Saying Goodbye

The last night in Shell was memorable!  Abby and I were welcomed into Daniela's parents home.  First, we got amazingly beautiful manicures by Dani's sister.  Then, I gave Dani's mom lots of laughs and good memories by ignorantly pouring the 6 cup packet of instant coffee into my own cup. Finally, some of Abby's new friends came by to say goodbye.

Our last morning, we rose before the sun and set out for Quito on the long, weaving, mountainous roads.  We saw some new scenery as we traveled since we took a different way.  We were able to get a good look at Cotopaxi Volcano in the distance and as we climbed into heights, we saw the change in plant life to brown grasses.

Cotopaxi, covered in snow and still spraying out smoke

Since the Equator runs right through the northern part of Ecuador, Cris took us to see the monument that had been set up there.  It was neat to stand where the world is cut exactly in half, and in the process learn a bit about Ecuador's history.  

Translate: "'The middle of the world'- It's beautiful to be Ecuadorian."

Abby and I in front of the monument facing East.

Our fantastic hosts!

The early morning of the last day and the long, hard drive up to Quito, coupled with many hours of waiting in the airport and a 5 hour overnight flight to our first stop in the states meant that we were totally exhausted when our friend picked us up 2 hours from home.  The past few days have been a bit hard for me, particularly, as I catch up on lots of lost sleep, get over a cold I brought home with me, and get into a "groove" for the fall.  David and the kids did great while I was gone and I think he is about rested up and ready to dive deeper into school.  Abby seems to have stepped back into home life smoothly, and now we will begin asking ourselves what we learned during our adventures and how we saw God moving.  

Life is exciting!  God is amazing!

Being Tourists!

This part of Ecuador is amazingly beautiful!  We spent the past two days being a bit more touristy and exploring the area.

I crossed this very high, wiggly bridge!!  So we could see a famous and large waterfall.  It was especially wild on this day due to lots of rain in recent weeks.  

Here is part of the waterfall.  And you can see the stairs beside.  Abby and Cris went down there.

Here is a shot of one of the streets on which we shopped.

We drove way up on a mountain to experience this tree house swing.  Notice the clouds.  It was a very rainy day and the clouds were hanging down in the mountains.

Abby, Dani and her nephew took this cable car across the Pastaza River Gorge.  We rafted that river so it is much, much bigger.  It looks so small because it is so far down!

Today, after driving onto the military base, waiting for the plane to land so we could cross the airstrip, and hiking 1/2 a mile, we arrived at the little Shell zoo.  It was a beautiful hike through the jungle with a creek winding beside the path.  Some of the animals were just roaming free and some were caged.  We got to hold two kinds of parrots, feed a monkey, pet a small furry creature whose name I don't know, and watch as a puma and a different beautiful carnivorous cat were fed meat through the fence.  Pretty neat!

Finally, we hiked a mile or so, again through the jungle, to this beautiful spot where we picnicked and several in our company swam in the cold mountain water.

The last thing we did today was enjoy the company and cooking of Daniela's mom and sister.  She showed us how to make empanadas, and they were "muy rico!"  We also got manicures for $3 each.  A treat for sure!  Oh, and ask me about the coffee story.  Daniela's mom will not quickly forget me! ;)

Tomorrow we head for home.  We will spend a part of the day in Quito exploring before heading to the airport to prepare for our departure.  It has been a sweet time and I pray that all that God wants to do in our hearts and in the hearts of those we met because of our time here will be done.

People God Made

Yesterday we spent the day with several different people.  First, after a very slow, relaxed morning (because we are all still recovering from the craziness of camp) we went over to a local orphanage.  Several of our Cornerstone folks used to work with this orphanage and we still sponsor a boy here.  So we really wanted to see it and meet our boy.  We got a tour, met some of the kids, held a few babies, and took a quick picture with Boris.  The director called him over and explained who we were.  He smiled, hugged us both, took a picture with me, and then ran back to watch the movie with the others.  I smiled as I thought how my own boys would have reacted the same way.

We walked back to Cris and Dani's house and on the way stopped by to see a friend of Dani's who is a single mom at a very young age.  Dani visited with her a for a while, and Abby and I tried to catch little bits of the conversation in Spanish. :)  This is a common problem here and one that needs to truth and grace of God to overcome.

After arriving back to their home, we loaded up and drove to the next town over to do an errand or two and to buy some groceries.  It was a fun experience in the market.

We spent the later part of the afternoon preparing dinner for the girls who were in Abby's cabin at camp.  They really seemed to connect with each other and it was a joy to spend the evening with them.  Some of them have tough home situations and really need the love of Jesus poured into them.  A few have given their lives fully to Christ and are walking in peace, wisdom, and grace. Here are the beautiful girls.