The end is just the beginning

Dear friends, 

I hope you are doing as well as possibly during this crazy time. Can you believe It’s been almost four years since I started writing on my blog about my college life and ministry here in Quito? Time does certainty fly. Doesn’t it? Today I start my last first day of class as a college student. It seems like yesterday when I was dreaming about going to college and becoming a nurse. Now, I am really close to become a real nurse and it’s freaking me out a little bit. 

 

A lot has happened since my last blog post. I’ll try my best to catch you up with what has been happening here during the last months. 

 

A Christmas out of the ordinary

 

I’m sure everyone’s Christmas was different this past year. Maybe you were expecting to spend the holidays with family and friends or had a trip planned that had to be cancelled. Maybe you were thinking about going away to the beach and couldn’t. I know COVID has ruined a lot of plans not just for you and me but for a lot of people. No matter how you spent your Christmas I am sure you and I were some of the lucky ones who did had the opportunity to enjoy a delicious dinner and go to a warm and comfy bed after. Praise be the lord for such great blessings, not everyone has and sometimes we tend to forget. 

 

If you remember on my last blog post, I wrote about the junior group of my church and how much they were struggling during this pandemic. We gave them “Survival Christian Kits” to remind them how loved they are, not only for their families but also for their church community. After that I kept on thinking how can I make their Christmas better this year, in the middle of all this chaos. The lord had placed in my heart a desire to help these kids have a deeper relationship with God. I didn’t know how to make it happen, but I knew he was going to show me the way. 

 

I was thinking about some of the places I’ve been at that have made a profound impact in my life, one of them was “El refugio” Most of you know this place but for those of you who doesn’t, this is a Christian training and retreat center which facilitates a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ through nature and outdoor adventure.

As I was remembering all the great experiences I have had in this place, this idea came to my mind “The kids should have an outdoor Christmas party at el Refugio”. I knew I wanted this to happen but didn’t have the recourses to make it possible. Didn’t worry that much about it though, because I knew that if was meant to be it will happen, and it did. 

 

The lord has blessed me with such great friends that are always willing to give so freely. Thanks to their donations I was able to arrange a day off of the city in this marvelous place. Everything worked out well. We followed all the safety and security guidelines of course! We wore our masks all the time and kept social distancing.  We had a great time and shared so many memories. Being at el Refugio didn’t just give the junior group a chance to relax and forget about their daily problems at home but it also gave them the opportunity to connect with God through nature, to look at the bigger picture and understand that God is in control and everything happens for a reason. 

 

Some of our kids have lost their loved ones during this pandemic, it has been really hard on them to let go and relay in the word of the Lord. Even though me, other leaders and the community itself has been there all the step of the way, they tend to feel lost and lonely, and I understand it, they are just teens who are still trying to find themselves and their purpose in this world. 

 I still remember when some of them were just little kids, running around the church, coming into Sunday school class saying “Miss Brenda, can we please go to the soccer field and play outside today?”. Now some are getting taller than me, they are talking about girls and boys, talking about what they want to become when they grow up, etc. Is this what getting old feels like? Ha-ha. I know, I know. I am only 23 but sometimes I feel like I am aging faster than anyone else. 

I wonder if they will miss me when I am gone, when I am working somewhere else or living in another place. Because let’s face it, one day I will be God knows where doing ministry and sharing the gospel with others. The Lord knows I love my church and if I could, I would stay here forever but that is not up to me. Is it? I have prayed to God multiplied times saying, “Here I am Lord, send me”. And I know he has already selected the place for me, no matter if it’s here or anywhere else the scripture says we are one in spirit and one in the Lord, therefore no distance can overcome that. 

 

PS: I made a video of our Christmas Party. Unfortunately, I can’t attach it to this post, DM if you want to see the video.

It’s not a goodbye, it’s a see you later 

There’s one song in particular I would love to be played at my funeral. It’s called “No me digas adios, si no hasta luego” – “Do not tell me goodbye, instead see you later” in this song the person who has passed away says “God determined that I am better with him, I am in a place where there is no suffering. Do not worry about me, I will be waiting for you” 

 

Some of you know that my grandma passed away a month ago. She had been sick for a really long time, had different illnesses and was finally diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (a lung disease that basically damages and scars the lung tissue, as the tissue gets thickened, it is more difficult for the lungs to work property and as it gets worst it makes it really hard for someone to breath).

Me, my sister, mom and dad have lived with my grandparents (My dad’s parents) since I was 11 years old. We first moved in here when we came back from Ambato (a city 3 hours away from Quito) we thought we were just going to stay here for a couple of months, but we ended up staying here until now. As time passed the idea of leaving my grandparents alone was heartbreaking, so we stayed. 

As you can image losing my grandma was hard in all of us mainly because she was the heart of the family. She was the one who started going to church and brought all of us to Christ. I remember she was the one who taught me how to read the bible and the book of common prayer, she gave me her own book as a gift when I started going to church. 

