A few final thoughts on this year's trip.
For the experienced travelers, it was a chance to bond with old friends. For the newbies, it was a chance to make new friends and experience all that Quito has to offer. The daycare and church offices will be completed by the end of the year. The health of local children continues to improve thanks to SIFAT medical team visits. The Sisters to Sister organization continues to grow, and the women have plans to sell jewelry in local markets. And SIFAT is planning new projects in Quito. So there is much work still to be done, and many more opportunities to serve the Lord for years to come!

Monday, June 23, 2008
On arrival, there was a problem with our transportation-- the church van broke down. We had to rent a van and then someone back for the luggage, but luggage and all were back in Clay by 4:30 Monday afternoon.

Sunday, June 22, 2008
Today at breakfast, we were surprised this morning with eggs and potatoes! After a church service by pastor Mark, several of us took a trip up to the top of Pichincha, one the local extinct volcanoes. We traveled via the Teleferico cable cars. Although the weather was cloudy, the trip up was exciting, with six of us in one small cable car. At the top it was cold, and even more cloudy. There are many shops there, and trails that continue up to the peak at around 14,000 feet. We found 13,000 feet was enough for us. Plus, the U.S. Embassy recommends not traveling past the main buildings due to recent assaults on tourist.
On the way down, the clouds lifted enough for some spectacular views of Quito.
After lunch, there was more packing and shopping, while the rest of us took a trip to the Equator. We participated in many experiments that can only be performed on the Equator. And we visited the Equator monument, which was built too far south of the actual Equator.
After dinner at the hotel, we packed up and headed for the airport. Ticket check-in, paying departure taxes ($40 US per person!), customs, security, and carry-on inspection took a while. Then some of us were treated to another inspection of our baggage on the tarmac.
Our plane left late, around 10:15 pm. Later we arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador for refueling. That flight left around midnight, and we arrived in Atlanta around 7:00 am.

Today was the first day of winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Which doesn't really mean much here, since the weather doesn't change that drastically. After a breakfast of- you guessed it- ham and eggs, we headed north by bus to the cloud forest. This is an area north of the Equator that is at an altitude of around 4,500 feet. The ride took us through the dry mountains of Quito and into the lush, thick jungle. The roads were very curvy. If you have ever been on the road to Hana on the island of Maui in Hawaii, this area looked exactly like that.
Our destination was Toucanopy, a ecological park run by an Ecuadorian family. Their family members took us on hiking trails and described the forest, and then we rode zip lines over the top of the forest. It was quite exhilarating. After a great lunch we headed back to Quito. We've spent the rest of the evening (after dinner and a devotional) packing up and separating our our clothing donations and souvenirs.
Sunday (after our ham and eggs) we are having a church service, then most of us are going to ride the cable cars up to the top (over 14,000 feet) of one of the local inactive volcanoes. After lunch another group will be heading to the Equator. And after dinner at the hotel, we'll be headed for the airport for the trip home. Sunday will be a VERY long day.

We started the morning with another ham and egg breakfast in the Hotel Tambo Real Cafe Oro. Later we boarded the bus for the ride to Atacucho. Some of us stopped at the daycare, while the rest went on to Moma Yoli's.
After the steep walk up to the daycare, we were greeted by some of the same smiling faces we saw the day before. Many were wearing the pants we had brought on Thursday. We performed a Bible skit about Daniel and the Lions, then the kids made lion faces. Around 10:00, after many hugs, we said a teary goodbye and headed back down the hill to the bus.
At Moma Yoli's, we sorted clothes donated to the women of Sister to Sister. Others had worked on the third floor interior walls and the wall on the roof.
During lunch we received a special surprise-- A roasted guinea pig, served on a silver plate! Many of us got a taste, and most of us agreed it wasn't awful, it was just weird.
After lunch, some set off for a quick soccer game. The rest of us were part of an emotional farewell by the women of Sister to Sister. We exchanged gifts and many hugs.
The afternoon was free time, and many of us took the opportunity to go shopping. Later in the evening, we went to a special dinner for both of the teams here this week. Then took a short tour of the city.

Saturday will be an all day trip to the rain forest to zip line in the trees!

Friday morning, and it's raining. Of course the weather constantly changes here, so we may all be sunburned by this afternoon.

Today we are going back to the same daycare, then to Moma Yoli's to finish up our work there. We will have a break in the afternoon, then we are all going out for dinner.

BTW, whether you are at a daycare in Quito, Ecuador or Clay, Alabama, when a kid says, "pee pee," it means the same thing, and you better let them go to the bathroom!

Saturday we are all going to the rain forest to zip line.

Everyone is well, and each of us have had many emotional moments with those we are here to serve.

Lonnie and Donnie have been able to make frequent photo updates to their site, so visit http://www.wfirelaw.blogspot.com/ for more photos.

Skip

Today (Thursday) some of us are going to the local daycare, while others will be doing work on the walls.

With the slow internet connection, it's been tough to post photos. We're posting them as we can squeeze them in. Here are links to other sites that have photos:

http://www.wfirelaw.blogspot.com
http://www.bridgepointchurchonline.org/missionteam.html

The interet is still slow. But Wednesday was another action packed day with many blessings! Here is a quick soccer game from Wedensday afternoon.

Sorry for the late post, but we've had a slow internet connection and Skip forgot his camera cable! We'll try to give a more detailed trip description later today, (Wednesday).

Here's the short version of the trip so far:

Saturday-- a long day of travel, but everything went well with only a few delays.

Sunday-- Quito is a bigger city than I thought. Some of us took a trip to Old Town and visited the "big angel on the hill". Others went to the market. Later we took the trip to Mama Yoli's and had a great afternoon church service.

Monday-- some of our group went to a community daycare, while others tied rebar in preperation of the concrete to be poured on the roof of the building. In the afternoon, we had vacation Bible School at Mama Yoli's, while some continued the work on the roof. Skip lead a lesson to the youth on the importance of education. Later we took a trip to the local market.

Tuesday-- we all helped mix concrete on the ground and pour concrete on the roof of the building. This was very hard work, but the job was completed by the end of the day. Afterwards some went to the Hilton and KFC for dinner. And some went to the SuperMaxi, a shopping mall that includes a grocery store.

I'm not sure what today has in store for us, but we're guessing block walls, visits to local daycares, and vacation Bible School in the afternoon.

Thanks for your continued prayers. The work here is tough, but the rewards are amazing.

Skip