Want a coffee??

One of the priveliges that I have as SIM Ecuador Director is having coffee with so many people.

This week alone I’ve had around 12 coffees with different people and each time I do this I get to hear what is going on and input into what they are doing and encourage them in the work they are doing. 

I love this opportunity to be with different people and I find it a privilege to be able to be involved in a small way the great ministries that our missionaries are involved in. 

Some of this weeks topics included but not limited to, website creation, camping trip evaluation, planning and vision for various ministries in Ecuador, preparing books for new ESI groups, cash flow brainstorming for bookshop and helping out with various organisational matters. 

Camping trip near Gualel

This weekend's camping trip started on the day when people all over Ecuador were drinking Colada Morada and eating bread in various shapes.
This trip was another two day trip with the goal of getting young people to have a good time together in God's creation. It started with a 6am meeting at the SIM building in the centre of Loja. I met them at that time to get bags packed and camping gear loaded up in the bus. After that I went back home to get the whole family, yes, the whole family, to go for a two day hike. We were hopeful that the kids would be fine and would actually enjoy being in the great outdoors. We weren't disappointed, in fact quite the opposite, they were amazing.
The walk started at an altitude of 2700m, already much higher than Loja and the sun was blarring.

The start of the walk was an intense, lots of sun, little breeze and we climbed 200m in elevation in the first kilometre, we were hoping that it wouldn't continue with this incline and thankfully it wasn't so steep although parts of the walk did compare with this first section.

The walk steadily climbed until we reached 3523m. We arrived a point which we thought was close to the end only to realise later that it was the 5 kilometre mark, we thought we were almost there. Little did we know that we were only a little over half way to the finish line. Let me tell you, those last five kilometres were painful and seemed to never end. It was during this same period that Annalise decided that she would start running along the track, a very impressive effort.

In great style of people who seem to have never been lost, there were people wondering around everywhere. People deciding along the way to take what they thought would be a short-cut to find themselves having to back-track to find their way again. There were groups flying along at a great pace, of course they were the ones who knew where they were going, and of course others, like us who were little slower were hoping we were going the right way.

As you can see from the pictures here below, we had wonderful views and saw amazing fluara along the way.

The plan was to arrive in two and a half hours and yet somehow five hours later we arrived at camp to be met by others who were dehydrated and suffering from exhaustion. It didn't help that people had no water left and that the food that was going to be prepared was going to take another 2 hours before being ready. We were glad that our leader, David, decided that everyone should take a packet of two minute noodles just in case there was a delay in food. We gave the kid's their's and another to some others who were suffering, which although was a welcome idea, was quickly refused as they were on the verge of throwing it all up.

Let me tell you again, we were proud that our kids made this trip. I think the extra water we carried and all the snacks we took with us, were a welcome treat along the way and gave us much needed energy.

After eating a hot chicken broth with a piece of chicken we had a talk, a fire and then with the high altitude paramo it was time to get in the tent. The high altitude paramo makes you soaking wet and you can feel your clothes absorbing the moisture as you sit around. I personally had a good night's sleep and was very hot in my sleeping bag with silk liner, but many had little sleep as the temperature dropped to near zero overnight. I took my arms out of my bag at one point and realised that keeping them in was a must.

We woke up to a cold wet morning and breakfast took a long time as all the firewood was all wet from the night before. Eventually we had our breakfast around 9am and started the walk downhill.

It took a while to get down and was a hot walk all the way down. Thankfully we had plenty of water and snacks to keep up the energy. We managed to dive in a river (although only about 50cm deep) and cool off from the hot walk down.

We were supposed to be met by lunch at some house in the small town where we started, however that wasn't ready and we took that opportunity to start the 3 hour drive home. We stopped in Catamayo for a favourite treat, seco de pollo, chicken stew, always plenty on hand in many towns in Ecuador, with a good portion of rice.

All in all, a challenging and exhilarating hike by all five of us. What an amazing country this is!

Camping Trip to Yacurri

Saturday morning started at 5:30am with a quick wash and get ready for a two day outing to a place that my phone thought was Peru. 

