It has been one month.

One month since we arrived in Ecuador. Time flies by so quickly! Only 59 more to go. Just kidding, we aren't counting.

We have been busy with teacher training the past two weeks. We believe that we have made some large strides in the right direction and are heading toward being a more productive and well structured school.

We have been through quite a few frustrations but have learned a lot. Jake has been trying to grasp the financial aspect of the school: how to pay everyone and how much income we have coming in. There are a lot of laws in regards to pay that we have also been learning about.

It has been a good time. I think we have finally stopped asking the question: what did we get ourselves into? For now at least. :)

So here is what we have been up to the past couple weeks:

I mentioned of Facebook that we saw a little girl pull down her pants and do her business... in our lawn. Well, a few days later here is what else we found in our lawn.

A stray calf munching on our grass.

My birthday was last week. Jauna Regeer was kind enough to bake me a cake. It didn't look so pretty but I promise you it was delicious! Many of you already know how wonderful Jauna is in the kitchen.

Jake bought me some flowers. 50 of them to be precise! So I want y'all to guess how much 50 roses cost in Ecuador... go ahead.
Nope. Sorry... too high.
Jake paid a whopping...
$4.
Crazy hu?

Yesterday the staff threw us (and the new teachers) a welcome party. They had prepared some delicious lunch and cake!

The cake was funny. Notice is says "Mike Welcome"? Well that was a little joked pulled on Mr. Hugo, our assistant principal. He is bad with names and has accidentally called Jake "Mike", so they decided to put it on the cake!

We have Phil Pendergraft, Elder at Woodland West, visiting us this weekend. We are excited about seeing a familiar face.

Well, some how after two busy weeks, this is all we have to report.
Enjoy this picture of Raquel (foster/adoptive daughter of Cathy Jones) playing in the grass.

What to do when you find yourself in a ditch...

Boy do I have a fun story to tell you guys!

So today was my first time driving in Ecuador. Now, if you've ever been here you understand what a scary/crazy ordeal it is to be driving.

I wasn't necessarily very nervous about the driving aspect. I have been known to have a bit of road rage back in Texas so I think I  can hold my own. I was just worried about finding my way to the grocery store in the neighboring city and parking the big 'ol van we are currently driving. Well, one of our volunteer teachers from the States, Jill, came with me so that made me feel better.

We got to the Grand Aki with no problems. My parking job was very questionable however. Anyway, Jill and I did our shopping and headed back to the van with about 20 bags of groceries. That is when the day started to go downhill.

I realized that I had locked the van doors and the side window. Normal, right? Well, I had forgotten that the keys don't unlock the van (this is an old van with a lot of other "charming" features). The only way to open the door is to reach in from the side window and push down the automatic button to unlock the doors. So, I had basically locked ourselves out. Two Amrican girls, standing in a parking lot with 20 grocery bags not knowing what to do. Wonderful.

Thankfully we were able to ask the security guard working the parking lot to watch our stuff while we went to the market next door and get a locksmith to jimmy the lock. Of course the guard laughed at us while we were trying to explain our predicament....not very nice of him. however, we did get the locksmith over and he worked at it for about 10 minutes and managed to get it open.

We joked about it being a good lesson on never locking the van window again. I thought that it ended in being a good first outing driving by myself. UNTIL...

I drove the van into a ditch.

After I dropped the groceries off, I headed back down the hill to pick up Cathy for a school meeting we were having at our place. Now this "hill" is about a mile long and is basically one big pot hole. It is tough to drive it. Add in two way traffic, it is every more difficult. Or at least for an American. Us Americans love our space, especially while we drive. If someone gets 4 feet from our cars we freak out. Hee in Ecuador, you have 4 inches.

So, while driving down the hill I see a taxi driving up. I, still being in the Amerian mindset, try to give him plenty of room to get by. However, I drove to close to the side of the stream running downhill. The grown was soft and gave way, therefore causing the van to fall straight in. Oh joy.

I was very fortunate that Hugo and Jenny Sandoval, our "Assistant Principal" and one of our teachers was on their way up and stopped to help. I also had to call Jake and Justin Reeger to come help too. Several other locals stopped to help. Ultimately this is how you get a large van out of a ditch...

With a tractor!

