It Finally Happened!

"Ladron, Ladron." That is what I would have shouted if I knew! ¨Thief, Thief.¨ We made it two months, minus two days, without any problems. We returned last night to Quito from the coast (perhaps my favorite location), left the airport, walked to the public bus route that we were proud of knowing already, got on for 25cents each instead of the $8 the taxis wanted to charge and headed on our way. Well, some how we got on the wrong Linea (Line). We started in the right direction but at some point things just seemed wrong. ¿Äh, disculpe señora, a que direcion estamos yendo... A La Marin?¨ Somehow in the mix of it all the troley like bus had flipped around and started heading back towards the airport. Hmm, I suppose we should get off here since in a couple more stops we will have traveled for 2o minutes and returned to the exact same spot. Mind you, we have each a large traveling backpack and an additional small backpack. The bus had gotten packed with in the last two stops and we needed to navigate towards the door. Successfull! We decide to hail a taxi to just take us to our final destination. We get in and in the midst of trying to explain the place we wanted to go I cannot find my wallet, which is ALWAYS in the same, front right pocket. Hmm, Sir, we need to stop and get out, I lost my wallet, perhaps it is in the street where we got in your car. Now we have just traveled across the country from sea level to 9,000+ feet in elevation. I am high tailing it back to the intersection hopeing for the best, all the time seeing the taxi drivers face in my head when I told him that I did not have my wallet. He gave that look like, well, I hope it is in the street, but friend, you´ve been punked. Panting, we reach the intersection. No wallet. Well, I supose we should hail another taxi. We took 4 taxis in about 6 blocks until we were able to find a guy that knew where we wanted to go. It was quite an ordeal. Now back to the states to replace that which was once mine with a new one.

See you all soon,

Check back periodically as we will probably post a few more pictures and some wrap-up stories.

Nothing But Love,
Jesse and Cassidy

The Gosple of Luke: Chapters 15-24

Yeah, I finaly posted a comment on what I have been reading. Feel free to go back and read them. You can easily click on the link to the right to get them together.

IF you have not been reading I would encourage you to. It is wonderful stuff!

Join me as we read through the book of Luke in the Bible and write your comments about what you think.

Nothing But Love,
Scherba

Montanita

We have been in this little coastal town called Montanita *the second n actually has a squiggle line above it, but I can't make it work on the keyboard* Being here has been super relaxing. I(Cass) have been working hard at enjoying each day since all I can think about is being home....in four days!! We have been super relaxed here. We had originally planned on visiting a few different coastal town but tonight will be our 6th night here. Woops... We ended up really liking it. It's a super chill, surfer, party, touristy town. We of course don't really surf or party for that matter, but we have just really soaked up the chill vibe. Jesse actually did surf though, and did pretty well for basically his first time and zero instruction.

The street. There's really only one main street. The town is super small.

Jesse enjoying his FRESH morning juice that we have come to enjoy and almost expect. In Ecuador you have freshly made juice with pretty much every meal. I think this one was pinapple banana...one of our favorites.

Classis beach. There are venders everywhere. Everything is pretty cute, but after looking at it alllll the time everything kinda blends together an you don't really see anything. Haven't bought anything yet... maybe today, our last day here.

More classic beach. Ceviche venders everywhere too. I had my first share of it last night. It was very good, and I am not sick today!

We have talked about getting henna tatoos since our honeymoon. There are tons of people "vending" these as well. We did it our first day which probably wasn't the best idea since mine is already pretty much gone. Oh well. It was pretty cute though.

This is Edison, the "artist." Acctually he just traced a drawing, pressed it onto our backs, then traced it again with the henna. He was super sweet though. He even helped Jesse create his own.

Jesse wanted to try out surfing, since that's basically the only thing that people do here. He had only done it once in the freezing cold rain in Santa Cruz about five years ago. He did great. Got up pretty much every time. It may have had something to do with the fact that the board he rented was a GIANT, super boyant plank. . . .perfect for learning!! I was super proud of him.

These drink street venders were out every night. They lined the street. There were always lots of people at them, so I think that they were probably safe, although we never ordered anything on the street.

