I cannot believe that day 3 of our mission trip is already complete. It was another great day in the books! Today we had the pleasure of heading a couple of towns over to Bolivar. We took the public transportation in a greyhound bus to get there. What an experience! You better be quick on your feet because you pretty much have to jump on with the bus with wheels still rolling. Bolivar is a town about 15 minutes away from Janette and Carlos that they have been working very closely with for a few months now. They have a building that they have rented out to store supplies and have set up somewhat like a church. Our motive here today was to paint houses and to interact with the people. Painting someone’s house is a good way to be able to get into the lives of these people. Hannah and I walked to get water in a bucket to a woman’s house name Rosita who helps to cook and clean at the home. What a sweet soul she is. She welcomed us right in and was so excited to see us. Hannah introduced me to her and she immediately wrapped me up in her arms and gave me a kiss on each cheek. She said “Bonita! Bonita!” Which means, beautiful-beautiful. But the whole time I was looking at her, and all I could think about was how beautiful she was inside and out. Her soul was special. She took us to the back to meet her husband Darwin, where he was working on the Christmas ornaments that everyone had told me about before coming. He collects these stone looking objects, but it’s actually part of a Tagua tree. He sands them into the most lovely Christmas ornaments that look like marbleized figurines. They were absolutely incredible.  He had a basket full of birds today. He was so proud of them, it melted my heart. It fascinates me to watch how these Ecuadorian people make money to be able to survive. It is truly humbling. We painted two houses today with my group. It was such a neat experience. We had a woman who was 86 named Sabina come and ask us if we could paint her house. We had the best time with her. She stood less than 5’0 with the face of an angel. As we were painting we heard Ceasar speaking to her with an intense passion. I knew absolutely nothing that he was saying to her, but I knew it was life changing and would lead to God’s hand at work, and man was it unbelievable. I could have sat there and listened all day. The woman began to weep about half way through. She didn’t know God, but she told Ceasar that she was a good person. She explained how she couldn’t read or write, but she wanted to know more about the bible. We are taking her a bible on tape that she will be able to listen to everyday. She explained that some days they didn’t have food but when they went to say goodbye, she handed them a bag of eggs from their chickens in the back to say thank you for all that we had done. Wow. How selfish people can be sometimes, myself included, and this woman with a humble heart who sometimes doesn’t have food for herself, gave her eggs to us. She had us paint our names on the outside of her house next to theirs. What a God sighting. After the houses were painted we played with the kids in the village. I must say, I have not heard that much real laughter in one place from so many people in a long time. It was incredible watching our group interact and play with these children on the soccer field. We took bibles written in Spanish and we sat in a circle as each one of those children read and followed along. It was a beautiful picture to see and a beautiful sound to hear. Carlos said yesterday that “Love has no language.” What a beautiful and true statement. Love does not have a language. Love is not always words, but love is a smile, and a hug, and a soul to soul connection without having to say a word at all. I can always feel so deeply with everyone, and the one emotion I felt today was pure joy. Today I saw the truth behind love having no language. I saw people from two completely different parts of the world loving on each other and connecting without speaking a word at all. Love can always be felt with the heart. I saw joy and laughter exude every single person and it was a life changing sight. After getting back the kids and I went out to the beach. I watched every one of them run full fledge straight into the Pacific, cackling all the way. They had a blast and swam and frolicked for an hour straight. We found bright red star fish, crabs, and sand-dollars everywhere! I got the opportunity to get close to one of the girls on the trip tonight and I am thankful for that opportunity. We realized how much we had in common. It felt great to connect with her where we were both able to open up. The other group of girls told me that I was like their older sister they never had who was just a little more wise, haha. The sister they could have fun with. I am loving the connections that I am already making so quickly on this trip. These people are in my life for a reason, and I hope to be an example to these girls during these vital years of theirs. We are getting belly laughs all day. I pray that these relationships continue to grow from here on out. Even Carlos and Janette are absolutely amazing. The things they do for this town and for the missionaries are absolutely incredible. Everyday my heart overflows a little more.