Hi Kids,
We are packing up tonight and will take off in the a.m. so thought I would try to send a couple pictures...try anyways. Not sure when we will be by a computer again so don't worry if you don't hear from us right away! All is good. Love ya lots!
Mom
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Noah & the Ark
We cut out over 200 arks, window, doors, giraffes and elephants...and after tomorrow...most will be floating somewhere in many homes around here. Our final bible lesson was based on the story of Noah. We emphasised God's covenant to Noah, obedience and patience. (The later is something I have had to really embrace as everyone and everywhere we go, it's always an hour...or two late.) We played "Pin the Animal in the Ark"...the funniest part was watching them put on my gloves which I had them wear... you could tell they had not put on gloves very often. We also formed a circle (our ark) and tried to keep the animals (balloons with faces on them) inside the ark. We counted to 40 in English and Spanish and finally, learned a bit about several animals. Our "pay" was a bunch of pretty excited kids having lots of fun and hopefully....filing away more important lessons from the bible.
Correction on Jalopy
Thought when I wrote about the jalopy a few days ago, I knew what a jalopy was. Wrong again. Today we rode in a REAL jalopy. It had a steering wheel, gas pedal, brakes, a few door knobs, a window or two that worked, no working gauges, no real dashboard and just minor holes in the floorboard...except for the truck with major holes. But that good ol' jalopy had enough power...barely...to get all 6 adults home! No sir, no just ordinary cars for us!!
Looking for an American Husband
While squished in the back seat of the jalopy, we got to laughing so hard I thought we would bust a gut. One of the ladies from the church told us (traslanted via Tatiana) that she had a dream...that missionaries from America came...and knew of someone in America who would marry her...and take her to America where she would blossom! He would be less than 35, kind, love her and their home, speak Spanish (which Rog said was not necessary as love is an universal language) and love God. Rog and I started brainstorming ...and came up with a few names of possibilities. She said tomorrow she would bring a picture of her, a sexy one....no a whole album of pictures...and an resume....so we could take it home and find her "dream American husband!" Who knows??? Might just happpen!!! If any one reading this has candidates...let us know!
We cut out over 200 arks, window, doors, giraffes and elephants...and after tomorrow...most will be floating somewhere in many homes around here. Our final bible lesson was based on the story of Noah. We emphasised God's covenant to Noah, obedience and patience. (The later is something I have had to really embrace as everyone and everywhere we go, it's always an hour...or two late.) We played "Pin the Animal in the Ark"...the funniest part was watching them put on my gloves which I had them wear... you could tell they had not put on gloves very often. We also formed a circle (our ark) and tried to keep the animals (balloons with faces on them) inside the ark. We counted to 40 in English and Spanish and finally, learned a bit about several animals. Our "pay" was a bunch of pretty excited kids having lots of fun and hopefully....filing away more important lessons from the bible.
Correction on Jalopy
Thought when I wrote about the jalopy a few days ago, I knew what a jalopy was. Wrong again. Today we rode in a REAL jalopy. It had a steering wheel, gas pedal, brakes, a few door knobs, a window or two that worked, no working gauges, no real dashboard and just minor holes in the floorboard...except for the truck with major holes. But that good ol' jalopy had enough power...barely...to get all 6 adults home! No sir, no just ordinary cars for us!!
Looking for an American Husband
While squished in the back seat of the jalopy, we got to laughing so hard I thought we would bust a gut. One of the ladies from the church told us (traslanted via Tatiana) that she had a dream...that missionaries from America came...and knew of someone in America who would marry her...and take her to America where she would blossom! He would be less than 35, kind, love her and their home, speak Spanish (which Rog said was not necessary as love is an universal language) and love God. Rog and I started brainstorming ...and came up with a few names of possibilities. She said tomorrow she would bring a picture of her, a sexy one....no a whole album of pictures...and an resume....so we could take it home and find her "dream American husband!" Who knows??? Might just happpen!!! If any one reading this has candidates...let us know!
