Day 9: Our last day!

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28.

Today we got to sleep in a bit. We met for devotions at 7:45 and listened to Paul and Joan’s story of how they got to Ecuador. It was another example of how God takes care of the details when he wants you to go somewhere. And he gives us great rewards when we listen.

"From the dark entry of a small, dirt floored home, children’s smiles reflect the beauty of cala lilies blooming beneath lines of hand-scrubbed laundry. Parents of eight show off their babies, embraced their friends warmly, welcomed strange gringos to their humble home. Lord, let me be more like Segundo and his wife.” -Sue

Another breakfast and packing and we left our hotel in Cayambe for the last time. But a fun day was ahead of us. We took the short trip to Otavalo, where the town has a market area. The area for vendors spreads about three blocks by three blocks. The people sell many goods there—food (including meat, like chicken and fish, and fresh fruits and vegetables), clothing (like sweaters, ponchos, “Ecua” pants,) all types of scarves and blankets, table clothes, artisan work (like paintings, drawings, woodwork, and pottery), and just about any other type of textile item you can think of. We spent two and one-half hours in Otavalo. We returned to the bus and headed for San Antonio, where there is a town square and around the town square are many woodworking shops. Many different wood items were found at this town, including vases, bowls, and statues. Our next stop took us to Otocachi, which is considered the leather town. The whole town had many streets filled with leather goods, but we went down only one street (about four blocks of shopping). Any kind of leather product you can think of, you probably could find in at least one of the shops in Otocachi.

I felt very comfortable talking with the people at Lote Tres (the high church) because they were very patient with us and considered us family from the beginning of the week. -Leah

After an hour in the leather town, we were finally on our way. With the exception of two quick stops—we stopped at the home of a local couple. The husband’s name is Segundo (yes, his name is second, for second son). He is a weaver and makes scarves to sell. We had the opportunity to meet his family (he has eight children) and watch him do some weaving. He also had some scarves in his home for us to purchase. We then stopped at a beautiful place where there was a lake next to a big mountain (but I cannot tell you the name, because I never learned it). There also was a town surrounding the lake—it was very picturesque.

I was touched by the warmth and love of the normally reserved Quichua at the closing given for us. What sometimes seems insignificant has a larger impact.-Britta

Tonight we will go for dinner at Crepes And Waffles in Quito. We then will head back to the Guest House for the evening. Most of us, I’m sure will be packing up the items we purchased during today’s shopping extravaganza! Tomorrow is our last day here in Ecuador. We are looking forward to being back home with our church family! We have some amazing stories to tell you!

Day 8: Finishing the work

“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100: 3.

It’s hard to believe, but today was our last day of working in the Quichua area. Again we met for devotions at 7:00. We talked about Daniel 3 with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being thrown into the furnace. It’s not just a kid’s story! Three men were willing to stick to their beliefs and face a firey furnace. God was faithful and protected them through the fire. And God was glorified!

This morning, we left the hotel around 9:00. Again we took the bus through the mountainside. It was a glorious ride through God’s amazing quilted earth. We arrived at the crossroad of Lote Tres and Lote Cuatro and some of us got out of the bus and headed up to Lote Tres—the bus then went on to Lote Cuatro. At Lote Tres, all that the group was able to do was move rebar from the pastor’s house to the building site. It was only about 200 yards, but it was uphill and at the altitude, it took seven people almost two hours to move about 100 ½-inch by 40-foot rebars. Needless to say, the group was tired when they were done at noon. Down at Lote Cuatro Sue worked again with the kids, Mark and Ben bent rebar, and Pastor Todd and Mark K. worked with the local people pouring cement into the foundation of the mill building. Just before noon, the worked stopped—this time it was for the last time. The group at Lote Cuatro joined the group at Lote Tres for a farewell service.

The service (including songs and prayers) was a very moving service. Once again the team was placed out of their comfort zone and asked to sing. Thank goodness Kathy brought all her music with (she was always prepared for anything—she carried her backpack with things like sanitizer, toilet paper, sun block, tissues, the music that we sang, and various other things). We sang two American songs and then sang two songs with the congregation in Spanish. Our team was then presented with two gifts—a poncho to Pastor Todd and a Quichuan hat to Mark Kimball.