So, yesturday we went to this little island called Isla de la Plata. Some people call it "Poor Man's Galapagos." It has some of the same bird species as the Galapagos. The travel book that we have warned us that it might be a rough ride, but we didn't take it heart I guess. My poor sweetie threw up three times. Once on the way there and twice on the way back. He was such a good sport though, making jokes and smiling the whole way. He was pretty beat by the time we made it home though. We had a windy hour car ride to finish off the trip. I was quite miserable too, but willed myself not to puke. Thank you Lord, I HATE puking..
The Blue Footed Boobie.

Don't remember this one's name. Cool bird with gian red neck/chest.

Ummm don't remember this one's name either. But look at the one in the back, there were two eggs under him.
Then we had a chance to stop and snorkel.. It was pretty chilly though and we didn't really have that long, then we had to ride on the rough water again, so Jesse and I just took pics from the boat.

Our trip to the coast has been a good one. An extremely relaxing way to end our trip. We splurged on a hotel, $30 per night..it has a pool, jacuzzi, and nothing that Jesse is allergic to!! It has been quite the treat. We leave the coast tomorrow on a plane back to Quito where we will finish up our souvenier shopping, visit with our new friends, Jon and Anna, and then fly out Friday afternoon. . .

I'm sure we'll have plenty of thoughts to share with you when this is all over, but for now... please pray for safe journeys and health. . . my throat is sorta feeling yucky today, and I'm hoping it's nothing more.

Nothing but Love.

See you soon.

From Baños to the Coast

Okay, so last week we traveled down through the middle of Ecuador, in the highlands, then over to the coast where we are now. Here´s a little snipit of out trip.

We took a bus (about 3 hours) to a little town called Riobamaba. It was a cute town, but we didn´t go to see the town. We went to take a train the next day, south toward Cuenca. The train is famous for it´s decent down ¨La Nariz del Diablo¨(the devil´s nose). This decent of course is only about the last hour of the 7 hour train ride. Most people sit on top of the train for the whole ride. We did too, even though it was lightly raining the entire time. It was a fun experience. The train went pretty slow and only derailed once. Overall a successful trip. Here´s a few pics of the train..

At the end of the train ride we ended up in a town called Alausi. There we ate a really quick lunch and then jumped on a bus to Cuenca to finish off our day of traveling. It took about four and a half hours to get to Cuenca. Cuenca was a town that I ws really excited about visiting, but by the time we got there I (this is Cass by the way) was kinda over the colonial towns and don´t think that I enjoyed it as much as I may have, had it been towards the beginning of our trip. I also got a little sick, so that also made it hard to enjoy. It was still beautiful though. We dedcided to only stay three nights, and since we only had two full days there, we decided to take a ¨city tour¨to make sure we saw all that we should. Here´s a few pics...

Typical residencial city street

the ¨New Cathedral¨ It´s the second largest church in South America. It was pretty amazing. The next one is also of the cathedral, from the back...

A flower market a block long... I love flowers!

Another pretty church. We didn´t go in this one, but it sure was pretty at night.

Ecuador is the home of the Panama hat (not Panama). Cuenca is where most are made and sold. Aren´t we cute?!

And, classic Ecuador.. rifles are sold with backpacks. Who would have thought...

One of the paintings in the museum of modern art. We loved the contrast it shows between the ¨have´s and the have not´s.¨ Check it out.

The end of our tour, the balcony of the city.

After Cuenca, we took a private transpot, a big van, to the largest city in Ecuador, Guyaquil (population 3 million). We only spent one night here. It ended up just being an ïn-between¨(between the highlands and the coast).

We are still alive and smiling.

This is the cutest corridor in the city, you see it in ALL the books, flyers, etc. It was recently remodeled and cleaned up, it really is pretty. This was the first place we went that was truely warm. It was humid too, and after walking up these some 400 steps I was drenched..oh well.

In the park right behind our hotel there were Eguanas, just hanging out.... lots of them. (And turtles, fish and pigeons).

