Missions

Carissa’s 2022 Trip to Ecuador

Carissa Bracker is spending the month of November at our O.A.C. churches in Ecuador under the guidance of Bishop Bonilla, daily photos will be uploaded here, for more, click on her photos to link to her Instagram page

As if you couldn’t expect anything else, we all gathered together to watch the game between Ecuador and Qatar! I was elected Picasso and painted Ecuador colors for everyone. Watching Ecuador win was certainly a good sendoff for my last day. Today is my last day in Ecuador! We had a lovely mass performed by Father Douglas with amazing musical accompaniment to celebrate the next week before Advent. My final Sunday morning in Ecuador :( Everyone joined the party for bingo night! The house was packed all night long with more and more people by the hour. Bingo cards were 50c a piece to try your hand at winning some prizes. All the collected money will go towards what they need to help others this coming Christmas. I must not have any luck though because I played five games without winning once! Everyone got together to have a barbecue outside. We ate and drank and danced, it was so much fun! We even had cake as a part of my farewell party. It got a little too cold and crazy at the end of the night but it will be one that I’ll never forget! I learned how to make Venezuelan Arepas, probably one of my favorite meals yet! Everyone pitched in to help make the guacamole for it. Rocio taught me how to make Colada Morada, a traditional drink of Ecuador, all while she was preparing dinner for the evening. I think it turned out pretty well, I look forward to trying to make it again without help. Colada morada requires a lot of time and attention but it’s more than worth the effort! We visited to the neighboring farmers twenty minutes around the mountains to bring them some food. Everyone got together to help plant some potatoes and then we went to their house to help do some food prep before Rocio purchased a whole bunch of their crops for the home. The land there is beautiful, you can see the entirety of the mountains and rivers too. All the ladies were very sweet and asked me to return. Another holy mass was held in the late afternoon on Sunday. The young men helped prepare everything to start the mass, and it was performed at the corner of the street where more and more people came to sit down (more chairs were provided). However, for those who weren’t there, I hope they could hear the sermon and the gospel reading over the speakers they used! I got to witness a parade to celebrate Ecuadorian independence- and with an amazing view to-boot! The streets were flooded with people and I saw many creative ways they tried to sneak a better view of the parade. More than thirty different bands (and probably more!) came to represent their schools by marching and performing. We enjoyed the music and snacks for almost five hours!

Bishop Gordon’s Trip to Congo