Last night Wes gave his first talk in Spanish! He did great! Here is a snapshot:
(This is him introducing the song of course. I recorded the actual talk so this was my only opportunity to take a still photo :) )
1.31.2013
1.29.2013
Service Time!
Service here in Ecuador is quite the experience! The group meets at 8:30am most days, unless we are going to go to one of our farther out territories which may require we leave by 7:30-8:00ish. We have been out almost everyday since we arrived, so we are getting very familiar with the schedule and how things work. One thing that we're not used to is how territories are worked. Instead of one person 'owning' their own territory like most of us are used to in the states, the congregation all goes to the same territory together and we have a territory assigned per day. For example, on Tuesday the whole congregation will meet in Ingapirca and work the same area.. On Wednesday in Tambo and so on. This is very convenient because if someone couldn't make the group for some reason, they join us in the territory when they can and they know right where to go to from which day it is.
Most people in the territory are very friendly and it is very easy to place literature and even read a scripture in most cases. It's nice too because most recognize Jehovah as God's name, so it is not something that has to be proved to the HH. Example: In service yesterday, there were a group of about 6 or 7 kids- little kids- playing outside together. We asked if their mother was home, but she wasn't (not uncommon here for little children to be outside, playing/walking the streets by themselves). So the sister I was with asked (who looked like) the oldest boy if he knew God's name and he said "Jehova'!" It may not seem like much to the locals, but it was nice hearing such a young one at least knowing Jehovah's name:)
Our territory expands for quite a while and getting there is not always easy. We drive on dirt roads, with many HUGE holes and rocks sticking straight up out of the ground. Tom (our coordinator) has the only vehicle (I believe) in the congregation, so he is very generous in driving as many as he can to the far out territories (45 mins -1 hr+).This is usually 4 people besides himself because that's all there is room for. The sister's get priority, so the brother's usually end up taking the bus, or sometimes some of the sister's do as well depending on how many are out. This may sound pretty good, but when we are driven to a territory, we mean literally JUST driven to the start of the territory. There is no driving up roads or driveways to get to homes-NO-just purely dropped off at the start of the territory if we're fortunate enough, (sometimes, we have to walk, possibly miles to get there, depending how close the bus would bring us) and then walking/climbing these HUGE mountains to reach, what a lot of times is just one home! We know this may seem hard to believe, or even exaggerated, but WE ARE NOT EXAGGERATING- this is how it is! To put it into perspective a bit more, Tom said on average the 1st month, expect to lose 15-25 lbs, that's how much walking we do! It was a little challenging the first few days, especially with difference in altitude, it at times seems like we literally can not catch our breath, but we are pretty used o it now and are starting to keep up with the locals:)
Here are a few pictures we've taken out in service:
Most people in the territory are very friendly and it is very easy to place literature and even read a scripture in most cases. It's nice too because most recognize Jehovah as God's name, so it is not something that has to be proved to the HH. Example: In service yesterday, there were a group of about 6 or 7 kids- little kids- playing outside together. We asked if their mother was home, but she wasn't (not uncommon here for little children to be outside, playing/walking the streets by themselves). So the sister I was with asked (who looked like) the oldest boy if he knew God's name and he said "Jehova'!" It may not seem like much to the locals, but it was nice hearing such a young one at least knowing Jehovah's name:)
Our territory expands for quite a while and getting there is not always easy. We drive on dirt roads, with many HUGE holes and rocks sticking straight up out of the ground. Tom (our coordinator) has the only vehicle (I believe) in the congregation, so he is very generous in driving as many as he can to the far out territories (45 mins -1 hr+).This is usually 4 people besides himself because that's all there is room for. The sister's get priority, so the brother's usually end up taking the bus, or sometimes some of the sister's do as well depending on how many are out. This may sound pretty good, but when we are driven to a territory, we mean literally JUST driven to the start of the territory. There is no driving up roads or driveways to get to homes-NO-just purely dropped off at the start of the territory if we're fortunate enough, (sometimes, we have to walk, possibly miles to get there, depending how close the bus would bring us) and then walking/climbing these HUGE mountains to reach, what a lot of times is just one home! We know this may seem hard to believe, or even exaggerated, but WE ARE NOT EXAGGERATING- this is how it is! To put it into perspective a bit more, Tom said on average the 1st month, expect to lose 15-25 lbs, that's how much walking we do! It was a little challenging the first few days, especially with difference in altitude, it at times seems like we literally can not catch our breath, but we are pretty used o it now and are starting to keep up with the locals:)
Here are a few pictures we've taken out in service:
This was taken this past weekend when we walked 3+ miles for a Bible Study
These are some of the local sister's in our congregation. They are all regular pioneer's along with their husbands. Beatriz is in the middle, she is the sister we are living with.
