When we were in Banos, we were surprised by the way that people got around. They used dune buggies to get around. So we were able to rent one while we were there and got to explore the town in a different way then normal. Here is Travis with the kids and their motorbike helmets. I especially like Ceara's helmet, reminds me of the old time bike helmets. They looked pretty good. Calen and Travis loved the ride but Ceara and I didn't enjoy it as much. In fact Calen asked everyday afterwards to go ride again. But there are some need things that you can do that you'd never do back home. So if you ever come to Ecuador and take a trip to banos, you got to try out their transportation.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Birthday's Galore!
Seth and Hannah are Nuvia's twins, the were celebrating their tenth birthday this March. They really haven't had the chance to celebrate a big birthday before and I decided that since they almost share my birthday that I would throw a joint party with them. I let them invite 6 friends each from their school and we invited many of our friends as well. I made up some games to play and made cupcakes with a boy theme and girl theme for them. The really enjoyed having the party focused on them, they have to share pretty much everything together but I made it so they both got their own time as well as together. I think they had fun and we got to meet some new people through their friends.
Youth Say Goodbye
After a few times with Craig, the youth wanted to say goodbye to Craig. They really felt empowered and excited about the future of the youth group after being invited to hear Craig speak and encourage them in their faith. They even all chipped in to buy him a really 'panama' hat which technically comes from Ecuador. Thanks Craig for all your help and your encouragement for the youth!
Azogues with the Family
Another thing that we were able to do was visit with the church in Azogues with our family. Craig was able to preach and do a class for them one Sunday. After the service the congregation got us to spend the afternoon at one of their houses and had prepared a meal for us. As well, when Len came he was able to give the congregation a class and Craig was able to preach one more time for them. It's always fun to be there as they are a small group and we are able to visit more with them. Thanks Len and Craig for encouraging this small congregation. Please be in prayer for this group as they continue to grow and learn more about God.
A Good Shower
Another activity that Craig was a part of, along with Travis and Len was organizing the construction of a new shower for Maria Anita and her family. They are members of the church here and they two boys are just heading into their teens. As active teens, they have been finding that hauling water to take their baths was just not functional anymore, so they had asked the church to help them build a shower at their home outside of the city. Our guys helped by organizing the build and visiting their home. They even helped fix one of their fences that held their chickens. Mary Anita and her family were very grateful for the help as well as the new shower that will make a huge difference for their family. Thanks guys for all your work!
Youth Retreat
When Craig and Leah were here we had a youth retreat for the youth group. Craig was well loved by the teens. He had them interacting by doing a photo scavenger hunt. So splitting up in different groups, the teens when around downtown Cuenca taking pictures of their group in different situations, including hiding under a table and standing in a truck bed. Afterwards they listened to Craig give them a devotional. They had lots of fun and since Craig was here they have been trying to get together more often for these types of activities. So thanks Craig for helping them to get excited again for this year and helping them to look at how they can live more for Christ this year.
Trip to Quito
Just before the Easter holidays we made another trip to Quito to trying and get our cedulas which are basically our national id's. However, when we got there we discovered that since Travis' last trip in January the laws had changed requiring anyone who gets a cedula to have a residence visa. So we ended up taking a trip for nothing but while we were there we spent time looking around the city that Travis spent a year of his life in. We saw a few museums and some churches in the downtown. We also got to see our friends, Nuvia, Hannah, Seth and Dothy who were visiting their family during the easter holidays. You would have thought that the kids hadn't seen each other in a very long time even though it had only been a few days. We treated the kids to an amusement park and then for Nuvia's kids McDonald's which was the first time they had tried it. Amazing what little things make kids happy. It was still a fun time even though we were unable to get our cedulas.
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