Finding Refuge

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.”

Proverbs 27:12

We all need a safe place to escape to every now and then. Refuges offer space to process, heal, and recover from life’s bumps and bruises. El Refugio is the only adventure camp in Ecuador and offers pastors, church groups, and missionaries exactly that – a refuge. El Refugio rests in the mountains of Ecuador near Calacali, a tiny town with one of the most extraordinary bakeries. The 300 acres are filled with beautiful trails, charming vegetable gardens, cozy cabins, and four llamas. It’s the perfect place to escape into God’s creation.

The Bible refers to God as our refuge close to 100 times. He is the only thing that can offer us true safety and comfort that lasts. He allows us to find His peace through many different ways; nature being one of the clearest. El Refugio works to give its guests a place to experience His love and wonder through the natural beauty of Ecuador. It’s truly impossible to doubt His goodness and power amidst the fog rolling off the mountains and the gravel crunching under your feet. He reveals Himself through the tiniest buzzing of a bee and the pouring rain that puddles around your feet.

This month, I found a refuge and whole new side of God at El Refugio. The Squash Sisters spent Month Four of the World Race working at this incredible adventure camp. We helped with the construction of a new cabin as well as with the landscaping. Every day was spent outside, breathing in the cold air and relishing the brief kisses of sunshine. Our evenings were filled with cozy blankets, beautiful views through enormous windows, and lots of time to think.

El Refugio gave me a wonderful refuge. I had so much time to process what has happened over the past few months, work through some deeply rooted problems that God unearthed, and just spend lots of time hanging out with Him and my Squashes. We talked a lot about entitlement and privilege. I quickly realized that I consistently felt like the world owed me something and that I had the right to have things exactly as I wanted. God uncovered the spoiled child inside of me and sat her down for a serious talk. I definitely haven’t worked through all of this yet and I still find myself slipping into an entitled mindset when things don’t go my way. I was also able to spend lots of time processing the things I learned in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Colombia, which was incredibly helpful. Turns out that a refuge was exactly what I needed for this month.

El Refugio has various benches and buildings tucked away into the mountain. Some of them are old and abandoned, but beautiful nonetheless.

Balto belongs to one of the construction workers, Enrique. He loves coming up to the cabin with us, running behind the tractor on the trail up, and napping in the sun as we work.

This is one of the many trails winding through the El Refugio property. It leads up to the cabin and is absolutely gorgeous in the rain.

Black is one of the two dogs that lives on the property. He’s a chubby black lab who loves his naps and head pats.

Ecuador has been such a blast! El Refugio was a little slice of heaven that reminded me so much of Colorado. I’m incredibly grateful for my time there and all the beauty I got to soak up. At the moment, the whole squad is back in Quito. We had a few girls test positive for COVID, so we had to leave El Refugio in a hurry to quarantine in the city. Everyone is doing alright, but we’re mourning having to leave El Refugio so quickly and without saying goodbye to anyone. While I don’t particularly miss raking field after field, I definitely miss the cold, quiet mornings, seeing the clouds settle into the mountains to create beautiful foggy pictures, and hanging out with the group of interns, the Alturas.

Please be praying for the Squash Sisters as we adjust to this new crazy and prepare for new teams and a new country.