Our Ecuador

In February Ken will be going to Birmingham for our church missions conference.  Here is the video I put together for him to use in his presentation. 

Operation Walk Maryland

This past week I had the pleasure of working with another great group of people from the states.  This team from Operation Walk was 47 people from Maryland mostly, but also Chicago, Arkansas, Florida, California and New York.  We worked down in the south part of Quito at a charity hospital called Tierra Nueva.  We saw over 50 patients the first day and narrowed that down to the 30 patients we were able to operate on, many of which we planned bilateral knees on.  This was the second trip for this team from Maryland as they went last year to Lima, Peru. 

I feel so blessed that God has given me the opportunity to help the Ecuadorians in such a unique way, but also it has been a wonderful blessing for me to practice anesthesia with some of my fellow Americans.  I told Ken that when I sat there the first day and listened to the surgeons and nurses banter back and forth and include me in their conversations it really felt like home for me.

One thing I really want to share is how fun it was to take some of those first steps with patients after surgery.  I got to help this nice lady walk up and down the stairs for the first time after surgery.  She kept shaking her head and telling me she didn't think she could do it, but I said to her "Con Dios todo es posible!" (With God all things are possible!)  Sure enough she went down and back up again and to her delight she found that it truly was possible. 

I did want to give a shout out to my friends from Anesthesia Resources Management for sending the block books and blocking needles and monitors.  I cannot say how much of a life saver they were!  I wanted to show a picture of one of the bilateral knee patients that we were able to do bilateral blocks on so he could have a pain free night after surgery.  He was so very grateful.  He kept squeezing my hand and saying ,"Dios le pague" (May God repay you).  He and 29 other patients all demonstrated their gratitude for the care our team gave and we often humbly found ourselves suddenly being given roses, or a hug, or a round of applause by family when we would go outside the OR to get supplies or eat lunch.

I was reminded of how Jesus always met the physical needs of the people wherever he went because he knew that until the physical needs were met it was sometimes hard for the people to focus on the spiritual parts of their lives.  As more and more missions organizations move away from meeting medical needs I am glad that God has still given me opportunities to be a part of the work that is being done through non-profit organizations such as Operation Walk.  I had the privilege of sharing my faith with some of my patients and it was wonderful to see how many of them recognized God's hand in bringing them this healing through the people of Operation Walk. 

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:14-16

Cotopaxi

In December we finally took the time to go and visit a part of Ecuador recognized by many who come visit Quito, Volcano Cotopaxi, which in Quichua means "throat of the moon".  About 30 miles from the heart of Quito lies an impressive snow covered volcano which many come to visit for it's breathtaking view.  At 5,897 meters above sea level, and rising majestically above the Andean mountains, the Cotopaxi mountain is Ecuador's highest active volcano - as well as being one of the most active volcanoes anywhere in Ecuador, but with no erruptions since 1904. It has an almost perfect symmetrical cone shape and is easily recognized by climbers as a well known piece of Ecuador.

For those who can manage it, and weather permitting, a climb of Cotopaxi mountain takes approximately 6-7 hours. Also, in order to maximize the view, climbs to the peak of Cotopaxi mountain usually set off around midnight - with the aim to reach the peak at around dawn, or slightly after dawn.  We met up with a group in the refuge that was getting ready to bed down in the bunk house so that they could leave around 1am for the hike to the top.  To leave much later could mean a fight against the daily winter storm that comes through around 12pm. 

We ourselves experienced an amazing thunder and lightening storm with what we called "dipping dots" falling from the sky in torrents.  It was amazingly white, but the little balls were not too unlike hail falling in great waves with gusts of wind.  Although climbing up from the parking lot to the refuge (a 1 hour endeavor with the kids- Cade on my back about 1/3 of the way) was quite a challenge, coming down was even more so after the "dipping dots" created quite a slippery path to follow at about a 45 degree decline.

One of the fun things about visiting the refuge is the hot chocolate.  They make it there in the refuge from scratch and although the kids said it wasn't quite as good as Mommy's, it sure was a welcome refreshment after a cold hike up the side of a mountain for an hour!

One more thing I wanted to share with everyone was a comparison photo from when we climbed up to the refuge to when we returned just one hour later.  It really didn't start storming until we had been there at the refuge for about 20-30 minutes, so you can understand why the climbers want to leave so early in the morning to avoid this daily snow/ hail storm.

We decided to make this an annual Christmas trip while we are here as we certainly felt like it was winter!  Next time we want to go to Cayambe (the only snow covered volcano on the equator in the world) or Antisana as they are both visible from Quito on a clear day and quite beautiful.  I think we may need to stock up on a few more winter clothes though before leaving.  It was cold, brrrr!  But then again, I may have become a little Latina over the last 2 years as I have adjusted to to the warmer climate.  Hope everyone in the states thaws out too!

Our Year in Photos

Click here to view this photo book larger

Burning the "Old Man"

One of the most important Ecuadorian traditions for ringing in the New Year is making años viejos, effigies representing local and international politicians, famous celebrities, or even cartoon characters. These dummies are made from old clothes stuffed with firecrackers and sawdust.

The heads of the effigies are covered with paper måché masks, shaped into caricatures of politicians or other people who have been in the news, generally for scandals. As the effigy parodies the year's top news stories and scandals, it is often seen as a social and political commentary, and its likeness is usually someone notorious or who has recently been involved in a scandal. This year we saw lots of Micheal Jackson, the current president of Ecuador, Correa, and our personal favorite that we got to burn thanks to the Brooms (who served several years in Venezuela), Hugo Chavez. 

On December 31, the años viejos sit alongside the road in small huts constructed out of eucalyptus or palm branches. The dolls patiently await their midnight death. As the year slowly comes to a close, Ecuadorians, especially the men, dress up as viudas, the widows of the dying year. These viudas, however, are not very upset about their husbands' death, and tend to act promiscuously. Dressed in skimpy clothing, tights, heels, and a  shawl around their shoulders, the viudas stand outside of the makeshift huts and ask passing cars for money to help pay for their husband's funeral. As with most Ecuadorian festivities, dancing is involved, and in order to "earn" the money, the viuda will perform a short dance. The money collected is used for the New Year's Eve party.  We saw a few men dressed like this in the streets of Quito New Year's Eve.

Even the children we learned will get into the act as we discovered going to Cotopaxi.  They grab scary masks and set up road blocks.

We were hit up by 3 road blocks on the way to the refuge with children (and some much older kids I believe) looking for donations.  One particular roadblock had a menacing looking teenager in military getup and a rifle.  We found giving a little change made the process a lot quicker. The girl who collected our money said a nice "¡Tenga un feliz año nuevo!" (Have a Happy New Year) as we drove off towards home.

At midnight on January 1st the dummy is sometimes beaten with a belt as punishment for all of the hardships it has caused in the last twelve months. Although we didn't beat our "old man", we did offer a few choice words about the real live dictator.

The año viejo is then set afire and as it burns, the firecrackers go off and the bravest jump over it, taunting it as a matador does a bull. By midnight, the city is dotted with the smoldering remains of the "old year", and everyone is ready for a new beginning to the new year on January first. 

To a visitor from outside of Ecuador it may appear a bit like a war zone driving through the city.  We encountered many of these fires on the way home from the party with a particularly large group in front of our apartment complex llighting up several effigies.  So remember as you say goodbye to last year's "Father Time" there are a few people that actually burn the "old man" to bring in the New Year.