After good-byes at Lote Tres, the team moved to Lote Cuatro where we were served a wonderful meal of chicken, potatoes, onion gravy, and an anise drink. We then had another service with music and prayers. The congregation sang a few songs. The team again was asked to sing. So we sang a few of our worship songs in English and then asked the congregation to join us in singing a couple Spanish worship songs. We then were presented with gifts made by the children. And we in turn presented their church with one of the banners that had been made for CBC-E (because the school closed down, we were given back the two banners that the Banner Ladies had made for the school. One banner had a verse in Spanish, and so we thought it was appropriate for that banner to stay in Ecuador—the other banner will be coming back home.). The pastor of the church was overwhelmed with the gift and asked the team to again come forward so that he could pray for us. After the prayer, the entire congregation came forward and gave each team member a huge hug. Before we knew it, it was 4:00, time to head back to the hotel. We met at 6:00 to eat dinner, which consisted of the sandwiches we had made this morning for our lunch (and chips, fruit, pop, and cookies).

Mark Kimball asked the team to meet to talk about the week’s events. Mark asked us to share what God had been doing in our lives throughout the week and how today’s events may have affected us. Joan then asked about our reasons for coming down and how they might have changed throughout the week. Some of the team shared how God had taught them different things about themselves and how they needed to make changes in their lives. Our team has definitely experienced God’s presence here in Ecuador.

Day 7: But still no rest!

“Oh LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.” Isaiah 25:1.

Morning seemed to come very early today. But again we met at 7:00 for devotions. Today Sue read for us Daniel 2. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and he wanted his wise men to interpret it. But they couldn’t, so the king was going to execute them. When a guard went out to find Daniel and his friends, Daniel spoke with wisdom and tact to the guard. Daniel was bold and went before the king. That evening, Daniel and his friends prayed to God, and God revealed to Daniel King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel explained to the king his dream and how God had told him about it. How did the king’s heart change?

Everybody brings gifts to the team that I was impressed how well the team has been working together and we’ve been able to communicate quite well with everybody’s pool ability to speak Spanish. And those that don’t speak Spanish, play Charades. -Mark Kimball

After breakfast, we planned to leave at 8:00. Yesterday, we had asked one of the men from Lote Tres to meet us at our hotel to take us up to Lote Tres a different way (this was a different way from going through Cangahua to avoid the many road problems). This morning, two men came and asked the team to purchase more supplies. So we ran to a hardware store. But that store didn’t have everything needed, so we went to another hardware store. At around 9:00, Mark Kimball suggested that some of us go up in Paul’s vehicle because it was undetermined what time the “sale” of the items would be completed. Thanks to Spencer and Amy, we were able to purchase all the needed items (to be delivered by truck), and we were back on the bus and ready to go by 9:30.

For me it would be just finding time to find my own legs here on the mountains and seeing that it takes time sometimes, but finding God faithful through that time. I think what I appreciate the most is seeing Ben find a place here too and finding his own legs. -Mark Gabriel

The group that went with Paul to Cuarto Lote included Pastor Todd, Chris, Mark Gabriel, Ben, Kadie, Kathy, and Mark Kimball. Once they arrived at the school, they continued to cut and bend rebar and haul rocks from one location to the building site (to bend rebar is a bit difficult to explain. But they use a very old-fashioned but effective way to make rectangular pieces out of the rebar. The rectangular pieces are wired to long pieces to make the column and beam supports for the roof and walls of the building.)

The group that stayed on the bus experienced a one-and-one-half-hour drive through the mountains. The road twisted and turned—it seemed to bend in half at times and continued to ribbon through the mountaintops. It was a beautiful sight to behold (and I must admit, a bit on the scary side)! Once again, God’s majesty was right before us. By the time the bus got to Lote Tres, it was about 11:15. So some of our crew walked up the very muddy hill to do some work (again, cutting and bending rebar and cutting “poles”). We were able to stay for only an hour. We then met Paul, and he took us over to Cuarto Lote for lunch and an afternoon of VBS.

I have been awed again by God’s goodness, creation and providence. He perfectly handpicked each person in our group and it was amazing to see how each person was used and was challenged by God. He pushed us, took us out of our comfort zones, and showed us how similar we really are to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Ecuador has some of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. The quilted towering green mountains took one’s breath away. But even more incredible was the friendship, hospitality and love of the Body of Christ in Ecuador. -Spencer

Immediately after lunch, we all geared up for the afternoon. Melanie, Ben, Spencer and Pastor Todd went “up” to the soccer field; Sue, Joan, Paul, and Chris got balloons ready for the tossing game; Leah, Amy and Joann got the kids’ photos organized, and the rest of the team played with the kids using the jump ropes the team had brought.

