Last night, we arrived around 7:00pm and effortlessly made our way trough customs. All our luggage made it safe and sound! Outside, we had a surprise waiting for us-- Germania (Sister Annie's go-to girl), Abel (our dear friend) and Manuel (our driver) were waiting for us! In addition to Jhonny, a Tangara employee, they welcomed us with open arms. We then loaded a giant private bus and were off!
This morning, after a delicious breakfast at Tangara, we visited Damien House for the first time. The patients warmly greeted us at the gate with balloons and a "Bienvenidos St Joseph Parish" sign. We were instantly fully immersed in Ecuadorian culture, overwhelmed with besos and abrazos.
After our mini celebration, Jhonatan, a former Damien House patient and current employee, gave us a tour of the beautiful facilities. Cesar inspired us to share love and be the love, the women introduced themselves and shared with us words of wisdom, and the men happily showed us their paintings and hammocks (all handmade by them!).
While there were many familiar faces, there were also several new faces. Jhonatan, our tour guide, explained that a medical mission team had recently visited Damien House and had performed countless essential nerve decompression surgeries on Hansen's patients. Many of the surgery patients are temporarily living at Damien while they recuperate -- so it's a full house!
After lunch, we split up andspent time conversing and playing with the patients. Although speaking Spanish was a challenge, the patients explained that everyone understands the language of love. We were smiling and laughing loudly as we loaded the van to return to Tangara.
Sister Annie arrives late tonight and we are all super excited to see her tomorrow. We are planning a big surprise, so say tuned for more details tomorrow!
Abrazos ("hugs"),
Lauren and Jane
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