Fun in the Sun

Blood Beach

Well, we have made it home to Alabama.  We are right now staying in Loxley with Ken's parents and the kids are having a ball playing in the grass and on the slip-n-slide and visiting with their grandparents and cousins.  Ken and I keep waiting for the reverse culture shock to set in and the only thing that really shocks me is the price of food.  How do people in America feed their families????  The price for a movie ticket was a bit overwhelming too when you are use to a $3 ticket.  I can't believe the price of a matinee ticket is really almost $7.  Guess we won't be hanging out at the theater this hot summer.  Other than that we are happy to say that we have enjoyed driving on the interstate, going shopping at Target and eating some custard, and yes, Sarah....we ate at the Chick-Fil-A first!

One thing totally unrelated to culture shock, but very sad nonetheless was visiting Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area.  The oil spill has made it there and although the beaches are still a pristine white up high above the tide, there is a distinct chemical smell not too unlike a gas station.  The water also has a sheen to it and leaves a tan colored residue on the sand when it washes up. 

I am including several photos.  The actual tar balls are very different looking.  There are large soft dark brown globs of oil and then these small hard round pieces or "tar balls".  The brown pieces are really more prevalent and much bigger.  Connor of course pointed out they look like big dog turds.  Thanks, Connor. 

There are many crews there working out in the water putting up booms and skimmers and from what we can see combing the beach as well.  We are praying they will be able to clean it up, but realistically it is evident that the traces will be there for a long time to come. 

I allowed the kids to touch the water with their feet, but we all cleaned off with soapy water right away before leaving.  Although it didn't sting or anything, it was not easy to wash off.  You can see some in this photo of Ken's foot. 

It is really more of a brown color almost like rust.  It leaves a rust color on the sand where it comes up on the shore.  I had expected much worse, but then again I think there is much worse to come, and the beach was practically deserted.  Please continue to pray for the Gulf Coast and most importantly all the people who depend on these waters to make a living through fishing and tourism. Many people have observed in the evening this reddish brown color areas of the gulf have that are reminiscent of blood in the water. It does cause one to think of those words in Revelations because the surf has a rust colored appearance.

Lastly we want to thank everyone for your words of encouragement and your prayers.  We are still waiting to find out when I will begin work and trying to find out the latest with our crated belongings in Quito.  When we left they were still packing items, so we are praying that they all made it into the crate and that we will not be overcharged by space since we could not completely oversee the packing...but that is another blog.  We will keep you posted.  Blessings to you all.

Cuy and Other Delights

This is our last week in Ecuador, so we went to our favorite tourist spot one last time before leaving. Mitad del Mundo to us is everything Ecuadorian. There are dozens of small shops that line the square in front of the monument dedicated to the center of the earth. If you look back to my blog dated October 1st you can see a video with some cool pictures from Mitad del Mundo. To the right is an interesting billboard you would see on the road to Mitad del Mundo. It is a poster dedicated to Jesus of the trees. I don't think you'll find a tree Jesus anywhere else in the world!

This last trip was one of our best as we finally took the plunge and tried the popular dish from the sierra called cuy. For those of you not familiar with this dish it is fried then roasted guinea pig. Here it is considered a favorite among the people that live high in the mountains. They raise them like farmers in the states raise turkeys or chickens. We have missionary friends living out in the mountains that have had the joy of having a neighbor prepare it for them in their own home, even letting the kids play with the little rodent first. We chose to try it at a restaurant where we would only see the end product and not get attached to the little guy first. I am not sure how many of you have tried rabbit, but I am told this tastes very similar, and no, it does not taste like chicken!

There is a park there in the middle of all the stores. It's a great place for the boys to hang out while the girls shop. Of course what would a shop be without a collection of shrunken heads? Connor got a cool wooden knife made by the Shuar with a very dense wood found in the Amazon area., the same people who used to shrink the heads of their enemies years ago.

After our lunch we watched a band and dance group do local indigenous dances. We enjoyed the lively music and even bought a disc of the band to remember the music of Ecuador. It was a great way to say goodbye to the country that has been our home now for the last 10 months. Our prayers and thoughts will continue to be with these people and this country as we move on to the next step the Lord has for us in this journey to serve Him.