Bitter Sweet...

The count down has begun and we only have a few more hours before we board the airplane. We are fortunate the airport is open as it closed again while we were at the beach from more volcanic activity and ash fall. 

It is always harder to say goodbye when you know it will be years until we see them again. The next time they are in the Northwest will be 2012. We were just talking about how much will have changed and how old the kids will be when they return. 

It has been a GREAT trip filled with so many good memories. For just about three weeks we got to experience their typical life here in Guayaquil. Let me tell you...it's a completely different life for them here than the states. I figured you gathered that from the pictures and videos! 

We'll be posting more pictures and videos that we didn't get around to posting. We didn't have a lot of time to work on this blog, but were glad you could experience a taste of what we did! 

Titus and Stephanie depend the support of individuals and churches to allow them to live here and focus on working with the kids at Shalom and hopefully starting up a rescue home for girls being trafficked. If you are interested at all in helping them with your support go to:

https://worldventure.com/GiveNow.aspx?aliaspath=/Give/Give-Now

Adios Ecuador

By the way...Brady won with saying "hola" the most! 

"Glory to God"

We sang this is Spanish too...they sang much louder then!

The Beach!

We had a great time at the beach! The water was nice and warm, even though they would say it wasn't. It's the winter months for them and not many people go to the beach during this time because it's too "cool." What that turned into was a hotel./beach all to ourselves! :) We spent the weekend swinging in hammocks, sharing stories, swimming, and enjoying the beauty of the coast of Ecuador!


The kiddos really like playing with eachother. It's going to be a sad day when they can't play in person (because we talk with them using Skype). It's a sight to see with three carseats lined up in the back of the car.

We are cherishing these last few days we have here! It's been amazing!

"You Never Let Go" or "No Me Soltaras"

On our way to Jiu Jitsu

Diego and I laying down a beat for Brian

It's like boats down a river...

...Driving that is. Lines on the road are only a suggestion. Passing three cars at once on a two way road is the norm. Also, the horn is used very frequently. All things that create memorable driving experiences!

Friday

Drove out of the city to Milagro to visit a church that has grown to 3,000 people. Had lunch with a very energetic family out in the "jungle." We had great authentic Ecuadorian food, played drums, danced, laughed a lot, and of course sweated! They lived on the same road that we get our Bonita bananas!

Saturday

Hiked to the top of a castle that gave us a panoramic view of the city. Brady's water cup fell over the side crashing at the bottom about 100 feet below! Good thing we had him strapped into his carrier!
Tired and exhausted we came back home only to be invited to someone else's house for swimming and bbq.  He had a gorgeous mansion with a big swimming pool, soccer field, tennis court, bbq patio overlooking the river. It was very refreshing!

Sunday
The kiddos are sick. I'm afraid Brady shared his germs. We went to church. Didn't quite understand it as it was all in Spanish. We spent the rest of the day recouping as we all found ourselves exhausted.

Panoramic view of Guayaquil

Byron's mansion we visited

Byron, Stephen and Titus

My little man

These turtles are huge!

Boys' Home - Shalom

Katie taught the boys how to take care of their teeth today. While she was helping them learn about dental care, I was strummin' the guitar with a few of the kids.

Helping with kids brushing

Giovani was really interested in learning guitar

Posing with their new tooth brushes

So Happy

You can imagine the smell in there! Not quite as hygienic as a dental office :)

All the boys love Stephen

Learning the song "You Never Let Go"

Diego

Daniel, Brian, & Marco

Oh how they loved Brady or should I say "Brathy"

The Boys

The Orphanage

Singing worship songs

One of the boys at Shalom reading the Bible

Titus preaching

Craft time with the boys on the full armor of God.

Stephen with the boys

A local church came and put on a party for the kids because it was International Kids Day!

Singing!

Listening to David's story. Makes us feel very blessed to have grown up in the environment we did!

Today we spent the day with the boys at the Shalom. Titus held a service for the boys and Katie and I helped out. I shared with the kids a little bit about myself and one of my favorite bible verses, John 14:6 in spanish. All the kids clapped and cheered, so I think they understood.

We sang some songs, Titus gave a message on justice and the armor of God. Justice in Spanish is the same word as righteous. Then we did crafts with the kids which involved paper, crayons, scissors and glue. When I was passing out crayons, everyone kid kept saying "amarillo", so I gave them a yellow crayon. They were happy so I think I got it right.

