A Special Treat

Last night we had a special treat. Mary Guthrie, who has been in the country about as long we have been, invited us for dinner to meet some friends that are visiting from Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Martinez Family. They brought with them ancho chiles and made enchiladas. Kelly made chicken enchiladas. I made pulled pork and homemade flour tortillas. Que rico! It was a delight and one we don't get often here. Guacamole, Margaritas, Corona and good company made for a delightful evening. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. So, no pictures of the delectable delights. You will have to use your imagination. But, remember for us it is once in a blue moon that we get to eat like this.

Look Who Went Bowling

Monday night bowling. There's not much entertainment in Cuenca, but what there is, is fantastic! We got together for a bowling game. These are some of the ones that participated.

Sarah is happy she just bowled a STRIKE!



This is AJ and Jordan. They are visiting spying out the land. They are from Cleveland and are planning on coming back. We hope they are able to fulfill their plans and make it back soon.

Dan gets a SPARE! YEAH! He actually bowled several strikes, but I don't want him to get a big head.

The Difference in Cultures

How do you feel when you are talking to someone and they won't look you in the face? For most of us it is a sign of shyness, deception, or rudeness. Or we start to think that the person is ashamed or hiding something. It can be frustrating. At times, walking down the street in Cuenca, you meet someone coming the other direction. My impulse is to smile and say hello. As they walk by you the head goes down and they say nothing. How rude. I know from the time I was little my mother always told me "look at me when I'm talking to you." Well, this training has made it a challenge for me in my preaching and teaching work here in Ecuador. You see, many times when I approach young ones in the ministry and try to talk to them, they keep their heads down looking at the ground. Even when I try to joke or break the ice, the face is always turned down. Mark has a study with a young man about 14 that to this day when they study he keeps his eyes lowered. So what is happening here?

Well, here's the thing. It is a cultural difference. You see, from the time some Ecuadorian children are born they are taught that to look an adult in the face is rude. This is especially true with the people who live in the campo and are poor. They are told to "baja la vista" (lower your eyes) when speaking to an older person or a person of better economic means. Of course, this isn't the case in every family, but it happens enough to be seen when we speak to different ones in the ministry and they won't look us in the eye. We have had to change our attitude and not jump to the conclusion that the person is ignorant, rude or not interested. This certainly has been a challenge, but we've learned to accept these differences. It certainly has been an interesting learning experience.

Beth's Adventure

Sunday, we started our day with the meeting. Mark gave a very good talk if I say so myself. My little leaner (Nancy) was there to welcome me and keep me company. Here she is:

We made plans with Mark and Beth to try out the local cuisine. Beth wanted to eat Guinea Pig before she goes back to New Zealand. Those of you from Kiwiland that are following this blog and know Elizabeth are probably familiar with her adventurous spirit. I think she wanted something to brag about. So we took her to El Cabo a small town about 45 minutes away to a restaurant owned by a brother. We trust him to kill the guinea pig and bleed it correctly. And this is what happened.

As you can see, we had a lovely time, cuy or no cuy.

Friends Bearing Gifts

I recieved a visit from Irma and Vielca and they came bearing gifts. Look at the this beautiful fruit basket they put together. One of the things I love about this country is that fresh fruit is always available and is cheap. You can't eat like this in the States on a budget!

YouTube - jackeline gutierrez

For those who might be interested, I found this YouTube piece of my piano teacher playing. It's really shows her talent. Take a look.

YouTube - jackeline gutierrez

Irma y Vielca

Irma began to study the Bible in Machala (on the coast of Ecuador). She made changes in her life and this started to raise questions for her cousin, Vielca. You see Vielca was a party girl and in their family they always got together for Carnival, Christmas and other religious holidays. Suddenly, Irma stopped participating in the parties and instead babysat for the family especially for Vielca and her two children, Angie and Micheal. But, it bothered Vielca a bit that Irma was staying home caring for the children instead partying with the rest of the family. She thought Irma was boring. However, Vielca's curiosity got the best of her and she started to ask questions. Irma mostly told Vielca "you need a bible study." Everytime time Vielca had a question, Irma did her best to answer, but eventually ended up saying "you need a bible study."

Irma progressed, got baptized and moved to Cuenca. Vielca followed her to Cuenca and eventually started to study the Bible. She quickly made progress and now both Irma and Vielca are faithful sisters in our congregation.

Shortly after their studying the bible, both of their husbands traveled to other countries to work leaving Vielca and Irma alone with their children. Irma has one son named Jeferson and as I mentioned before, Vielca has two children Michael and Angie. Irma's husband went to Spain and Vielca's to New York. They have now been gone for 4 and 6 years respectively. However, both husbands are diligent to communicate and send money. What impresses me the most is how Vielca and Irma maintain their integrity under these dificult situations. They are both young and beautiful women, yet they remain chaste and faithful to their husbands. They deal with the frustration of not having their husbands near to help raise the children and of course they are lonely. Both husbands have noticed this and expressed their surprise and gratitude and both see how well Irma and Vielca are raising the children. The family reports back to the husbands and always mention how well behaved the children are and even comment on how they are able reason beyond their years on matters like why one shouldn't smoke, drink or steal. This, of course, sparks curiousity in the husbands and they ask questions. This gives both Irma and Vielca an opportunity to witness to their husbands.

