Beach Time

We managed a week’s holiday down at the beach just before Christmas. It was so good to see the ocean, and also to think that on the other side of that water, far, far away is home. The kids enjoyed the sand and the water, Mattias not even blinking an eye when side swiped by a wave.

John got in some quality sand castle building and Evie liked pulling it all down again. It was more than worth the 2 day drive to get there!

‘Do you do Nativity scenes?’

I was talking with a friend about how we celebrate Christmas, and she asked if our decorations include nativity scenes. I was a little perplexed as to how to answer. Yes, but not really….not like here! Nativity scenes are a very serious business in Ecuador. People dedicate half their lounge rooms to intricate scenes including everything from packets of farm yard animals to modern additions of model cars and buses. Baby Jesus only gets laid in the manger on the night of the 24th. And no, I haven’t been snooping into people’s front yards, but most houses are directly on the street so it’s easy access to see all this nativity scene action up close and personal.

John's parents in Loja

Having arrived back from Quito on Sunday morning we looked back and thought about the wonderful time we had while John's parents were here. While Karine was off in Thailand my parents arrived and then they stayed for a week and a half after Karine came back. We certainly had some good times for them and they too realised the dificulty of getting around for Dad, as Loja is not very wheelchair friendly.

It was great to see both Mattias and Evie enjoy having Opa and Oma here for a while to spoil their grandkids.

Mum became the adventurer with regular visits to the shops on her own and catching taxis when she was far enough away and didn't want to walk back. At $1 for a taxi, who can blame her.

Dad was certainly pleased with the television as being in South America means that there is football (Soccer) on nearly every waking moment. Thankfully there were times that he turned the TV off.

Storm hits Loja

Saturday morning was lovely, sunny and warm. Slowly, clouds began to form, and the sky darkened. Soon there was thunder and lightening. I was relishing the sound and feel of a good thunderstorm as they are few and far between here in Loja. Then the heavens opened and it bucketed down, what a great feeling.

However, the next morning driving to church along the river we were amazed to see how much damage the torrential downpour had created. The river burst its banks in a few places, ripped out trees, damaged a few bridges, swept one completely away and all in all made a big mess.

So, the men in green are currently out in force for the big clean up operation. Not quite the scale of a big Sydney storm but impressive all the same.

Preach it brother

Well, how a few days can change your life. Many of the people who came to the preaching conference were asking, "When is the next one?" Something must have turned out alright. When I think about Monday before the conference and the lack of enrollments, my mind wonders how I even coped. By the grace of God, and the prayers of many. Thank you!

We ended up have 58 people enrolled, and I was glad that a number of people decided to go home at night, as the place where we stayed only had space for 50 people to sleep. 

It was a real blessing to have Morgan and Anna up here from Language school in Arequipa to help out and get to meet people they will hopefully be ministering to in the near future. I think as a networking tool, the conference worked a treat and has opened many doors for future ministry. One of the doors it opened was for me (John) is to go to a small town this weekend to give evangelistic talks to a youth group. Another door that has been talked about is to start a preaching group within Loja. As we think and pray for direction for where we go from here, we are sure that more doors will open. 

I have included some pics from the conference, some regular shots, plus the extra one of Morgan and I trying to work out the best location for the group photo. 

Evie's first day at pre-school

What do you think of Evie's uniform? She started pre-school this week, for 2 mornings and seemed to enjoy it. I still haven't bought all the items on the very long list of resources needed for a 3 year old...

100 Kilometers of 4WD

As the preaching conference gets closer there is more need to round up people to come. One of the goals for the conference was to reach people who are in remote areas and invite them along to the conference in order to encourage them, and give them the necessary tools for preaching and teaching the bible.

So in order to do this we travelled 339kms in one day and visited 6 Pastors in 4 towns and spent roughly 9-10 hours driving. 

We started the day by driving to Zamora where we met a Pastor we had arranged (the only thing we did arrange). We told him and he was excited and said he knew some pastors in Yantzaza. So off we went for a 1 hour drive. Once there we met two pastors and gave them enough information about the conference to give to other pastors in the same town. 

