When we first got to Ecuador we got to go to Chicho (Jaun Diego) and Anshy's (Andrea) wedding. Anshy is the oldest daughter of Bolo and Jenny. It was a great time of course until the end when Calen ended up in emergency after falling off a tractor and opening up a gash in his head. However, it was great to be a part of their family moment. On my birthday this year I was also able to be a part of another family moment as we celebrated the baby shower of Anshy. Yup, an unplanned honeymoon pregnancy and we will be welcoming their little girl, Maria Alejandra to their new family at the end of this month or the beginning of May. They of course wanted to wait a few year before having kids but sometimes other plans end up happening. They are very excited now to be adding to their family as are we to get to enjoy a baby around. Bolo and Jenny are of course ecstatic to have their first grandchild and even more so that she is a she. I was able to bless her and the baby shower by decorating the cake with little booties, flowers and hearts. As well, I made a little diaper cake that she enjoyed! Can't be a bad thing to get a bunch of diapers as gifts, since they can be quite expensive. Looking forward to Maria Alejandra's arrival and as soon as I can get a picture I'll be able to introduce her to you all. So please be praying for Chicho and Anshy in this new phase of life, that they will have a smooth birth and transition from a family of two to three in such a short time.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Carinval
Carnival here in Ecuador is much different then in Brazil. It's funny that in a country that is not really hot would be the country that celebrates the holiday with water. Yes, water! That means about two weeks before the actually holiday you need to be careful while walking around your neighborhood. As any moment you might get bombed by a water balloons from anywhere, cars, apartments or buses. It's crazy how much water gets used during this holiday. Our neighbors brought a whole bunch of kids over one day and spent the cold afternoon soaking each other. They use water guns, hoses, water balloons and buckets. As well as this specially made soap sprays in various colors. This picture is our neighbor driving by as the kids try to get their friend wet and he tries to get them wet.
At first our kids just cried when people would throw water on them or put the soap spray in their hair as they didn't understand what was happening. We bought them a kiddie pool and filled it with warm water so that they could actually enjoy the party. After a few days of repetitive getting soaked, they finally got the hang of it and in the end were enjoying the holiday. We even went to our neighbors for supper one night and we were doused in cornstarch after being wet. Makes for a long shower that night trying to get out the powder but fun none the less. So be prepared that if you chose to come visit in the month of February then be prepared for some wet days!
Manicures and Pedicures
One of the fun things about living in a third world country is that things here sometimes can be much cheaper. One of those things is a manicure and pedicure. Across the street from my house is a little salon. While Carol and Leah were here we treated ourselves to a girls day out where we all got our hands and feet done. To get your hands done it costs $3 and for feet it costs $5. Not bad when you consider back home and the prices there. Even Ceara came to get her feet done too which she loved. Of course I really haven't been there often as it's pretty busy since the prices even for the Ecuadorians is cheap. But it is nice to know that if I wanted to treat myself then I just need to pop across the street. I also got my hair done and for a cut and highlights it only cost $27. The question that I have is why is it so much cheaper to get your hands, feet and hair done in countries like Brazil and Ecuador but it costs so much more in Canada or the States? Travis can get his hair cut there for $3 and the lady does a great job. Also it had been a good way to reach out in the community as while we were there, we found out that the lady has a son the same age as Calen and her daughter who is 10 has been taking English so we have invited them to participate in our English classes. So even while taking time out for myself, God still shows us ways to reach out to the people in our community. Maybe I should head out right now to get my nails done? Well, maybe not right this moment. I'll try to get some more blogs posted instead!
Women's Conference
Every year Cuenca hosts a women's conference in January. This year the theme of the conference was 'Living Life Without Conflict' I of course got thrown into doing something for the conference which I willingly said yes to. That was to prepare the gifts for the ladies that come to the conference. I planned on making a few candle luminaries. However, I didn't realize that it was for more then 150 people, but with help from others in the church we were able to complete them and the women were delighted to take one home with them. As well, I got asked to prepare one of the classes for the conference. Little did I know I wouldn't receive the stuff I would need to prepare the class with less then two weeks to do it. However, with some help from Travis in translating and Nuvia to help correct it, I was able to give my first Spanish lesson to a group of more then 150. Leah was also asked to give a devotional one morning that was translated. It was a great experience and even better to meet so many new women from around the country of Ecuador. Hopefully, next year will be just as great!
Bus Tour
One of the fun things that we got to do while Len, Carol, Craig, Leah and Lena were here was take the bus tour of the city. We had been wanting to do that for awhile but had never gotten around to doing it. It is a double decker bus that takes a tour around the downtown area as well as near our neighborhood and a look from Turi which has a views of the whole city. The great thing about this tour is that you get a great view of the architectural buildings around the city as you get to sit on the top of the bus. It's a great view as you get to be right up close to the buildings. When your walking you get a bit of the view but it doesn't compare with almost being able to touch the carvings, feel the mosaic tiles and see the tops of the roofs. And then to top it all off, you get to take a break at the top of Turi and view the entire city from just one spot. It's pretty amazing and I would go everytime that someone comes to visit. Anyone planning a visit anytime soon? Hope so! And don't forget to bring a good camera so you can get all the beautiful shots of the buildings in Cuenca, but be careful not to get caught by the many wires that cross the path of the road or get smacked by the tree branches as we go by! Those are the only down sides of the bus tour. But let me tell you it's a great thing to look forward to when you come for a visit. Can't wait to go again!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Cousins!
Craig, Leah and Lena have been here now for a month. They are here to work with our teammates and ourselves as Craig completes his Master's degree. His professors agreed to giving him credit for his work here and as well he took a class with Compassion Canada in the town of Otavalo for a week so with those two things, he will have some good credits to his degree. Of course the bonus for us is that Leah, Travis' sister and our niece, Lena got to come with Craig. Of course the cousins are enjoying their special time together as you can see in the picture here. And we are enjoying the extra time with family and of course the extra help. They will be here till the beginning of March so please be in prayer for them as they work here.
Preaching in Azogues
One of the other things that we do here in Ecuador is work with a small church about 30 minute drive from Salvador. It is a small church made up of two families. They have been needing the extra help for awhile as they haven't grown in a long time. One of the men of the families went to the Institute and took classes and he is the one that helped start the work there. We will be heading to Azogues about every two weeks, so that we are two weeks in Cuenca and two weeks in Azogues. If anything, we hope to encourage these families in their work and give them the tools that they need to help their group grow. It is fun getting to be with them as we get to know them much more quickly then we have so far with the church here in Cuenca as there are only a few of them. They have a bunch of young kids as well so our kids enjoy getting to be with them too. Please be in prayer for this group as they struggle and search for ways to influence their city for the better. Pray for growth not just numerically but also spiritually.