A lot of stuff. Long overdue

Helllllo All.

I know it has been along time since I have written so I will try to give a complete recap.

I believe the last time I wrote I was about to leave for a week in Otavalo with a group of young people from South Carolina. Well, they were all great. There were four college students and around 12 highschoolers, about five adults as well. It was a really fun group and I had a great time with them. I was a translator for the group but a participant in almost everything they did as well. (Otavalo is in the Andes, north of Quito, same climate, high Indigenous population, Quichua)

In Otavalo we stayed on a ranch style property in a really nice house that is a bit like a bed and breakfast b/c it has a lot of rooms with bathrooms. This place was really, really nice. It was the nicest place I have seen in Ecuador. An extremely hospitable member of their church in SC owns it and that is why the group stayed there. It is down the hill from the community where the group did VBS and other projects. The community is called Pigulca. This is the same Quichua community that Robin, my missionary host, is doing her Masters in Community Development project.

I am so glad that I will be able to return on several occasions with her b/c I have fallen in love with the community, particularly a few children that I hung out with all the time I was in the community. It was really cool for me b/c most of the time I did not have a real job in the VBS b/c they did not know I would be with them until they got here. So, I got to hangout with the kids who did not fit into the age group of that particular VBS. The older kids were in the afternoon but the younger kids would still be hanging around so I played with them. There were three sisters that clung to and that clung to me as well. Linda 18 mos., Yarina, 4, and Pacha aka LaLa, 7. Yarina pretty much cared for Linda every time I was with them but LaLa was never too far off.

One woman asked a Quichua lady what the little kids liked to do, like games or something but she replied with this “ They like to walk” so that was funny. One time we played duck duck goose so much and then I go bored, not them, and asked them if they wanted to walk and they got so excited. At this time I was with two other 15 year old American girls who don’t speak Spanish. So we all went on a walk. We just started walking up a road. Three Gringas and about ten tiny kids. I asked them where we were going and they said “To the school to pick flowers”. I thought, “Okay, cool, whatever, we have like two hours”. To me it was funny b/c we just kept walking for like 40minutes in one direction, to the next community actually. On the way back they kept picking flowers and giving them to us to make bouquets. The flowers were from flowering bushes, grasses, and wildflowers but when you but them together they were really pretty.

There was a llama on the ranch. It was funny and if you scratched her neck she would lean into the scratch and lower her huge neck/chest. Also, there is a HUGE golden retriever named Fidel. He is a beast and the most beautiful dog I have seen with the best personality. You can almost ride him. A little kid could saddle him up.

This group also was helping with a Presbyterian young leaders retreat for all the Presbyterian churches in Ecuador. In all there were 80ish young leaders who came. It was in another part of the mountains in the cloud forest. The hot air from the Orient rises on the edges of the Andes and creates a lot of condensation making the cloud Forest. The community was called Pacto, near Mindo (a beautiful naturey place with butterflies and ziplines and water).

On Saturday night of the Retreat of youth leaders, after I had been with this group for a week, I got really sick. I think it was started by an allergic reaction and then a few days later caused a strong cold. During the worship part of the service I was fine and singing, and in the one hour of the sermon my throat closed a lot, it hurt really bad, and I lost my voice totally. I was sitting by my friend Paul. He is a guy who studied agriculture in school and one day up and decided that God was calling him to move to an Indigenous community and learn Quichua and teach sustainable Agriculture techniques. He’s pretty interesting and awesome. So in the middle of finishing his thesis he moved to Naranjito, a community in Otavalo also, but not close to Pigulca. Anyway, he could attest to the fact that all this happened in less than an hour and we were both bumfuzzled. That night I had asthma attacks in my sleep and it was scary but I just stayed very calm and it was fine. The next day I was supposed to go to a youth retreat of the church in Atucucho but I could not. Robin and I thought it best that I stay in Quito so that if I need help I can get it. So I went to Mike and Robin’s house and stayed. Everyday I thought I would magicly be better then the day before but this reaction turned into a pretty bad cold. That was two weeks ago from today. That week was pretty much a blah blah week.

