After breakfast, Kendra, Quigs, and Sara, and I went with Pato to scope out the zoo and met with the owner of the horses we will be visiting tomorrow to ask them what their needs are for their animals. Pato had also misplaced his phone so we stopped at many places along the way to collect the phone numbers of people he needed to get in touch with. The zoo is small but has a variety of animals (ocelots, monkeys, procupines, birds, turtles, rodents and a pig). We got poured on when we were touring the animals. Kendra stuck it out with me. I was taking photos of the animals and their signs so we can know what animals we are working with. The owner was very kind and really cares for his animals. His two major concerns for his animals are parasites and improving the habitats they live in. I was so impressed to hear him say that. This zoo isn't up to the standards that are held in the US but I am super excited to see that he is willing to learn more about how to improve the lives of his animals! Tomorrow we will have to do some research ans write up some recommendations. we also stopped at the other zoo in Macas to set up a time where we could have a presentation from their vet about the native wildlife. So cool! We also got to see a puma! Our next stop this morning was the owner of the horses. He has started a horse farm where kids with disabilities can come ride. There are a few horses that need to be worked on but mostly he wants to learn from us about opportunities to expand this farm to bring volunteers and foreigners into the community. It will be an exciting day tomorrow when we visit! After 3 hours of driving around Maccas we finally headed back to Priscilla's Uncle's farm for lunch.
The other group went to Prascilla's uncles farm. They first visited the water supply that he owns for future use in watering his dairy cattle. The next stop was, they went and saw his dairy cattle that were out on the jungle pasture. One of the cows was having trouble breathing so they examined that cow and they thought it could possibly be lung worm. They won't be able to definitively diagnose it. Another issue that the farm is facing is a soft tick problem. We know what the the ticks are but not exactly how to get rid of them. They also visited another cane sugar distillery that was owned by a pig farmer. They were able to see the piglets under a month old! How cute! Luis (pig owner) had a very progressive swine facility. He used the methane gas from the manure as fuel to heat the area where the piglets were kept. He also put them to work by sqeezing fresh lemons to have with some sugar cane water. Then they headed back to the outdoor patio where they met up with us.
Prasiclla's family made us luch. It was tilapia but it was steamed instead of fried like it was the night before. It was amazing! There was this yellow spice on the outside that I had never had before but it was delicious. It was a welcomed meal after both groups had gotten soaking wet during our morning adventures. We spent some more time talking with her family before saying goodbye.
Andrea told us to be home at 2... well good thing we are in Ecuador because we made it back closer to 3. It was still raining pretty hard so Pato suggested we wait awhile before starting the pet fair. David and I worked on getting the kids prizes in order, some went and took a nap, and another group played some cards. It was a nice hour to stay inside and enjoy the sound of the rain but be dry. Then it was time for the kids pets fair. Again, there was only a few kids that were there. As we played a futbol game more kids begn to join. Sasha was the star of the game though. She was the best defensive player that either team had. I am sure all that was going through her dog brain was "ball? Ball! My ball!" It was amazing to see how many kids and families had arrived by the end of the game. Pato started the fair off with some singing before turning it over to us for some singing. Dan gave a wonderful message and then it was time for the pet fair. Some of the animals were dressed up but mostly the kids just wanted to play. We brought out the coloring books and bracelet making kits. We spent two hours just sitting with the kids coloring and crafting. I sat with some girls that were sitting a distance away from the big group of kids and we made bracelets. One of the girls spoke a little English so we were able to converse a bit. I was just happy sitting and making bracelets which I think they were took. There was a big group of kids in the middle of the gym coloring and laughing with our team. We were worried that no one would show up, but of course God provided. We can hope that today helped Pato and Andrea's mission here in Rio Blanco!
Since the plaza was just down the road we were able to walk home. I took a nap until dinner time. I was really worn out, but I was so thankful Morgan woke me up becaue it was steak for dinner tonight. I didn't realize all the peoole who had come to the house for the BBQ. There must have been at least 20 other people besides our group that was here eating. It was a fantastic dinner and joyful atmosphere. There were also 4 other missionaries here from Reaching and Teaching (Matt, Matt, Hunter, and Omar). They joined us for our evening devotional and Hunter gave a short message. He spoke about the perodical son. It was a good message for all of us to hear. They are leaving in the early morning to head to their mission churches deep in the jungle. We are keeping them in our prayers as they journey there. Everyone one from our grou was pretty tired so we sang two songs, organized our plan for tomorrow, and went and got ready for bed. Kendra and David helped me with some things so I could get to bed a bit earlier tonight.
As it is every night, Bibi is on my lap. We are hanging in the hamock tonight, so she is helping to balance the tablet. Sasha is beinging an terrible gaurd dog. There was a dog that came around the porch for 10 minutes and she managed to get one growl out before falling back alseep. And there is a community cat just staring at me right now when her hobby is chasing cats. I suppose she is pooped from soccer. The geese have already left for their evening stroll and I am listening to the crickets and rain. If you can't tell, I am enjoying my jungle evenings. What a blessing each day is and how great is our God!
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