Since Caleb seemed to be doing much better after his "ride in a rocketship" (see previous blog) we decided to proceed with our plans for Dan's four-day weekend. Dan hadn't been far from Shell in over a month so we headed to a town an hour bus ride away called Banos. One nice thing about living in Ecuador is that activites for the family are usually quite inexpensive. We got to visit the zoo there and stayed at an hostel for the night. We decided to take a taxi to the top of the ridge that overlooks the town. Just after arriving Dan realized that his wallet was gone. Since he had purchased breakfast for us just a little earlier and had it at that time we knew it had been stolen within the two blocks we walked to get the taxi. Though a stolen wallet isn't life-or-death it can be quite frustrating, especially in a foreign country. We became a little more anxious when we realized that I had given all my "extra" money to Dan for safe keeping, and that morning he had moved it from his sock to the wallet. Now we had to hope that the cash I was carrying would cover our taxi ride, hostel fee, and bus ride back to Shell, since we had no way to pull out more cash since his credit card and debit card had been in the wallet, as well. We did some quick calculating and knew that if there was any tax on our room or the second taxi driver charged us more we would be stuck in Banos. God provided for us: no over-charged taxi fees and a tax-free hostel stay. We made it home with 47 cents (and when we stopped our cards nothing new had been charged on them).
The next day when Dan returned to work he received $60 unexpectedly. A few weeks ago he had given this amount to a father from the jungle with little money so he could purchase medicine for his son. Upon later discovering that the medicine isn't available at this time in Ecuador the man walked back out of the jungle (not always a small feat) and returned it to Dan at the hospital. In a country where lost money is never returned and the wages are barely sustainable, we were stunned by this man's honesty and integrity. Dan would have never known that the money wasn't used for medicine if the patient's father had chose to keep it. God used money lost and money returend to teach us a lesson in His provisions and gifts.
God is so faithful and He truly does watch out for us!! I'm so glad to hear and see that you all are doing well! I hope that adjusting to living in Equador is getting a little easier as time goes by.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping that you could give my husband and I a recommendation. We are wanting to donate to missions in some way. We are looking into different organizations such as Samaritans Purse. Now that you've lived there and seen first hand what the need is, is there any other local organization perhaps that is in need of donations? We'd appreciate your help. Thanks!
Veronica and A.J. Stallones
stallonv@sarmc.org
P.S. I work as an LPN here at the SAMG clinic in Idaho where Dr. Benedick did his residency.
Krissy Jo and Dan,
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog. I've been praying for you. What a blessing about the money that the man gave back to you. God is good. Thanks for writing the story. It helps me put things into perspective. I love you!
Syds