Day 51 - A Busy Saturday

Erik wasn’t feeling great (this damp, rainy weather may be affecting him) so we decided to just do one of Ryan’s studies we didn’t get to last night. Erik had set it up for 9am so we just walked down to the Quebrada instead of meeting with the group. His name is Jhony and (at the risk of sounded redundant) he is a great study. He is in his mid-twenties and went to school for 6 years for computer technology so he knows a lot and really seems to enjoy his work. He is a real thinker and has a lot of good questions. We finished the chapter on the resurrection which he seemed to enjoy because his dad died four years ago. He was introduced to the truth several years ago when his uncle (who is a witness and owns the house we live in), who is his dad’s brother, would witness to the family.

We came home and I made Mexican food for lunch:  pico de gallo, guacamole, beans (which may be a bad idea with hours of driving through the mountains ahead of us today)-Erik has the talk in the Loja Oriental Congregation at 7:15pm (1.5 hours away). We decided to leave at 4 because we wanted to take advantage of being in Loja and stop at the Supermaxi. Plus, it’s been raining since Wednesday (yes, I’m complaining. Hey, you all haven’t even had a “real” Rochester winter) which means the potential for lots of derrumbes (mud/landslides), which there were.

Waiting for them to clear away debris (as it was still falling)

Not to mention the annoying, random police stops which took a little bit by the time they  checked everyone’s paperwork and took pics of our passports (with their cell phones which is a little weird but you can’t say anything).

I don’t think we’ll ever get sick of that ride from Cumbaratza to Loja (Although the twists and turns up and down the mountain may MAKE you sick). I will say all that rain makes for spectacular waterfalls and a million shades of green on the mountainside. Not to mention what seems like perfectly placed houses every so often and a few cows scattered here and there to make for beautiful vistas.

We got our groceries and got to the meeting with 10 minutes to spare. Phew! But unfortunately, we didn’t have time for dinner.

By the time we left it was almost 9:30 which meant a dark, dangerous ride home. (And yes, the beans were not a good idea). But by 11pm we were home safe and sound, thanks to Shawn.