Day 26 – Albions first meeting and it’s mango time once again!

View from the bridge of a house by the river

Preaching in the Quebrada (where we live), we met at the corner at the Ordonez house (I’ll try to get a pic of Monica y Elmer Thursday).  So I had 2 new studies set up for this morning. Unfortunately, the first one was at the bus stop and on her way to Zamora to work, but she promised she’ll be there tomorrow. The other one, Flor, we got to 15 minutes early and her son said she had left to walk his little brother to school so we came back at 9:30 and she was there. Erik y I sat outside and went through the beginning of the Ensena bk and then started chapter 1. She seems very humble and genuine and we r looking forward to next week. She seemed to like the suggestion in the book about reading 3-5 chapters a day in the Bible to finish the whole thing in a year.  We’ll keep you posted.

View of the River (you can see Cumbaratza in the distance)

Here there are no street names (there may be a name but it’s not posted) and definitely no house numbers.  As you can imagine this can make it difficult to mark down and return on someone who shows interest, especially if you’re not familiar with the area.  The organization encourages you to take good notes, so we try to follow that advice. We describe well and pick identifying features, like the color, new wooden gate, or…………… for this one I wrote down Chihuahua with fangs, and sure enough I found the house again today (look closely-he didn't exactly pose for me).

We all went to Zamora around lunch time: Erik had a call he wanted to try (Segundo, the man that he met in the street that has come to the meeting 2 times), Shawn needed to take care of some banking, Ryan and Veronica had to pay some bills and other errands, I went because they promised me food – “encebollado” to be exact. Kind of like a fish soup, but different than what we made the other day.  This didn’t have any peanut butter. Encebollado literally means “onioned”. It has lots of onions.
I was able to hang our clothes out to dry finally. Dry bath towels for at least a day…did we mention it rains a lot during the “rainy season” in the “rain forest”? Stuff just stays damp; kind of like camping damp.

Well, it was an active evening filled with important things. Shawn and Erik “juiced” again. I’m not talking about Barry Bonds, Mark Maguire type juicing but, rather, carrot juicing. When they realized you can buy over 2lbs of carrots for 51 cents they went crazy. 12 lbs and juiced about 8 of em’. We now have a fridge filled with carrot/mango or cucumber/lime/carrot juice. Whatever tickles your fancy.

After that we called in and listened to the first meeting of the new Albion Spanish congregation. It was really awesome; everyone did really well with their parts and there was an excitement in the air.

At about 9:45 pm Aaron and Keila and Jim and Robin arrived. It should be really enjoyable spending time with everyone. I sense we will have many more blog-worthy moments just ahead. They came bearing gifts-tons of Milagro mangos. Our bellies are full and our hands are sticky. Blog ya’ tomorrow, Jehovah willing.

Day 25 - A whole lotta nothing

Polishing by the firepit

It’s really nice to have a day to relax and catch up, but we won’t bore u with all the details.  I’ll just say that this might have been the most stressful thing Erik did all day – clean and polish all the shoes. And as much as him and Ryan chat when they r together, they dragged it out for like 3 hours.  Mondays are now what he always wanted them to be.

Shawn approves

The other highlight of the day would have to be superbowl  leftovers. True to their fame they were better the next day. BBQ ribs & chicken, rice & menestra (beans) – Delicious!

We bought the Superbowl on NFL.com but it comes with access to all the games this year plus the last 3 years so the boys are taking advantage. Yes that’s 3 superbowls in 24 hours (the good news is that without commercials they take about half the time). But at least they’re multitasking – playing texas holdem and watching the Colts & Saints Superbowl. (Ryan never saw it)

Who said men can't multitask? - Don't they look productive?

Day 24-"R u ready for some football?"

…so no, I’m not adjusting – woke up to my 5am “chancho” alarm.

if you look close on the right, that's just magazines-crazy right?

Shawn, Erik & I left early this morning because Erik had a talk in Loja Norte Cong.

Nice hall with about 100 publishers, there are 3 congregations that meet there and a Kichwa group (yes, it’s different than Quechua). They have an auditorium that slants down like the assembly hall-pretty cool. We met a sister who has been learning Kichwa for 3 years.

We have a video of her doing a presentation but couldn't get it to upload.

While we were in Loja, we stopped at the Supermaxi for some Superbowl fixins, picked up some chicken & ribs from the delicious BBQ place in the food court (yes I said food court) and then stopped at the market in Zamora for some fruit/veggies.

Outdoor market in Zamora

For $10 we got:

NOT 4 SALE!

