Rain and a Spider!

Monday brought with it a huge rainfall. So the river that is just outside our temporary apartment was rushing by and overflowing it’s sides, in fact the day earlier the kids had stood throwing rocks into the river that was at least three feet down and now it’s up past where they were standing. It is crazy how much rain can affect the rivers but when you live in the mountains that is the only way for it to come down from the top. The benefit of the rain is that it helps power the city as they use hydro power from the rivers to keep the city with energy.

As it wasn’t a great day to be outside playing so we decided to check out a few stores for furniture and other essentials for our new home once we move in. One of the places we heard of before coming here from a blog of a couple from Nova Scotia that are now living here is a place called Su Kasa, it’s a more like a store you can find in Canada.  It has more of the brands that we are familiar with and the types of home things that we recognize but also with that comes higher prices, so although it was great to go look at that store, we most likely won’t be buying from there.

After that store we stopped at a little cafe for lunch and the four of us ate for $5 u.s. dollars a large meal. In a lot of ways things here can be cheaper, I really don’t know anywhere in Canada that four of us can eat a meal for $5, well except at Little Caesars pizza which had just opened up in Regina before we left.

Afterwards we went to the grocery store called Super Maxi and found that they had an excellent selection of foods, including many foods that we are accustomed to in Canada for not much more then the prices we would usually pay for. Some of those things were pancake mixes and syrup, Kraft dinner and Travis’ favourite Mexican foods. We picked up some of the essentials and some things just to try and headed home for the kids to take a nap. During the kids naps, Travis has usually taken walks around the neighbourhood to scope out the things that our near us.

After their naps we took a walk to the mall for supper and as we walked by one place I happened to walk through a spider web, I didn’t really think much about it until we were at the mall and I felt a sharp pain on my neck, where a spider who had gotten stuck between my jacket and neck decided to take a bite out of me. Of course being in a foreign country where I know they have poisonous spiders I was concerned about the kind of spider that had bit me. I mean first Calen gets hurt and then I am bitten by a spider. Luckily I was able to see the spider and identify what it looked like but decided that in 15-30 minutes if something started changing or I was feeling funny, that we would head to the doctors right away. Fortunately many spiders that live near people are not actually dangerous and only have a sharp bite as was the case with my spider bite because after 10 minutes I didn’t feel anything anymore and the bite was starting to disappear. Needless to say, I now will check myself over the next time I walk through a spider web. Which to those of you who want to come visit but now are extremely scared, don’t worry, there are not many spider webs out there and even less spiders. In fact I have only seen two, the one that bit me and the daddy long-legs that I saw in the shower and drowned. Otherwise, we are spider free and insect free. Which I can say I saw way more of those types of things when I lived in Brazil, so Ecuador definitely has a plus in that area.

Sunday Services

The day after Calen’s accident was Sunday services with the church congregation that has been here for many years and whom Travis knows quite a few people. With Calen still feeling groggy because of his head, he and I stayed home and tried to do as little as possible just to give him more time to heal. Travis and Ceara went ahead to classes and services where Travis was able to reconnect with friends of the past, to see the growth of the congregation and Ceara was able to start making some friends. Once they came home we went to the new mall here to eat some lunch and try to use the internet. It so far has been the only time to be able to use the internet and to inform you all of the things that have been happening here. Unfortunately we get kicked off every 30 minutes so there is not much time to do much of anything given the speed of the internet service. So please bear with us as we work to get things on our blog and until we get better internet service. Afterwards Travis took Calen to the little store by our house to get some stuff for the house. The people there were so excited to see him and know that we were going to be living here and that soon he would be speaking Spanish like them. The kids definitely allow for lots of time to communicate with others as people are curious about our kids. It’s been a great thing being able to meet with new people, please keep praying for the people that we will continue to meet.

