Serving in Quito North

 I love spending time with the sisters in Shushufindi, teaching EnglishConnect. I'm also working on my EPP project, improv piecing some fabric I brought from home. There isn't cotton fabric here, so I'm careful to use what I have. That also means I can't fussy-cut anything. I made three of each block design and now I'm trying to find a setting that will work. The blocks needs to be sewn together because I need to pry the papers out to use them again. 

It's such a pleasure to see young men serve in such powerful ways. We were able to join a companionship to teach this beautiful sister before she entered the waters of baptism.

How do you know what to bring on a mission? Can't you just buy everything in your new city? Well, there are a few things that I can't live without in my kitchen. If I'm going to bake or cook, I'm going to need my trusty tools. Danika gave me a special vegetable peeler from Germany before we left. While she was in the store, the proprietor asked whether I was right-handed or left. She told him that I was right-handed, but pushed away the peels instead of carving them toward me. (I assume this was all in German.) He announced that I was doing it wrong. So she asked whether she should get a left-handed model so the blade would be positioned correctly. No! She was to instruct me how to do it properly. And so she did. At 50 years old, I learned to peel by carving and if we ever serve in Frankfurt, I won't embarrass myself. A cookie disher is really a luxury, but I like making cookies and the uniformity I get makes baking easy. Teaspoon and cup measurements don't w...

Thank goodness we are back in an appropriate time zone to enjoy General Conference! Asia was rough. Usually I'm busy making a Jeopardy game or a seminary quiz, but none of that was needed this year. Here are my favorite moments. Elder Tai Opening Prayer. Oh my goodness, I love this man. He was in charge of senior missionaries in the Asia Area office and he was always interested in our welfare. When our son was having serious difficulties, he called us into his office to see if he could help. I miss him and his family. I was able to teach his daughter piano lessons each week and his wife is an incredible cook and teacher. Bonnie Cordon, "Never Give Up an Opportunity to Testify of Christ." With that powerful talk she is released as General Young Women President. I am really working on this admonition in Spanish. Elder Peter F. Meurs, "He Could Heal Me!" We were so sad when Elder and Sister Meurs left the Asia Area Presidency in July of 2022 for the Pacific Area. H...

 I'm having fun teaching two classes of EnglishConnect. Each class is different in age and ability, so we fly by the seat of our pants. Lago Agrio's class is mostly YSA and they know quite a bit of English. Shushufindi's class is older men and women who are new to English. We have fun and play ESL games. This big fella lives across the street from the church in Lago Agrio. The shop/home below is busy with street traffic and he likes to bark at everyone as they go by. Because he is up on the roof he doesn't really pose a threat to anyone.

 We decided to head out between General Conference sessions to have a birthday dinner at a Mexican restaurant. It wasn't very Mexican, but at least I didn't have to cook. The best thing about my chimichanga was that it had a tortilla. Paul liked his enchiladas but they used empanada wrappers. Instead of cake, we had cinnamon rolls. I asked Marnie for her best recipe recommendation because she is a serious baker and she said to use this one: Ambitious Kitchen They were fantastic! Highly recommended. I rose them overnight in the fridge so they were ready to go in the morning. This is a mystery to me. No one in this city has heard of a windshield sun shade. Everything that is sold here comes from China, so you would think a $5 piece of synthetic material and plastic tubing would be available. No. A parking attendant slaps one of these on your car after you leave and then wants $.25 to take it off when you return. This would not go over well in the States.