You know what this is! And there are plenty loose around town...
See the one paved road? Well this was taken on our journey down to it...
Some more sister's in our congregation
This is Damien and our favorite little member of the congregation, Mila!
This is from service today in Ingapirca. You can see part of the ruins on the left.
This was taken today in service as well. Here we are towards the top of the mountain and we had to walk through the tall grass and muddy slopes to get back to town.
Lot's more photos to see, we will post more again soon!
Market Day!
Every Saturday is Market day. We begin by going out in service usually from 8:30am-11:00am or so and then head to the market before we go back home for lunch. The market is full of all the fruits, vegetables and meats you could want. I've only been twice so far, but each time I've gone, I always end up buying more than I planned on and discovering something new. For example, there are 3 different varieties of avocado at the market-I'm used to the blackish/brown one we have in the states, but here there are more- and according to the Brother's & Sister's they are much better than the ones we get-I'm sure that's true!
Also, Ecuador's biggest 'claim to fame' is the banana. On our bus ride to El Tambo, we saw thousands of banana trees bordering the streets and it's common in service to get offered a banana as a gift. Once again, we're used to the long, yellow 'normal' banana's sold in the states, but here there are also mini banana's-about half the size of an average banana and they are much sweeter than the others.
El Tambo has an indoor market that runs all week long too, so if you forget to pick something up on Saturday, there is a chance you can still find it during the week. The indoor market doesn't have as much though and I like the option of choosing who I buy from, (especially because we're foreigners, it's common they will try to charge us more, so the friends have showed us who to buy from :) ) where as in the indoor market, there are only a few options. Cañar, the town across the mountain has an even bigger market than here in El Tambo, so we are planning to go there possibly this Saturday.
To give you an idea of the prices, here is what I bought this past Saturday:
20+ bananas
6 HUGE avocado's
16+ tomatoes
8+ lime's
8+ red onions
A big bag of garlic cloves
A bag of fresh cherries
A bag of Grapes
A big Pineapple
3 HUGE cucumbers
A head of lettuce
and I may even be missing something else....
Grand total $11.00!
In the states, 1 avocado alone was going for $1.99, and these are FRESH from the garden fruits & veggies, you can't get any better than that!
Also, Ecuador's biggest 'claim to fame' is the banana. On our bus ride to El Tambo, we saw thousands of banana trees bordering the streets and it's common in service to get offered a banana as a gift. Once again, we're used to the long, yellow 'normal' banana's sold in the states, but here there are also mini banana's-about half the size of an average banana and they are much sweeter than the others.
El Tambo has an indoor market that runs all week long too, so if you forget to pick something up on Saturday, there is a chance you can still find it during the week. The indoor market doesn't have as much though and I like the option of choosing who I buy from, (especially because we're foreigners, it's common they will try to charge us more, so the friends have showed us who to buy from :) ) where as in the indoor market, there are only a few options. Cañar, the town across the mountain has an even bigger market than here in El Tambo, so we are planning to go there possibly this Saturday.
To give you an idea of the prices, here is what I bought this past Saturday:
20+ bananas
6 HUGE avocado's
16+ tomatoes
8+ lime's
8+ red onions
A big bag of garlic cloves
A bag of fresh cherries
A bag of Grapes
A big Pineapple
3 HUGE cucumbers
A head of lettuce
and I may even be missing something else....
Grand total $11.00!
In the states, 1 avocado alone was going for $1.99, and these are FRESH from the garden fruits & veggies, you can't get any better than that!
Here is a picture of SOME of the fruits & veggies we bought on Saturday
This is the indoor market- always there if you need it!
This is how you buy the chicken here... pick which one you want!
This is the indoor meat market, not the best selection during the week, but you still have quite a bit of options:)
One more picture of the meat market, a bit different from the states, but hey, this is the life here in Ecuador!
1.27.2013
Fishing in Ecuador
Here is where we went fishing in Ecuador, I forgot to change the white balance so the color is a little off, but the views were breath taking
Another view of the mountains
Wes fishing for Trout
Friday, we went fishing for Trout in the mountains near El Tambo. What an experience that turned out to be! The journey began with a 1 hour drive up the mountains on dirt roads. Just as we thought the roads couldn't get any worse, they did!
At Tambo we sit at about 10,000ft, the lake we fished at 14,000 ft., which means more wind, more cold, more sunburn.
