Still here!

Ok, so it's been a few weeks since I've posted anything new. Sorry, but we have been super busy since getting back to Cuenca. Carnival was last week here in Cuenca, along with the rest of Latin America. It basically went from Saturday thru Tuesday. Most of the celebrating consisted of people throwing water and squirting you with foam from a can. If you are a "Gringo" you make yourself a big target. So the congregations here wisely tell the friends to refrain from going out in the ministry for those 3 days. With that being said, we spent as much before and after carnival in the ministry to make sure we were able to make the most use of our time. The city actually ended up being very quiet during Carnival. Half of the city heads to the coast for the really big parties and the city buses don't run for 2 days. We took the time to hang out with the friends, rest and just recharge our batteries. Cleo and I got wet a few times. She got soaked one day in the ministry(some people start celebrating a little early) by a passing bus, when a passenger hung out the window with a big water gun. I narrowly missed a water balloon, but got hit with a few squirts from a kid's water gun. No worse for wear!
We have had some great experiences in the ministry. Last week another sister and I talked with a young Ecuadorian man who spoke very good English. His name is Alex. He said he didn't have a religion and he would like to practice his English. We invited him to the meeting and guess what, he came. He agreed to study the bible with David, but we haven't been able to get together with him yet for that. We'll keep you posted. I am studying with an Ecuadorian woman named Patricia. I found her a month ago in the door to door work. She speaks very good English and has two small children. After the 3rd study she came to the meeting on Sunday. She and her 7 yr old daughter, Diana, walked 20 minutes to get to the hall, pushing her 2yr old son in a stroller. Before leaving to go home she thanked me for inviting her and said she wants to keep coming! The blessings we get are overwhelming sometimes. I am so thankful that I have this opportunity to share the Good News with such a humble and appreciative person. When I first started study with her she was dating a man from Kentucky that now lives in Ecuador. She told me that I didn't sound the same and wondered if I was really from KY. She said his strong accent has made it hard for her to practice her English. I told her that he could sit in on the study too so that he could learn to speak English! She thought that was funny and would pass the invitation along. Interestingly, most people we meet here tell us we don't sound like we are from Kentucky. "Oh, that's because we are from Northern Ky," we say, "You have to go a little farther south before you start sounding authentic."
The last few days have been colder and rainy. We all finished getting our time in for the month today, with a day to spare too. So tomorrow a brother who is a tour guide is taking us to a zipline. As long as the weather holds out we should be zipping through the jungle tomorrow! Pictures will follow.
We have exactly a month left. We can't believe it' more than half over. Before long we will back with our Gringo friends.

 The King reigns in Ecuador, not too many clowns named Ronald here.

 One of the best $2 lunches we've had so far.

Taking a picture break in the ministry.

 One of the favorite family activities during Carnival, roasting a few guinea pigs! Yum!

 Parties in Ecuador are the same as back home; everyone wants to be in the kitchen!

 Some of the friends we had over for a little pictionary and a great game of Mafia.

A chocolate "leaf" I bought at the market. We made the most amazing chocolate mousse out of this!

Back to Cuenca

Just a few pictures on our way back to Cuenca. 

 If not for the tropical plants, you might think you were in east rural Kentucky sometimes.

Our 2nd crazy "busetta" ride back through the Andes. The driver was probably averaging 50 mph. The ride takes about 3 hours from Guayaquil to Cuenca and costs $12 per person, and takes about 3 years off your life (if you survive)! Of course the "relaxing" music the driver plays the whole time helps put you at ease, until he decides to pass a dump truck on a blind curve in the fog! No, Dave didn't toss his cookies, but only because he was sucking on a twig of fresh ginger, backed up by Dramamine.

More beach, more sand, more fun!

 Canoa Beach.

 Our Hostal in Canoa.

 Hangin Ten!

 Best show in Canoa, watching the sunset!

Cleo's new surfing buddy.

 Where do you want your bamboo ma m?

 Best Taxi service on the coast.

Leaving Canoa.

A thousand words

 Our 1st crazy "busetta" ride over the Andes.

 Leaving the Kingdom Hall in Manta for service.

 Jason, Deborah, Ashley, Jason's Mom, & Mikala.

 Our afternoon in Monti Cristi to buy our Panama hats.

 Dave in service in Manta.

 Manta beach where we ate dinner one night.

More service in Manta. Can you guess what's "missing" in the picture?
The first one to tell me gets an awesome Ecuadorian souvenir!