Sunday, January 27, 2013
The Dining Room Table
Dusty yellow checked with lace inlets and embroidered flowers...the tablecloth that covers the dining room table where we sit for more than two hours most every day...breakfast, lunch, and dinner...consuming Ecuadorian cuisine and even more nourishing...Ecuadorian family life and culture. After prayers, rice, various potatoes, soups & juices with chicken or thinly slices of beef are served with thick slices of conversation and contagious laughter....even when we don't know what we are laughing about. When Tatinana is here, she spends as much time translating as eating. When she is not, we play charades...and all of us are learning new words in the other's language. Tonight Rodrigo brought a globe to the table so we could show him Michigan and places we have been and he found places he'd been. After much talking, we all clear the table and usually I help do dishes and sometimes have helped prepare the meal... giving me a window into the Sonnia's kitchen.
Sunday Service at Sonnia's Church
How do we always end up in the front row? Went to church at Sonnia's home church...Templo Evangelico Alianza... and again were ushered to the front row. Can't say we saw one other non Hispanic person. The words to the songs were projected on a big screen so we could sing along--reading Spanish is much easier than learning it. Rodrigo had given us an English Gideon bible to bring. After church, we were introduced to a round of people...ministers, fellow Gideons, Sonnia's theoloy techer and friends One even spoke English! As Sonnia promised, it only lasted one hour...unlike last week's service at Plenitud de Dios!
Dusty yellow checked with lace inlets and embroidered flowers...the tablecloth that covers the dining room table where we sit for more than two hours most every day...breakfast, lunch, and dinner...consuming Ecuadorian cuisine and even more nourishing...Ecuadorian family life and culture. After prayers, rice, various potatoes, soups & juices with chicken or thinly slices of beef are served with thick slices of conversation and contagious laughter....even when we don't know what we are laughing about. When Tatinana is here, she spends as much time translating as eating. When she is not, we play charades...and all of us are learning new words in the other's language. Tonight Rodrigo brought a globe to the table so we could show him Michigan and places we have been and he found places he'd been. After much talking, we all clear the table and usually I help do dishes and sometimes have helped prepare the meal... giving me a window into the Sonnia's kitchen.
Sunday Service at Sonnia's Church
How do we always end up in the front row? Went to church at Sonnia's home church...Templo Evangelico Alianza... and again were ushered to the front row. Can't say we saw one other non Hispanic person. The words to the songs were projected on a big screen so we could sing along--reading Spanish is much easier than learning it. Rodrigo had given us an English Gideon bible to bring. After church, we were introduced to a round of people...ministers, fellow Gideons, Sonnia's theoloy techer and friends One even spoke English! As Sonnia promised, it only lasted one hour...unlike last week's service at Plenitud de Dios!
The Storm
The bible lesson we are now doing is about the storm that Jesus calmed while out with his disciples. It’s solid message of keeping your faith and letting Jesus calm your storms . Rog has cut plastic water bottles to make boats and added screws to mount a sail and adds a prow. We have them color and add a cut out of Jesus & the disciples. The kids have loved putting it all together. I play musical chairs and a balloon game and Tatiana plays a memory game . We make a good team! I pray the lesson will surface for them when they face a life crisis.
Day Off
After many days of lessons and prepping, we got a day off. We decided to visit the museums. The Historical was the best. It included a section of rebuilt buildings, a zoo with area terrains & animals and an agricultural section with gobs of gorgeous flowers. Colorful parrots flew around freely squawking and entertaining us. Many school kids were there…and while we took pictures of the animals…some took pictures of us!! We responded to many “Hi, How are you?” We also enjoyed a museum that had dioramas of the development of Guayaquil. The modern art museum was strange—just what we expected. I also enjoyed having day to eat American food…Rog is loving Sonnia’s cooking & I am okay with it but was ready for something more familiar…so I ordered a hamburger! Well, it was a “ham”burger…some type of sausage/ham mixture. But as always, the fries were delicious!!!
