¡Hola Familia! At the end of the last post, Nicole mentioned we were going to be having a birthday party for Luisito and Tonia. Here’s an update since than. The party was fun...we had a sign that read "¡Feliz Cumpleaños Luisito y Tonia!” We made pink and blue birthday crowns for them and Susan baked cake and cupcakes. We of course kept Ecudaorian tradiotion and sang Happy Birthday in English and Spanish before smashing each of their faces in the cake. Well we smashed Luisitio’s face into the cake and smashed a cupcake on Tonia’s face...there’s pictures of that too. It was all great fun. We cleaned up the house and were entertained with a marvelous fashion show presented by the children of House 1. There were various countries and occupations represented. All the children modeled with great confidence down the stairs and across the room. We all cheered them on as they walked pass giving us high fives. Lights from the cameras flashed everywhere. There was a performance that followed by four of the teenage girls...a typical Ecuadorian dance they choregraphed in costume. Los colores de sus vestidos y los sonidos de la música era muy bellos. The finale was a presentation of hand made thank you cards with scriptures inside, a thank you speech translated by Raquel, and a prayer for our team. We were all so touched by it all. Again and again, the love of God shines through these children and their families.
We returned our appreciation for what they have shown and gifted us with during our stay in San Lorenzo. We presented each child, the house parents, Raquel, Flores, Pablo, and Nydia (the house tutor) with gifts, a speech, and prayers as well. Thank you all that supported this by donating the supplies that went into the gift bags. The children were extremely touched to the point where one child fought back tears. They quickly sat on the floor dumping out the bags contents and showing their brothers and sisters what they had. It was a great sight and a wonderful experience. True appreciation and love filled the room. Many of us have never felt the emotion we felt that day. Sadly we had to say our goodbyes, giving tight never-ending hugs with plenty of kisses. None of us wanted to leave. There were team members who couldn’t help but sob.
We returned to La Cueva for our final sabroso cena prepared by Jorge and his wife. Life tokens were presented by Becky and Mike after dinner. We ended our night by showering and packing in preparation for our dceparture to Quito the next day.
Thursday July 2nd - Our final day in San Lorenzo.....travel day to Quito
This morning we awakened for our final trip to the school. Bethany, Isabel, Jenn, and Tonia went to the lighthouse in support of Bethany’s burial of her life token. After playing with the children in the schoolyard for the last time, we gathered with all of the children for a school picture. It took a while to get all the children organized but once we did they all waved goodbye for our video camera. We donated balls, jump ropes, and bubbles to be used for the PE classes. The director was very appreciative and explained that our team will always be welcomed with open arms. We returned to La Cueva for our final breakfast. The team finalized packing and thanked Jorge for his hard work and hospitality. It’s not easy dealing with our demanding but loving team We know he loves us...he gave us hugs and took pictures before we loaded the bus.
Off we went to Monte Cristi for our shopping excursion and lunch. On our way to the city, we stopped at Montanita Verde looking for Paul and Susan and were surprised by a very lively monkey. It leaped from branch to branch, seeming to play with us. Jenn of course broke out here monkey calls and Curious George continued to look to find who was calling him. We took plenty of pictures and video. Upon our arrival at Monte Cristi, we needed a baño break. Paul escorted us through a maze of back alleys that smelled like a bathroom. We then arrived at a bathroom with no TP and had to pay to flush. LOL Bethany says there was a rooster killed in the adjacent room as we were on the pots. I’m not sure if that’s true but highly possible. We spent about an hour visiting the artisan shops and bartering with the locals. We wre able to find many Ecuadorian trinkets for great prices. At noon we walked over to a local restaurant for nothing other than chicken and rice. Back on the bus we went to head to the airport.
The short half hour flight was over before we knew it and we were back in Quito. Our housing was no longer the Extreme Response building but a small guest house by the HCJB building. We decided who would sleep where and settled our luggage. Soon after, we allw went for a walk in downtown Quito to a local bakery. You could smell the sweetness from outside. Our eyes grew big and our mouths watered as we glanced over all the delictable desserts available to us. After some careful pondering we placed our orders and sat down to enjoy each bit of our postres. The team headed back to our humble abode for the evening. Dominos was delivered shortly after as we enjoyed a little taste of home. There was chocolate cake for dessert in honor of Tonia’s true birthday...Happy Birthday Tonia! Despues de la cena, the team gathered together for our post-mortem discussion...as Kelly calls it. It’s actually a trip debrief. We discussed what we experieneced, what touched us, what God taught us, and what we are being lead to do when we return to Michigan. This was beyond words....heartfelt experiences were shared and many tears were shed. Our team has grown close as I’m sure everyone expected but it has exceeded expectations. We feel very blessed to be a part of Team Ecuador 2009 and as our leader explained tonight....we gained way more than we could ever provide.