It was awesome to see God’s faithfulness this week. For example, not getting up the mountain on Wednesday gave us time to sort clothes and glue beads and allowed those who did get up the mountain to have time with the niños. Also God handpicked every person on this team—each with their own unique gifts to contribute to our work. I really enjoyed interacting with the Ecuadorians. I worked mostly wit the church in Lote Tres. The people were so gentle, patient, and kind. IT was cool to see how they always refer to each other as hermanola. Even when you would ask who was in the same family, they would always say that they are all brothers and sisters. They even would call us hermanoya. It was great to see God’s work in distant lands! -Amy

At 2:00, the kids were all called together. Leah and Britta led the kids and the team in several worship songs (sung in Spanish). Immediately after singing, we performed our Lazarus skit (The story of Lazarus, John 11:1-45). Then it was time for crafts. We had two rooms in which to do two crafts. One group of kids was able to make cross necklaces and color a picture of Lazarus with Jesus. The other group of kids received the photos we had taken the day before. The photos were placed on a paper “frame” and the kids were given colors and foam stickers to decorate their frames. When each group completed their project, they switched rooms. Photos were taken of and handed out to about 77 kids. And the estimated attendance today (just the kids, not including the parents) was about 100 kids. After crafts, Leah and Britta lead the kids in a few more songs. Then Cadie, Melanie and Kathy handed out the candy that the team had brought. It was then about 4:00, and we were ready to head back to the hotel.


We arrived at the hotel around 5:30, giving us about 30 minutes to shower and change.

Tonight we had guests come to eat dinner and speak with us. Two couples, both missionary couples, came to share their stories with us. Jaime and Laura Lomas came to speak about his experiences in the Quichua area (this is the area in which the team is working). Altogether, Jaime has helped to start 12 Covenant churches (for Jaime and Laura’s amazing story, ask one the team members to share it with you). And Anna Louisa and Sven Olaf spoke about their time in Ecuador. They have spent much time in Ecuador and in Finland as missionaries. They too have an interesting story (also ask one of the team members to share this story with you).

Tomorrow is our last day of working. On Saturday we visit a few “market” towns and then head to Quito. On Sunday we visit Jipijapa church and then visit Mitad del Mundo (the center of the world). Our flight leaves Quito around 9:40 p.m., and we will be home around 10:00 a.m. on Monday morning.

Day 6: Working with Happy People

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17.

This morning, we woke up to rain. Gathering at 7:00 a.m., Mark Kimball led us in devotions. This morning we talked about Daniel and how he was an iron-willed man. He was not a person to compromise on his beliefs. I guess it might be easy for us as Americans not to compromise on things. We have expectations and will not accept less. But in Ecuador, sometimes compromise is the only option. When we have many choices about things, Ecuadorians may have only one choice.

"The people here are friendly all the time and laugh and have fun with us (at our expense!) while we work with them. They like to show us how hard they can work while at the same time building a fun relationship." Chris Ertsgaard

After devotions and breakfast, we spent some time in solitude. Amazingly, the rain stopped, so we loaded the bus and headed for our worksites. But when we got to Cachughua (pronounced Ca-choo-a) a small town that is about halfway to our destination, the road was blocked (the main road through the town is being “rebuilt” by some of the townsmen, but the work the men are doing is laying concrete pavers by hand, not pouring concrete or asphalt). The other roads in the town go up a steep incline, and they are dirt roads. Because it has been so rainy, the roads have been very slippery. Fernando tried to get up the hill this morning, but he was unsuccessful. Many of the buses that run to the towns in the upper part of the mountainside were also stranded in Cachughua.

"I'm impressed and love the feeling you get when they call us brothers and sisters in Christ. We're more than just Americans and friends, we're really brothers and sisters to them." Cadie Boyung

Because Joan and Paul (our hosts) have a seven-person vehicle, the decision was made to send up half our team in their vehicle. The rest of the team was sent back to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow’s VBS at the school. The team members that went up were Mark Kimball, Sue Kimball, Mark Gillis, Joann Gillis, Leah Jarosek, Spencer Peterson, and Kathy Curtis. This team went to Lote Quatro to continue working on the rebar work. Sue continued with her teaching while Spencer was translating for her. Joann and Leah worked on taking individual photographs of all the school children (these photos will be used at VBS on Thursday—the children will get their photo on a card-stock “photo frame” and be able to decorate the frame with colors and stickers). Mark Kimball, Kathy Curtis, Mark Gillis, and Paul continued to work with the local people on cutting and bending rebar. Before we knew it, it was time for lunch (around 1:30). We were able to eat our lunch in one of the classrooms. Lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips, yogurt, bananas, and soda. As we ate, it began to rain. After a bit, it let up again, so we went back to work. But only for a short time, as we needed to be finished working for the day by 3:00 p.m.

