More than a Sunset

Yes it’s time. Time to write a new blog. Time to update you on life in Ecuador. Time to make that bird fly back OUT of my house, off my stairs, and close the back door.

I’m looking through my pictures to see what I haven’t written about yet. Let’s start with the church retreat at camp. We’re on the Pacific Ocean here, which means that the sun sets over the ocean. This was mind blowing to me, having previously experienced only the East Coast sunrise over the ocean.

60 people from our Block 6 church went to camp this weekend, and many of those people also spent many hours in the KITCHEN. Understandably, it takes a lot of food and work to feed 60 people for 3 days, yet, it somehow seemed like we just never left that kitchen. Dishwashing alone (with out the machine) took hours.

These faithful women cooked us a lot of meals. These are plates of chifles (fried plantain chips- no, not out of a bag, but hand-made) The chifles are awaiting the fish soup. This breakfast (breakfast!!) of “encevollado” took about 3 ½ or 4 hours to prepare. It was yummy… but I happen to think a beautiful beach day spent on the beach is yummier.

The rest of my week vacation from school was spent with friends from Bastion. These girls slept over my house one night, and we tried on some of the costumes that my mom sent down for Kids’ Club. Carolina, in the hat, is also a Kids’ Club leader.

This lovely group of girls in my living room are from my Friday Bible study in Block 7. I made a big meal of spaghetti and rice (in Ecuador, no meal is complete without its rice) and we enjoyed hanging out and having our Bible study. My friend Carlos is co-leading this group with me and we usually do have some guys in attendance as well.

I FINALLY brought my camera to music practice. These brother-sister pairs are practicing their instruments 4 times a week: Jefferson- trombone, Yesenia- flute, Erika- trumpet, Linder- clarinet. They’re doing really well, and I really enjoy spending time with them every day. They all attended the Hope of Bastion School and are now in different high schools. Jefferson told me yesterday that his music teacher doesn't know what a trombone is. I'm so proud of these kids with their instruments!! (Jefferson & Yesenina's mom is Marlene, the lady on the left serving the chifles)