Bus Ride Around Town
It was time to hop on a bus. We’d been using only taxis to get around but wanted to have “the real thing” so we checked out the destination flashing on the front of the buses and jumped on the one headed in the direction we wanted to go. It went in the right direction for a while …but came to a roundabout and turned around. Oh well. At least we were seeing the other side of the street. After a bit, we were going by the homes that clung to the side of the mountains. The close up view made me wonder even more how they managed to keep from tumbling down the mountain and how one could walk from point A to B without sliding down. A young girl behind us tried out her English on us…and confirmed that eventually the bus would head back to where we wanted to go…but then a man next to us told us that we needed to get off this bus as it was going to stop in the unsafe part of town. …he would get us on a better bus. So the next stop, our new buddy (who was a HS teacher) and we got off that bus and waited until the right one came along. He talked to the driver and then ushered us on. Unconditional kindness again. It must have been Take Your Family to Work Day as next to the driver stood his wife holding their sleeping little boy, a 7 or 8 yr old was taking the fare money and an older daughter who sat behind them reading a magazine. At red lights, the dad & 7-8 yr old were playing some game on a pad of paper which must have been fun cause it made them smile lots. At some point, the driver’s family waved bye and got off. We did finally arrive at our destination and the driver made sure we got off. All this for just the 25 cent cost of the bus fare!!!
Bus Ride Notes
Government buildings, banks and pharmacies are by far the nicest buildings. Price of gas is $1.46 regular and $1.04 for diesel…and an attendant pumps it for you!!! The space next to ramps are filled with well groomed areas often with statues and water fountains. On side streets, trash is piled on corners and picked up by the city trash trucks…not sure how often.
The bible lesson we are now doing is about the storm that Jesus calmed while out with his disciples. It’s solid message of keeping your faith and letting Jesus calm your storms . Rog has cut plastic water bottles to make boats and added screws to mount a sail and adds a prow. We have them color and add a cut out of Jesus & the disciples. The kids have loved putting it all together. I play musical chairs and a balloon game and Tatiana plays a memory game . We make a good team! I pray the lesson will surface for them when they face a life crisis.
Day Off
After many days of lessons and prepping, we got a day off. We decided to visit the museums. The Historical was the best. It included a section of rebuilt buildings, a zoo with area terrains & animals and an agricultural section with gobs of gorgeous flowers. Colorful parrots flew around freely squawking and entertaining us. Many school kids were there…and while we took pictures of the animals…some took pictures of us!! We responded to many “Hi, How are you?” We also enjoyed a museum that had dioramas of the development of Guayaquil. The modern art museum was strange—just what we expected. I also enjoyed having day to eat American food…Rog is loving Sonnia’s cooking & I am okay with it but was ready for something more familiar…so I ordered a hamburger! Well, it was a “ham”burger…some type of sausage/ham mixture. But as always, the fries were delicious!!!
Bus Ride Around Town
It was time to hop on a bus. We’d been using only taxis to get around but wanted to have “the real thing” so we checked out the destination flashing on the front of the buses and jumped on the one headed in the direction we wanted to go. It went in the right direction for a while …but came to a roundabout and turned around. Oh well. At least we were seeing the other side of the street. After a bit, we were going by the homes that clung to the side of the mountains. The close up view made me wonder even more how they managed to keep from tumbling down the mountain and how one could walk from point A to B without sliding down. A young girl behind us tried out her English on us…and confirmed that eventually the bus would head back to where we wanted to go…but then a man next to us told us that we needed to get off this bus as it was going to stop in the unsafe part of town. …he would get us on a better bus. So the next stop, our new buddy (who was a HS teacher) and we got off that bus and waited until the right one came along. He talked to the driver and then ushered us on. Unconditional kindness again. It must have been Take Your Family to Work Day as next to the driver stood his wife holding their sleeping little boy, a 7 or 8 yr old was taking the fare money and an older daughter who sat behind them reading a magazine. At red lights, the dad & 7-8 yr old were playing some game on a pad of paper which must have been fun cause it made them smile lots. At some point, the driver’s family waved bye and got off. We did finally arrive at our destination and the driver made sure we got off. All this for just the 25 cent cost of the bus fare!!!
Bus Ride Notes
Government buildings, banks and pharmacies are by far the nicest buildings. Price of gas is $1.46 regular and $1.04 for diesel…and an attendant pumps it for you!!! The space next to ramps are filled with well groomed areas often with statues and water fountains. On side streets, trash is piled on corners and picked up by the city trash trucks…not sure how often.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Hi and thanks for all the birthday wishes!! What a treasure! I have sure been slacking on my writing... so I will try getting caught up...
Visitor in the Night--Chan!
