Silhouette

Issue date: 2/20/03 Section: Lifestyles

Top: Mary Wilson, director of computer services, traveled to Ecuador in January with several members of her church. Bottom: Wilson and her husband Richard spent six days helping to develop the area. Photo Courtesy/ Mary Wilson

Part of a Christian's life is to serve others according to Mary Wilson, who recently spent more than six days in Ecuador for a work and witness trip.

"It was an awesome experience and it really makes you appreciate what you have even though we don't think we have enough," Wilson said.

At the end of January the Garden City Nazarene Church sent 13 members to participate in a work and witness trip in Ecuador.

Wilson, director of computer services, and her husband were among those who went.

"A work and witness trip is when a team is put together and sent to a place to do a job," Wilson said. "We help people from other countries develop their area."

To participate in Ecuador each member of the team had to raise or have $1,000.

"We landed in Key, Ecuador, on a Saturday evening," Wilson said. 'I don't know what I was expecting, but the city was humongous."

According to Wilson the city was three miles wide and 25 miles long.

Wilson said the group attended church on Sunday at a Spanish-speaking church in Santa Domingo. A missionary for their group interpreted the service.

"It was a nice service, everyone was really friendly and glad we were there," Wilson said.

After lunch in Santa Domingo the team traveled down the mountain.

According to Wilson not many people in Ecuador have licenses and traveling down the mountain was an unforgettable, yet terrifying experience.

"Not many people in Ecuador pay attention to the yellow lines," Wilson said.

Wilson said the team slept at a campground a few miles away from Santa Domingo. The team slept in bunk beds that were surrounded by mosquito netting. There were many bugs, tarantulas, centipedes, mosquitoes.

"The reason we were there was to work on a triplex," Wilson said. "We scraped the walls to prepare for paint, and my husband did electrical work."

According to Wilson, the team worked Monday through Friday until noon to finish the house. The team had four and a half days to prepare the triplex for the next team.

There were two groups for work and witness Wilson said, the group from Garden City and the other group was from Arizona and consisted of four people.

According to Wilson not many of the team members were able to speak Spanish. If they did speak it was simple like "por favor," meaning please or "que bano," meaning where is the bathroom.

"The national workers were very skilled, and the people were extremely friendly," Wilson said.

According to Wilson the group did some touring. They went to an open market where there were crafts and weavings and food from the area. There were chickens and meat hanging. There were all kinds of beautiful paintings and tapestries. The people were in national dress; the team got the opportunity to see how the people of Ecuador actually lived.

Wilson said the items in the market were very inexpensive. The average income for someone in Ecuador ranges from $10 to $75.

The team visited a place called Woodtown where there were woodcarvings beyond belief, according to Wilson. There was another town called Leathertown with all kinds of leather products.

Wilson said the group was privileged to see the Andes Mountains up close. The mountains had lush green valleys and one area was overflowing with roses.

"Awesome is the best word I can use to describe it," Wilson said. "A work and witness trip is a way to serve God and man at the same time."

Wilson said that a person has to go with the right heart; it is a whole new culture.

"I am not a painter, but I painted," Wilson said.

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