Arrival in Guayaquil, Ecuador

Dear Family and Friends,

Lewis and I are happily settled in our apartment on the temple grounds in Guayaquil, Ecuador. We arrived at night on September 19th and started working in the temple the next day. President Groberg and his wife picked us up at the airport, brought us to our apartment and made us feel very welcome. They and the other senior missionaries provided us with enough food to be comfortable. The apartment is lovely and we feel quite spoiled. Another senior couple, the Martins, have been taking great care of us. They took us shopping and have been instructing us in the life of a temple worker here. We have found that eating at the food court in the malls here is a traditional activity and we have happily participated a couple of times.

There are three other senior couples from the USA and four native Spanish speaking couples living here with us in the alojamiento. In the building called the alojamiento, we also have a Church Distribution store, a Family History Library, overnight apartments for the temple patrons who must travel a long distance, as well as a big kitchen/dining room for the visiting patrons. The children especially love the elevator.

I have not yet taken photos and will add them when I do. I took the photo above in 2011. We do not have a working telephone but will have both a landline when the system repairs are completed in this building and a cell phone when we get to the right place to purchase a new chip for our cell phone. Our computers work well. We read emails daily and can Skype. If you would like us to call you, just shoot us an email and we can call you inexpensively.

We have found ourselves very busy getting settled and learning new things. Lewis is at a meeting this afternoon in the temple for new male coordinators and missionaries. We went with the Martins this morning to another ward to see a family history presentation they gave to both the youth and the adults of the ward. We have seen lots of youth and a surprising number of adults in the baptistry with their own family names. It is exciting that the work is being done not only for names that have been "extracted" from institutional records but also for so many direct ancestors of the members here in Ecuador. The youth (with their computer knowledge and enthusiasm) are helping the older generations to be effective in their family history research.

David and Morgan visit Ecuador

We were so very happy that David and Morgan were able to come for a visit. It is so fun for Senior Missionaries to show off their new country and their new friends to family. The time we spent together was precious and we loved every minute. I had been very sick all that week but I was up and ready for company by the time they arrived. I am grateful for that special blessing.

Saturday morning early, just to test their resistance to high altitude disease we went higher. It is a good thing we went first thing because it was hard to find a period of several hours the next week when the sky was clear. Above, David and Morgan have arrived at the top of the Teleferico. Quito is at almost 10,000 feet above sea level. The Teleferico took us up to about 13,000 feet above sea level. There was a dusting of snow on the mountain tops in the other direction.

Next we went to an outdoor museum on the equator. Above, Morgan is with the lady in the gift shop modeling the knitted masks. These are patterned from masks worn by one group of the Ecuadorian indigenous people in their religious ceremonies.

The indigenous people had some interesting traditions. The Shuar people had an infamous method of making shrunken heads. The one above is real. They think it is of a 12 year old boy who was the son of a chief who died as the result of an illness. They preserved his head because he was loved and respected. But usually they did it to enemies who were already killed in battle. We got a long detailed explanation in Spanish that I am unable to explain to you. It took a lot of steps and a lot of time and they always sewed up the mouth so the spirit could not get out. We were shown huge spiders and snake skins and warned not to pee in the Amazon River. There is a small skinny fish that is attracted to urine. It has spines under its skin and will follow the stream and attach itself inside the human body. It takes surgery to remove the fish. Not a pleasant thought.

We also learned lots of interesting scientific things about the equator, the Coriolis effect, and that the water spirals counterclockwise or clockwise depending on which side of the equator you are on.

We found out that David is an Egg Master! There were only two in our group who could stand an egg up on the head of a nail and David has a certificate to prove his expertise.

After church on Sunday we all went to the mission home for Easter dinner. Morgan is talking with Lucy. Lucy and Amy spent three months here as interns working with the Employment Office teaching the Career Workshop and helping to train leaders and members. They both speak Spanish and attend BYU. We enjoyed a delicious and elegant dinner with President Ghent and his wife and all of the Senior Missionaries who live in Quito.

Below is Lorena Tejek. She has a very interesting history. We first met her in our Young Single Adult Sunday School class early last year. She is a wonderful and beautiful young woman. Over time we have learned a bit about her life. She is from a Shuar family that was unable to afford to raise her. She grew up in an orphanage that was connected to OSSO (a Rexburg, ID organization that supports orphanages in Ecuador). When she entered her teenage years part of her skull stopped growing. She was taken to Idaho for several surgeries thanks to OSSO. She learned English quite well and has since returned to the US several times for more surgeries. She had her most recent just a couple of months ago in San Diego. She joined the church several years ago and last year decided that she wanted to serve a mission. She received her call to Perú, Lima North. With her last surgery taken care of she was ready to be set apart by our Stake President. We were invited to attend her setting apart.

This photo below was taken in the Visitor's Center at the Grand Plaza in Old Town, Quito. I asked one of the girls working there the reason for the strange costumes worn every year in the Easter Parade in Quito.
They remind us of the Klu Klux Klan which was not a good organization. But this costume has nothing to do with that organization. Wearing dark purple is a sign of sadness, the tall pointed hat that covers the face is to hide the shame that the wearer feels when he thinks of his sins and the disrespect he has shown for God. She told us that the height of the hat might represent the amount of sin that the wearer wants to repent of and receive forgiveness for. It made me feel better about the figures I have seen here and did not understand their meaning. Every Easter there is a parade that is participated in by thousands of people and thousands more are spectators. There are 1600 of these costumes that are very old that are stored in the San Franciso church. People can sign up the prior year and reserve a costume to wear in the parade. When they run out of costumes people must make their own. Only the men wear these costumes. She told us that the women only cover their faces with lace and accompany the Christ figure as he carries the cross. The parade was held the day that David and Morgan arrived. But they arrived at 10:00 at night.

