December 31st

We hope everyone survived the crazy weather!  It's been all over the news down here.  We are experiencing the other extreme- it keeps getting hotter and hotter!  Everyone keeps telling us that the rainy season will officially start tomorrow- literally.  They say there will be a downpour tomorrow and everyday from then till the end of the season.  We're anxious to see if it's true.  I never thought we'd be anxious to see if it rains :-)

We had our last big crew meeting this past Monday.  The work is quickly wrapping up, the last group of International Volunteers are starting to head back to their homes, and the temporary Bethelites who have been working on this project for months and years will be finding out where they go next.  Our overseer encouraged everyone to apply themselves to whatever assignment they receive next and to know that Jehovah greatly appreciates the time they devoted to this assignment.  It was very encouraging for all.  He and his wife are going to Myanmar for their next assignment.  The other International Servant couple just received their next assignment to Liberia.  It's exciting to think about the scope of the work going on worldwide!  

Here is a photo of the Construction crew and some photos of different creatures we've encountered on the branch property. Scorpions, and snakes, and octopus.. oh my!!  PS- yes- those are baby scorpions on the back of the big one!

December 10th

Last weekend we went to a town called Cuenca, about five hours southeast of Guayaquil.  We stayed in a hotel that was once the home of the owners grandfather.  The hotel, like many of the old homes in Cuenca, was built around a courtyard with all the rooms facing the courtyard.  The hotel was beautiful and the city was beautiful- very Colonial.  On the way home we visited some Incan ruins.  Here are a few photos from our trip... 

December 4th

A little bit about the food in Ecuador...  It is bien rico!  They eat a lot of fish here in Guayaquil.  We will often have shrimp, seabass, or tuna.  They eat rice with nearly every meal (lunch and dinner). Not a lot of beans, which makes me very happy:-)  They are masters at working plantains and yucca into all sorts of dishes.  Fruits and vegetables are very inexpensive here.  So we eat a lot of fruits that would be a "luxury" back home- mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, etc..

I've really been enjoying working in the kitchen.  It's a great crew.  I usually work with the group that preps the food.  Today we cut 110 lbs. of pork into little cubes. It took 3 of us more than 3 hours!  Here they call pork "Chancho".  By the end of it we were joking that we had "chancho elbow" or "chanchonitis".  I'm quickly learning that working in the kitchen is not for the feint of heart!  

We've been having fun swapping bible trivia too.  Here's one for all of you...  In which 5 places has the Governing Body ever resided?  and here are some photos from the kitchen...