Anshy and Chicho's Wedding! July 9th

To our surprise July 9th brought the wedding of our teammate's daughter Anshy. We had originally thought that it was on the 10th but were surprised when Bolo told us to be ready by 11am for the wedding that day.After getting ready for the wedding we took a 15 minute taxi ride out to a farm where the wedding was held. It was great being able to spend the day celebrating with our teammates family. Of course our kids seeing all of the farm things wanted to play rather then watch the wedding but there was lots of space for them to play without interrupting anything.

It was a beautiful wedding and we got to meet many people from the church and from Bolo and Jenny's family who came for the wedding. One of the great thing we were privileged to be a part of after just arriving in the city. The reception after the wedding was fun as well, the kids got to be at the kids table and were fed chicken nuggets and fries instead of the adult food and given coloring things and then all of them went to play on the playground. After awhile the girls all pretended they were getting married under the tent that Anshy and Chicho had just gotten married in and the boys found a soccer ball to play with. Calen is pretty talented at soccer and was the youngest boy by about 7 years and still could get the ball away from the older boys. After awhile the boys didn't want to play with him any more but Calen didn't seem to notice. The kids had lots of fun and so did we as we were able to talk with the adults without having to worry much about the kids.

As we were leaving, Travis went to get Bolo to call us a taxi and I took the kids to the front of the farm to wait. They had a very old tractor as a decoration there and the kids were pretending to drive it while we waited. At one point Calen climbed up further to look into the holes and pull out rocks that had been put in them. As he was getting back down he moved his foot and lost his balance and fell. I saw him falling but couldn't catch him as he went down the other side to where I was standing. Unfortunately his head hit a rock wall on his way down and caused a large gash in his head. He was bleeding lots so I couldn't tell how bad it was, although at the moment it seemed really bad as there was so much blood. A lady came to help me and took Calen and I to a room away from the wedding crowd and Ceara ran to get Travis. I of course was freaking out at that point and couldn't really get across what happened very well. Finally there happened to be a pediatrician who came to look at Calen's head and said everything was okay and that it was just a large surface wound that needed stitches and that the bleeding had already stopped. So Travis and I with Bolo and Jenny went back into the city to a emergency clinic and got Calen's head stitched up while Ceara stayed with the youngest of Bolo's daughters so that she didn't have to see and worry about Calen. Bolo and Jenny went back to the wedding and a few hours later Ceara came back to the apartment where Travis, Calen and I had just gotten back from getting his stitches. Calen is doing well now and you can't really tell anymore that anything had happened unless you know where on his head he hit the wall. We go back to the doctors on Saturday to get the stitches removed. Calen's healing well but definitely gave me a scare. What a thing to have to worry about on the second day in the city that is going to be your home. But the doctor was great and we saw someone right away. It will just take me more time to recover from it because as a Mom you hope to protect your kids from things like that and I was standing right there and couldn't catch him. But maybe that is just a reminder that God is ultimately in control and no matter what God will be the one watching over us! So please keep our family in your prayers as we let God be the one who is in control of our lives and that we allow Him to shape us and mold us as we share our lives in Him with others here in Cuenca.

July 8th

Here is the family minus Travis who is taking the picture, just outside of the temporary apartment that we have here in Cuenca. After sleeping in the day after we arrived we decided to get out in order to get a few essentials that the apartment didn't come with such as food, towels, toilet paper and some good pillows. It is pretty easy to find a taxi as we live right across the street from one of the main rivers in the city. Of course we had to check it out and the kids love the river but they have to be very careful as it is very fast and dangerous. After a quick walk around to see the stores that are around we went to one of the new malls in the city to see if we could get some of the essentials. While there the kids tried out the train that takes a tour of the bottom level of the mall and enjoyed watching the kids play on a large trampoline. After getting some essentials we headed back to our apartment. Deciding that it would be fun to eat somewhere we took a little walk to our neighborhood to find some sort of restaurant and found a pizza place so we got a giant pizza not realizing how big it would really be, but extremely delicious. There are definitely a lot of good little places near us that serve some good food and for very cheap. It was a great day to get to know what there is near us and to start getting some of the essentials for our home in Cuenca.

