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.