We will close here. We are off to the hot springs early tomorrow and than back home to all of you. See you soon. Pray for safe travels.
On the behalf of our team,
Isabel and Bethany
P.S. Mark, Thank you very much for keeping me posted on what’s going on with Dad-Donna and Diana.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday/Wednesday Update!
Hola friends and family! This is Nicole reporting in with an update from Ecuador. First and foremost, thank you for all of your support from home. It has been great reading all of your comments and hearing about life at home. We are sad that our trip is quickly coming to an end, but excited to see everyone when we get back.
Today, Wednesday, is our last day at the foundation. We will be traveling to Quito tomorrow at 2:00. Then (MARK ) we will be leaving Friday evening from Quito to fly back to the states. We will plan on arriving at DTW around 9:30 on Saturday morning as scheduled.
Since we are going to be in transit the next couple days, I am going to fill you in on yesterday’s activities first.
Tuesday started as usual:
- Lighthouse
- School
- Breakfast
- Back of truck to foundation
When we got to the foundation we split into to groups. One group went to work on the brick walls in the workshop. The second group painted the dining and living area in house one. While we were inside painting we were also able to get a pedicure. I know what you are thinking, A pedicure in Ecuador? Well it was actually to support one of the students from town that is going to school to learn to paint nails. SO we were just supporting a local family. She worked all day in order to get all of the team’s toes painted. Well, all of the team except for Mike, John, and Joey… they did not want flowers painted on their big toes.
Some of the group went to help with the weekly VBS program at the church we attended on Sunday. Racquel taught a lesson and we all helped the kids with the craft. Once again we passed out oreos to the kids and sent them on their way.
The rest of the group was determined to get the walls in the workshop done, so they used the extra time to get more bricks laid on the wall. They also did a tribute to Michael Jackson by laying bricks with one glove and listening to Michael Jackson songs.
We finished up the day as usual:
- Ocean
- Pool
- Yummy Dinner
- Life Tokens (Bethany and Tonia)
- Songs
- Bed
As for today, Wednesday, our schedule changed a bit. We visited the dump in Manta. In preparation for the visit, we made gift bags for each of the workers. All together we prepared about 100 bags. Each bag contained a bag of rice, salt, beans, a strainer, matches, a shirt, and other useful things. We were excited to hear that the kids from house one were coming with us.
Once the bags were packed, we piled into a bus and traveled to the dump. We stopped right at the beginning to meet a group of teens that were working to replant the land there. They listened to us sing a song in Spanish and even asked us to sing another one. I guess all of our practice really paid off… or that we were just funny to watch. One of the boys wanted a kiss on the cheek. Someone from another group had given him a kiss and he hadn’t washed that side of his face. Teresa and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. I guess he said he wasn’t going to wash his face again.
We got back into the bus and traveled into the actual dump. The workers all gathered by the bus and we were able to shake their hands and give hugs. They also posed for some pictures with us. They also watched our second performance. Some of the workers were singing along with us and many of them were following our dance moves. There was even an ice cream man selling ice cream from the back of his moped like motorcycle. Don’t worry, we have pictures. The gift bags were distributed and we got back on the bus to go back to the foundation.
Back at the foundation we all cleaned up and had another delicious lunch prepared by the house parents. We are now preparing for a fun afternoon with the kids. They are even playing with the Wii! There will be cake for Tonia and Luis for their birthdays.
Well, I am finished with my novel. It is time for me to get out and play with the amazing children that I have met here. I can’t wait to get home, but I am also going to be so sad when I don’t get to see their smiling faces each day. It is a wonderful place here and I cannot wait to come back.
Love you and see you soon!
Nicole
Today, Wednesday, is our last day at the foundation. We will be traveling to Quito tomorrow at 2:00. Then (MARK ) we will be leaving Friday evening from Quito to fly back to the states. We will plan on arriving at DTW around 9:30 on Saturday morning as scheduled.
Since we are going to be in transit the next couple days, I am going to fill you in on yesterday’s activities first.