Huge pineapple - $1
Avocados – 4/$1
Large, ripe papaya - .75
3 lrg cukes -.50
bunch of cilantro - .25
Japanese sweet potatoes – 4 lbs/$1
large green peppers – 4/.50
garlic – 4/.50
head of broccoli - .50
mangos – 3/$1
tomatoes – 4lbs/$3
...and a baby, just kidding

Beer stop and home by 3:30

I made guacamole & pico de gallo, Ryan and Erik made the pizzas and we heated up the ribs/chicken. Beer in the freezer and we were ready. Ryan found a new recipe on Youtube for pizza dough and it turned out delicious. We pigged out, seriously, they’ll be slaughtering us next weekend. While we began feasting we got a surprise call from Wayne and Tanya. Veronica doesn't understand English but was cracking up listenening to Wayne. That was a really great treat!

6:30 – Kickoff! Who says you can’t do the Superbowl in Ecuador.  Although I think we may be the only ones watching in the whole country.

Veronica is not much for football but came out for the halftime show. As the end neared, the boys got closer and closer to the screen.

Great game! – Erik & Ryan were very happy  - Shawn not so much. Oh well, there’s always next year…or last year, Shawn & Erik stayed up watching last year’s Superbowl afterward-locos! Ryan still never saw the Superbowl between the Saints and Colts-that's for Monday...after their weekly game of Texas Hold em'. Don't worry...they just play with buttons.

Day 23 - Rain, rain go away

Slept soundly - didn't hear a sound (well maybe lots of sounds - but no dying pig squeals) last night. I'd say we're adapting but it was pouring rain and I think it just muffled the sound because sure enough he was hanging there at the corner when we passed for service. We'll see how we do tonight although I think it's raining again - bc there's no water which happens when it rains a lot-lately every night. Whenever I comment about the rain, Ryan reminds me we r in the rainforest.

Although we slept soundly, Erik was jolted awake by the sound of me flailing around the bedroom like a crazy person because i had seen a spider (not superhuman size but big enough) and I wasn't gonna relax until i had killed it. After moving everything on the floor twice, i finally got it, and we could all relax again.

I don't think anyone enjoyed the rain/mud as much as him

It was "cold" again today - 60's and rainy. Despite the somewhat “dreary” conditions, 16 of us met for service & Ryan “shook” things up a bit by mixing brothers and sisters together but not with their spouses. So Erik worked with Carmen Romero and her daughter Damaris. I worked with Cesar Romero and his youngest daughter, Raquel.  Fortunately, I think I’ve lost a few pounds here because I was waiting for “Le toca a la gorda, si poppi?” – but was happily disappointed.  It rained all morning but we still had a nice time preaching (walking) in the town of Namirez.  We found a lot home and had several nice conversations.


We got home before Ryan & Veronica so we decided to make lunch for a change – lasagna of course! – very Ecuadorian.  I think it turned out pretty good with homemade sauce, just missing some really good parmesan.

Alondra and her uncle, Pepito (but he prefers Josue)

The brother from Loja cancelled his talk so Erik gave another of his outlines in Cumbaratza Congregation. Shawn and I get to listen again tomorrow in Loja (He’s starting to understand what it feels like to be an elder’s wife. Hehe)

The young people here are exceptional! Their ability in the ministry (reading scriptures, asking questions), preparation & participation in the meetings is exemplary. But Maite is extra special – she walks the 4 or 5 blocks to all the meetings by herself (her mom doesn’t study, only her grandma and other aunts/uncles but she doesn’t live with them) with her book bag all packed with her meeting books.  She pays rapt attention to the meeting, taking notes of the Bible texts read. She knows her way around her Bible & has her hand up to comment a lot. She already studied the Great Teacher book (she knows her Bible Stories book too!) and is now in chapter 1 of the Bible Teach book….She’s 9 years old. (She sat with us tonight-precious!)



Ana & her cousin Maite

Victory!!!

So Shawn, Erik & I came home to Ryan in Shawn’s room…you see, we’ve had a little unwelcome visitor, well maybe not so little.  Shawn and Ryan were immediately on the hunt – still in their meeting clothes.  Apparently he had found a different way back in – but was trying to leave via the hole Shawn had covered the day before. So with him trapped in the little room off Shawn’s BR & brooms in hand they were determined.  You can’t imagine the ruckus, but after several minutes…..