La Playa

We are back in Cuenca, after a whirlwind tour of some of the coast. We have adopted a sister in Cuenca, Terry, that is from California and she came with us.We arrived in Manta in time for the meeting Tuesday. It is an English group there, so the second half of the meeting we join the rest of the Spanish congregation. Manta is the 5th largest city in Ecuador. It is a port city that looks and smells like a port city in a third world country. It has some decent beaches and some good little restaurants with an abundance of great fish dinners. The weather there is hot and steamy, similar to our Kentucky summers. We met a family that has been there since November. Terry met them in California. They are from Lake Tahoe. Jason and Deborah, their two daughters Ashley and Mikala along with Jason's Parents came with the intention of staying for at least a year. Right after they arrived, Jason's father got very ill with Pneumonia, which went into septic shock. By this time they had admitted him into a clinic. He was in need of lots of medicine and strong antibiotics. In Ecuador the clinic/hospital doesn't always supply the medicine you need, they just tell you what to get. One medicine they were told to find within 3 hours or his father would die. Calls went out to the brothers and the branch. Within 3 hours the medicine was delivered to the hospital. Another medicine they were told to find 10 vials of. Somehow they were able to do this, just in time to hear the doctors say he would need even more. This happened several times, each time they increased the number of vials and days the brother would need to take this particular antibiotic. I think the last figure the were told to find was around 90. This was after it seemed they had exhausted all of Ecuador of it's supply. Soon afterward a brother came in with a box of 70 vials, then another brother showed up with 20 vials. This brother spent two months in the clinic and even suffered stroke like effects. I am happy to tell you though he is recovering at his home in Manta now, working with a physical therapist. He even made it to his first Sunday meeting last weekend since the whole ordeal. Jason told us many more incredible details about his father's illness and how Jehovah really supported his family. He said the ordeal even served to bring the brothers closer together as everyone had to help out. It also made an impression with the local medical community, further glorifying Jehovah's name. I wouldn't be surprised if you read about his experience in the yearbook one day.
We were able to work in service with the friends there too. In fact, the first morning I worked with Ashley, Jason's 15 year old daughter. Before lunch she started a bible study (her third one). The lady read all 6 questions on the truth tract and said, "Yes, I would like to know the answers." We found here at work, so we said we could come to her house. She said, " Yes, Saturday at 3 would be good." Then she gave us her phone number and showed us her house on the map. Yes, Ashley told me she was there waiting at 3, with her bible and tract in hand and they had a very good study! That was only one of the several studies that were started the two days we worked in service in Manta. Then it was time to head for the surf. We went a little further north to Canoa. We stayed in a great little hostal, put our toes in the sand and slathered on the sunscreen (some of us more efficiently than others). Cleo had her first surf lesson and did really well.  So after a few days of beach, coconut smoothies, and saltwater we were ready to head back to Cuenca.

Beach bound

This one's for you Mom!

How do you like your eggs?

Puppies!

Hola amigos! Just a quick post to let you know I will be without the computer this next week. We are heading to the coast to check out an English group in Manta and to get a few days of sand and hopefully not too much sun. I am not sure how much access to the internet I will have, but I will be sure to post pictures and experiences next week when we get back.

Calling all brothers!

It has been a busy week here in Cuenca. Service has been good. You never know where you are going to find an English speaking person. Maria and I found a young Ecuadorian mom this week who has a boyfriend from Kentucky. She said I didn't sound like I was from Kentucky. Then she said, "My boyfriend has a strong accent and I am trying to learn English. His accent isn't helping me. Sometimes I don't understand what he is saying." I just laughed and told her that I live there and don't always understand everyone. We were able to demonstrate the study though, and she accepted! Hopefully we will have it this week. One sister we met in Atuntaqui had a big dry erase board to keep track of all the studies she had! So maybe before we leave I might need to get one?! Goals are good. The English congregation is only a year old here. Figuring out how to work the territory in an efficient way can be a challenge for the brothers. There is also a shortage of English bibles and Bible Teach books. If anyone is planning on coming down, throw a few in your suitcase! Speaking of coming down......The study conductor today was discussing paragraph 2. It said, "there continues to be a need for men to take the lead in spiritual matters." It also mentioned that there were over 100,000 congregations worldwide. He then stated that in Ecuador alone there were 1,000 congregations & 77,000 publishers. He said each congregation should have at least 3 elders and it would be good to have 5 servants per congregation. So, how many brothers are serving here in Ecuador? 2,500 elders and 3,000 servants. This leaves a deficit  of 500 elders and 2,000 servants! Calling all brothers! Even coming in for a short time helps alleviate the responsibility these brothers have. In the Cuenca English congregation 2 of the elders are Ecuadorian brothers that switched in part because their kids wanted to try it. So, they are not only serving as elders in a new congregation, they are learning a new language as well. Their willingness to help is such a good example. Well time to go to sleep, the sun rises early on the equator! Hasta luego!