Tuesday started as usual:
- Lighthouse
- School
- Breakfast
- Back of truck to foundation
When we got to the foundation we split into to groups. One group went to work on the brick walls in the workshop. The second group painted the dining and living area in house one. While we were inside painting we were also able to get a pedicure. I know what you are thinking, A pedicure in Ecuador? Well it was actually to support one of the students from town that is going to school to learn to paint nails. SO we were just supporting a local family. She worked all day in order to get all of the team’s toes painted. Well, all of the team except for Mike, John, and Joey… they did not want flowers painted on their big toes.
Some of the group went to help with the weekly VBS program at the church we attended on Sunday. Racquel taught a lesson and we all helped the kids with the craft. Once again we passed out oreos to the kids and sent them on their way.
The rest of the group was determined to get the walls in the workshop done, so they used the extra time to get more bricks laid on the wall. They also did a tribute to Michael Jackson by laying bricks with one glove and listening to Michael Jackson songs.
We finished up the day as usual:
- Ocean
- Pool
- Yummy Dinner
- Life Tokens (Bethany and Tonia)
- Songs
- Bed
As for today, Wednesday, our schedule changed a bit. We visited the dump in Manta. In preparation for the visit, we made gift bags for each of the workers. All together we prepared about 100 bags. Each bag contained a bag of rice, salt, beans, a strainer, matches, a shirt, and other useful things. We were excited to hear that the kids from house one were coming with us.
Once the bags were packed, we piled into a bus and traveled to the dump. We stopped right at the beginning to meet a group of teens that were working to replant the land there. They listened to us sing a song in Spanish and even asked us to sing another one. I guess all of our practice really paid off… or that we were just funny to watch. One of the boys wanted a kiss on the cheek. Someone from another group had given him a kiss and he hadn’t washed that side of his face. Teresa and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. I guess he said he wasn’t going to wash his face again.
We got back into the bus and traveled into the actual dump. The workers all gathered by the bus and we were able to shake their hands and give hugs. They also posed for some pictures with us. They also watched our second performance. Some of the workers were singing along with us and many of them were following our dance moves. There was even an ice cream man selling ice cream from the back of his moped like motorcycle. Don’t worry, we have pictures. The gift bags were distributed and we got back on the bus to go back to the foundation.
Back at the foundation we all cleaned up and had another delicious lunch prepared by the house parents. We are now preparing for a fun afternoon with the kids. They are even playing with the Wii! There will be cake for Tonia and Luis for their birthdays.
Well, I am finished with my novel. It is time for me to get out and play with the amazing children that I have met here. I can’t wait to get home, but I am also going to be so sad when I don’t get to see their smiling faces each day. It is a wonderful place here and I cannot wait to come back.
Love you and see you soon!
Nicole
Monday Update!
Hello Family and Friends!!! Another glorious day in Ecuador, you couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day, full of sun and nice breezes. Five people started the day with a walk to the lighthouse and then we played with the children in the schoolyard. Today we brought bubbles for the first time and the kids absolutely loved them, there were slimy hands all around and lots of laughter and joy! It never ceases to amaze me how they seem to use every ball we bring, and many times the basketball is used for volleyball (Ouch!) and the football for the basketball. Breakfast was a taste of home with scrambled eggs with the delicious Ecuadorian style croissants served by our gracious host George. Today our team split in two, some people worked at the school sanding and painting the rusted window bars, which we were told was very tedious work; the rest of the crew started phase 3 of what has become a Kensington project here-the future workshop. This same team two years ago dug out the area for the workshop, then the following year they poured the cement for the foundation and now this year we are constructing the brick walls for the workshop. We are using a new technique to lay the bricks (a bit more of a polished look) and we made great progress for just one day. Pablo and Florez (the brick laying experts) smiled often as those vertically challenged continually bumped there heads on the low hanging roof supports….what will they do when we’re no longer here to provide comic relief! In the afternoon Jen and Teresa went to the store with Paul, Susan and Nick to get supplies for the bags that we’ll take with us when we visit the Manta Dump on Wednesday. The store ended up being at a regular mall, so Jen and Teresa felt a bit out of place in their scrubby work clothes pushing their big cart filled with beans and rice throughout the mall After we cleaned up our worksite we headed back to LaCueva in our regular fashion (piling into the bed of a pickup) On our way down Paul saw a burrow walking in the road (which is a completely normal sight) but as we passed the burrow let out a bloodcurdling yelp!! Kelly and I nearly jumped out of our skins, since we’ve never heard a burrow like this before. It was so loud that those of us in the cab heard him too….we turned around to see what was happening and then saw the burrow running after the truck still yelping at us, we must have really angered him! We made it back safely, and the sun was still shining bright so the usual ocean swimmers headed out for a dip before dinner. The waves were much more tame than usual, but fun was still had by all. Others took pictures, swam in the pool and swung in the hammocks with the fresh ocean breeze. Following another wonderful meal Pearl Jackson, one of the Por Amor founders’, gave her testimony intertwined with the history of the foundation. It was inspiring to hear how God worked to provide all the necessary components to get the foundation up and running and how he’s still working each and every day pouring out his blessings on everyone here. We are honored to be a part of this amazing endeavor.