A New Beginning- July 7th

Well after two days of travel we finally made it to Cuenca, Ecuador. In fact we even made it with all of our luggage, all 8 of them. When does that ever happen? And only two of them were opened to be inspected and we think only a pair of my shoes and some makeup is missing. At least I hope that is all, it's so hard to remember what we actually ended up packing in the suitcases and what we had packed in boxes and shipped. Fortunately everything that was electronic or more expensive here actually arrived in the suitcases, even from those that had been opened. The kids were really good despite the lack of sleep and having to go from plane to plane, only a few minor breakdowns during the entire trip. And for us that was the best part, knowing that our kids can adjust well despite all the changes.
While in Quito waiting for the last 40 minute flight to Cuenca, we decided that we had time to register our visas with the government here which we have to do in the first 30 days of arriving. We took a taxi, which charged us more then we should have been charged to the government office and realized that we had made it ten minutes late to be seen at this office: 2:10pm! Who closes a government office at 2pm? After a few moments of talking with the people outside the office we were finally seen and told that we had to do some paperwork before we could finalize our registration and with the time that we needed to get to the airport for our flight, it was impossible. So we used the last hour to find a place to eat and get away from the airport for a bit. Unfortunately this means in the next few weeks we will have to go back to Quito in order to register but at least this time we will have all the paperwork that we need to get it done quickly. And have to make sure that we get there before the 2pm deadline!
Once we got back to the airport we ended up taking all our luggage and so on to the counter and waited for over an hour to send in our luggage because of a mix-up with some other flight. That was hard for the kids because there was absolutely nothing to do that entire time, and our flight got delayed so we really didn't get to Cuenca till late and by that time I was exhausted as I slept very little the whole trip. When we arrived in Cuenca, our team mate Bolo came to pick us up and his wife Jenny, they took us to an apartment by one of the main rivers in the city and told us that they had been able to rent it for the month with all the furniture until we can find something that suits us better. It was great to be able to relax and put our things away (even for a few weeks) until we find something else. It is nice not having to be in a hotel like we had to when we moved to Brazil, especially since there is more space for the kids to play around and we get to save money for other things. But that is not the end of our day, as I would have enjoyed it to be as there was a Let's Start Talking final party that was already in progress as we dropped off our stuff. So off we went to the school where the LST party was happening. The kids thought it was lots of fun even though they were not able to communicate with the kids that were there, but they made it work. And of course the cake and treats were great for them too. Travis and I were able to meet with the Americans that have been hosting the LST here for the last 30 days and meet a lot of the people that they read with. As well we were able to meet a few people that we had seen on our survey trip in November of 2009. Travis' Spanish came back really quick and he's been able to communicate very well with everyone. I am of course having a harder time but the Portuguese that I know has definitely helped me to understand a lot. The kids still will only say a few words here and there but once they are in school, I know they will have no problem. It was a long night but definitely worth going to the party as now Travis and I will continue to work with a lot of the people from LST and hopefully some of them will come to know God. So a great start to a new life here in Cuenca, Ecuador. Please be in prayer for those people we met that night!

Soon On Our Way!

Well as you know, we finally received our paperwork that we have been waiting for from Ecuador for many months. It is finally all in order so our move down to Ecuador is set. We will leave on July 4th at 6:30pm to Toronto so anyone in the Regina area who wants to say bye to us at the airport please come by. We then will stay in Toronto in order to pick up our visas which we have been told is the same day process so we hope to do that on July 5th. But please keep this part of the process in your prayers as with foreign countries you never know what might happen. Then we will leave July 6th at 5:30pm to Lima, Peru then on to Quito,  Ecuador at 10:40 am and then will arrive at 7pm to Cuenca which will be our home for the next five years. 

We are so excited to start the travelling part of this process even though hauling luggage and two young kids doesn't sound that appealing at this moment but the end result is what excites us the most. We are so excited to know that this time has finally come, that we get to go back to what God has been preparing us to do again, this time in Ecuador. I know Travis is excited to go back to the place that started his love for missions and it seems appropriate that it's come full circle again for him. We are excited for the new place, the new people and the new work that we will start there. Please continue to pray for our family as we travel, for the visas to really only take one day to process and the people we will meet and the work that will be started. 