I told you he wasn't so little

Day 22 - Studies

Slept in a little because we didn't have our first study until 10am in Cumbaratza. Erik and Ryan had a "brief" elders meeting in the kitchen while drinking their coffee.  We had our breakfast and we were off for the 30 minute walk to Cumbaratza.  It was an overcast day and a little drizzly but that was ok as it cut down on the sweating a "bit".  Although by the time we got to Marisol's house (after climbing the steep, rocky, somewhat treacherous hill) we were both sweating like chanchos. But man is that study worth it.  She is truly a joy to study with.  It was very kind of Veronica to "lend" her for 3 months. Not only is she totally prepared with all the scriptures looked up, but she really gets it and can explain it clearly.  She is a teacher and it seems she appreciates the value of good preparation.  She is pretty regular at the meetings on Saturday, but her nightime teaching job prevents her from attending Thursday nights (for now). Today we finished chapter 11 on why god permits suffering & i got to use Diana Vivanco's illustration for 2 Pet 3:9. I thought Erik was gonna sit there all day and study with her. On the way back, in the "Quebrada", we stopped at another possible study, Merci, a 19 yr old girl I spoke with Tuesday who was eager to have us come back. She already had the ensena bk (thanks again Veronica) and really showed an eagerness to understand the Bible and a good ability to do so. Unfortunately she was on her way out but said for us to come back Tues at 8:30 - yeah that's right. I had to push it to 8:45 bc we meet for service at 8:30 (yes everyday, except monday of course).

Came home for lunch, a little blogging, studying and back out in service at 2pm. Erik went off to find a few of his studies and I went with Shawn on what was to be the first study with a woman he had called on for a while and left magazines. Her name is Eliza (short for Elizabeth) and her daughter Damaris.  We were on our way up (already having climbed the steep hill past Marisol's house) and on round 2 of the hill when we passed by a little girl Shawn studies with.  She asked "hermanito me puedes ayudar? Tengo que llevar estas cajas arriba."(asking if he could help her carry a few boxes up the hill) - with such innocence who could say no or know that "arriba" was spanish for 2 miles up this steep hill. Not Shawn. So we all 3 started back up the hill again, passing the new study's house, all the while, Shawn asking how much farther.We kept going, rounded the corner, passed a few more houses (still climbing mind u) when she signaled to the house about another 1/2 mile up the hill. At that point we realized it would be good if I went back and started the study, which I did. I went through the prologue and then asked which of the questions she has ever wondered. She picked the one about the condition of the dead so we went to pg 58, parragraphs 5 & 6. I demonstrated how a study in the book works with those 2 parragraphs, she got her Bible and seemed to understand well the texts in Eccl and Psalms. She said we could come back next week and start that chapter. (Shawn made it back in time to say goodbye)

At 3pm we met at the hall and Erik went with Shawn. I worked with Diana (see the photo from last night) We did another one of my new studies, Silvia and then visited one of Dianas studies for a little pep talk and then the study with Maria Ester. (I know what ur thinking and I was mentally psyched up to eat whatever-and starving enough by then too) But no food this week, actually, Diana was gonna go back at 7 to watch the video from last night and she said she would have something prepared.

We finished up with one more of Diana's RV's that had moved and finally tracked her down. She was very nice and Diana set up a visit for next Friday to go over info in the chapter about prayer in the ensena bk.

On a side note: I may have found out why the police stopped us and asked for papers (apparently that's very abnormal here). I had noticed this last call and her husband watching suspiciously as we asked their neighbor accross the street if they knew her.  And she explained that very recently there has been a taller woman with blond hair (in her 50's ) pretending to be one of JW's to scope out homes, and then coming back with 2 tall men to rob people.  Her father had a run in with this woman and then a local woman was actually robbed. So when they saw me standing there (i resent the age reference) and Diana had her back to them, she made her husband wait around to see what we were doing.  It wasn't until Diana turned around that they sighed relief. Great-just what I need, a look-a-like (or so they say) instilling fear in the people of Cumbaratza. As if people weren't staring enough before. Now I know how Erik felt when we first moved to Spanish and everyone in the territory feared he was "La migra".

It was amusing today because everyone you asked how they were they said "con frio" which means cold.  I guess all things are realive but 65 degrees and drizzly is far from cold for us. I had my sleeveless shirt on all day. Sorry, no pics tonight, but the papaya my RV gave us the other day was delicious!

Well, it's Friday night.....sweet dreams.....until 5am that is.

Day 21-“Is everything okay, officer?"

No big deal, I just wanted to get your attention. Day 21 began by meeting for field service at 8:30 in Santa Rosa.