On behalf of Team Ecuador,
Lesley and Becky
BTW- Paul, the team truly enjoys and looks forward to your ridiculous posts so I feel I cannot ask you to stop, so we are anxiously awaiting to hear from you soon. We were disappointed when there was no Paul post this morning. See you soon. Shine on, Bec
P.S.Hi Mom! Thanks for writing and keeping up with the blog. In no time soon you’ll be a computer expert…I expect more emails from you when I get back in the country! Miss you and see you soon- love ya! L.
P.S.S Happy Birthday Mom, Aunt Mary, and Mare.
On behalf of Team Ecuador,
Lesley and Becky
BTW- Paul, the team truly enjoys and looks forward to your ridiculous posts so I feel I cannot ask you to stop, so we are anxiously awaiting to hear from you soon. We were disappointed when there was no Paul post this morning. See you soon. Shine on, Bec
P.S.Hi Mom! Thanks for writing and keeping up with the blog. In no time soon you’ll be a computer expert…I expect more emails from you when I get back in the country! Miss you and see you soon- love ya! L.
P.S.S Happy Birthday Mom, Aunt Mary, and Mare.
Monday, June 29, 2009
La Playa
Sunday morning started a little bit later than normal as we did make our morning trip up to the light house or play with the kids at the school. Breakfast was a little earlier since church started at 8:30 and we had to make the trip up to a nearby town called Pacoche. We did not leave La Cueva until 8:15, so you might think that we would be late but since we brought most of the people with us they waited until we arrived.
The service was entirely in Spanish with no translation, so Paul helped us find the Bible verses. We were pleasantly surprised that this week’s service was less than three hours. Bethany, Patricia, Diana and Donna assisted with the children’s service and all of the kids walked out with more Oreos and a God’s eye craft.
After church we walked to the restaurant next door to Por Amor which was also called Pacoche and treated all of the kids to lunch. The restaurant was very modern and had a beautiful view of the jungle. Of course for lunch we had rice and plantains and some chicken. The children were very appreciative and I’m sure the girls and the house mom Jaunita enjoyed the day off from cooking for us.
We spent the rest of the afternoon with the kids at la playa (the beach). It was a beautiful warm day and the water was much more calm than it is back by La Cueva. The children played in the water, chased bubbles, and of course there was a full game of soccer going on. Joey was attacked by a shark . . . or maybe just a rock. Paul helped by performing surgery . . . or applying a bandage. By the end of the night the story had expanded into Joey saving drowning children from a killer shark. He missed out on some play time, but is doing well now.
In the distance we could see the light house and some of us decided that we should just walk home. Paul encouraged and said he thought it looked like about a 40 minute walk or so. We all took bets for bragging rights and an extra bag of M & M’s. None of us guessed close to the actual time of 1 hour and 20 minutes. It was a beautiful walk even with the thousands of sand crabs running everywhere. We also saw another whale jump “out of the water” and just to clarify, we also saw it land back in the water. Hence there was no panic, or need to run to the lumber store.
Our night concluded with another yummy dinner back at La Cueva. After dinner we got the “final” itinerary for the rest of the week and were sad to realize that our time here nearly over. Monday and Tuesday are our last two work days. We are hoping to finish putting bricks around a work room and to paint the inside of house 1. Wednesday we are going to the dump in Manta and will distribute donations. Thursday we begin to head back to Quito and then home.
To end the night we also got a chance to read the blog since we did not have much time earlier. We all very much appreciate all of your comments it makes us feel more at home even here in Ecuador. Thank you and see you all next week.