From Zantzaza we went to Yacaumbi (28 Mayo on map), another 1 hours in the car where we had a deep fried fish lunch with rice and Yuka. It was at this town I met the husband of a family who had moved to this remote place in order to be Christians there. At the time we arrived his wife was in a new town where they had decided to move to in order to spread the good news. This meant another 1 hour in the car to Tutupali. I thought the road was bad up until now, however this next part was not for the faint hearted and was specifically built for 4WD's, the 50km trip each way was very demanding and had a high smile factor. On the way to this remote place we crossed a river, around 50m wide, saw a spectacular waterfall and at the end of the road we had to cross the foot bridge in order to get into town. Once there the lady we met was so excited about the conference and said she would be joining us for the three days. 

All in all,  it was a good day. There was fun to be had, but also it was an encouraging day for both us and for those we met. 

Ecuador's wildlife and scenery

I first saw one of these vermillion flycatchers (I think that's what they're called) on our beach holiday. I couldn't believe something that vibrant was actually a living thing. They are great.

The view from where we had our team retreat, lovely sunsets on the mountains for a brief minute or two.

John makes it up Mandango. In record time (he had some energy to burn). It's a great view from the top.

A Hamper, Ecuadorian Style

OK, I'm a little hazy on details but there was a christian type marathon happening from the coast through Loja up to Quito. The idea was for this team of christian runners to be a blessing around different locations in Ecuador, praying for cities and churches along the way.

When it got to Loja, a cavalcade was organised and John, being in the pastor's fraternal went along too. Long and short of it, there was a service at a local church, it included feet washing and John getting a hamper! It was SOOOOO heavy I counldn't even pick it up. Check out the photo to see what was inside...not your average chocolate and wine hamper!
Needless to say, we won't be buying rice or brown sugar for a while.

La Playa

We thought we would be adventurous and try to have a holiday with a 2 1/2 year old and 6 month old and so headed down to the beach. We drove up to Cuenca and met Dan and Rach and Nathaniel, then all squeezed into the car down to Guayaquil where we dropped them off. We thought to go to Montañita, but as we stepped out of the car the realisation hit that we truly are not in a backpacking stage of life and what goes with it, so after a yummy lunch headed further up to Puerto Lopez which turned out to be great. The beach was calm enough at shore for Evie and further out back had enough waves for some body surfing. I didn't realise how much I missed the ocean. Evie had so much energy, it was unbelievable. We even saw some whales offshore! 

I think we will go again in the not too distant future....

Has it really been 10 years????

John and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on the 11th! It has been a good ten years, God has blessed us with some great times, some stretching times and has always been faithful to us. We went out to dinner and we were the ONLY ONES in the restaurant the whole time we were there. Thankfully, the lack of custom was no reflection on the food. It was great. 

Here we are, about to go out - we took an Ecuadorian style shot and a regular shot...

Karine is famosisisimo....

I have made it into the local newspaper...the events page! Photographed while at a friend's babyshower. The ladies at my table are all friends from church. Ecuadorians have a baby shower for every baby they have. It's also a way to raise funds for the costs associated with the birth etc. This one was pretty extravagant, held at a function venue, lots of games, prizes and food etc. Mattias also made it into the paper, but his head is perfectly framed by the stuffed toy goose sitting in the middle of the table!

Kids

Two photos...Mattias at 5 months. He is getting 2 teeth, well on the way to crawling and hates his nappy being changed (so do I, it's hard work as he is content to lie on his back for a nanosecond). And Evie, such a little talker at times, and loves painting with glitter but mostly paints her hands. 

Have I been calling Evie a dog?

Learning a language means learning a whole new set of gestures, noises and utterances, not just regular words. And so the other day there I was speaking with a short termer on the ins and outs of hissing to get people's attention. I find out that the short, repeated hiss is to call a dog while the single long hiss is to call out to someone you know (calling out their name is rude). And my heart sinks as I realise I have been using the dog version to get Evie's attention at times for the better part of a year. At least both of us have been in the dark about that! As an aside, the fact that men use the short repeated hiss as women walk past sort of increases the level of insult I, as a foreigner feel...not necessarily shared by local women. Different context, different framework.