Picture from the boardwalk. On the map Guayaquil looks kinda like it´s on the ocean, but it´s actually on a river. This is the river.

So, from Gualquil we came to the coast. We were going to just stop in this little surfer town called Mantañita, then continue to this other town called Puerto Lopez, but we like it here in Montañita so much that I´ll think we´ll stay here and just take a day trip to Puerto Lopez. We will head back to Quito on Wednesday or Thursday then fly out on Friday. More pics to come from the beach.

Be sure to check out our ¨Trip Map¨ to the right to get a better idea of where we´ve been!!

Love you all and miss you...see you soon.

The following is adapted from our friends blog. Visit it by clicking on the link to the right¨: Eshlemans

You Know You're in Ecuador When...
- multiple children run up to you at one time to shine your shoes (flip flops, converse, green suede vans..)
- Futbol is more important than anything
- If you don't have nausea at least once a week, you must not be eating.
- If the doors on the bus can still shut, there's still room for more
- Milk and eggs aren't refrigerated
- You can't breathe at an intersection
- $3 for lunch is really expensive
- No vehicle (car, bus, police motorcycle, ambulance, bike) stops for a pedestrian. They do however honk to let you know they're coming.
-You can buy 100 limes for $1 on the corner, the bus, the street...
- You can go from sweating to freezing in 30 minutes
- You can get 120 songs on one CD for $1
- New release movies (still in the theater) are $1.50 on a DVD at the store right next to the theater
- Rice is served at every meal, every day
- The view of the mountains never gets old
- Coca-Cola is the new water - and even tastes better
- Pinguino Ice Cream - they sell Magnum bars!
- $1 for 25 roses
- Old ladies and children are the best pick-pocketers. Watch out!
- Most buses have curtains and tassels - classy.
- KFC is one of the most popular restaurants
- You have your "own" panaderia, pirated DVD store, movistar man, and tiendita where you know the workers by name
- Halls cough drops are considered candy
- Aji (spicy salsa) makes everything taste better
- Regaton (music) is played at all hours of the day/night
- Only 80's-90's top 40 music has made it on the radio here
- Even the poorest of the poor have cell phones
- You have never thought white bread could be so tasty!
- There is a different key for EVERY door in your house
- Family dogs always seem to be hanging out on the roof
- You throw your toilet paper in the trash, not the toilet
- You have been involved in a city bus race
- You have witnessed a political protest
- You haggle with Taxis for a mere 50 cents
- You put popcorn in your soup
- You drink juice with every meal
- When somehow drivers make 3 or 4 lanes out of 2 lanes
- Mothers silence their crying children by flopping our their äll natural¨ pasipher in the restaurnat, bus, street corner or anywhere really that the child can grab for it
- You are overly excited when a bathroom has toilet paper, soap, paper towels and a SEAT!
- Toilet paper is scented because you dispose of it in the waste basket, not by flushing it in the toilet
- The Isuzu Rodeo is branded with Chevrolet here
- Gas is $1.48 a gallon, Diesel is $1.03
- When a man wants to marry a women the parents of the man go with him to ask for her hand from her parents (to show that his family accepts her).
- There are more than 3million Ecuatorians in the US.
- They are obligated to vote... When they vote they recieve a ¨card¨saying so. Without it they can not buy any big purchases such as a car, house, drivers licence, passport and the list goes on...(Imagine the outcome or fraud involved with indigenous people who do not follow politics. Political parties promise tons of food and supplies to the poor country people if they vote for them and they win)
- Ecuador is in the process of voting on accepting a new constitution! Big deal to be decided by ¨vote¨Sept. 28th
- Men are obligated to join the armed services
- The average monthly salery is $250! (Imagine rent of $80 and a phone bill of $50 what you could do with the rest! Maybe food or school uniform and books for your kids...)

Oh how the list can go on...

Feliz Cumpleaños (Happy Birthday) Brooke and Mia

Hi Brooke and Mia!!! We hope that you had a super fun party for your birthdays last week. We were sad that we were not there. We hope that Mia had a great birthday yesturday and that Brooke has a great birthday today!!! We love you very much.

