Monday, August 31, 2009

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Well, we have had a lot of changes over the last 2 weeks. We hope you enjoy our latest photos.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Home Sweet Home



I am so sorry it has been forever since I last wrote anything. As I write this I am sitting in the hallway next to the 12th floor apartment of one of our fellow missionaries "borrowing" their wireless internet. We hope to have our internet hooked up sometime on Tuesday, so I promise to be more faithful to write then.

Let me tell you a little about our new country and what our impressions are - the good and the bad. First of all I want to say that we really like Quito. The city is very clean and the people appear to be very hardworking. In the mornings I have been going to a large park about 3 blocks away called Parque Carolina to run. Well, let me rephrase that, at 9,500 feet I guess I would say slowly jog. I felt good today though because I passed a bunch of guys in their 50s. I then had to hold my side and pant like a dog about 2 minutes later, but it was a small triumph.




There are over 40% indigenous here and it is very evident in the street. We have seen many Quichua women and children selling candy, fruit, etc., on the street. My heart breaks for them, especially the children. I am always fearful for the little ones as they weave in and out of traffic to sell items to people in cars.



We live in a large apartment building and have already met several of our neighbors. (I just met two of them sitting our here in the hall typing this, ha,ha). The people are friendly and I seem to understand most (but not all) of what they say. I look forward especially to getting to know our neighbor directly next to us as she is expecting her first baby any day now.


We live very close to the airport and get to watch the planes come in very low over the buildings. It is amazing to watch. Yep, I hear one now. I hear they are opening a new airport outside of town in the next year, but I know the kids will really miss watching these huge jets fly over.


It is cold here! Since we live on the first floor of the apartment I have found heat must really go
up, because it feels like ice in our place. I think we went Tico living in Costa Rica for a year and now I need to let my blood thicken back up. We haven't suffered too much from the altitude (except my slow morning runs of course) but we do find ourselves needing a little extra rest.
Tomorrow Ken is supposed to go up the Teleferico which is the second highest cable car in the world to the top of Pichincha, one of the nearby volcanoes. This picture to the left shows what he should see looking down on Quito as he goes to the top. Now some news from the kids. Connor and Kayleigh had their birthdays and we decided to get them something here as it would have been difficult to bring anything else in those 19 pieces of luggage we brought along. Connor got a skateboard and Cade a little scooter. They ride it on the back porch and a cool skate park over at Parque Carolina. Kayleigh got her ears pierced and I promise to add some pictures of her soon so everyone can see. They seem to be adjusting well, and are enjoying a well deserved break from school. They will start Alliance Academy on September 7th.
Last but certainly not least, God has blessed us with an amazing missionary family here. They had a welcoming party for us when we arrived and even had cupcakes for the kids and sang Happy Birthday. The ladies here have gone out of their way to help us learn our way around and adjust. I thank God for the blessing that they are to us. I also want to thank all of our family and friends that prayed for us during this transition. When we were told we couldn't fly last Saturday I was at first very upset to be bumped from our overbooked flight, but God turned it into a blessing as we did not have to pay for our extra baggage and had an extra night of rest we desperately needed before leaving Costa Rica. Yes, God is definitively in the details! We are excited to see what all God will do these two years we serve Him in Ecuador and learn more of Him among the people.

Monday, August 3, 2009

La Finca

Last Sunday we had the privilege of going to the 60th birthday party of a friend of ours here from Costa Rica. I met Jaime because the chamber choir he is a part of needed a pianist, so I was able to fill in for them a couple of months for some concerts. Jaime and his wife certainly know how to throw a birthday party in style. The theme was the "Wild, Wild West" with fun games, great bar-b-que, great tex-mex, our chamber choir, and even a mariachi band. With over 200 guests it was easily one of the best fiestas we have been to! Enjoy the pics.