Tonia, Nicole and team Ecuador 2009
The service was entirely in Spanish with no translation, so Paul helped us find the Bible verses. We were pleasantly surprised that this week’s service was less than three hours. Bethany, Patricia, Diana and Donna assisted with the children’s service and all of the kids walked out with more Oreos and a God’s eye craft.
After church we walked to the restaurant next door to Por Amor which was also called Pacoche and treated all of the kids to lunch. The restaurant was very modern and had a beautiful view of the jungle. Of course for lunch we had rice and plantains and some chicken. The children were very appreciative and I’m sure the girls and the house mom Jaunita enjoyed the day off from cooking for us.
We spent the rest of the afternoon with the kids at la playa (the beach). It was a beautiful warm day and the water was much more calm than it is back by La Cueva. The children played in the water, chased bubbles, and of course there was a full game of soccer going on. Joey was attacked by a shark . . . or maybe just a rock. Paul helped by performing surgery . . . or applying a bandage. By the end of the night the story had expanded into Joey saving drowning children from a killer shark. He missed out on some play time, but is doing well now.
In the distance we could see the light house and some of us decided that we should just walk home. Paul encouraged and said he thought it looked like about a 40 minute walk or so. We all took bets for bragging rights and an extra bag of M & M’s. None of us guessed close to the actual time of 1 hour and 20 minutes. It was a beautiful walk even with the thousands of sand crabs running everywhere. We also saw another whale jump “out of the water” and just to clarify, we also saw it land back in the water. Hence there was no panic, or need to run to the lumber store.
Our night concluded with another yummy dinner back at La Cueva. After dinner we got the “final” itinerary for the rest of the week and were sad to realize that our time here nearly over. Monday and Tuesday are our last two work days. We are hoping to finish putting bricks around a work room and to paint the inside of house 1. Wednesday we are going to the dump in Manta and will distribute donations. Thursday we begin to head back to Quito and then home.
To end the night we also got a chance to read the blog since we did not have much time earlier. We all very much appreciate all of your comments it makes us feel more at home even here in Ecuador. Thank you and see you all next week.
Tonia, Nicole and team Ecuador 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Saturday June 27th- Lions, Tigers, and Bears Oh My!
God answered our prayers for good weather and we woke up to the sun shining. A big difference from the day before. We started the day with group prayer and we all said a prayer and praise. After breakfast of Canadian French Toast with eggs and bacon as well, we headed off to the schoolyard for the fair. The fair was a success and we were able to touch over 100 children. It was amazing to serve alongside of a few volunteers from the U.S. Military base in Manta, including Beth Woodward from K2 (a Kensington church plant) in Salt Lake City, Utah!! Thank you again for all your donations, they were put to good use as evidenced in the smiles on their faces and the wonderful prayer the children voiced at the close of the fair. They left with crafts they made, toy hummer trucks, painted faces and nails, bracelets they created, tattoos all over, balloons and oreos in their mouths. What a fun filled few hours for the team and the children alike!
From here we had lunch at the foundation. After a week we switched houses for meals. It was yummy. The military volunteers came back with us and we enjoyed the meal together. Stephanie actually ate everything this time and liked it!
When finished the kids took us on a jungle walk. Alexis was our guide providing us with a plethora of information about the native flora and fauna. Raquel translated marvelously, although Alexis often corrected her. This leads us to believe that he is quite capable of giving the talk in English himself. The start of our adventure was climbing down a very, very large hill on our behinds. Shortly after we spotted our first wildlife, tres burros! But it gets better, we then saw monkeys, thanks to Jenn’s monkey calls, a hawk, and then a flying iguana!! It only flew because Alexis climbed the tree in attempt to give us a closer look. We continued on our walk where we discovered mountain crabs and endangered frogs. Soon we came upon some caves. We were told to run through them and screaming and to our surprise we were in the homes of some very large bats. After that exhilarating trek we were given a choice of which route to take. Nicole, Tonia, Joey and Bethany followed some of the children down some jungle vines into a deep ravine. The rest of the team took the “safer route” down a very steep slope. Some suspect those that took the vines had the easier route. Our jungle walk ended back in San Lorenzo where we visited the local Dairy Queen (a little shack) where the blizzard flavor of the day was bon bones! Bidding farewell to the children we walked back to La Cueva.