I had become my grandparent’s 24/7 nurse lately. Specially since the pandemic started. Oh boy, how do I miss going into her room to check her vitals in the morning, give her medicine, help her shower and change clothes, make her breakfast, help her coloring books, bake bread together and all the things you miss when a loved one is no longer here on earth.  I knew it was time, she had been tired for a long time and told me she was ready to go home. 

 I cried but at the same time gave thanks to the Lord for her life and ministry here. She made a huge impact in a lot of people’s lives and will always be remembered as a wonderful companion, sweet grandma, faithful believer and someone who never gave up. 

We are all going to die at some point, right? Genesis 3:19 says “Remember you are dust and to the dust you shall return” but the good thing is, the end is just the beginning. We close our eyes here on earth, but we open them in heaven. What a sweet promise! To know that we will all see each other again once more where there’s no darkness, nor sorrow, nor pain. Where everything is filled with love and peace, that gives me hope! 

This makes me thing about a song “I can only imagine” If you haven’t heard it, here’s some of the lyrics.  

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk by your side
I can only imagine
What my eyes would see
When your face is before me
I can only imagine

Surrounded by your glory
What will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in your presence
To my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah
Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

 

Yes, it’s true. We can only imagine what it would be like to be HOME with our heavenly father, but I am sure that it would be perfection and there will be no words to describe it. 

The end is just the beginning, for our mortal bodies but also for a lot of projects and dreams in our life. When I think about when I have to graduate, I think it’s the end of my life as a college student. I won’t come back to the same classrooms and walk the same halls again. It’s the end of an era but it is also the beginning of my career as a nurse. When I think about leaving my house and moving away, it is also the end of spending a lot of time with my family and being spoiled. Yet is the beginning of an independent and responsible life as an “adult.”

Our life here on earth is full of ends and beginnings, and that’s what keeps it exciting. Right? No matter what end has come to your life recently, be sure that there’s also a new beginning just around the corner waiting for you. The lord’s got you! 

 

Close but not so close

Guess what? Graduation seems to be closer than ever. I'm starting my last semester of nursing school tomorrow and I'll be done with classes in June. I wish it could be easy as it is in the States. When you are done with college, you are done, and you are a Nurse. Unfortunately, things are a little more complicated here. Here’s what will happen: 

 

After I finish classes in June I have to give a cumulative exam and a clinical case report to graduate from college and finally get the little piece of paper that says I’ve graduated! Afterwards I have an NCLEX exam, which will validate my title. Once I have my license approved I have to register for a one year rural internship I have to do before I start working in a hospital. This is a program where the Ministry of health of Ecuador sends graduated nursing students to anywhere in Ecuador to work at a small clinic for a whole year. It is most likely I'll be sent to the jungle or an indigenous community in the highlands. It is mandatory to serve for one year in different tasks to the national rural health plan as a prerequisite for the registration of degrees and professional practice of graduates in medicine, dentistry, obstetrics and nursing. 

 

No, you can’t pick where you want to go. There’s only one small percentage that can choose where they want to be sent, those are the following (Professionals with disabilities, with catastrophic or highly complex diseases, pregnant, with kids, married and 5% of the best graduates Nationwide) No, I am not planning to get married or have kids soon, so no I do not get to pick ha-ha. 

 

As you can see I still have a lot to do once I graduate from College. You all know my desire is to become a missionary nurse one day and share the gospel with others through my work. I think the one year internship will help me start a new ministry wherever the Lord sends me. What a great opportunity to practice what it will be like to live by myself in a place out of my comfort zone. 

I thank you for all your support and prayers. Thank you for helping me every step of the way. I might be close to graduate, but I still need your help. Not just because I still have a lot left but because there are also other people with the same hopes and dreams. Students for whom college is so important and would love to have the same opportunities I have had. (You will learn more about them on my next blog post).

 

May the God of mercy help you become an instrument of his peace, and in the next 35 days as you walk through lent, do not let you just focus on the things you are giving up but also in the one who gave it all up for you. Help you renew your mind and prepare your heart for Easter.

May God bless you always! 

 

 

SOMETHING YOU CAN PRAY FOR:

·      Please pray for serenity, courage and wisdom as I walk through lent. My hope is to go back to my first and only love. The one has given it all up for me.

·      Please pray for my studies. Unfortunately, it will all be online again. If it weren’t for COVID I will have been doing 90% clinical work and 10% classroom work. 

·      Please pray for my family as we get used to not having my grandma here. Specially for my grandpa, his health has declined a lot too. 

·      Please pray for my church and its community. We have been recently started doing more in person activities and are trying to reach those who haven’t been able to come to church or connect to the online bible studies. 

·      Please pray for my job with the kids and teens of my church. So that I can find more ways to help them engage and be there for them. 

If you would like to help me share  the gospel by giving me the chance to continue my studies in nursing school, you can make a donation by clicking the link below. 

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https://educationequalshope.giv.sh/25b3