The ride up was beautiful and we saw many wild animals including a field of llamas. They were so cute and many different shades. Once we were up on the top of the mountain we had a half an hour walk to the fishing spot. Between where the car was parked and our fishing spot were several cows, but these were no ordinary cows. They were wild bulls. In fact the brother said its from these cows the bulls used for bull fighting are taken. Naturally we begin to get a little nervous, but the brother assured us they will leave us alone as long as we respect them. So we begin our walk and a lady (speaking English) hiding in the bushes yells at us to look out for the Bulls, they are dangerous. This was a little unsettling, but once again the brother assured us we would be fine and that she was just a tourist. So we literally had to sneak by the bulls, at times crouching low to the ground to get by without them spotting us. To be frank, Brittany said it was one of the scariest moments for her, knowing at any moment a wild bull could come charging at us. Fortunately in the end, we made it to our destination without incident.
Once at our fishing spot we dug up worms and grubs and along with the shrimp parts we had brought, we began to fish. Soon after it started to rain, continued to rain, and then rained some more. After a few hours of nothing but rain, we decided to call it a day.
The descent down the mountain was another story. Because it rained so much while we were fishing, the rain was beginning to come down off the mountains. Here are some pictures of water running over DIRT roads.
Fortunately, the roads didn't get completely washed out.
As we were coming off the mountain, we noticed what looked like snow, so we checked it out and come to find out it was hail!
Even though we didn't catch any fish, it was quite the experience.
1.23.2013
Out & About...
Here are just a few of the many pictures we've already taken...more to come shortly!
Here we are out in service in Ingapirca. This is where we were told if we didn't stop preaching, the locals would attack us and beat us with sticks...thankfully that didn't happen.
Here is the town we are living in, El Tambo. It is 10,000+ ft and surrounded by mountains.It is very beautiful and the locals are very friendly and hospitable.
El Tambo
El Tambo
I believe this was taken in Cañar, opposite of El Tambo. It was taken in a car as you can see my bag in the reflection:)
I took this photo out in service. It is very common to see the locals in their traditional garb out and about. I love this picture because it shows the essence of El Tambo.
This is a shot of the mountians on our way to Cuenca
Check back soon for more!
1.19.2013
In the beginning...
Hola!
We finally made it to Ecuador! We had some crazy adventures on the way. Our flight from the states to Guayaquil was pretty uneventful, which is always good. We were beaming with anticipation of what was ahead of us.
Once in Guayaquil the plan was to hold up Watchtower magazines to identify ourselves to the witness family we had thought we made prior arrangements with to pick us up. Well when we got out of the customs area, we walked in this hallway that lead to the exit of the airport. There must have been 200+ people in this area, each holding up different signs and staring at us as if they had never seen an american before. We definitely stood out! As we were walking out to this area, we both scanned the crowd for the witnesses, but with no success. So we waited, and waited, and waited and still no one came. One would watch the luggage and hold up a WT while the other would face the crowds with the Awake, hoping the witnesses would see us, but still, no one.
Brittany started to get a little nervous, here we are in a foreign country, can hardly speak the language, we can't find the witnesses, the store where we were told to buy SIM cards for our cell phones was closed and there was no where else we could find to call anyone. Well as it was Wes' turn to do the "walk around", this lady approached him and asked (in spanish of course) if he was one of Jehovah's Witnesses, so he of course said yes, thinking maybe this was the sister picking us up. She then said "Keep going, Keep Going". So Wes continued his "walk around", apparently she wasn't the sister.
Well a while after this happened, this same lady approached us both again, and spoke to Wes in Spanish and asked if we were Bethelites. (She had apparently thought before we were going to Guayaquil Bethel and she knew the witnesses wouldn't forget to pick us up, so that's why she had told Wes to "keep going" and looking for the Bethelites.) Wes told her no, but that we we're supposed to be meeting a sister here to pick us up, but we cannot find her and we don't have a phone to get in contact with her. She then motioned for the phone number and brought Wes into this office that apparently only the staff/shuttle service members at the airport could use. She then made the phone call to the brothers and sisters for us and about ten minutes later we saw a cute little Ecuadorian man holding up the Feb Awake Magazine approaching us.
The nicest part about this was that this lady was not a witness, but told Wes herMother was one of Jehovah's Witnesses and because of that she wanted to do whatever she could to help us. This was just the first instance in seeing Jehovah help us in our first few minutes in Ecuador. There have already been a lot more instances, but they will have to wait until our next post.
Buenas Noches,
Wes & Brittany
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