One of the strangest thing about being gone so long and in unknown places, is never running into anyone you know. We are use to being surrounded by family and friends and running into them everywhere we go. So what a treat to have our niece come for a visit! Chan was to arrive sometime around 1 am so we sat by our window watching for her taxi. Around 2 am we saw a van driving slowly by, turn around and drive by again and we happen to see Chan inside...so I hung out the window waving my arms and Rog went down to chase them down. Chan had met some people at the airport who insisted on driving her to us. What fun to have her here!
Sunday Worship
The pastor at the church school where we have been working, invited us to church. Since it started at 10, we were ready at 9:15 knowing that Sonnia would have a big breakfast for us first. We waited...and waited. Around 9:45 we were called to breakfast and everyone leisurely ate while asking Chan lots of questions. Finally, I could not stop myself from looking at my watch...10:20. Sonnia noticed and asked if we were still interested in going to church...we said it was up to her. Much discussion followed...she said it would be a loooong service and the one she usually went to was just one hour...more talk about various services...time passing...again she asked us and we said it was her decision...about 11 she said, let's go. So we picked up the dishes, people put on Sunday clothes and we made it to the church about 11:30. We were ushered to the front row where they had saved seats for us. Dancers were performing The sermon was looooooooong but it must have been good as several times everyone clapped, said Amen and at one point, joined the pastor up front with tears running down their cheeks...pastor too. Then we were introduced and something was said about us...we assumed it was good as we got lots of cheers and applause. It ended about one and we were hugged all the way out the door. Sonnia introduced us to many...including a pastor from another church...and you guessed it...we will be doing lessons there too!! Tomorrow!
Fortin Church
Out in the sticks, we found the Fortin church. We had no idea how many kids or how long we'd have them but we have become experts at punting. We had about 34 kids...of all ages... for about 2 1/2 hrs...but luckily we had Chan & several local helpers also so we once we demonstrated the crafts and games, we let them take over...they enjoyed that as much as the kids! It was hot and humid and we were drenched but the kids were having a ball. Little Georgie had us in stitches asking us over and over...where's the sheep??? As we were cleaning up, we asked the helpers if they wanted to make sheep mask...you never saw such excited "big kids." They offered to bring us home...and here's that story....
Ride Home (think of Twas the Night Before Christmas)
Twas the time to go home...and we had just settled down for the long, sweaty wait, when out in the street we heard such a beep, we sprang from our chairs to see what came to get us...and what to our wondering eyes should appear but a miniature car for the 6 tired adults...with a hefty old driver so placid and plump...we knew in a moment, we'd not make it over the speed bumps. So out we all jumped and more slowly than turtles, he drove as we walked behind...and the children all shouted, "Hola, Hola" (You just can't pay for experiences like that!!) Fortin Church wanted us tomorrow too but Sonnia had other plans for us...
Prince of Peace Orphanage
We finally got to Prince of Peace which is where we thought we were going when we first planned to go Guayaquil but plans change and you just have to go with the flow. Sonnia is the president of the foundation that runs Prince of Peace. The current gov't shut down all the foundations in October as they want to set common rules ...put the kids in gov't run institutions...but It's election time in Ecuador and that means nothing is happening. You can imagine how sad that was for Sonnia. So today, we crawled in the back of their pickup with buckets & brooms for the 25 minute ride, passing some gorgeous new sub division, shopping centers, fields, cows and many poor areas. The orphanage has about 5 dorms (one named Michigan because many volunteers have come from Michigan), a school, volunteer house, kitchen & dining hall and a huge church. Sonnia showed us around and you could see the pain in her face as we dodged bats and saw how filthy things get when no one is there...the roofs have large open vents and things are not built tight. She had ordered a water truck to come and as soon as it pulled in, we got to work in the church...knocking down cobwebs, brushing off screens, and sweeping the floor. The water helped keep the dust to a minimum. It felt good to clean it up. Sonnia is going to offer to let the locals use it. She prays next April when the kids start school again...she can welcome the kids back to a cleaned up Prince of Peace. We will pray for that also and ask for your prayers too. We left thinking of how different our time here would have been...Prince of Peace is so rural & quiet with the same kids each day...and we are in the middle of a huge city with different kids every day!!!
Chan & Tatiana
Tatiana is loving having someone her age around. They are buddies already comparing their cell phones, music, life styles, likes & dislikes and just razzing each other. Tatiana usually spends lots of time with just her parents and her adopted sister, Alexandria...who is special needs in many ways...so I imagine it is a welcome change for her. She laughs lots more!