There was another unofficial intern house hopping and bumming too. His name is Jordan and he is goes to Purdue. We had been involved in many activities together helping with random stuff with MTW and he climbed Rucu with us. He looks like an assassin (at least that’s what Ecuadorian’s think) but looks are deceiving. He’s quite goofy, in a good way. So he ended up bummin on the couch here when I was sick. He was good company and cooked tasty food and boiled water for me.

So, a while back I discovered that I was supposed to register my visa within the first thirty days of being in Ecuador, but I didn’t so Mike took me to get it all settled and to pay the 200$ fine. Well, after I did this I thought of Jordan. Turns out he didn’t read the fine print Spanish at the bottom of his visa either. If you don’t register your visa and you try to leave the country then you have to spend the night in jail. So we went and did that one day. But we made it fun b/c we met a friend for lunch in the middle of it all. She is my best friend here and a bit special to Jordan. Daniela is her name. She is amazing. There are like 10 different immigration offices in Quito so you really do have to go all over the city for something that could be quite simple. The guy who owns the ranch has a saying when things are screwy that he tells everyone who comes to Ecuador. TIE This Is Ecuador.

Jordan was supposed to go to the coast but since he had all this confusion come up a week before he was supposed to return to the states he came to Otavalo with Mike and Robin and I. I was so excited when I heard they were going back so soon. I got to see my girls again and play soccer. We went to a lake in a crater. The water was chilly but it was sooo blue and CLEAN that I just wanted to jump in soo bad. It was soo beautiful. We also went to a really neat waterfall. Its only neat if you hick up and explore all the hidden pathways of the water. I wish I had pics of that. Maybe Jordan will but them on facebook later. I could ask. I will.

Since my camera was carried off by some of Fidel’s friends, the pictures I have documenting all this were taken by others--Which is cool b/c I am actually in some of them now!

Last Saturday we wanted to go out b/c Jordan was leaving so Daniela, Jordan and I went to this really good sushi restaurant called Noe’s. My first meal of sushi and I really liked it. The next day on Sunday I visited my church in Atucucho for the first time. Its small but I will write more about that later since I am moving there tomorrow. Then after bible study at Daniela’s house on Sunday Mike and Robin took Jordan and I to a tasty Greek restaurant that looked out over the lit up historical center of Quito. It was cool and fun.

Monday I left for the beach and said goodbye to my friend as he was leaving on Tuesday. I went to the beach with Daniela 22, Belen 23, Jean-Carlos 32, and Emilio 42. All these people are from the group of singles from San Marcos church. We went to the Province of Manabi. It’s the largest in Ecuador I believe. It is very diverse. The prettiest beaches in Ecuador are there b/c they are further away from Quito then the beaches of Esmeraldes. We stayed in the Cabana of Emilio’s father. It was a concrete house with two beds, a little kitchen and a bathroom. We passed most of our time outside. The climate was great. I didn’t get sunburned at all!!!! WOAH. Milagro. We went to Canoa, Bahia, Manta, Crucita—all beaches, and of course the beach of San Clemente, where the Cabana was. It was only about 15-30 paces from the beach. Very cool. The beaches here are not really super cool. They are like Hiltin Head actually. But then there are cliffs and stuff that are cool. I have to get the pictures from Emilio the next time I am at his house.

We went clubin on the last night. It was FUN-NY b/c we went with Jean-Carlos’s cousin and her friends. He is 32, his cousin is in her upper forties and so are her friends. They are totally coastal though. They love life and have fun accents.

There were a few running jokes on this trip. One was that I am the Reina de Chone. The queen of a town called Chone. It’s where were ate lunch on the way to the beach. A long time ago several gypsies settled here and so there are a bit more white looking people. So they called me the reina de Chone. I’m not from the states, I just from Chone.

OOOKKKAAYYYY. NOW you know Everything!!!!! Almost. Tomorrow is when it all begins. My project. I am moving in to the apartment in the morning.

Prayer!

Please pray for my safety. It remains a concern in this neighborhood.

Pray for opportunities to do research since I have to be so cautious, I am afraid sometimes I will want to go out and research but won’t be able to b/c I won’t have a buddy to go with me.

Pray for my time with the Lord. My prayer life and study of Scripture.

Pray for my family, my grandparents, and wisdom for my parents and aunts.

Pray for my sister, Katie, as she makes a lot of big decisions and for doctor’s appointments she has coming up.

Pray for my brother, Hunt, for wisdom.