Well, I just returned from spending an amazing week on the beach.
On our way to the coast, we stopped in the big city of Guayaquil. We took a city tour which was awesome... you should definitely check out the pics.
Our first stop along the coast was Puerto Lopez. There, we visited Isla de la Plata (island of silver). It´s called this because when the birds poop all over the island and it dries, from a distance the island seems to be shimmering like silver haha. We got to see so many interesting species (like blue-footed boobies!). After our hike through the island, we got to go snorkeling.
Despite my desperate attempts to protect my skin (i applied spf 45 about every 30 minutes) my poor poor flesh was still burned to a crisp. I am now at the pealing stage which is oh so attractive... ha Then, after being burned, I got sick again and was pretty nauseous, couldn´t really eat or stand up for a day or so... but atleast my immune system is probably getting stronger? right?
also (mom dont´read this part ;) ) we all went hang gliding (actually i dont think it was hang gliding, but it was similar) and jumped off the cliffs! it was absolutely amazing. this guy from kentucky, named Greg, took us. it was actually quite refreshing to hear his southern accent.¨yáll tienen cerveza?¨haha.
The whole trip was really centered around the evironment. We stayed in an Ecocity called Bahia. There, we got to tour a recycled paper factory and learn about the city´s devotion to protecting the environment. The next day, we took canoes out into mangroves. However, there is only 5% left of the original mangrove forest... so much deforestation has occurred because the people wanted to make more money by shrimping. However, after el nino of 98, shrimping is way more difficult now. Therefore, not only is this an environmental issue for the area, but a social one as well. So many people are now without work and food. Their original way of life was centered around these mangroves that no longer exist. However, Ecopapel has fortunately created a lot more jobs.
Later in the week, we spent a day at an ammmmazing organic farm. We learned all about why it is so important to farm without the use of chemicals and the techniques in which to do so. They have also started a school for the children of the area in order to teach the next generation how to farm organically and the reasoning behind why the ways in which their parents farm actually harm the land.
I really feel like God has been teaching me so much through all of my experiences here about our responsibility to care for His creation.
¨God then makes people whom He puts right in the middle of all this loaded creation, commanding them to care for creation, to manage it, to lovingly use it,to creatively order it. The words He gives are words of loving service and thoughtful use. From day one (which is really day 6), they are in intimate relationship and interaction with their environment. They are environmentalists. Being deeply connect with their environment is who they are. For them to be anything else or to deny their divine responsibility to care for all that God has made would be to deny something that is at the very core of their existence.
This is why litter and pollution are spiritual issues.
And until the last sentences makes perfect sense we haven´t fully grasped what it means to be human and live in God´s world.¨ --- Rob Bell