And so, the learning continues. To point, you purse your lips. To indicate height you hold your hand out vertically rather than horizontally. The noises you make with babies are different, a sort of clicking against your teeth. I could go on, but enough for today!

Visiting El Cisne

We took the opportunity with Grant here (our pastor from our home church visiting for a week - thanks RPC for sending him over!) to take a trip out to El Cisne, the home of the Virgin. Was quite a sight, in this town that seems quite poor a huge cathedral stands honouring the Virgin. She is accredited with healings, with sporting victories, with doctorates, with safe travel to mention a few things! What about Jesus? 

Karine gets back on the bike...

Just to share my elation with you that TODAY I managed to go for a short ride with another friend while the kids were taking their afternoon nap. Was great to feel the wind in the hair and the legs working........

Cute kids

Just wanted to share these pics of Tijs and Evie

A little trip to QLD....or Zamora

We decided to go away for the night last week to Zamora. At 500m (compared to 2100m in Loja) it is a balmy place to relax for a day, felt like we were in QLD! From Loja you go over the mountain range and then down, down, down. 

The place we stayed at had a great pool, plus a waterslide (bad mistake to take Evie on that, you live and learn), plus tropical birds wondering around. All that more than made up for the dysfunctional bathroom and salty food!

How to run a business - Step 1

Things are on the up and up, or so we thought. As the ankle started to get better, the doctor said it was time to get off the crutches and start doing exercises in some nice warm water. So the natural thing to do would be to return the crutches which are now not necessary. Mmmmm

As I drove down to the shop and walked in I was about to hand over the crutches when the lady operating the store said, have you got your receipt? I said, 'no, but here are the crutches'. 'Oh' she said, 'because I don't have enough money to return your deposit, don't be awful (no sea malito), come back tomorrow.'

Saying 'no sea malito' is quite a common saying. People use it when they are begging you to do something or as this case, when they don't have something they are supposed to have (in our opinion). 

So with two more visits so far, I still have a pair of crutches in the lounge room and will no doubt have them for a few more days. What a way to run a business!

Fútbol es lo mejor

"Praise the Lord!" I said to Karine, I've finally been invited to play soccer with the youth group guys. Off we went for a fun filled afternoon, and was it ever. I felt like David Beckham playing amongst people below five feet. Having scored a few goals and no injuries, things were looking great. Of course, the unfortunate sometimes happens, and yes, usually when you haven't played for a long time and you think you're Beckham. So as I left the field to get the ball, the ankle twisted, making a noise that made the surrounding players cringe. Hopping to the nearest tap, I said, "That's all folks", and put my foot under some nice cool running water. The result, as you can see, is a very blue and painful ankle. All I can hope for is that recovery is quick and a comeback will ensue. Ministry is great!!

Going to the greengrocer, Loja style

Just thought we'd show you a few shots of our local green grocer, and John in the middle of the important decision of which bananas to buy, the 4c or 5c ones...

Rain, rain go away come back another day

Front page of today's newspaper

As the rain keeps coming and the ground takes on more water, eventually it caves in. I think in the last few weeks we can say that we have had around 1.5 to 2m of rain, or so it feels, and the ground is feeling the pinch. I (John) was driving to Gonzanamá the other day and the 1 1/2 hour trip took just over two hours as there were a number of landslides that we had to drive through. The day after 60m of the same road collapsed taking with it a small ute and a semi trailer with 200 bottles of LPG. Flights have been suspended for the moment as this is the main connecting road between Loja and Catamayo, where the airport is located. As the rain has not entirely stopped we are sure to hear about more disasters like this. Please pray for safety as people travel and also for those affected by similar incidents and disasters around the country.

Loja's sunsets...

...are often quite spectacular if you can catch them for the few minutes that the sky is lit up! Often it's around the time Evie is eating dinner, so we just need to remember to turn our heads to the window to enjoy the great sight.

Tijs and Evie are going well, Tijs at 2 months has almost reached 7kg! Yikes!

Evie loves watching what goes on at the school behind our place, and there aren't many days where something doesn't happen. I have never known a place with so many 'events'. This is a picutre of the Mariachi band that played in honour of International Women's Day on 8th March.