It is amazing that we have been in Canada for over a year already but it has been a great time for us. A time to relax, to heal, to be renewed and so much more. We have spent time with both of our families and had time for the kids to bond with their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins like they were never able to do before. We have been able to renew our friendships with people from years past and to gain new friendships. We have been able to meet with our supporters, our sponsoring church and continue to strengthen that bond between them and our family. We have been able to spend time as a family just the four of us without the pressures or demands that being missionaries require. In so many ways, this year in Canada has been a great blessing to us but we are eager to start our life in Ecuador. Thank you to everyone that we have been with over this past year, for all those memories and times of fun, for the time we have shared our lives together. And for all those who want a place to go somewhere south of the border, remember you are always welcome to come and visit us anytime. 

Thank you again for your prayers and support during this whole process to get to Ecuador. As we know, God is faithful to those who wait, and we see that our waiting has been a good reminder as who we place our trust in and who has our interests at heart. We are on our way to share with those who that God is and how their lives can changed, just as ours has been changed. Please continue to pray for our family, our team and the work God is doing in Cuenca, Ecuador.

2nd False Green Light

What an emotional roller coaster ride getting to Cuenca is becoming for us. We are glad to be in Canada...but we continue to work toward getting to our final destination, to where God has called us to serve. It has been painstakingly challenging to my level of patience as we have had 2 false green lights to getting our visas. Our teammates Bolo and Jaime in Ecuador have been getting frustrated probably even more, because it seems like every time they have fulfilled the requires of the government for our papers, there seems to be something else that needs to be done. However saying all that, both our teammates and ourselves are confident that the end of this process is near and we will be on a plane to Cuenca. Our teammates also talked to some lawyers concerning international visas and were told that they have the ability to get us our visas if we go there initially on a visitors visa. But after talking to our overseers in Saskatoon they told us to continue down the process that we are on because it is so close to being done. That way we would arrive with our permanent work visas in hand, rather than having to start over again, and have the possibility that something goes wrong and having to return home unexpectedly. 

We continue to stay busy doing kingdom work here in Regina, updating supporters, as well as doing all the long term planning that has to be done while we are away from Canada. We have been preparing a will, setting up the kids some education funds, updating and extending passports, drivers lic's and other id's, and getting our health insurance in order. I've also got to play some hockey with my old friends, our team made it to the final Sunday and lost in OT. But playing was like therapy for my heart. We've also been learning Spanish. Alicia and the kids let me teach them. Alicia wants to be able to talk when she gets off the plane. She has such a head start already knowing Portuguese. We have also been paying attention to our emotional needs that concern returning missionaries. It is always difficult to transition through cultures. We returned to our home for a year, but in reality Canada is no longer our home. We try and find how we fit here, while still missing our spiritual family and friends in Brasil. We ran into a great book, "praying your good-byes" which is a great help for learning to deal with our feelings through life's transitions. God is taking care of us and getting us ready for our next ministry. It has been so good to reconnect with my family, my parents, my sister, her husband and my niece. It has been good to be around my younger brother who recently broke up with his girlfriend of 4 years. I have been able to help him process that and in some small ways hope to point him to God and faith. My mom's brother also just passed away unexpectedly and they family has asked me to do the memorial service. This weekend I will see many cousins and extended family on her side that I haven't seen in years. So that should be good. 

 

But we are so looking forward to starting our next phase in life. It has been a blessing to live with my parents, and I know they will miss us again, but I'm sure they are ready to get their space back. We are ready to find our own place to live in. Our teammate Jenny is looking for rentals places for us in Cuenca. We have been blessed to have our finances in place but lacking our visas. The opposite was the case 6 years ago when we were leaving for Brasil. Please continue to pray that the evil one will not have His way in any way during these final days and weeks until we finally arrive in Ecuador.We continue to trust in God's perfect timing for our lives. In Him, Travis