"I have two observations. People here are so family oriented. The women are working with us sometimes as they hold their babies on their backs. The kids are in the middle of what they're doing. Also, even though these people seem to have so little, they are happy people. Their happiness doesn't come from material things, it's in being a Christian and having their family." Kathy Curtis

After the rest of the team returned to the hotel, they discussed the many things that needed to be done. Starting with the VBS tasks, the team took out the beads and glued three purple beads together (the beads were glued together to make it easier for the kids to make crosses). The kids will then use the crosses and make necklaces. Everyone had a good laugh when Britta, trying to glue the beads together, kept gluing the beads to her hands. The team then made up 90 necklace “packets” to hand out to the kids. After lunch, the team made up more necklace packets and began sorting the clothes, which took a long time because there were so many clothes to go through. Altogether there were 26 bags of clothes (thank you, First Covenant Family!). After two-plus hours of sorting, the team was finished for the day. Some of the team went for a walk around the town while others took advantage of the time off and rested.

Around 4:00 p.m., the team at the hotel loaded the bus to head for Jaime and Laura Lomas’s home (more on them tomorrow, as they will be coming to speak to the team about their work in Ecuador). Shortly thereafter, the rest of the team joined them. Laura served the team bizchocos and tea. And the team members got a little shopping in.

"The kids (from Ecuador) are having so much fun here. As they carry down the bricks where we're working, they're having a great time. And they're strong." Ben Gabriel

Back on the bus, we came back to the hotel for a quick shower, and then off to dinner. Back to the hotel by 7:15, the team practiced the skit for tomorrow’s VBS. While Joann and Melanie printed up 75 pictures for the kids, Sue, Ben, Cadie, and Kathy glued the photos to the frames. Pastor Todd, Chris, Leah, Spencer, Amy, Britta, Mark Gabriel, and Mark Kimball assembled the necklaces (it was determined that the language barrier would prevent the kids from understanding how to knot the string to make the cross for the necklace). 10:00 p.m. came very fast for the team, and we are now ready for rest. We’re all excited about tomorrow…

"We've had amazing experiences and have seen God work in wonderful ways. Thank you for your prayers." Pastor Todd

Day 5: Rain and Rebar

There is much to say about the day, but first I would like to share about three people who are here with us. Our “hosts” Paul and Joan Spjut are the IPEE representatives (IPEE is the Covenant church in Latin America). I know that Joan was a school teacher, and that Paul was a band teacher before he became a pastor. I do know they have a few children. I also know that Paul grew up in Minnesota. What is so amazing to me is that Paul is now 70 years old and Joan is 65 years old. They don’t look their age. Their home is currently in La Merced, the prior home of CBC-E. They came to Ecuador two years ago, and they replaced Herb and Elaine Clauson (who are now living in Wisconsin).

“People are really happy here, even though they don’t have a lot.” -Melanie

The third person is Fernando. Fernando is our bus driver. He has shared meals with our group and has sat by us, so I’ve been able to ask him questions about his life. He is 25 years old. He studied to be a bus driver for two years before his boss would let him be a tourist driver. He wants to continue driving in the mountain regions—he doesn’t want to drive down in the forest areas. He lives in Quito with his wife and two-year-old daughter, whose name is Camilla. His father is a farmer, and he has two sisters. He works a lot and doesn’t watch much tv. He does like to watch sports (futbol) and The Simpsons. Camilla likes to watch Shrek. Fernando has been an outstanding driver. He also helps us with translations. What’s amazing about this is that he took English for only one year in high school. But he has been a blessing to Paul and Joan and our team.

Now, back to our day. Well, we were off to a little later start today as we had to make lunches, send yesterday’s journal over the internet, and shop at the local hardware store for some supplies to be used at Lote Tres. The day began beautifully; the sun was shining, and from our hotel windows we could see the snow covered top of Cayambe Mountain (5738 meters above sea level).

After a much less problematic journey to Lote Tres, the entire team hauled eucalyptus poles about one and one half miles up the mountainside to the building site. It took two to four people to carry each pole depending on its weight. Some of the locals were able to carry one per person – even the women. They are so amazingly strong. Only five of our team stayed at Lote Tres to cut rebar and move a pile of dirt from one area to another. Moving the dirt will allow space for mixing the cement for the support beams.

