It's that time again, The New Year

I wish you all a very
Happy New Year!


At the beginning of the new year,
tradition is that people burn away the old year, bad memories and evil with effigies. 

Vendors can be found along the streets.
Wow, That one on the left sure seems life like! 

 

 

Guess who's coming to dinner!

 

 

 

We're just waiting for a home and maybe a face!

 

 

This one appears to be quite personal!... Ouch.

 

New Years Eve is filled with antics. 

Traffic is stopped by a rope and the boys come out to beg money for passage..

 Occasionally I have seen girls dressed as clowns.

 

 

 

I notice that the police are more active at these road blocks and the scene below

was common this year.  I think maybe they will be restricting the practice somehow. 

 

A comical though unhappy mix!

 

 

Some more very confused young men!

 

As the New Year approaches the effigies are set ablaze with all manner of fireworks exploding all around the city.  No limits!

 

 

I watched this all from my open windows, six floors up.  It sounded like a war zone and I wondered if a stray rocket would find itself on my kitchen table!

Finally I had to close the windows for all the smoke.

 

 

So ends the year of 2012 as I pray for all my family and friends back home. I pray for the new friends and family in this country

and wisdom and direction for all those laboring towards the

Great Commission where ever you may be at this time.

 

 

 

 

Nostalgia

In Cuenca we are blessed to have every modern convenience, but it is not unusual for the power to fail any given day for hours, at least in my neighborhood.  Today was one of those days.

 

So today, after spending some time reading I wanted to have a good morning cup of coffee. Now before I continue I have to tell you this. 

Ever since I can remember I have always tried to be prepared for emergencies, big or small.  I once won a contest for the most items in a purse.  Things like... scissors, thread, wipes, safety pin, needles, Band Aids, antiseptic, tissue, pens, candy, cough drops, tweezers, tape, bible, lotion, bobby pins, rubberband, toothbrush, paper clip, lip balm, comb, mirror, Swiss Army Knife,  matches, pliers, wire stripper, calendar, collapsible cup, shoe string, phone and an occasional change of clothes for my youngins. (when they were waay small of course)...

I think you get my drift.

So when the occasion came to make coffee on my propane stove.  I was prepared.  It just so happened that one of the important things on my list to bring to Ecuador was my old time coffee percolater....

So I had my morning coffee, but that got me thinking about all the little reminders here of time past....things like:

 

Milk glass coffee cups....

which I used for my fresh perked coffee.

 

A Ford F-150

(I don't know what year, but maybe you can call it)

 

 

Volkswagon Beetle

 

I don't know who that Pilsner guy is but, he sure gets around.

 

 

How is this for a nostalgic news flash:

This past week it has been announced that

Minimum Wage is now $318.00 per month.

 

 

Do  you remember driving up to the gas station and someone was there to wash your windows, check the oil, check the air pressure in your tires and then put gas in the tank!

Here we are again with the original Service Station.

 

 

A home-made cotton candy machine.

 

 

I've started a  new Page to the right which is called

TIME TRAVEL

There is where you will find all the nostalgic pictures

in one place as I come across them. 

 

 

 

Christmas Time

Christmas Day picture in Cuenca.


There is a full double rainbow on a rainy Christmas afternoon.

Christmas Time

 

We celebrated a Christmas Dinner and Testimony Night with our church family.

Everyone brought a dish, but we

introduced them to some of our traditional dishes like:
 

 Homemade Cranberry Sauce

 Sausage, Apple, Cranberry Stuffing

Some good and hot Jalapeño Salsa!

 

Waiting for people to arrive.

Happy Face

 

Testimony

 

 

 

 

 

Eye in the Sky

 

Looking out into the bright afternoon sky, I could only see the rainbow colors on the edge of the circle, so I pointed my camera upward 

hoping it would be captured. 

This is the result and my favorite photo for the week.

Of course, it can only be called,

 

.....Eye in the Sky.....

  

 

 

Psalms 61:1-4

Hear my cry O God; Attend to my prayer

From the end of the earth I will cry to You,

When my heart is overwhelmed;

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

For you have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy.

I will abide in your tabernacle forever;

I will trust in the shelter of your wings.