A few members of our team opted out of the jungle walk. John and Patricia took a stroll up the 661 steps to the lighthouse. Actually I think it ended up being 662, they stumbled, and then shopped through town finding Ecuadorian treasures. Donna spent most of the afternoon relaxing in a hammock while Nick (son of Jerry Carnill, founder of Extreme Response, who will be living at Montanita Verde for a year as a missionary) and Diana took a leisurely walk down to the cave then swam in the ocean.
After the busy day, everyone reconvened in the dining area for a delicious and filling meal. An interjection is required here. Shortly before the meal, our group party (aka a meeting in Teresa’s room) was interrupted by Jenn’s excited cries of a whale sighting. She burst into the room yelling with arms flailing “the whale jumped OUT of the water!!!!!!!!!!” We have it on video. Ok back to dinner….Lesley and Stephanie presented their life tokens after Paul and Susan shared their testimony of how they came to serve Jesus in Ecuador as missionaries. The night closed with much singing and dancing outside of the rooms, including on the balconies. Mike did not participate but recorded the whole thing.
We love you all and appreciate your prayers and support!! Please keep the comments coming!
On behalf of Team Ecuador 2009,
Bethany, Stephanie, Isabel and Teresa
From here we had lunch at the foundation. After a week we switched houses for meals. It was yummy. The military volunteers came back with us and we enjoyed the meal together. Stephanie actually ate everything this time and liked it!
When finished the kids took us on a jungle walk. Alexis was our guide providing us with a plethora of information about the native flora and fauna. Raquel translated marvelously, although Alexis often corrected her. This leads us to believe that he is quite capable of giving the talk in English himself. The start of our adventure was climbing down a very, very large hill on our behinds. Shortly after we spotted our first wildlife, tres burros! But it gets better, we then saw monkeys, thanks to Jenn’s monkey calls, a hawk, and then a flying iguana!! It only flew because Alexis climbed the tree in attempt to give us a closer look. We continued on our walk where we discovered mountain crabs and endangered frogs. Soon we came upon some caves. We were told to run through them and screaming and to our surprise we were in the homes of some very large bats. After that exhilarating trek we were given a choice of which route to take. Nicole, Tonia, Joey and Bethany followed some of the children down some jungle vines into a deep ravine. The rest of the team took the “safer route” down a very steep slope. Some suspect those that took the vines had the easier route. Our jungle walk ended back in San Lorenzo where we visited the local Dairy Queen (a little shack) where the blizzard flavor of the day was bon bones! Bidding farewell to the children we walked back to La Cueva.
A few members of our team opted out of the jungle walk. John and Patricia took a stroll up the 661 steps to the lighthouse. Actually I think it ended up being 662, they stumbled, and then shopped through town finding Ecuadorian treasures. Donna spent most of the afternoon relaxing in a hammock while Nick (son of Jerry Carnill, founder of Extreme Response, who will be living at Montanita Verde for a year as a missionary) and Diana took a leisurely walk down to the cave then swam in the ocean.
After the busy day, everyone reconvened in the dining area for a delicious and filling meal. An interjection is required here. Shortly before the meal, our group party (aka a meeting in Teresa’s room) was interrupted by Jenn’s excited cries of a whale sighting. She burst into the room yelling with arms flailing “the whale jumped OUT of the water!!!!!!!!!!” We have it on video. Ok back to dinner….Lesley and Stephanie presented their life tokens after Paul and Susan shared their testimony of how they came to serve Jesus in Ecuador as missionaries. The night closed with much singing and dancing outside of the rooms, including on the balconies. Mike did not participate but recorded the whole thing.
We love you all and appreciate your prayers and support!! Please keep the comments coming!
On behalf of Team Ecuador 2009,
Bethany, Stephanie, Isabel and Teresa
Friday June 26th- A very moist day
We spent Friday in a fog, literally in a cloud!!! Seriously!!! Some of us started at the lighthouse. The school was closed for the day due to a holiday. Some of the team went to play with the children in the morning. The team arrived at the worksite and read the posts from the day before, which we look forward to each morning. The day was cloudy, wet and cold. The projects for the day ahead: completing the retaining wall and bringing up ALL of the dirt from the well to fill in behind the retaining wall. While we have been working on the wall, there have been a group of men digging a well far below the orphanage. We began the morning by filling our wheelbarrows with the dirt from the lowest point and taking them up to the highest point on the property. We are beginning to wonder if this is necessary or just for pure amusement on the part of our Foremen Flores and Pablo. They seem to smile too often and say something in Spanish under their breath that we can not understand. But we just smile back! We are all friends here…but we love to joke about our hard labor.