This is a picture from above Santa Rosa. I thought the tree in the foreground looked cool. I'm no Danielle Zielinski but I did stay in a Holiday Inn last night.

Leah and I worked together and had a very productive morning. Our first door was a nice conversation with Señora Yolanda. She invited us in and explained that reading is difficult because she has poor eyesight. She thinks it is related to extreme stress she has while her nephew was very sick. Who knows? Isaiah 35:5, 6 was comforting to her.

Hermano Segundo assigned us to preach on the main road after that. We quickly realized why.

The way down was a lot tougher than the way up.

Segundo is Tatiana’s father. She is the one who preached with us the day before. She is in the picture on the bridge from one of the previous blogs. He seems very kind and zealous in the ministry. Getting back to the picture-I decided to save Leah the filth and potential pain of going up to that house. It was treacherous, even though it doesn’t seem like it. I started up the hill part way and yelled but it seemed pretty dead. When I got back to the bottom a man had come out so I headed back up. By the time I reached the house his wife had joined him. He was an Indian (and still is) and his wife had major health problems. Once I started sharing scriptures they became comfortable and she asked if I might be able to heal her. Hey, I barely made it to the top of the hill! Heal!?! But it touches your heart to see the way people are desperate for relief and are tossed and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd. What a privilege to be able to share our hope. Even before I left she was asking me when I could return. I told her the following Thursday and they said they would be waiting.

Oh yeah, the title. Before we got to that house, the police pulled over and were waiting for us to approach. When we got close 3 officers got out of the pickup and asked for our papers. Yet another reminder of how helpless I am without the wifee-she had packed them. One of them asked for our papers, one stood silent and the youngest one was snapping photos of us like we were Brangelina. The first one pulled out his Dollar Store spiral notebook and copied our data from the Passports while Agent Paparazzi snapped photos of said documents. They asked me when we would be leaving the country and I said “well, if we keep standing here in the middle of this busy street, probably real soon and in a wooden box”. Fortunately, they had a sense of humor and we all had a good laugh.  They, of course, were just doing their job and everything was fine.

Afterward, we went back into Santa Rosa and did our second study with Alexandra. If you remember, she is the widow who thinks her deceased husband’s spirit is messing around in the tool room. She sounded like she had pneumonia but wanted to study. She did really well and we look forward to our next one with her.

We returned home and lunch was already made. It was sopa de menudencia (which means the small aspects of something). In this case it refers to the small, seemingly insignificant parts of a chicken (heart, feet, liver, lungs). The soup was delicious over white rice. I can say that that was the first time I have ever seen Leah sucking the meat from a chicken kneck. I was not so daring (or gracious) and left the chicken foot for Shawn to eat. The gizzards were pretty good though.

At 4pm we walked down to visit Erlinda, a RV of Leah's, who wanted us to meet her husband. They had studied and attended meetings in the past and we were hoping to encourage them to start back up again.  Her husband, Hilario was home, and very humble and kind like his wife. After a nice conversation and sharing of scriptures we set up to go back this Saturday. She gave us platanos and we were off to start walking to the meeting.  After a nice walk, and dodging a small herd of cows in the road, Ryan and Veronica stopped to pick us up.

This is Victor y Diana Vivanco. They are a young couple in the congregation and are very zealous in the ministry and very capable, as well. Victor is the school overseer and does a very good job. Diana had a talk last night and she used the following illustration to help her bible student understand why it is a benefit that Jehovah has not brought the end yet (2 Peter 3:9). If you were studying and preparing to take a test to get a promotion for your job and your boss told you that the test had been moved back from tomorrow to a week from tomorrow, would you be angry? Wouldn't it be a relief to have more time to prepare yourself for the test? Shouldn't that be the way we feel about Jehovah's patience? A good illustration to insert in the Bible Teach book, chapter 11 paragraph 17. I know because Leah plagarized that same illustration on a study this morning...which you will read about tomorrow.

Segundo, the older man I met in the street, was at the meeting again last night. He paid wrapped attention to the mtg, took notes and gave several comments, including one on the part about the bloodless alternative video - Very encouraging.

Because Ryan isn't just an elder, but the elder, he and Veronica were late in getting home from the meeting. So Shawn, Leah and I took advantage of the time and started eating everything in the house quick "before mom and dad get home" - I was starving - should've ate the chicken foot!

Day 20-A long hike produces great results

Day 20 began every other day-bible reading with Leah, breakfast and the daily text as a group. I always have struggled to do the text everyday so this arrangement is really nice. We began by walking down the street and speaking to a girl at the bus stop and then a 30 minute drive to an isolated territory, but we stopped to preach along the way.