Oh what a day it was indeed. I learned several valuable lessons. Don't lock the van and stop being worried about hitting other cars. Interesting, hu?


Well, in other news here are some updates!

WE OFFICIALLY SOLD OUR HOUSE!
As of Friday, August 16th we are really truly is no longer home owners. Hooray!
Thank you for all the prayers and thought sent our way.

We are also officially in our house in Ecuador. This was Pat and Jerry Snyder's house for the past 10 years. As we've been transitioning for the past two and a half weeks we have been in a small apartment near the Hacienda's. It is nice to have more space (A LOT MORE)... I guess we no longer can make coffee or clean the dishes while being on the toilet. Bummer.
Pictures of the place will come soon!

Teachers come back to work Monday so we are about to hit some crazy busy times. However, we are excited about the work being done here and know that God will be able to use us and the staff at the School of Hope (Hacienda of Hope Christian Academy) to glorify Him.

 A beautiful sunset over our house.

Part of the view from the kitchen window.

And of course, the School of Hope.

Silence you cell phone please....

So many things to update y'all on and never enough time (or motivation)!

Our house...

We had another appraisal done because it was required, as the buyers are doing a different type of loan. Well, the appraiser said that prices have dropped in our neighborhood so he appraised it at $5,000 less than our first appraisal in April. That was disappointing to hear. However, we are still moving on with the contract. It makes more sense financially to keep going than to have to start over again. A bit of a set back but we are still grateful to have a contract on it!

Our Visas...

We got our Visas on Friday. No problems whatsoever. All it is is a sticker in our passports. This help us with a lot of legal paperwork. So YAY for something coming easy at this point!

Our trip to Guayaquil...

We had a wonderful time worshiping our Lord and celebrating with the churches in Guayaquil this past weekend. I do admit that I was excited to go just to warm up my bones for a couple days. Guayaquil is near the coast. Jake and I compare the weather there to being like Houston, ALL THE TIME. Hot and muggy. However, they had a relatively cool weekend while we were there. It was only in the 70's-80's. 

Saturday we went and visited with 3 different congregations. We had breakfast with Team 2 (Team 2 because they are the second group of missionaries that Woodland West supports) at the casa we were staying at. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of us.

Next we met with the Bastion Popular church, which meets out of a small building in a poorer area of town. They may not be as well off as other areas but they were so rich with love and kindness towards us. We had a feast of fried fish, rice, avocado salad and fried plantains. 

So that was our second meal of the day, all by 10am. To make our third meal, we met with the Team 1 missionaries and their families at a restaurant called CoColon. Interesting fact... Co Colon is the name of the rice at the bottom of a pan that is fried and slightly burnt. Kind of like hushpuppies. 

After our morning of feasting and fellowship we trekked out to Team 2's church because they were celebrating their 7th year anniversary. We got to greet and spend just a few minutes with all the families and church member there before heading back to Team 1.

Saturday night was topped off with the beginning of the 10 year anniversary celebration at Team 1. This was a 4 hour night with two speakers and several groups going up and singing. 

Sunday morning we attended church with Team 1. Josh Marcum gave a great sermon (from what I could tell) and we had a wonderful time being uplifted and praising our Lord. Jake, being the representative from Woodland West, gave a great speech and presented the team with a plaque. It really was a joyous occasion. And of course...we had to eat and have cake!

I leave you with this last pictures... this is up in the entry way at the church with Team 1. In spanish it rhymes, but in English it reads:

Today, God will call you. But he will not call your cell phone. Please, turn off your cellphone. 

Two Blanket or Three Blanket Night

This is how Jake and I talk about how cold we are and generally my answer is always three! If the sun is out, it is generally pretty warm (that is if the wind isn't gusting at 30mph). However, when the sun goes down it gets very cold. We bundle up well under blankets made from of alpacas hair and get cozy. Then all is well.

So a few update on what we have been up to...