Afterwards we played soccer. The game ended in a 2-2 tie and then we had to get ready for a fiesta. More songs, cakes and candy, balloons and games. Katie said they were doing some kind of dance the kids in Africa do. It looked like some kind of version of the macarena.

We met a 15 year old boy named Cristiano who was learning English. Katie had a good time helping him practice.

Tonight Katie and I stayed home with the kids so Titus and Stephanie could have a date night.

It's humid in Guayquil

So my new favorite hobby is kissing Brady 'til he cries.

I was downtown with Titus and we got pulled over by the police for driving in the bus lane. By law, Titus could have been thrown in jail, but somehow he managed to convince the officer to let us go. (whew!)

Titus and I brought their trampoline to Shalom for the boys to jump on. The boys are fearless on it!

Went to Jui Jitzsu with Titus and wrestled around with the locals. Now my shoulder is messed up I think.

-Stephen

Interesting things about Ecuador...They can turn your water off anytime they want and as long as they want. Example: We have no water right now and wont until tomorrow afternoon sometime. Hot and sweaty with no shower is quite fun!

Police are very corrupt down here. You can bribe them with money to get out of things and they don't have to have a reason to stop you...telling people my husband is a police officer doesn't quite ring so well.

-Katie

Shalom

Where the boys sleep

Behind the boys home

View of Shalom

They love their photo taken!

Stephen playing soccer

Titus giving instruction

More soccer! We tied 3-3.

Yesterday we went to the boys home where Titus and Stephanie's have their ministry. We met the boys, saw the home, and played a soccer game.  We go back today from lunch time to about 6pm. Pray for our time there that we are able to have a good impact on the boys with the love of Christ!

To Loja and back...

We are back to the land of having internet...and yes we are all ok and didn't die from the volcano eruption! We planned our trip perfectly. The mountain blew a few hours after we left. It is four hours away but we still arrived home to about 1cm of ash over everything.

Just a recap on our trip to Loja...
We started at sea level and drove through the mountains to over 13,000 feet. You could definitely feel the elevation. Along with the beautiful scenery, we got to see llamas, sheep, cows, and roasting pigs on the sides of the road!  After stopping several times for construction/one way roads, we got to Loja in 10 hours. 

Saturday and Sunday were solely focused on the dedication of The Mustard Seed Church. The pastor, Leo, is Titus and Stephanie's field director. The church building had just been finished. The weekend was filled with activities such as soccer games, eating, kids games, dedication service and church. Titus preached Sunday morning for the first service. We also went to a really neat park on Sunday afternoon.

It was fun to see Loja because that is where Micah and Johanna lived for two years. We got to meet their students they taught and other missionary families there. Loja is a much safer, cleaner, and cooler town than the city of Guayaquil. We also got to catch a little bit of a soccer game in the stadium there. That was a fun experience.

Monday morning we left Loja and drove 3 1/2 hours to the city of Cuanca. We met up with another missionary family there and saw the projects they are working on. After lunch we all went to the hot springs!!! It was relaxing to be in such warm water and the kids loved it. What better way to finish off the night than to have chicken feet for dinner! They cook all parts of the chicken in their soups and just leave them in the soup. We didn't eat the feet but Brady did get a hold of my soup spilling it and took a foot and started chewing on it. Gross!

Tuesday morning we left for home. The mountains were just gorgeous on the drive. The kids did great all packed in the back, three across. When we arrived home we were welcomed with ash everywhere! We got that cleaned up, kids to bed, and unpacked. Why stop and relax when you can go play soccer at the Shalom, the boys home. We got a tour and played with the boys. They were very excited to meet Tito's siblings.

What's next...
Tomorrow we go back to the Shalom from about 12pm-6pm. More on that later!

-Stephen, Katie and Brady

Stephen playing soccer in Loja.

Closing in prayer, Titus preached for first service. (Loja)

Stephen and Brady getting ready for the pool in Cuenca.  Hot springs flowed in the pool.  A giant hot tub!

Katie and Titus showing Brady that they could eat chicken feet too.  (Cuenca)

We drove through these mountains!

Ash from the volcano eruption.  (Guayaquil)

The soccer field in Loja. We stayed two blocks away and went to a game on of the nights.

The best free park in the world.  It was like disneyland. (Loja)

Katie and Brady going down a slide at the park..."disneyland". (Loja)

Downtown Cuenca

Driving down from the mountains in between Cuenca and Guayaquil