Serving in Quito North

 Our family grew by one this week when Nora Willard arrived. Everyone was very excited to meet her. Nora is of Latin origin considered a pet form of Honora; Nora assumes its meaning of "honor" or "shining light." Look at those tiny fingers! Cece is so excited to have another sister. Each child is so gently and loving with new babies. Here I am with my grandmother, Nora Strong McKay. She passed away when I was 6 years old. My mother told me this week that Nora would have loved to see how large her family has grown (she lost her only child in childbirth and later adopted my Dad). None of us looked like her, but she loved us deeply and thought we were all beautiful children.

 We had an opportunity to attend another river baptism on Sunday in Shushufindi. It was a very rainy day, but this sister's determination was firm. This particular spot was built with stairs, which was perfect for our use. After Elder Zubiaga immersed her and brought her out of the water, friends rushed to her to wrap her with towels and blankets. She began bearing her testimony, especially to her husband and children, still halfway in the water, of the truthfulness of the Church and her love of Jesus Christ. Because General Conference is scheduled for the next week, this sister needed to receive the Holy Ghost at water's edge. I held an umbrella over her head and the 5 missionaries gathered around her. It was a special moment for me and felt the Spirit so strongly.

 I began teaching EnglishConnect in Lago Agrio and Shushufindi this week. We have lots of students who are just beginning to learn English. I love teaching so this is a perfect opportunity for me. My friend Adriana talks to me like I can understand Spanish well. I am really trying! But I miss most of the words and just try to get the context. This is Matahambre or "hunger killer." The bottom is a base of french fries with chicken, pork, and beef scattered on top. Queso fresco and many sauces finish off this "medium" sized lunch for $9. We like to stop by Chifa restaurants here in Ecuador (mostly Quito) because they are Cantonese/Peruvian cuisine, but we haven't been here yet.

 Saturday was a special day down at the Aguarico River in Lago Agrio. Six new members entered the waters of baptism. Our font was being reworked so the nearby river was approved. We were so blessed to join with them in this wonderful event. Elder Lower is such a great missionary. I was mildly concerned about the strength of the current, but everyone stayed on their feet. This little 8-year-old was ready for his father to baptize him. Wilson, the furthest on the back right, was baptized just 2 weeks ago and was able to perform one of the baptisms on this day.

 Right in the middle of the town is a delightful little park that is perfect for getting into the jungle. Look at those red bananas! The diversity in the plants is astounding. Vines are climbing up bushes, into the tallest trees I've ever seen, and incredibly bright flowers and fruit entice monkeys and birds. I love the sounds of the jungle and the height of trees is really astounding. An incredibly thick boa constrictor is awake and on the move in the herpetarium. An anaconda is sleeping in the corner while his dinner wonders what to do. This wonderful island isn't quite what you think. There are monkeys on the top of this structure and alligators on the lake's edge. This monkey is stuck on the island! Do you see the caiman on the bottom right?

 We had some fun traveling to Shushufindi on Sunday and Monday. There is a little family group out there that the missionaries run. What a beautiful entry into the city! The name of Shushufindi is pronounced 'shoe-shoe-FEEN-dee' and is a city of about 45,000 people. Our meeting place is a little building that seats about 35 people and it has air conditioning! When it rains it is crazy fuerte. Although it is only 31 miles away, it takes an hour to drive. We've seen some terrible accidents on the two-lane windy road. There is no shoulder and plenty of motorcycles drive at night without any lights. We are often stopped by police on road blocks. I think they are looking for drugs coming in and out. We each got a backpack printed with our names on. I love the colors they chose. Each missionary has one of these with emergency supplies. Sometimes you can be stuck in a lockdown or a road blockade and you need emergency money and food.

 The Lago Agrio Branch had a reservation for a bus to take them to the Quito Temple on the last two days before closure, so we decided to go with the members. Temples usually close every 6 months for 2 weeks of deep cleaning and repair work. On those last two days, everyone wants to attend. Seattle Temple President Wiser told me one time about 10 years ago that we should have a closure every month so more people would attend.  We boarded a bus in Lago Agrio at 9pm and we left about 10pm. The whole Latin America idea of timeliness is so difficult for me to adjust to. We were told to be there promptly at 8pm and we were still picking up people in the town after 10pm. I follow the phrase, "Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!" Hopefully, I can change my perspective while I live here. We arrived at 6am but it was still a bit dark. Thank goodness we had Dramamine for the 8-hour trip. But my neck was incredibly stiff. The entire busload emptied into the hosp

 It's nice to be near an outdoor market in Lago. The common varieties bananas in Ecuador include Bungulan, Cavendish, Lakatan, Latundan, Morado and Señorita. Mixed in are plantains. I have to go to the grocery store to find out the names of a lot of the produce. I absolutely love Guanabana!

 We enjoyed attending a baptism in Lago Agrio this weekend. Wilson is a 25-year-old from Guayaquil who knows quite a bit of English. This means when we get together, he has a lot of language questions. Elder Fransen is to Wilson's left and Elder Zubiaga is on his right. These two missionaries are fantastic! On the far right is Elder Ekins who is now an assistant to the mission leaders. Almost the entire Branch attended. I should have taken a picture of the exterior baptistry font because it was very interesting. One of the members gave us an umbrella for the sun since it was in the 90s. The rented building is small, but has a strong air conditioner. Above is a second floor with two classrooms and a branch president's office.