Day 47 – Cuy (pronounced kwee) finally did it!

…but first, the ministry. We had a really good day today preaching in the Quebrada (near the house). We stopped to visit a woman named Erlinda, but only found her husband. We had a nice conversation with him and then his daughter, Nancy, came out. So, we set up to come back at 4pm to continue the conversation/study Erik had with her on Friday. She wanted to know why God permits suffering.

We had our second study with Flor (last week we couldn’t because of Carnaval). But today we continued in the first chapter under the subheading, “Is God uncaring or hardhearted?”  She really takes an interest and seems very sincere. She told us that she was surprised about hearing that so many Jehovah’s Witnesses died in that bus crash near Quito. She thought that since they were good people and were doing the lord’s work that they would be protected. We helped her to reason that that isn’t how things work. That bad things can happen to anyone and “time and unforeseen occurrence befall us all”. It made sense to her.

We went to visit Merci but she wasn’t home, arrrgg – almost a perfect morning. We were disappointed mostly because she’s a really good study (and a little bit because it was rainy & “chilly”-yes, I said it. I had goose bumps). We went home around 11:00 and wrote some letters that we want to leave tomorrow in Guadalupe. For lunch we had pasta with homemade sauce. Ryan made it and it was very good. Shawn made juice from banana, mango, membrillo and oranges. We were stuffed and took a nap for about an hour. At 3:30 we visited Nancy and had the joy of studying with her, her father and her aunt. We were there for an hour and a half. Her aunt asked if she could come for the next study also and we said “no way!” Kidding! Next Tuesday at 4:00. We went back to see Merci and studied with her for 30 minutes…

…which brings us to the title of today’s blog. We were invited over to Elmer and Monica Ordoñez’ house for dinner. They have a farm. No, they don’t raise pigs or cows. Neither chickens nor Turkeys. They own a cuy farm. That sounds very innocent, doesn’t it? But, as some of you may already know Americans have a very different relationship with cuy than do our friends to the south. We buy cuy for our kids, not to eat but rather to stick in a cage lined on the bottom with shredded paper. I know what you're thinking-they ate hamsters! Savages! Hey, chill out. wouldn't eat hamsters. Cuy are guinea pigs. Mmmmm, tastes like chicken (doesn't everything?) We enjoyed it immensely. It was roasted and served with rice, salad and potatos. It is a little greasy, but not bad. I'm really glad we tried it because it is seen here as a delicacy and we are very appreciative that they were so hospitable. We know you don't have taste-a-vision but at least you can enjoy the pictures. 

I think Leah did pretty good, but still got harassed for leaving so much meat
on the bones-when you see Ryan's plate you'll uderstand why

This looks like guinea pig paw cuz it is guinea pig paw.
And he ate them both.

It's like Ryan isn't sure if he'll ever eat again.

My plate was awesome. You must admit, it is a
beautifully cooked rodent.

Elmer also opined that the rodent(s) of unusual size are probably "guanchacas". That's right opossum. In our humble opinion, judging from the sounds, this guanchaca takes HGH and wears a suit of armor. We aren't convinced we know his true identity, but don't worry...when he crashes through the ceiling and onto our bed, we'll just ask.