This was a camping trip with team mates David and Sandry who did a great job organising a time for young people to get together and get to know each other. This is yet one more ministry that was held in the area of Cariamanga which is a priority for SIM Ecuador. 

The trip started with an 8 hour drive from Loja in a red Loja city bus with rechargeable beat box blaring away and a whole bunch of young people singing on the top of their voice every second song. It was a truly latin bus ride. 

We past by two other towns to pick up other people so we could get to know and encourage one another. So far so good.

We then had a ride on a ranchero or chiva, which is a converted truck made to hold up to 35 people. We jumped into this truck which then took us through breathtaking views until a town called something I can’t remember. 

A small panorama to capture some of it's greatness.

In the ranchero

Walking up you can see the rock face next to the lake.

Mattias at the lake.

From there it was back in the bus which got a whole lot wider than I remember because the road hugged the edge of the cliff and at points we went fast just to get through a corner and avoid falling off the edge.
We then arrived at the National Park which was around 3200 to 3300m above sea level. We got out of the bus and started to walk up to Laguna Negra which was at 3560m above sea level. It was absolutely amazing and we were not only impressed with the views but the trout we saw in the water. Mattias and I both ended up very muddy and cold as a result of our adventures, but it was all worth it. 

Sitting on a rock

Standing on rocks is fun.

Walking down from the lake

After heading down David decided that it would be best to get a smaller ranchero down the hill, because it would have been too dangerous at night in the big bus with the tight curves and steep drops. But let me tell you, I think the ride in the smallest of rancheros with all our gear on the roof and around 8 people up there as well and another 20 people in the bottom section was way worse than anything else. The eight kilometres took around 30 minutes and was the most fearful ride I’ve ever taken. Mattias and I prayed frequently.

Jesús, David y Jesús sitting in the ranchero - hanging on for dear life.

Once we arrived at the campsite mattias and I lay down on the ground and looked up to the stars and reflected on how small we are yet we are people that God is interested in. We ate freshly caught trout and a lot of rice and yuka (taro). Yum
Afterwards we set up the tents in a gale forced wind that made tying down very difficult. I was glad that we had some good mats and sleeping bags because it was looking like we were in for a cold night.
We went and played a couple of games of UNO and afterwards went to bed.
It was a cold night and Mattias slipped down the tent all night because we were on a downhill angle for the night.

The Trout

The campsite

The next morning we woke up to hear that there was someone missing and a group had gone off at around 11pm to find him and came back around 3am. He had been on the bathroom the night before when the truck left. We were very thankful that he had been looked after by the people in that little refugio.
After a breakfast of coffee and bread John gave a talk on being and making disciples. An encouragement for these young people to live for him in all they do.
Afterwards we then headed up the hill the the ranchero, with none of the gear, which made it feel much safer.
Once we got up to the refugio we walked around 3kms up hill to a laguna that was just wonderful.
The last km was uphill and very steep. I was glad to have a small pack and a warm jumper. The lake was 3560m above sea level.

On the ranchero

This was the highest point.

The was a strong wind here

A panorama of the lake.

We then headed down to the bus and everyone was very tired from the walk and height. As we were waiting for the rest of the group to arrive at the main road we noticed that it was talking a long time. After a while Mattias and I decided that we would start to head down. We found them waiting a bit further down the road, they'd taken a different track downhill. After losing the guy the night before it was not surprising that some decided to start a new way down (thankfully we didn't lose anyone else). It was a good opportunity to talk to Mattias about the importance of staying together and not making new tracks just to save a little time.
All in all it was a great walk and a great time to spend together in God’s creation. It was great to be able to encourage people from a different part of the province and see the young people interact together.
We then had a lunch of two minute noodles, a tin of tuna and mayonnaise. Afterwards we headed back down to the bus and made the 6 hours journey back to Loja. What a wonderful time.

The bus

Reading Harry Potter 

Very comfy ride

The results of 3 hours sleep the night before

Results of a long ride without food.