Everyone on the team has had a special gift to contribute.” -Mark K.

The other members of the team went by SUV in two groups to Lote Cuatro (the SUV, driven by Mark Gillis could hold only six people), where the school is located. (Because the bus got stuck three times yesterday, the bus was going to stay on the roads that weren’t as affected by the rain.) Sue was taken right to the math class where God provided again! Seated in the back was Christian, the little boy who wandered into the bus yesterday and learned how to use Touchpoint math. He became the teacher’s assistant immediately, with great pride and enthusiasm. He helped to demonstrate to Blanca, the math teacher, how to use the touchpoints and how to do addition. Sue had saved his 100% page of subtraction problems that he had finished on the bus the day before. He had not learned subtraction at school yet.

Blanca watched for a few minutes and then brought Carlos to the desk, explaining that math was a problem for him. Christian and Sue soon had him very successfully doing simple addition problems. When Blanca saw the success she brought one – two – then three more struggling students. At this point the room became so loud with curiosity that the lesson was taken to the whiteboard for the entire class. “It was a blast!” was Sue’s comment. “The morning flew past. I hope I can spend much more time there.”

“The farther we get from the big city (Cayambe), the friendlier the people are. And it’s fun to drive in the mud of Ecuador.” -Mark G.

Everyone at Lote Cuatro cut their work short because the rain began to fall and the road was getting slippery. Mark Gillis got the second group there just after the rain had started. But because the first group had stopped working, the second group piled back into the car and was brought back to the bus. Then Mark Gillis came back for the first group, and Mark Gillis and Mark Kimball had to hurry the gimpy gumbi (Sue) out of the classroom to make a quick get-away. Once we were back on the bus, we debated about whether to stay and work in the rain or go back to the hotel (because the rain would make the roads muddy and slippery). We prayed for wisdom about what to do. Then we ate lunch on the bus (minus the bizcochos, which were crushed under a tool box).L When we finished eating, the rain had stopped (Praise God!), and so we once again got off the bus and went back to work.

The group at Lote Cuatro continued to work alongside the locals by cutting rebar and moving the dirt while the local people continued to put up poles for the roof (the local people also continued to cut down trees for the poles, “skin” the poles, and bring them up the mountainside. The group at Lote Tres worked alongside the locals to finish digging a trench for the footings for the new bolina (mill) and hauling rocks (big, big rocks) from their location to the building site.

The time flew quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to leave the worksites for the evening. Back at the hotel, people got showered and changed for dinner at 5:30. Tonight we will be visited by a local Christian band called Reflexion. They will perform many folk songs for us. I’m certain it will be a wonderful evening.

Day 4: The Gumbi Journal

“Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” Habakkuk 1:5.

As you can see we have given our journal a name. If it makes no sense to you, think “flex” “flex” “flex.” Today we all had to “gumbi” a lot.

*We didn’t really know what we were going to do on the job site as we left Cayambe.

*Half of the team stayed at Lote Tres and the other half repaired the road to Quarto Lote so the bus could proceed to their work site.

*Nine were at Quarto Lote. The school director requested on arrival that we play with the children. Most of the staff appeared to be away and the children were in classrooms working independently – or doing the same things American students would be doing unattended on a ‘special’ day. But those nine also were asked to bring down many cement blocks (about 500 blocks) from one site and stack them next to the school yard (moving them about 100 yards).

*Sue and Joan (our Ecuadorian leader) taught an English lesson at the school. We taught the students “Five Little Monkeys Jumping On a Bed” so we could continue practicing when we gave the children the jump ropes that we brought them. A few children were very eager to learn some English, while many others were very shy. The class was dismissed for a very long recess so they could play with us. Some of the children were very concerned about Sue’s leg brace and asked question after question. It’s so hard to explain in Spanish. They finally asked if she would take it off and show them her leg.. J They loved writing their names in her notebook and laughed when she tried to pronounce them. Leah, Britta, Cady and Amy taught them some Christian songs in Spanish. It was a great day.

*Six people stayed at Lote Tres. Those at Lote Tres began by hauling 29 rebar rods up to the building site (about ¼ mile). (The church has a very small building, and so they are constructing a second building. The current church is about 12x12, has dirt floors, and no electricity. The new building will be almost three times as big, have electricity, and house a two shoveled dirt for fill, and two took the fill and laid it in the foundation area. Several local men were there, and they were working on raising the roof.

