At almost every school in Ecuador, they start the year off by having a play day where everyone including the parents go to watch the kids do a little program at their school. Ceara's school held one of these days which was an experience for us. Each class made a special shirt and paraded around the school. They voted on a princess and prince for their class and they wore their most formal clothes and were cheered on as they tried to decide the king and queen of the school. They all won in the end but was fun to see them all dressed up nice. The parents had to sell food one the day and I got to serve desserts for about 30 minutes during that time. It was good to meet some of the other parents and to help in some way at her school. As well, a few classes choreographed a danced and performed for the parents. Ceara's class did a little performance and it was lots of fun watching Ceara as she loves to dance. If you want to see the video check it out on our flickr site. It was definitely a cultural experience for us and fun to see Ceara interacting with her friends at school.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
A Date With The Pitufos/Smurfs
On November 3rd, Cuenca celebrates their independence from Spain. The week is called Cuenca days and they celebrate with parades, fairs and circuses. Everyone gets the week off of school and jobs (as long as you work for the government). We decided to take in some of these days by going downtown to see many street vendors, many parades, lots of entertainment and cultural activities. One day we took Nuvia and her kids to a small fair and enjoyed seeing the kids go on a few rides and try some Colombian foods (which technically Nuvia's parents are Colombian) that were being sold at the fair. Another day we went as a family to another fair which hosted a circus and the smurfs or pitufos as they are called here. We decided to take in the circus and enjoyed watching a few trapeze artists, some clowns and a contortionist. At the very end the Smurfs came out, danced and got pictures taken with the kids. We had bought a little package with candies and happened to win a free photo with the Smurfs. Calen was a little afraid of them but Ceara was glad to be near Smurfette. Then of course we let the kids experience a few of the rides including a kid sized ferris wheel.Overall, Cuenca days was a great way to learn a bit more about the culture of the country but more of the city and the things that the people enjoy here.
Ceara Turns Five!
PA220026, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.
It's hard to believe that five years ago, Ceara came into the world and changed everything. I definitely wouldn't change that day for anything and we celebrated with her five years of life. So much has changed having Ceara and she is such a joy in our lives. Ceara loves going to school, loves her friends and meeting new people. She can be stubborn and really likes things her way but in the end knows that we are the parents. She loves all things pink, purple and anything sparkly. If she could decided what to wear every day she would choose a dress or skirt and never wants to wear shoes or socks. She loves my little ponies, littlest pet shops and any sort of Barbie. She loves to draw or do crafts and never stops moving or talking. She is so much like her parents, although I'll let you decide in what ways. We love our little girl and all the ways that life has changed since she was born. Happy 5th Birthday Ceara!
We were able to celebrate her birthday here by having a party and inviting the girls from her school class and people from church or people we have met. We had a my little pony theme which she loved and enjoyed showing everyone a little bit of our Brazilian girl by having some hot dogs, Brazilian style. We played games like hot potato, pin the unicorn on the pony, pop the balloons, and find the ponies, topping it all off with a pinata! It was great to meet some of the kids from Ceara's school and to see other friends meet each other for the first time. Ceara loved every minute of the party and didn't want it to end.
Preaching in Spanish
When we lived in Brazil, Travis became the permanent preacher for our church with the occasional help from our team mates and the nationals. He hasn't been preaching for awhile now since going back to Canada and now here in Ecuador. In September he was finally asked to preach here at the church. He did a great job and even did well not confusing his Spanish with Portuguese. Luckily, there are quite a few nationals here that do the preaching so we know that Travis won't be doing that as much as as he did in Brazil. This will allow him more time to focus on Evangelism rather then preparing for sermons. Although I am sure that the Ecuadorians will enjoy his sermons when he's asked to do one again.
Nuvia, Hannah, Seth and Dottie
When Travis lived in Cuenca the first time about 15 years ago he knew a young girl named Nuvia who had just moved to the city as well. Travis and his team mates became really good friends with her as they were all new to the city. 15 years later we are here in Cuenca and Nuvia has returned with her three kids not that long before we got here. It is funny how God works through years and can make a connection with people from the past again.
