Aeropuerto Congregation

Since we arrived to Cuenca, March last year, we've been attending the Aeropuerto congregation. Back then with only two elders and about 100 publishers. Soon after we arrived the branch assigned a special pioneer couple who has been helping in the congregation. A lot of the brothers are new, most of them have come into the truth within the last 10 years. Meeting attendance is usually above 150. A lot of studies and even RVs attend. 

 Some of the sisters

The Brothers

Some of our Auxiliary & Regular Pioneers

Our Kingdom-Hall

Our territory is very productive. We have part Centro, Residential, Cuenca's Bus Terminal and the Airport. Centro is my favorite, there's a lot of businesses and big residential Spanish style buildings. Mostly humble people live in this buildings, renting little rooms for under $100 a month. Most people have a lot of interesting biblical questions and a lot of them are willing to study. Business owners or employees are also very willing to have good conversations and study the bible. Most of our studies are from Centro. 

Our congregation recently started participating in Metropolitan witnessing at the Bus Terminal where hundreds of people from all over the country pass by everyday. We have been able to start many bible studies from follow ups received from the Bus Terminal.

Metropolitan Witnessing, Special Pioneer Couple (in the middle)

        

Camping trip, Laguna De Busa

      

       

Since everyone was off for Christmas holidays, a group from our congregation decided to take advantage of the days off to go camping. We picked "Laguna De Busa", located about 35 miles from Cuenca via Machala, right in the out-scars of a little town called San Fernando.

Some of the activities that could be done here are Camping, fishing, picnicking, hiking along the lake, photography and hiking the San Pablo. A Majestic hill that rises along the shores of the lake. It looks like a massive solid rock with its top raised and pointed to the sky. The hill is surrounded by native green vegetation and many routes that lead to the top, making it a major tourist attraction for mountain climbers. 

We left Cuenca early in the morning and arrived at Laguna De Busa just around 9. Once there, we picked our camping spot and started setting up the tents. The camping site was within the woods, right in front of Laguna  De Busa. We had a beautiful lake view surrounded by mountains.  

       

                                  

                                  

This was a sophisticated camping site. With high wood platforms available to set up the tents, perfect to keep humidity and bugs away. There's also several fishing piers available, and walking trails. We also found a ready to use fire place and even garbage cans and "toilets"! 

I knew right away this was going to be nothing like the Cajas camping trip where each of us had our assigned bathroom spot in the woods...

One of out tents with a beautiful lake view

                       

                       

                 

We had a very good time eating fish we caught ourselves, playing cards, telling jokes, walking trails, exploring and admiring Jehovah's beautiful creation. 

Cajas National Park

     

"El Cajas", National Park about 20 miles from home. Right on the Andes mountain range, with over 200 lakes and beautiful valleys. Camping out there its an adventure and our group of 10 was ready for it! It took 2 hours horseback riding and walking to get to the lake we all wanted to be at. Walking at over 15000 feet its not an easy thing to do, specially since all our lives we have been at sea level.

Ready for Adventure!?!

This is the fourth lake where we are staying the night.

Temperature drops to low 30s at night. We did a good job at keeping warm with a nice wood fire and canelazo. This spiced drink originates in the Sierra of Ecuador and Peru where, the high altitude means nights are chilly.

We also had marshmallows, told stories and played cards. It was a rough cold night, with un-wanted visitors sniffing around our camping site all night. Among them were wild horses, lamas, and i think even a speckled mountain bear. Fortunately, we made it through the night!

Fishing truchas for dinner

                                                                          

Canelazo recipe:

Ingredients for canelazo:

3 cups water
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp cloves
5 cinnamon sticks
Pinch of salt

1. Mix together the water and lime juice and add the cinnamon, cloves, sugar and salt. Bring the mixture to the boil over a medium heat.
2. Simmer for 5-10 minutes then remove from the heat and add the orange juice and the rum (to taste).
3. Reheat gently, but do not allow it to boil - the alcohol will evaporate.
4. Strain and serve (enjoy it!)

       

Cuenca, Our New Home

We arrived to Guayaquil, Ecuador on Thursday, March 7th. We planned this move for a lonnng  time. It seems unbelievable  that we have already been 9 months in the country.

After arriving at the Guayaquil airport, we had a friend pick us up. Slept the night at his place and the next day, Friday, we took off to Cuenca. We used a recommended company called "Operazuay" to take us from Guayaquil to Cuenca. For $80 we were the only passengers along with our 9 bags. 3 hours later we arrived, safe and sound.

On our way to Cuenca

Finally we got to meet the Gonzalez, a family from Spain that had been serving in the country with their two kids for 3 months. This loving family offered their home until we found our own place to live. They already had a room ready for us. After we settled in they took us out to "El Turi". A high point with a view to the whole city.

 Gonzalez Family

El Turi

Saturday night we visited the closest kingdom hall and we met the Davies, the public speaker and his wife, a loving couple from Australia that has been serving in Ecuador for about 6 months. Right away they noticed we were new in town, so they invited us out. They took us to "Tutto Freddo", an Italian restaurant right across Calderon park, city center. This restaurant offers pizza, lasagna and sandwiches, among other stuff (no soup or salad though) The food was ok and the ice-cream was "awesome"!! We still come here once in a while for ice-cream. 

The Davies

Brother Davies spoke to us about an apartment available at their building. We looked at the apartment the same night. It was a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment with tile/wood floors, granite counter tops, nice wood cabinets and custom made closets. We loved it!! And the price??? $230/month, perfect!
 We did look at other places. But most of them looked like a horror movie had been filmed there. After praying and thinking about it, we decided to go with the apartment at the Davies building.
We moved in two weeks after arriving to Ecuador. But the place looked empty, we needed to fill it up...so let the shopping start!!! I'll talk about setting up cost on another post. 

Need Greaters Preaching in the country side

We had the privilege to preach in the countryside a few times last year. Once a month a congregation nearby spends a day preaching to all the little towns in the surroundings. Starting from 8am, a group meets at the kingdom hall, at a brother's house. After a small consideration we would divide in different cars and get going for the adventure.

Kingdom Hall

        

                                             

Sound System 

        

                                                   

On our way to Taday...

        

                                                   

First stop: Taday, a little town with a few hundred people. There is a big church in the middle of every town, even the smallest one. As soon as we get there, the church  plays a song made specially for us announcing our arrival. People are very religious here, and what the priest says its the law. Some show interest but they are afraid to be seen talking to us, this could bring them problems with the priest. 

View from Taday

                                        

                                    

Taday

         

                                                            

We visit 2-3 other towns and stop at 12 for lunch. Our lunch spot is an abandoned house. It has plenty of space for parking and areas were we can sit. Once, we came by, and there was a dead cow, already smelling. We had to look for another place to eat. Some nice lady let us use part of her big land for the whole group to have lunch...

 

Abandoned House (Lunch Spot)

                                      

                                        

       

                                                                

        

                                          

                                            

                                                          

During rainy season we got stuck at out lunch spot

          

                                              

       

Only a backhoe was able to pull us out of there

After lunch we divide in smaller groups and head to different little towns finishing up the day at 4 or 5pm. Even though we don't get the best response from people out here in the country, there are a few good RV's and studies. And we get to have this awesome adventures preaching around the countryside and getting full of mud....