*The staff prepared lunch for us (we had packed sandwiches), which we debated graciously turning down. Thankfully we stayed because they had prepared for us the lobster of Ecuadorian cuisine. Cui! Cui is guinea pig! We were all seated on benches crowded around two long desks and brought a heaping bowl of boiled potatoes (each), cui, large slices of cheese and an onion gravy. There was a bit of discussion about the cui, to be sure, but everyone ate some and did their best to finish it right to the bones. In general, we all thought it was delicious.

*Because the local maestro for the project didn’t arrive at Quarto Lote, we all headed for Lote Tres. The bus was buried in mud a short way from the school. More digging! Men from the school area showed up with boards. The gringos piled into the very back of the bus, and we all prayed. Fernando, our bus driver, backed up the steep road to the main road (Ole!) while the shovelers walked up the hill.

*When we arrived at Tres Lote we were informed that the only road back to Cayambe was blocked and was impassable. We trekked back up to the lot and worked more with the men, working on preparing the forms for pouring cement, cutting more rebar, and bending the cut pieces into rectangles. The rebar will be used for reinforcement for the support beams. At 4:00 we packed up for the day. We started heading back for the evening. But a few miles down the road we came to the impassible part of the road. This is where we were really thanking God that Mark Kimball thought to bring long-handled shovels, because six of our team got off the bus and began shoveling with our bus driver, Fernando. Soon we had the roadway cleared and we were back on our way. OH, did I mention that it was raining and that the dirt roads were more like mud?

*Fernando returned us safely to the hotel around 6:00 p.m. We all got showered and changed and went for dinner. We then returned to the hotel for some much needed rest!

Day 3: Oyacachi

Rooster crows and mooing cows woke some, while traffic noise woke others for an early start to Quarto Lote (fourth lot), which was about an hour’s drive through mountain valleys and cloud covered peaks, and over stone roads the width of one bus. AND we passed another bus, which took at least five minutes, moving only a couple inches at a time after backing up once or twice to start all over. If you had your window open, you could feel the breath of the passengers in the other bus. J Because the road became impassible, we walked the last couple hundred yards – up and then downhill – to a pretty church on the mountainside, filled with the most colorfully dressed women and children and men in black hats (the women also had the black hats).

The local pastor announced they would sing for us first in their language, and then we would sing for them in our language “which would be pleasing to God.” Well, we had only planned to sing in Spanish, so we flexed and sang two English and two Spanish songs. The local church sang along with us and seemed to really enjoy it all. Pastor Todd preached with a translator– and he must have been so good that the other pastor didn’t preach at all, which was another unexpected. The church was on the second floor and Sue was just a bit self-conscious about everyone watching her as she came down narrow cement steps with no railings. Chris, the faithful helper, looked at Sue as Sue said, “I felt like everybody there was watching me.” And Chris responded, “It would have been only more obvious if you had been blonde.” God is good.

We drove from Quarto Lote to Oyacachi, one and one half hours over the Andes Mountains, across the continental divide. We experienced all of the above road conditions plus goats running across the road in front of us (like deer) and stopping to chase cows out of the way. Our driver drove to within a few inches of one cow, but it would not move until he got out a chased it away. We were above the tree line, in the clouds and watching clouds drift down the mountains, about 13,000 feet above sea level. In Oyacachi, the local Covenant Church served us a dinner of chicken soup and baked trout with boiled potatoes and a kind of fresh salsa,. While we were unable to do anything for them, they were very generous and would accept any payment for our meal!

Our next adventure took us to hot springs, where most of the team partook in warmer than bath water. The local people were very kind in sharing this wonder of nature with our team. The springs are formed by the geothermal heat from the volcanic mountain. The local people have made about four pools, and the closer to the mountain the warmer the water. The pools were very close to the river, and people would sit in the pools for a short time (the temps of the pools ran about 85, 95, and 105) and then go in the river, which was about 60 degrees. After refreshing ourselves, we visited a small artisan shop. The shop contained many wood carvings, including bowls, key chains, plaques and wall hangings.

Back on the bus, we took the two plus hour drive back to our accommodations. (The reader should now be aware that it is currently 6:00 p.m. in Cayambe and we will be soon heading off to dinner. We plan to meet after dinner for debriefing—to talk about what we experienced today and to get a blueprint of our day tomorrow.) So, until tomorrow…