Michael, who is 7, is quite the young man. A couple a weeks ago at the meeting Michael approached me and asked if he could talk to me. So I sat down and asked what was on his mind. He asked me "hermana, are you a pioneer?" I said "yes, why do you ask?" He said, "I know that if you are a pioneer, you must be wise and experienced and I was wondering if you could help me with a problem I am having at school." He then related that a boy at school was picking on him and he didn't know how to handle the problem. What made things worse is the kid was apparently the son of a witness family and in Michael's mind should know how to behave. So we talked about some suggestions about how Michael should handle the situation. Last week I asked how things were going and he said, "I applied the counsel you gave me and thank you very much. Things are much better now and the boy stopped bothering me." He added that because he did things Jehovah's way, they are now good friends. How precious is that? This is a testament of how well Irma and Vielca are doing raising their children and teaching them about Jehovah even though their situtations are difficult. What a good example for all of us.

Update on Donna Nicoll

I received a call from Donna (my English study). She is back in her hometown and getting into her routine. Her recovery is going very well. Most importantly, she is continuing her study and making progress. She is commenting at the meetings now even in Spanish. She is fighting with her health and getting rid of old habits, but Jehovah is blessing her efforts and she seems very happy. She told me her goal is to get baptized at the English Assembly in July. Won't that be grand? Her call was just what I needed to brighten my day.

Why is She So Special?

This is Nancy. Look at that face!. Isn't she cute? What makes her so special? Nancy is the niece of a bible study named Digna. Digna has six children of her own, no husband, and is raising two of her sister's children, including Nancy. Nancy's mother lives out of town and she doesn't get to see her very often. They are a very poor family and live in an old adobe house with dirt floors. However, they all are very faithful in meeting attendance and field service. Nancy here always sits with me at the meetings. (We split the children among different brothers and sisters so that Digna doesn't have so much to do and can enjoy the meeting.)

So why do I say that Nancy here is so special? Tuesday night was my first meeting of the Theocratic School and Service Meeting since my surgery. I haven't seen Nancy in three weeks. That night it was literally raining cats and dogs when we arrived to the Kingdom Hall. Nancy sees our car pull up and runs out into the rain with no umbrella and opens my door to carry all my meeting books into the Hall. She didn't want me to get wet or carry the books. Soaking wet she escorts me into the Hall and finds our seats and makes sure that I'm comfortable. Then she gives me a big hug and tells me how much she missed me and hoped I was doing better. During the meeting Nancy is quite a leaner and always ends up with her head on my arm, cuddling. I think she really misses her mother, but I don't mind standing in even for just a two hour meeting. She is very precious to me and I know to Jehovah.

Sunday Outing

Sunday was a very good day. I was able to attend almost all the meeting. The fist time in three weeks. After the meeting we went to a "Welcome Home Chad and Michele" party. It was held on the roof of the building where Beth and Mark live. Chad and Michele are back in Ecuador after working several months in the States and everyone is happy that are back "home" here in Ecuador. Beth posted some nice pictures on her blog (called the Ecuador Experience) if you want to see a short review of our good time. So progress is being made regarding my recuperation. However, I am still "squeaking" since my voice isn't fully restored yet. But, I won't let that stop me.

Deaf Pioneer School

This photo was sent to us by Veronica Molina, the first deaf person baptized here in Cuenca. She shared with us the good news that she just finished pioneer school. It's wonderful to see her progress. FYI, Veronica is second from right sitting in chair.

Fiestas de Cuenca

Oh how I wish I had my camera this weekend. Started out with the camera with hope of getting some really good pictures as this weekend are the Fiestas de Cuenca and what that means is that there are a lot of parties and artwork to check out. But woefully the camera ran out of batteries. So I'll try to describe some of the glory.

They close off the main streets and just allow foot traffic. As you walk there are rows after rows of artwork and artesanias. I can't believe how many talented people there are in this world. Artists that do water colors, oil paintings and drawings that are unbelievable. Then there are the textiles. Embroidery that is so beautiful. Hand made hats, scarves, sweaters, jewelry and wood carvings. If only I had a million dollars I would buy one of each. But, I settled for a couple of scarves (to cover the ugly scar on my neck) and a couple of jungle jewelry pieces made out of local seeds. They are beautiful and natural. I wish you guys could've been hear to see it. Then there is the food! Pork sandwiches that are out of this world and homemade candies, juices etc. It's like a mini State Fair of Texas but with a lot more interesting stuff that you would never see back home. The only setback is that the parties went on until about 3:00 a.m. this morning and we heard every bit of it from our bedroom. Needless to say we didn't get much sleep last night. I guess it's a good thing it only comes once a year.