 

 

 

Some trivial Success!

SUCCESS!!!

 

Now I know you're not going to be as excited as

I am about the following picture,

but if you knew how long I've been trying to grow tomatoes and are a gardener yourself, maybe you can understand.

 

Even though we are in the warmest season, it's just a bit too cold and windy where I live for my tomato plants to survive outside. So, I have them next to the glass doors of our little terrace.  Bringing them inside creates a problem with pollination.  I read on the internet that the vibration of a sonicare toothbrush can mimic the vibration of a bee collecting pollen.  Sure enough, I ran my sonicare toothbrush against the stem by the flowers and the pollen came falling out onto my hand, then I just spread it to the other flowers. 

VIOLA!!  Finally ...We have tomatoes!!!!

Just a trivial fact for the day!

 

 

 

* * * * *

Another update on the pioneer work.

 

Baptism

 

 

 

 

Last Sunday evening we had a baptism service.  Here are some of the young people that were baptized that day.

 

Afterwards of course we had some eats!! And I was surprised to find some little helpers in the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

Here we are again,..this time learning some English.

The beautiful Andes.
I still can't believe I live here.

 

 

 

 

Random days in Ecuador and Forest

Some more of the people in the growing church. 

Someday I'll get most everyone in one picture!!!

 

* * * * * *

 

 

Many people come to Cuenca in the last couple of days in October for

The Festival del Artes. 

It is the best time to purchase art or crafts from Eucador or Peru.
No pictures for this one, just information.

Isn't this just beautiful.
It is just across the street from the complex I live in.

If you recognize this picture, you are right.  It is NOT Eucador. 
This is Soda Dam in the Jemez area, New Mexico, the USA. 
Taken by my son, Antonio. 
New Mexico has it's own beauty!  And, I like this picture.


* * * * * *

A lovely young lady from our church.  She is wearing the traditional dress
from the area she is from, south of us, the city of Loja.
Her name is Yurac which is a Quichua name. 
 Her entire name in Quichua (which I don't have all the spelling for)
 means White Flower Eagle.
She reminds me of another lovely young lady in our Albuquerque church named Gwen
who would occasionally come to church in the traditional Navajo dress.

 

* * * * * * *

Photos of an art display
that lasted through the month of August here in Cuenca.

 

 

 

This next pastel is my attempt to capture a view of the park alongside the Yanuncay river.

There are eucalyptus trees and flowering plants, wooden bridges and many paths.

  

 

 

I think I will call this one "Eucalyptus Forest".

 

Put that room back the way I had it!

Hi all, I trust everyone is having a good day today.  It is Sunday afternoon.  This morning's service was preceded by a little bit of a shake up last night.  For once I decided to get to bed early.  So, by ten o'clock I am snuggled up in my flannel sheets with my new "soft" pillow when suddenly there arose such a clatter......

 

Oh wait a minute...that's the wrong story.

 

 

Anyway,... I am comfortably snuggled in my bed then rudely awakened by what feels like a shove.  Why in the world is my husband trying to push me off the bed.  But, guess again, he's not in here.  He's in the office finishing up tommorrow's sermon.

 

What's that,..trying to push me off again!!!!  It's a good thing I'm already laying down.

 

I yell out,..Do you feel that?  He say's  "yep, I sure do" as he watches his desk do a little tap dance.

 

That's the strongest tremor I've felt yet.  The people in the condos feel them the most I think.  I sure hope this building is constructed right!  My thoughts at the moment were..Hum,...maybe we should look for a house to rent......

 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

On a different note... this morning's service we had all English speaking or those who understood English people in the building.  My husband was able to preach in English without any translation. 

It was a nice break for us, and singing songs in English was a break for me.

 

* * * * * * * * * * *

 

I never got around to finishing the story about the trip to Suscal.
Or maybe I never even started it. 

Here it is...

 

My husband mentioned that he'd like to visit Suscal since some of the young men in the church call it their hometown. Jose offered to go there with us and take us to his home so we can talk to his family, pray for his mom and meet the Pastor he knows in that city.  It's an hour and a half trip.  So I make up some breakfast burritos and off we go.

We got there early on a Saturday morning,

and met the Pastor and his wife.

