Packing

Welcome to my blog!

As the title of this post suggests, my last 4 days in the States will of course be spent saying goodbyes and packing... something I HATE doing, although I know that the fact that I'm packing means that I'll be headed somewhere new and exciting very soon.

As you all know, at the end of the week I will be on my way to The Working Boys' Center (WBC), or in Spanish, El Centro del Muchacho Trabajador (CMT- not to be confused with Country Music Television) in Quito, Ecuador where I will be teaching for a year. Many of you are curious about what I'll be teaching, but the truth is, I don't exactly know yet! While I can give a general overview of the type of things that I could potentially be teaching at the CMT, I think I'll wait until a later post to give the specifics (I know... the suspense is killing you).

I would, however, like to explain why I felt it was appropriate to name my blog Parables from Pichincha. For those of you who have yet to sit down and memorize the thoroughly complex geography of South America (I certainly have yet to accomplish that task), Pichincha is the name of an active volcano in Ecuador as well as the name of the province where Quito, the capital city, is located (don't worry, I've already packed my lava-proof shoes and pocket-sized seismometer). Furthermore, by general definition a parable is a kind of story that is used to teach a lesson, often in a spiritual context (for example, many of us recall Jesus' parables from the Bible). This blog will be used to tell my stories from my time doing missionary work in Quito. These stories will include the many lessons I am sure to learn during this time, as well as the spiritual growth I hope to experience from doing such meaningful work. Therefore, the title Parables from Pichincha seemed perfectly fitting (not to mention the alliterative qualities of the phrase).

I want to thank all of you for being so supportive of my decision to do missionary work abroad. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again since I'll be spending my first few days (or weeks) getting adjusted to life in Quito, but in the mean time know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers.

Julia

P.S. I'm still pretty new to this whole blog thing, so please be patient with any technical difficulties I might encounter!