It was an early start this morning. Our journey from Quito to Rio Blanco was an all day trip, so we began loading our luggage in the trailer and vans at 6am. We had a quick breakfast of pasteries and fruit and then we were off. Our beginning entertainment was David quizzing us on songs that we should know how to sing. For example the "Bear Song." I was not aware that I had missed this critical song from childhood. Don't worry, I got a recording of Candace and David singing it for us,
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B042MjT5fR5nWDYxMlVJc19YSnc/view?usp=sharing. After the beautiful singing we all sat back and got cozy for the long ride. We had a variety of conversations concerning Ecuadorian culture to the latest crazy animal videos we had seen. Most of all we enjoyed the scenery.
Our first stop was at a gas station about 45 minutes out from Banos. We had time to stretch our legs and get some snacks.
In Banos we visited a lovely coffee shop. The artwork around the the shop was quite funny as well.
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| Just a stroll to the park across the street from the coffee shop! |
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| Partial map of the route we took! |
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| Mountains! |
We then continued our journey down and through the mountians toward Shell. There we met with some of the Reach Beyond mission team and had lunch at La Hacienda. We had plantain fries and smashed bananas for tapas, and we had Brochetas for our main course.
(more photos to come!)
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| Brochetas for lunch! |
Afterwards, we visited the Reach Beyond outpost in Shell. There they have outreach programs through a human clinic, water projects, and a new greenhouse project. The greenhouse project consists of them working with the community to grow sustainable crops of cacoa (chocolate) and banana. Each plant plays a different role in the nutrient cycle of the soil so by alternating the planting of each plant alongside one another it replenishes the soil (crop cycling except all at once).
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| Greenhouse project |
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| Cheeky Chickening rummaging through the compost |
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| Cacoa |
We then got to see their demo water pump that they build with the surrounding communities. These pumps are dug out around natural "artiesian" wells that is water flowing from the rain off the mountain. Then it was time for ice cream and our mini seminar. It was a challenging seminar in the sense of how to go about doing missionary work. The overarching lesson is that there must be a need in the community to create a sustainable and reproducible project that can be a tool for ministering God's word. It was a good lesson to have before we begin our first day serving.
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| Model of the water pump |
On to the last leg of the trek. We got to watch the sun set over the clouds and volcanos above us as we approached Rio Blanco.
We were warmly greeted by Pato, Andra and their family. We arrived ahead of time which gave us time to settle into our accomadations. Pato and Andra traded a truck for a piece of property next to their house which they have fixed up a guest house. It is absolutely wonderful to be able to remain here with them and stay together (More pictures to come tomorrow). We all settled down for dinner and we got to practice our spanish with some of the younger girls in the family. I am surprised how much of my spanish is coming back to me, but I also apologize repeatedly because I know I am not using correct grammer. So the young ladies got a few laughs from listening to me. We then had our closing singing, devotional, and prayer time before getting orangized for tomorrow.
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| Trying Guava |
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| First monkey sighting |
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| Sasha looking like he is crazy |
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| Spagetti |
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| Bibi the cat know also as mishy mishy (Shuar for kitty kitty) |
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| New beetle named Emerald |
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| Caught the moth! |
I am writing this blog with a kitten on my lap and a dog at my feet listening to the sounds of insects and dogs barking. The jungle seems to be awake even though a peace has seemed to settle over it. It is amazing to look up at the stars and just be in awe of God's creation. Tomorrow is the day that we begin to be his hand and do his work in service to the community of Siani.
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