Compassion International
Compassion International runs a program during the kids summer break time (which started last Fri) giving needy kids a place to get tutoring, bible lesson and free lunch. Their homes are the shacks that seem to cling to the mountain sides that surrounds Guayaquil and we hear often collapse during heavy rains cascading down. Again we walked in not knowing much...we were told to arrive at 9...we got there by 9:30...kids started drifting in around 10...we were told rain delays everything...it rains almost daily sometime....we started a little after 10....our numbers kept swelling but we just worked them in...repeating important parts of the lesson...and soon we had about 25 till around noon when lunch was ready. We called on Chan whenever we needed a break and of course, we put her in charge of doing the games with the little ones who have the most energy and shortest attention span!! We walked home for another great lunch, a quick rest and then back for another round in the afternoon with another group of about 20. We are getting pretty punchy with our sheep lesson now and ad lib lots which keeps everyone laughing.
Me Justo vs. Me Justa
Both of us are becoming much better at Spanish....though one of us much faster than the other. ..only because he DID have four years of spanish just 50 yeas ago!! Most Spanish words seem to be at least 3 syllables and often I can only remember two so...like Chan...I just put O at the end of words. At lunch, I proudly pointed to a dish of potatoes, broccoli and who knows what else and said, Me Justo..one of the few words I had been saying quite regularly because I thought it meant-- I like. Tatiana cracked up. I asked why and found out it means--I like me. Me Justa means I like ... Hey, at least I try!!!
My Birthday
What a unique birthday... two sessions with fun kids...singing in Spanish...a phone call to all my kids...lots of emails and notes on facebook (first time I checked it since we left...and then off to LATTE for cheese cake with my whole Ecuadorian family and Chan. Bummer Jimmy--the jolly waiter who we had befriended--was not there but we met his sister and of course, l loved the snickers cheese cake!! Soon after we got home, Chan was off the the airport in hopes of getting home by morning...which she did. It was great having her with us!!
Visitor in the Night--Chan!
One of the strangest thing about being gone so long and in unknown places, is never running into anyone you know. We are use to being surrounded by family and friends and running into them everywhere we go. So what a treat to have our niece come for a visit! Chan was to arrive sometime around 1 am so we sat by our window watching for her taxi. Around 2 am we saw a van driving slowly by, turn around and drive by again and we happen to see Chan inside...so I hung out the window waving my arms and Rog went down to chase them down. Chan had met some people at the airport who insisted on driving her to us. What fun to have her here!
Sunday Worship
The pastor at the church school where we have been working, invited us to church. Since it started at 10, we were ready at 9:15 knowing that Sonnia would have a big breakfast for us first. We waited...and waited. Around 9:45 we were called to breakfast and everyone leisurely ate while asking Chan lots of questions. Finally, I could not stop myself from looking at my watch...10:20. Sonnia noticed and asked if we were still interested in going to church...we said it was up to her. Much discussion followed...she said it would be a loooong service and the one she usually went to was just one hour...more talk about various services...time passing...again she asked us and we said it was her decision...about 11 she said, let's go. So we picked up the dishes, people put on Sunday clothes and we made it to the church about 11:30. We were ushered to the front row where they had saved seats for us. Dancers were performing The sermon was looooooooong but it must have been good as several times everyone clapped, said Amen and at one point, joined the pastor up front with tears running down their cheeks...pastor too. Then we were introduced and something was said about us...we assumed it was good as we got lots of cheers and applause. It ended about one and we were hugged all the way out the door. Sonnia introduced us to many...including a pastor from another church...and you guessed it...we will be doing lessons there too!! Tomorrow!
Fortin Church
Out in the sticks, we found the Fortin church. We had no idea how many kids or how long we'd have them but we have become experts at punting. We had about 34 kids...of all ages... for about 2 1/2 hrs...but luckily we had Chan & several local helpers also so we once we demonstrated the crafts and games, we let them take over...they enjoyed that as much as the kids! It was hot and humid and we were drenched but the kids were having a ball. Little Georgie had us in stitches asking us over and over...where's the sheep??? As we were cleaning up, we asked the helpers if they wanted to make sheep mask...you never saw such excited "big kids." They offered to bring us home...and here's that story....