Since we couln´t be there to celebrate with you we want you to know that we wish we could share this yummy ice cream with you and maybe when we get home we can come visit and take you out to ice cream!!
This is a picture of us in a birthday supply store. I asked the lady if we could take pictures wearing birthday hats and holding a birthday balloon for you. . .she said yes and is actually taking the picture for us. It´s hard to read, but the Hello Kitty balloon says Happy Birthday!! Uncle Jesse is blowing you a kiss!
We love you very much!!! and miss you!!

Love,

Auntie Cass and Uncle Jesse

Shell - And a bit of Jesse´s thoughts...

Yes, this little town was named after the huge oil company. Many may not know, but Ecuador supplys a large percent of the worlds oil. We had a chance to visit this town while we were in Baños, not because we wanted to see the influence of large oil companies on the Amazon, but because of a connection we recieved from Karen Appier´s brother-in-law, Tom Clark.

The draw to Shell for us is that it is the gateway to the jungle and historical with misionary work. For those who have read the books, seen the movies (the last one being Ënd of the Spear¨) or heard the stories, you might be starting to connect the dots a little. Some +/- 50 years ago a group of missionaries went to this area to reach one of the tribes in the jungle. Five of the men were killed in this process, the name most recognized being Nate Saint. God has done an amazing work in this area in revealing his love for people with obviously great sacrifice by those who chose to assist him in it.

This is a picture of the center plaza in Shell with a large tower topped with a replical of Nate Saints´airplane.

Rick and Sharron LaBouef have been in Ecuador for 30 some years now and he is a jungle piolt. He basically has people (jungle people, natives, missionaries, etc.) who show up at his gate every morning around 7am begging for flights out to one of the 250 plus air-strips. He then ¨hops¨from one air-strip to another all day ¨bush flying.¨ We were able to spend a night with them and hear their stories.

...and a pic. of the LaBouefs and their plain

It is pretty cool to be a part of something big. To be apart of God´s family.

While there we also went to an orphanage that a lady from the states started. She has 56 children in a very small place! The kids come to her from all ways. Dropped off, found, delivered by the police and so forth. She just houses them and loves on them. She has been in operation for about 7 years with hopes and plans to build on a larger property more rooms and placed to make this operation functional. It is truely a day by day ministry.

Cass with some of the kids at the orphanage

here is a pic of the orphange itself...

Here are a few my thoughts:

I have visited a place in my mind that should have been obvious, but I do not really encounter often. Cass and I have commited to being a part of something larger than ourselves. For this reason, traveling and giving of money, time and resources to various origanizations is on the fore front of our minds. I have been able to research the big organizations and find information on the internet about places and people in which to invest. But what became more clear to me, and brought up experiances from the past when I was in Guatemala, Amsterdam, Ireland, Mexico and on, was that the need is endless. When I say endless I really mean ENDLESS. Just in Ecuador I have had the privliage of seeing three different real-life ministries by those who have little to those who have nothing. We rationalize away resouces (especially money) from 5 bucks to $100,000 fairly easy. For very little these particular three organizations/ministries could exponentialy have a greater impact! Even with-in the non-profit organizations/ministries there are categories of ¨¨Haves¨and ¨Have-not¨.

So I have been a bit challenged. How and to whom should we invest our resources?

For example: Let´s say someone spent a $1,000 or so on toys for themselves this past year... Did you know that there is a friend in Chico who has a non-profit called Bridging the Gap by Giving that will build a clean water well for those who do not have clean water. Hmmm, water seems simple, but people die DAILY because they do not have it. Or the sacrifice for others is a choice of clean water or education because it takes so long to travel to the closest location to retrieve clean water. Check it out. Go to http://www.bridgingthegapbygiving.org/ We will return with many things from our trip here in Ecuador for Shirly to sell at her International botique store. Be sure to check them out as 100% all proceeds from your purchaces go direclty to building a clean water well.

Well, those are a few of my thoughts as I cut myself from rambeling on too long. I would welcome any and all the opportunities to develop these thoughts further with anyone interested.

Nothing But Love!