 

These are our new friends, Ignacio and Abelina.

He ministers in Quechua and Spanish since most of the people here speak Quichua. 

 

 

 

 

* * * * * * *

It's a little bit of a climb to get to the young man's house up on the mountain side and I'm somewhat winded by the time we reach it.  Just a few moments before I saw a woman climb it with about 50 lbs of potatoes on her back.  I don't know how they do it, but I do see what the years of carrying a heavy load can do to a body.  Many of the older people walk with their bodies permanently bent forward.
There is no place to leave the truck so we have to park it some ways down the road and hope it's ok.

* * *

 

Now, understand something.  We have been in the country for a year now, and we had so far avoided eating Cuy.  Cuy is Guinea Pig.  When pastor Celaya was here for revival we kept telling him that we were all going to try it together, but it never happened.  Lucky for pastor Celeya, he he....

We had heard different things about it...It's the most delicious delicacy you will ever taste, or some say...yuck,..it's greasy, expensive and not good...

 

When we get to the house we meet a whole lot of family and they hustle to the kitchen to prepare the meal.  After about an hour, they set us down and serve us the almuerso.  First course is the soup...

 

 

I thought those chicken feet were reaching out to grab me to drown me in the soup!!!

This soup consisted of chicken feet, yucca, onions and cilantro...
I think.

I've had something like this before so this wasn't a big surprise.

 

Now for 'el segundo plato'.....

 

 

It happened!  I'm eating a Guinea Pig!

I get a few giggles from some of the ladies as I pick at the little guy. I think they caught on to the scared look in my eyes that I tried so hard to conceal, but to no avail. 
My husband has to help me finish, it's alot of food.

 

Tastes like chicken.

 

 

When lunch is done,

some new people straggle in and we gather together for a message of the gospel and a call for salvation.  Then we lay hands on Jose's mother who has suffered some type of a stroke.

We have some Spanish gospels of John and some CD's of the new testament in Quechua that we give out to everyone afterwards.

 

 

 

We don't know where this journey is leading us, but we are just moving forward as the opportunity is given.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I Love the Rain! and Seascape

It's been raining steadily for the past two days, so now we are entering into the rainy season.  The night before last we had a big lighting storm and lost electric power in our section of the city for about and hour and half. We had a wonderful view of the lights in the sky and watched as the city seemed to magically disappear into the night.

It's a beautiful sight to behold a raging river and from our window I can just see the Yanuncay threatening to overflow its banks.
 

Oh, how I love the rain...

Some days when the river is high, fishermen will be seen casting their nets into the water.



It seems that over the last forty years or so, I kept saying "Someday I'm going to get serious about my art." But, that someday never came.  It took leaving the country for me to finally make use of the time to try and let that art come out of me.  This is a first attempt in pastels.  Imagine that.  A piece of chalk.
It practically creates itself.
I know I have a long way to go, but it's a start.

 

 

 

 I get some instruction at a little school close to my house a few hours a week. 

I think now is a good time my let my family know,...
I miss you, and I love you!!!!

And to our friends,..the same.

If ever you're feeling down,..
Remember there is someone thinking of you and praying for you in some far away place.

* * *

 

Afternoon Drive

Once upon day while exploring, we came upon this:

Someone was aspiring to build a castle!  I wonder if it will ever be finished.


I call this picture "Women in the Fields" because it's a picture of....

women in the fields! 

The kids go right along and the babies are tied to their backs with a blanket, always close to mama.

While exploring the neighborhoods surrounding our city, we came upon a little community called Barcelona.  It was so picture perfect with some more 'Faces of Ecuador' to add to my collection.

 

 

This man and his wife so graciously posed for a picture.  We would stayed and visited for a while but it was Sunday afternoon and we had to get back for services. 

 

'FACES of ECUADOR'

 

 

And here is the Misses.  We found her a little further down the road.

 

 

 

Remember that I was telling you that I was amazed at how well the babies balance themselves on their mama's back when she is tying the blanket around them.  Well, Maria gave us a little demonstration after one of the services.  My excuse for the shaky video is that some of us just kept thinking we had to leap to the rescue to catch a falling baby.  Of course we didn't but that's why my camera is all over the place.