day with a horseback riding trip up to a beautiful waterfall near Tungurahua, an active volcano that just blew this past February - making international news. At the end we were all racing our horses at full speed down the city streets. It was quite the family adventure!
In the afternoon we went "canyoning," an adventure that involves repelling down large scale waterfalls on the side of a mountain. With all our gear in place, and pure exhaustion from hiking up the mountain first we began the decent down 5 waterfalls. I was the first to start and I made it to the bottom of the first fall with no big issues, until I dropped the metal thing that held our ropes in place into a pool of water at the base of the waterfall. So feeling like a failure already I motioned to the guide who found it underwater right away...which I was really thankful for...not being sure how I was going to get down the rest of the waterfalls without it.
We made it to the last waterfall and found out it was over 150ft high! For you experienced climbers and repelers that probably sounds like nothing, but we were scared! Turned out we were all naturals and loved every minute of it, even my mom! When we got to the bottom we were all ready to go again, especially mom! Little did we know that 3.5 hours of repelling would kill our bodies later that day after the adrenaline wore off!
We celebrated my birthday at a Brazilian-style steak house that night. It was a great way to refuel after a long adventurous day.
In September I was able to partake in a recruiting trip in Chicago, IL with my roommate Christy. Christy is the Dean of Students for Youth World's semester abroad program and we recruited students and schools to join our program. An amazing trip with interest from mulitple colleges and universities.
I also was able to return to Grand Rapids for the weekend to see some friends and family which was truly a blessing. Jeff was a huge help in driving me back and forth to Chicago and hosting a party! It was also really great to see him for almost a whole week.
I returned to Ecuador on a Wednesday and that Friday morning I hopped on a bus to the jungle. I visited 6 jungle towns from Friday - Tuesday with my co-worker Dario. We were reconnecting with our jungle partnerships, people that we send short term mission groups to in the summer. I was in charge of capturing stories and taking lots of pictures. What an adventure - at one point we hitch-hiked from just south of Tena to Puyo (it is about an hour and a half drive straight through). It is very common to jump in the back of people's pick-ups and hitch a ride. There are only a few buses that pass through in the day and all of them were full. Hithing rides was our only option...besides walking...which was not an option for me. :) That would have been almost 5 hours of walking with all our heavy gear in crazy heat! We made it to Puyo safely and continued our trip.
I made it back to Quito last Tuesday and have been playing catch-up with my life since I left for the states two weeks prior.
I am back into work and normal life, working on the next Youth World newsletter. I hope you received that newsletter I wrote in September. If you didn't receive it and would like a copy sent to you, let me know! My email is jenny.luth@gmail.com.
Miss you all!
Jenny Luth
I hope your summer went well and that you found much relaxation! As we move into our wet season here (one of two seasons in Ecuador, the other being dry) things are also slowing down around the office. All of our teams and interns have left for the summer to resume life in the States. I am still working at the office Tuesdays and Thursdays and out of my home Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Speaking of home, I moved into a new house and now am living with my friend Christy. It has been great getting to know her more too. My previous roommate Ashley who I have spoke of in the past is now in CA raising money to return to Quito for two more years.
Part of living in Christy's place is taking care of a yellow lab named "Cooper" for the next 4 months. His brother "Dakota" is with us for a little while too which makes for fun times (Their picture is to the right).
Some other great things happened in August...my parents came to visit in mid-August and Justin arrived just before they went home. All four of us spent a weekend (just happened to be the weekend of my birthday ;) in a small town called, "Banos." It has the reputation of being an adventure town which we took full advantage of. Saturday the 23rd was my birthday and we started the day with a horseback riding trip up to a beautiful waterfall near Tungurahua, an active volcano that just blew this past February - making international news. At the end we were all racing our horses at full speed down the city streets. It was quite the family adventure!
In the afternoon we went "canyoning," an adventure that involves repelling down large scale waterfalls on the side of a mountain. With all our gear in place, and pure exhaustion from hiking up the mountain first we began the decent down 5 waterfalls. I was the first to start and I made it to the bottom of the first fall with no big issues, until I dropped the metal thing that held our ropes in place into a pool of water at the base of the waterfall. So feeling like a failure already I motioned to the guide who found it underwater right away...which I was really thankful for...not being sure how I was going to get down the rest of the waterfalls without it.
We made it to the last waterfall and found out it was over 150ft high! For you experienced climbers and repelers that probably sounds like nothing, but we were scared! Turned out we were all naturals and loved every minute of it, even my mom! When we got to the bottom we were all ready to go again, especially mom! Little did we know that 3.5 hours of repelling would kill our bodies later that day after the adrenaline wore off!
We celebrated my birthday at a Brazilian-style steak house that night. It was a great way to refuel after a long adventurous day.
In September I was able to partake in a recruiting trip in Chicago, IL with my roommate Christy. Christy is the Dean of Students for Youth World's semester abroad program and we recruited students and schools to join our program. An amazing trip with interest from mulitple colleges and universities.
I also was able to return to Grand Rapids for the weekend to see some friends and family which was truly a blessing. Jeff was a huge help in driving me back and forth to Chicago and hosting a party! It was also really great to see him for almost a whole week.
I returned to Ecuador on a Wednesday and that Friday morning I hopped on a bus to the jungle. I visited 6 jungle towns from Friday - Tuesday with my co-worker Dario. We were reconnecting with our jungle partnerships, people that we send short term mission groups to in the summer. I was in charge of capturing stories and taking lots of pictures. What an adventure - at one point we hitch-hiked from just south of Tena to Puyo (it is about an hour and a half drive straight through). It is very common to jump in the back of people's pick-ups and hitch a ride. There are only a few buses that pass through in the day and all of them were full. Hithing rides was our only option...besides walking...which was not an option for me. :) That would have been almost 5 hours of walking with all our heavy gear in crazy heat! We made it to Puyo safely and continued our trip.
I made it back to Quito last Tuesday and have been playing catch-up with my life since I left for the states two weeks prior.
I am back into work and normal life, working on the next Youth World newsletter. I hope you received that newsletter I wrote in September. If you didn't receive it and would like a copy sent to you, let me know! My email is jenny.luth@gmail.com.
Miss you all!
Jenny Luth
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Thank You!
Just want to express my love, thanks and appreciation for your support of me here in Ecuador. You mean a lot to me and I am excited for what God has in store for the future. Hope you are having a pleasant summer, even though I hear it is really hot in the states right now!
As summer comes to a close for us here at Youth World and many summer interns are leaving, we are getting back to a more "normal" schedule for the year. I am also very excited for the arrival of my parents on Aug. 15 and for my brother Justin's arrival on the 21st! All three of them will be here to help me celebrate my birthday on the 23rd as well. It will be such a joy to share my experiences first hand with them!
Please pray for safe travels as they make their way down here.
As for projects that I am working on, please be expecting a Youth World Newsletter coming your way by early September. This will be a quarterly piece and it really gets into some stories that have happened over the summer.
Thanks again and much love!
Jenny
As summer comes to a close for us here at Youth World and many summer interns are leaving, we are getting back to a more "normal" schedule for the year. I am also very excited for the arrival of my parents on Aug. 15 and for my brother Justin's arrival on the 21st! All three of them will be here to help me celebrate my birthday on the 23rd as well. It will be such a joy to share my experiences first hand with them!
Please pray for safe travels as they make their way down here.
As for projects that I am working on, please be expecting a Youth World Newsletter coming your way by early September. This will be a quarterly piece and it really gets into some stories that have happened over the summer.
Thanks again and much love!
Jenny
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