Day 48 - ...and then there were three!

This morning, Ryan and Veronica left to take Jim and Robin back to Milagro. The house suddenly felt very empty, it was very quiet just the three of us eating. But we really enjoyed the time we had with Jim & Robin. It was nice to get to know them better and go preaching together. We’ll see them in a few months back home in New York.

It was overcast today. The clouds just sit there as if they are
stuck on the mountains on days like today.

At 8am, Shawn, Erik & I left for preaching in the farther out territory – Conchai, Piuntza & Guadalupe. (We went there about a month ago-Day 20). We did some calls along the way. Then we made our way back over the bridge and through the field in Conchai for Erik to call back on Santiago. We found him home (thank goodness) and his mom, Naomi too. She was very nice and has studied in the past, she even went to a convention in Guyaquil quite a number of years ago. She asked when we could come back again, hoping it would be sooner than a month. She thinks it would be good for her son to study (he seems agreeable) and wants us to talk to her husband too. It’s not that she doesn’t want to study, but she’s already done the whole Bible teach book and I honestly think if her husband responded favorably, she would act on her knowledge. We are planning to go back Sunday afternoon.

We got to Piuntza  late(again). Victor & Diana Vivanco & Rosa (deReyes) were already there preaching. So we did some house-to-house until noonish. Then we drove to Guadalupe, ate lunch and set out to hopefully find Erik’s RV’s at home. Thanks to Hermana Reyes, we discovered a place in town that sold freshly made empanadas (these ones were baked with cheese inside and sugar on top-a perfect combination of sweet and salty!)

In the distance, on the other side of the river is the house
where Matthew is living with his family.

On our way to cross the bridge we noticed this “American”-looking guy staring at us and Erik said, “I don’t think he’s Ecuadorian.” And I said, “I think he’s thinking the same thing about you.” Sure enough, he said “Hi” and we struck up a conversation. It turns out; he’s from Michigan and a doctor in the clinic there in town. He’s here with his wife and 2 kids until April. He said they were expecting a new doctor to arrive today and thought Erik was him. We assured him that was not the case, but it gave us a good opportunity to explain who we were and what we were doing.

We hiked back to the family Erik studied with last month. Carmen, the oldest sister, wasn’t home but her younger sister, Marta, was there taking care of the kids. Man, did she give Erik a run for his money as far as the Bible is concerned. For an eleven year old she knew a lot. Then her brother, Segundo, came in and fired questions at Erik as well. It seems like since the last visit their “Cura” had talked to them and tried to give them some “ammunition” against us, even telling them that a “gringo” had paid him a visit but he didn’t let him read a scripture. As if there was some badge of honor in that. But the kids seemed undeterred by his comments, and although somewhat misguided, were very sincere in their quest for truth. We were there quite a long time and Carmen eventually came home and had a few questions for us as well. We are going to try to get back sooner than a month.

Around 4 we headed back to do some calls in the Timbara area. We studied with Jessica, one of Veronica’s. She is 22, has a 6 month old baby girl named Cristina and is a real thinker. I really enjoy her study because she really ponders over the texts and meditates to try to really understand. It’s really neat to watch her face as she learns something that for her is a new thought.

At 7pm, we went over to the Vivanco’s house. Diana had made pizza and it was delicious. We really enjoyed ourselves getting to know them better. They live in his parents property and what will hopefully in a year or so be a small hotel. Victor’s brother Jairo, who is visiting from Spain to work on the construction, was there as well.

On the way home, we made a stop at our new favorite bakery – This place has the weirdest hours: last night it was closed before 6pm. Tonight it was open at almost 10pm. Seriously? Anyways, we sent Erik in by himself which I sensed was a mistake when he came out with 3 bags. He came out with a huge grin, proud he had spent less than $2.