‘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.