We left the car by the side of the main road to walk down a small path by an overgrown bustop. You would never know from the road that this little community called Conchai was hidden back in the rainforest. The natural beauty was breath-taking! We crossed a river and hiked back about 30 minutes and found about 5 or 6 houses. 

Leah on road to bridge in Conchai

Bridge in Conchai

Ryan, Veronica, Tatiana, Leah

Washing gold (panning for gold)

Veronica y Tatiana entering the thick stuff

Ryan, Santiago Israel & me after a
good conversation

At the last one Ryan and I had a nice conversation with a young man named Santiago Israel. He was concerned about the end coming in 2012 (Mayan calendar). We had an extra copy of the magazine that had he article regarding the Mayan calendar and considered many texts with him. His mother had so many beautiful flowers in the yard that we brought the girls over to see and take pictures. Ecuadoreans are pretty chilled.

Natural beauty...and how about the flowers!

Coffee beans on the plant

View on the road to Guadalupe

We were supposed to meet up with the rest of the group in Piuntza at 10:00 but we didn’t get there until 11:30-oops-so we went ahead to the next town called Guadalupe. Here in the towns- because the buildings are all connected and there can be sometimes multiple doors on one house- they paint the outside and pillars different colors so you can differentiate between them.  We preached a little in town and then sat in the park in the center to eat lunch (Veronica & Ryan had made and packed of course) All that walking (& carbs maybe) makes me a little sleepy. 



Preach, eat sleep. La buena vida!

Shuar, Tierra, Oriental

The town is built around a Catholic Church and seminary. There is a big bridge the locals have painted with scenes of life representing the different groups of people living in Ecuador on one side. And the different animal, plant and insect life here on the other side.

Esmeralda (coast), Quechua

I visited the priest in his huge mansion…I am not kidding-it was huge and beautiful. The difference in living conditions between him and the parishioners is shocking. He was kind but didn’t have time for me to share a scripture. Ryan and I worked with 2 young brothers from the congregation. We went pretty far back into the woods and came upon a community of about 5 houses. The highlight was visiting a family with at least 5 children: Carmen, Segundo, Marta, Mayra and David. Adrian and I spent about 45 minutes with them studying out of the “Teach” book. They chose chapter 6 “Where are our dead loved ones” (sorry, can’t remember the title in English anymore-been a long time). I asked if there was a reason they picked that one and Carmen said because our dad died 2 years ago. He wasn’t the best guy and they were concerned because they were told bad people go to hell and suffer. Yuck, right? Very comforting! Anyway, we sat down and went through the first 4 paragraphs and they all participated. It was a really touching experience. We will return at the end of the month to continue. It was a long walk but it produced great results!

 It was hot and there was a really clean, cool stream nearby so Ryan and the two boys went swimming-yeah, there’s no Tim Hortons here so we take our breaks at the nearest mountain stream. I was jealous so I dipped my head in the water. Next time I go there I will remember to bring a towel. I was really jealous.

Leah preached with Veronica y Tatiana, a young sister (13 yrs old) who is extremely capable at the door. She’s not intimidated by whoever the householder is-young, old, man, woman and she reads a scripture and asks questions. She must have placed 8 or more sets of magazines (Tatiana took the day off of school to come out in service all day).  They preached closer to the town center and worked toward the outskirts. Tatiana found a woman who invited us to sit and after she accepted the mags, her friend asked to have a set too and as they walked away the women were sitting there reading them.  They met up with tons of kids/young people home alone who almost all showed a desire to listen and learn something from the Bible.  Sometimes 3 or 4 would gather around and listen.  You can see why Jesus used them as an example in their humility and desire to learn.

On the way home we stopped by Hermana Cristina Cajas’ house for some delicious jugo de membrillo again (she’s got a ton of them falling from her fruit trees) and some homemade membrillo/papaya marmalade on homemade bread. Delicious!

Then a quick stop by the hall to check for the video on transfusion alternatives (unsuccessful) and a quick stop by the woman who sells tortillas de verde (an empanada made with green plantains, stuffed with chicken) –this, on the other hand, was very successful!

Couldn’t locate the video so we called into Spanish South’s meeting in Rochester to listen to the part and a little help with the answers (seeing as Ryan gave me the part) – Thanks Papito! Good review.

It was tiring day but really satisfying. It was a long walk to visit the 5 kids but, with Jehovah’s blessing, it will produce great results.