Nuvia comes from a family of 13 kids on the coast of Ecuador in a city called Esmeraldas. When she was 16 her family asked a missionary in Cuenca to bring her to the city so that she could work and go to school, as with 13 kids they were struggling to make end meat. Nuvia finished her schooling in Cuenca and worked in the city for many years. She met her husband about nine years ago who is in the military and moved a bit throughout the country, her last home being in a place called Machala. She recently moved back to Cuenca and had been searching for steady work that allowed her to spend as much time with her kids as possible. Her two oldest are nine year old twins, Hannah and Seth. Hannah was named after one of Travis' team mates and Seth was originally named after Travis but when she went to register his name, it was too foreign of a name so they would not allow her to name him that. No matter what though, Travis was very honored to have been thought of. They are very smart, polite and never leave each other. Obviously they have a very special bond as twins. Dottie is 7 and very much an outgoing and extroverted child, so different from her siblings. Ceara and Dottie love being together and have very similar personalities that make it fun to watch them play together. Nuvia has been helping us around our house which gives me more free time to work on other stuff as well as gives her some money and the time she needs with her kids as well. Nuvia has become a great friend to me, helping me, correcting my Spanish and giving us insights on the culture and the city. Our kids love Nuvia's kids and we all spend lots of time together especially since they don't live very far away from us. It is pretty amazing that God would place her and us in the same place after so many years. And that our kids would be near the same ages and get along so well. Please pray for Nuvia and her kids as they still struggle to get by daily on Nuvia's wage and as they also adjust to being here in Cuenca.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Update on Boxes!
The next piece of paper work that they want is a contract in Ecuador, however as we are on a missionary visa, we cannot get an Ecuadorian contract without being paid in Ecuador. And since we are paid from Canada that makes getting a contract difficult.
After talking to a few other people we decided to hire a lawyer who also happens to be Jenny's nephew. He works in Quito and has been a lawyer to the customs people for many years so he has quite a few connections with the customs. We have now sent him everything that we were asked for from the customs people and he said that we shouldn't have been asked to send everything that we have to them. And in fact shouldn't have to send anything else to them except for our visas that show we work in Ecuador and are missionaries that get paid from outside of the country. He also said it was pretty strange that they were asking for so much stuff, when we clearly will be living here for many years.
We hope that this lawyer will be able to do something for us about our boxes that we haven't been able to do. At least be able to talk to the customs officer in charge and not just the in between people like we have only been able to talk to. Please be in prayer that the lawyer can get our boxes for us and that we can start putting this frustrating process behind us. Please pray that the lawyer will get back to us quickly and have some good news about our boxes.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Boxes!
However, now after being here two months and not getting our boxes when we thought we would, I sometimes wonder if it would have been easier and cheaper to just have brought the stuff as extra luggage. We sent four boxes of stuff here and only received one, which as it turns out was the one we expected to arrive last. All the others were stopped at the customs at the post office in Quito. Turns out that they supposedly were all overweight and couldn't be shipped to Cuenca. So we were asked to fill out some paperwork and bring it to Quito.
Two weeks ago we went to Quito with everything that they had asked us for but then we were told they needed other paperwork to show that we are staying in Ecuador for a long time. Well, we thought we had done everything during that week we were in Quito, even extending our trip because we thought that we were going to get the boxes yet returned to Cuenca without them. Unfortunately, they asked for one more piece of paperwork and gave us till the 19th to comply or we wouldn't get our boxes ever or even get them sent back to Canada. We even discovered that technically two of the three boxes were not overweight but because they arrived on the same day and on the same plane, those two boxes were joined together making them overweight. It was a very frustrating week and very hard on the kids as we spent numerous hours at the post office in Quito with nothing to show for it.
These past two weeks that we have been back in Cuenca, we have been trying to get our paperwork done and finally sent it to the Representative of the customs in Quito on Wednesday. Today, Travis was able to talk to someone in the post office who got in touch with the representative, who told him that they were unable to confirm with the customs if the paperwork is enough to get our boxes. So again we wait to find out if we can get our boxes. Monday, Travis is supposed to go back to the Post Office to find out if this last paperwork we got done is enough and then we would head back to Quito to pick up our boxes. This time we won't bring the kids as one they are now in school and two we don't want to get there and for the customs to say no and then have one more thing to do when we get there.
The main thing that we have in those boxes are the books and notes that Travis needs for the work that we will do here. As well, they contain some sentimental items from both Canada and Brazil to help us remember those special places and to also remind our kids where they were born. If it weren't for those two main things, we would be tempted not to even worry about the boxes but in lots of ways we really want to keep those things, we don't own a lot but the things we do own mean a lot to us.
So please be in prayer that God will work in the hearts of those who make the decisions about releasing our boxes and let them be happy with everything that we have provided to prove we plan to stay here for many years. Please be in prayer that Monday brings good news that we can go get our boxes and that we have a safe trip to Quito and back.