• Jake has been preparing for teacher training. Our teachers come back August 19th and school starts September 2nd.
• We have been visiting with Justin and Juana Reeger, Cathy and Jason Frances (Cathy was a member at Twickenham but is now married to a Costa Rican and working at the school for the next few years), and with Jason and Italia Brewington (members at Sideside cofC in Ft. Worth and here on a medical campaign). 
• After visiting with Cathy and Jason Tuesday night, I sprained my ankle due to missing a couple of steps in the dark. Jake has been very good at playing doctor to my foot, while I on the other hand, have been a very bad patient. It has been difficult to be stuck in bed with my leg propped up and iced because I want to get out and see people!
• My foot is feeling a bit better, which is good because today we took a bus into Quito to do our Visa paperwork. Jason and Cathy were very nice to give us the tour of the bus system and how to get into/around Quito on public transportation. We are very happy to say that so far all our Visa paperwork has gone well. We went in today to pay and give them our passports so thy can insert the Visas. We go back tomorrow to pick them up. Hooray! A lot of the paperwork that needs to be done during our short transition with Justin Snyder requires a Visa. So now that we will get it tomorrow, we can accomplish a lot next week.
• We had lunch today at Burger King at the food court in the mall. Our first America fast food trip. Not too bad! It tasted very similar to back home.
• Before picking up our Visas tomorrow, Josh Marcum (current assistant director of the Quito School of Biblical Studies) and the two of us are going to tour the apartment we will be staying at during our Spanish language classes. After the apartment and Visa stuff, Jake and I are hopping on a plane to Guayaquil for the weekend to visit with the two teams that Woodland West supports. Team 1 is having there 10 year celebration!
• Other news.... Our house contract still looks good. We should be closing around August 23rd if not sooner. Praise God!

We have been in Ecuador for a little over a week now and have seen God working here in the people and in our own hearts. Please continue to pray for us, our support that has not been fully raised yet and the work being done here in Ecuador. Pray specifically for patience as we transition to the Snyder's position of Director and as they return home. Also as we learn to adjust to a new country and it's culture (Ecuador, being a South American country is very laid back. No one is in a rush to get things done so things take longer. This can be very frustrating for our North American personalities).

I think that is all we have to report for now. No new pictures this time, but definitely of Guayaquil this weekend.

Pictures

We had such a nice day yesterday, Jake and I walked around the Haciendas and took a few pictures. You can make the pictures larger by double clicking them.

The Hacienda dog. Not sure what his name is but he just hangs around all the time.

One of the Casas with Mt. Cayambe in the background.

The road from the Haciendas to the School. The jagged mountain in the middle is 

Mt. Mojanda, 14,000 ft.

Drying clothes in the wind.

Sunshine!

Can you image playing outside everyday with the mountain as your backdrop?

Mt. Cayambe 18,000 ft. The city of Cayambe is in the valley. 

Population of about 30,000 and about 20 mins away.

We are not in Texas anymore...

Week 1 in Ecuador!

So we are just north of the Equator and this is supposed to be summer... Tanya and I have been looking for warmer clothes from our containers!  It has been in the low 40s at night and cool/warm during the day depending on the cloud cover.  We are adjusting....

On Thursday Tanya, Justin (school director) and I drove in to Quito to work on our Visa paperwork.  The government accepted all of our paperwork so if there are no changes needed, this coming Thursday we will leave our passports and on Friday pick up our Visas!  We will keep you informed.  This Visa is important (besides being able to stay in the country) because much of the paperwork for the Christian academy can not be transferred to me without a Visa.  It looks like we will have about 3 days total to transfer paperwork after obtaining our Visa, which is not much when working in Ecuador.
Keep praying for a smooth transition!

Tanya and I have been staying in a small apartment next to the Hacienda (Orphanage) while we work on the transition with the current directors.  We have been blessed to stay next to the children in the orphanage and the group from Florida who are taking care of the children this week.  The normal house parents are at a retreat to refresh and learn with the new directors of the Hacienda (the Reegers).  It has been a blessing getting to know the children and group.

The Florida group is from the First City Church in Pensacola, FL.  They have been coming down to the Hacienda for many years filling in for the house parents on this week.  They have been gracious hosts to the children and us, taking care of every need for the children and loving them with the love of the Lord.  We have been going on trips with them and the Hacienda children during the week.  It has given Tanya and I a great opportunity to know some of our Academy students!

Check out the pictures below for the week:

Hacienda students, Tanya, and Florida group visiting a Rose Plantation. 

Tanya says I should buy her roses every week because they are so cheap! 

Hacienda children 

All of us at the park in Otavalo! 

I climbed a replica of Mt. Cayambe at the park!  

"I am King of the playground!"