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.
We started early on Friday to drive the 7 hours east to Lago Agrio. It is a twisty, turning road out of 13,000' high elevation. There were many times I could not look over the edge of the road because it was so steep. The temperature went from 6 degrees C to 34 C when we arrived. We hugged the mountains and saw plenty of waterfalls. Trucks, bikes, cars, and cows. Plus, there were goats and chickens in the road. We had to move slowly due to water washing out bridge areas. Some were pretending to fix the road as you drove by and asked for money. We finally arrived in Lago Agrio and to this enormous bridge that crosses the Aguarico River. The apartment had been set up with the newly arrived furniture by our wonderful branch president, President Osorio, plus young elders who volunteered to help.
President Román asked us to move to Coca, about 90 minutes south of Lago Agrio, for the last half of our mission. It is very similar in size, but everyone in Coca says it is much safer than Lago. I've seen some videos of crime in Lago, but never saw it up close, and feel that we have been protected in many ways. I was not prepared for how heavy everything is and I've not been lifting weights. I should have called the elders to help us. The weather was its regular oppressive heat, so we were just dripping sweat continually. We had a box truck to be loaded, but the driver was uninterested in helping us load. When I realized we couldn't carry the fridge and washing machine down the stairs, I walked down the road and asked some men to help us. They saved us. Our clothes were soaked through. The power went out at its regular 7-9am shift. The truck arrived at 10am and we arrived in Coca at 12:30pm. Opening the gate for the last time. The power went out from 1-3pm, so as soon as ...
Every time we go for a walk we discover more amazing sights. Since the trail is over 25 kilometers, we have a lot of opportunities to see new spots. The smells of eucalyptus and oleander remind me of my childhood. An old train used to pass overhead above the trail. It has a date marker of 1918 and has been tagged by recent pedestrians. There's Elder Willard up there. It's a cool 70 degrees and this will be a 10K hike. We were being watched from a safe distance.
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