Ride Home (think of Twas the Night Before Christmas)
Twas the time to go home...and we had just settled down for the long, sweaty wait, when out in the street we heard such a beep, we sprang from our chairs to see what came to get us...and what to our wondering eyes should appear but a miniature car for the 6 tired adults...with a hefty old driver so placid and plump...we knew in a moment, we'd not make it over the speed bumps. So out we all jumped and more slowly than turtles, he drove as we walked behind...and the children all shouted, "Hola, Hola" (You just can't pay for experiences like that!!) Fortin Church wanted us tomorrow too but Sonnia had other plans for us...
Prince of Peace Orphanage
We finally got to Prince of Peace which is where we thought we were going when we first planned to go Guayaquil but plans change and you just have to go with the flow. Sonnia is the president of the foundation that runs Prince of Peace. The current gov't shut down all the foundations in October as they want to set common rules ...put the kids in gov't run institutions...but It's election time in Ecuador and that means nothing is happening. You can imagine how sad that was for Sonnia. So today, we crawled in the back of their pickup with buckets & brooms for the 25 minute ride, passing some gorgeous new sub division, shopping centers, fields, cows and many poor areas. The orphanage has about 5 dorms (one named Michigan because many volunteers have come from Michigan), a school, volunteer house, kitchen & dining hall and a huge church. Sonnia showed us around and you could see the pain in her face as we dodged bats and saw how filthy things get when no one is there...the roofs have large open vents and things are not built tight. She had ordered a water truck to come and as soon as it pulled in, we got to work in the church...knocking down cobwebs, brushing off screens, and sweeping the floor. The water helped keep the dust to a minimum. It felt good to clean it up. Sonnia is going to offer to let the locals use it. She prays next April when the kids start school again...she can welcome the kids back to a cleaned up Prince of Peace. We will pray for that also and ask for your prayers too. We left thinking of how different our time here would have been...Prince of Peace is so rural & quiet with the same kids each day...and we are in the middle of a huge city with different kids every day!!!
Chan & Tatiana
Tatiana is loving having someone her age around. They are buddies already comparing their cell phones, music, life styles, likes & dislikes and just razzing each other. Tatiana usually spends lots of time with just her parents and her adopted sister, Alexandria...who is special needs in many ways...so I imagine it is a welcome change for her. She laughs lots more!
Compassion International
Compassion International runs a program during the kids summer break time (which started last Fri) giving needy kids a place to get tutoring, bible lesson and free lunch. Their homes are the shacks that seem to cling to the mountain sides that surrounds Guayaquil and we hear often collapse during heavy rains cascading down. Again we walked in not knowing much...we were told to arrive at 9...we got there by 9:30...kids started drifting in around 10...we were told rain delays everything...it rains almost daily sometime....we started a little after 10....our numbers kept swelling but we just worked them in...repeating important parts of the lesson...and soon we had about 25 till around noon when lunch was ready. We called on Chan whenever we needed a break and of course, we put her in charge of doing the games with the little ones who have the most energy and shortest attention span!! We walked home for another great lunch, a quick rest and then back for another round in the afternoon with another group of about 20. We are getting pretty punchy with our sheep lesson now and ad lib lots which keeps everyone laughing.
Me Justo vs. Me Justa
Both of us are becoming much better at Spanish....though one of us much faster than the other. ..only because he DID have four years of spanish just 50 yeas ago!! Most Spanish words seem to be at least 3 syllables and often I can only remember two so...like Chan...I just put O at the end of words. At lunch, I proudly pointed to a dish of potatoes, broccoli and who knows what else and said, Me Justo..one of the few words I had been saying quite regularly because I thought it meant-- I like. Tatiana cracked up. I asked why and found out it means--I like me. Me Justa means I like ... Hey, at least I try!!!
My Birthday
What a unique birthday... two sessions with fun kids...singing in Spanish...a phone call to all my kids...lots of emails and notes on facebook (first time I checked it since we left...and then off to LATTE for cheese cake with my whole Ecuadorian family and Chan. Bummer Jimmy--the jolly waiter who we had befriended--was not there but we met his sister and of course, l loved the snickers cheese cake!! Soon after we got home, Chan was off the the airport in hopes of getting home by morning...which she did. It was great having her with us!!
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
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