Sunday, April 24, 2011

A New Resolution

I have not talked a lot about the poverty level in Ecuador. I have seen pictures of poverty...but to see it first hand is a whole new thing to me. I wanted to take many pictures of the dwellings I saw, but I really didn't want to be disrespectful of the people living there. I took almost all of the following pictures secretly from the bus window. I saw places that were much worse than these.
A house in Pifo, Ecuador.
A house in another small village that we visited outside of Pifo. I cannot recall the name and cannot find it on a map.
A house along the highway in the Andes Mountains. Notice the thatched roof. I thought this one seemed nice in comparison to many houses I saw. I liked the roof.
A home that I saw while walking to the school in El Tambo.
A house in Palugo, Ecuador. All the kids in the picture, including the boy coming out of the house came to our VBS program in the village.
A woman doing her laundry in Palugo, Ecuador. I took this out the bus window. I didn't really want her to know I was taking her picture. The little girls in the picture came to a VBS we ran in the village.
I have decided that I will try not to ever complain again about the home I live in. If I do, I hope the Lord will remind me of what I saw in Ecuador. I will be thankful for what I have been blessed with.

4 comments:

Martha said...

We all live in castles here... even if they have large lakes in the backyard.

Tracy said...

I wonder which of those houses would be considered an "example of poverty" for the people who live there. Probably not as many as might seem such to our eyes.

Priscilla, did you hear about Chagas disease? It is transmitted by the bite of the Vinchuca bug, they like to live in those thatched roofs. Chagas disease attacks the heart and the intestinal system of people who carry it. The illness doesn't catch up with them until they are older adults - but many contract it in childhood from a bite that goes unnoticed.

Katya said...

Wow...we often do not realize that our poor would be considered "wealthy" in many countires. I try to tell my kids that, but it is hard to understand. Living in NYC, I saw some very poor folks, too. Counting blessings includes thanking God for all of our (almost ridiculous!) comforts.....

Booknut said...

Priscilla,

I've finally got some time to do a little catching up on things I've been meaning to do - one of which is reading your blog posts about Ecuador. Thank you for posting all of this. It opens our eyes and it will be a great way for you to relive the experience. It does humble you to think of the things that we consider "problems".