We took a break for lunch, then had a very long meeting about the fair for the next day. But alas it was still raining when our meeting had adjourned. After lunch Donna finished the retaining wall!!!!!! We are done with that project!!!!! On to another….it was decided that to end the workday our team would clean up the front of the wall. This translates into moving more dirt in wheelbarrows up hill both ways. But it was not just dirt friends…we were moving BIG rocks and concrete. Teresa and Isabel had the great idea of throwing the big rocks over the wall instead of pushing them up in the wheelbarrows. Phew! After they discovered that this lightens their load a bit…Isabel, Teresa and Nicole thought that it would be a grand idea to RACE up the hill. Who won? Teresa came in 1st! Though Nicole and Isabel claim that her wheelbarrow was only HALF full. Hmmmmmm.
We ended the day early at 4 so that we could spend some time with the children. We were given the house to ourselves and assisted the children in making name tags for the fair the next day. With Juanita (the house mother) gone, chaos ensued. As soon as they heard the bus pull up all the girls clamored to the kitchen pretending they had been busy in the kitchen all along. The boys however were still wrestling in the family room. The team was happy to have Juanita back. At this point we piled in the back of the trucks, still moist, and headed back to La Cueva looking FABULOUS. After cleaning up, we ate a delicious dinner prepared by Jorge and his wife, then finished getting ready for the fair. For dessert we had large amounts of sugar which in turn made everyone a bit hyper. A giant rat, the size of a fat yorkie, ran through our dining area. While a bit startled we didn’t miss a beat, because we have grown accustomed to seeing strange animals around. By 10 o’clock we were all fast asleep.
On behalf of Team Ecuador 2009,
Bethany, Stephanie, Isabel and Teresa
We took a break for lunch, then had a very long meeting about the fair for the next day. But alas it was still raining when our meeting had adjourned. After lunch Donna finished the retaining wall!!!!!! We are done with that project!!!!! On to another….it was decided that to end the workday our team would clean up the front of the wall. This translates into moving more dirt in wheelbarrows up hill both ways. But it was not just dirt friends…we were moving BIG rocks and concrete. Teresa and Isabel had the great idea of throwing the big rocks over the wall instead of pushing them up in the wheelbarrows. Phew! After they discovered that this lightens their load a bit…Isabel, Teresa and Nicole thought that it would be a grand idea to RACE up the hill. Who won? Teresa came in 1st! Though Nicole and Isabel claim that her wheelbarrow was only HALF full. Hmmmmmm.
We ended the day early at 4 so that we could spend some time with the children. We were given the house to ourselves and assisted the children in making name tags for the fair the next day. With Juanita (the house mother) gone, chaos ensued. As soon as they heard the bus pull up all the girls clamored to the kitchen pretending they had been busy in the kitchen all along. The boys however were still wrestling in the family room. The team was happy to have Juanita back. At this point we piled in the back of the trucks, still moist, and headed back to La Cueva looking FABULOUS. After cleaning up, we ate a delicious dinner prepared by Jorge and his wife, then finished getting ready for the fair. For dessert we had large amounts of sugar which in turn made everyone a bit hyper. A giant rat, the size of a fat yorkie, ran through our dining area. While a bit startled we didn’t miss a beat, because we have grown accustomed to seeing strange animals around. By 10 o’clock we were all fast asleep.
On behalf of Team Ecuador 2009,
Bethany, Stephanie, Isabel and Teresa
Super Speed Update - It's Time for Lunch!
Hey folks, Happy Sunday! We wish we could post updates for the trip, but we have been sooo busy working and having too much fun. Also, the internet here has not been working well. We are giving a super speed update before lunch today so here it is.
Happy Birthday Julie!
Congratulations on the new baby, Paige!
Paul, we enjoy your posts! Keep them coming! We are having a hard time finding a monkey for you.
We hope to be able to give updates tonight. We’ll try our best. Enjoy your day!
We’re all safe and healthy!
Team Ecuador 2009
Happy Birthday Julie!
Congratulations on the new baby, Paige!
Paul, we enjoy your posts! Keep them coming! We are having a hard time finding a monkey for you.
We hope to be able to give updates tonight. We’ll try our best. Enjoy your day!
We’re all safe and healthy!
Team Ecuador 2009
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