Below are David and Morgan and Lewis in one of the inner courtyards in the ArchBishop's Palace that is on one side of the Grand Plaza.

This is a small part of the outside of the "Gold Church". The entire inside is covered in gold. Very impressive but Morgan said she thought it felt rather cold and devoid of the Spirit. They do not allow people to take photos of the interior.

Below is the street "La Ronda". A very cool street that was considered the outskirts of the city several hundred years ago. We are told that all of the shops and restaurants are open with lots of live music in the evenings but we felt more comfortable mid day.

Next we walked UP to the Basilica with several rest stops on the way for Grandpa and I. This  building was begun several hundred years ago and is still not completely finished. The most impressive part is that they let you walk up scary ladders to reach the tippy top of the bell tower and David and Morgan went all the way. We stayed on the ground and contented ourselves with their description of the journey.

The building is full of awesome stained glass windows. Many of them are lovely representations of Bible stories.

We saw lots of the old and we checked out the fancy mall to represent the new. This mall has a mural that shows an aerial view of the volcanoes in Ecuador. There are many and one is active.

This photo below was taken when we took the Morales' and Sister Chiza out to lunch. David is amazing. He can talk effortlessly (at least it looks easy when he does it) with anyone, even when he does not speak the language well. We had a fun lunch together.

We went to several parks. Parque Elejido has lots of stands selling artisan stuff. Morgan and I had fun shopping there on their last Saturday. Parque Carolina has the volleyball players and also a Botanical Garden that is beautiful. Below are two photos I took of plants that caught my attention. 

We tried all of the public transportation methods. David and Morgan saw Ecuadorians up close and personal on the buses, the trolley and the Ecovia. Most of you have never been packed in so tightly with others as you travel to your next destination. David and Morgan wanted to provide some service in Ecuador. They donated a huge bag of rice along with oatmeal and sugar to an orphanage and the four of us spent a couple of hours playing with the children. They learned what an Ecuadorian mercado was like. Hundreds of stands inside a big building where individuals sell their wares. Fruit or vegetables or meat or prepared food. Flowers, wooden items, grains, sweets, small stalls with an amazing variety of fresh foods. For several blocks all around are tiny stores that each specialize. There is a plastics store, there is a store with fabric but no pins or buttons. You have to go to a button store if you want buttons. The trick is to know where to find what you want to buy. It takes a while to be sure.

We did leave Quito and go to Otavalo. The people there are masters at producing and marketing their artisan products. Lovely things sold by people who are very good salesmen. But the prices are low. The people producing the merchandise are not making very much money for their time and talent. Another thing we enjoyed was watching traditional dancing at the Archbishop's Palace. There was a cute 11 year old girl sitting in front of us. Her mother was one of the dancers so we had fun learning a few things about her school and the dances. Sister Thomas went with us as well and she made the evening even more fun.

This was definitely a highlight week of our mission.

Trip to the Orient

In the middle of March we took a trip to the Oriente. Oriente means east in Spanish. We did not travel on the romantic Orient Express but we took a bus that you guys in Idaho might like.

 You should have all been with us and wearing your BSU sweatshirts!

Sister Morales went with us. Her husband was already in Lago Agrio which means Bitter Water. Lovely. 

I was carsick but had taken a pill so I survived. The bus was rocketing along in the rain and the windows were dirty but the scenery was beautiful!

 See three waterfalls above and the river below?

 Sister Morales and I in Lago Agrio where one can cross the river. The bridge has been down for years and it has not been replaced yet.

 On a bus in the city, a woman sat down across the aisle from us and had a chicken in a bag. 

She said I could take a photo but we must have gone over a bump when I clicked the shutter.

 Typical nice house in the country.

 We came back and crossed the river on one of the little ferries.

I tried a sapote for the first time. Two toned fruit! It was very good. It even has a flower shape. We each had one and broke out the segments and ate it as we traveled in a motorcycle taxi that pulled a trailer with a canvas top.

Here we are in Coca. We spent most of our time on a bus during this trip but we did get to see a lot of Ecuador.

 There is a branch in Coca (The real name is Francisco de Orellana) Coca is easier to say. This is a rented facility but it looked great.

 Sister and Brother Morales

 When the bus stopped I snapped a photo of an shaved ice vendor.

 This Farmacia (pharmacy) must have been having a Grand Opening or something. Sana means healthy.

This adorable little girl is the youngest child of Manuel who was baptized in the river on Saturday night in Lago Agrio where a branch has just be approved by Salt Lake. They will organize it formally in April.

They dressed behind the truck and then joined us at the river.

 Here is the traditional missionary photo after the baptism. He looks happy. His wife was baptized before.

That is the taxi we all piled into to ride to the river. Fortunately we were inside the truck.

Don't you think this is a beautiful setting for an eternal ordinance?

Remar Foundation

David and Morgan are coming to visit!! They wanted to spend at least one day giving service and we found an orphanage that welcomes their help. Sister Morales accompanied us because she had been there before with her Relief Society.

They have about 80 children living there. We were given a tour of the girls bedrooms.

As with all families there is lots of laundry.

And how about 3 meals a day for a family of 80 people?

Most of the children have been abandoned. We talked to two teenagers. One has been there for 2 months, the other for 10 years.

It appears that the adults are very loving and involved with the children. They would take the babies with them when they could, as they did their work. There is a school at the same location. Most of the children do not have documentation and cannot attend regular schools.

We visited just after lunch and they were enjoying the playground on a sunny day.

These girls found the perfect spot for a picnic.

Doesn't this look like a fun playground ride? Not a soft landing though.
It is sad that a place like this is needed but so wonderful that people are trying to make a loving home and provide schooling for children without parents.