Exploring Esmeraldas

Poor Sister Román didn't want us to visit Esmeraldas. She worried about our safety. In retrospect, we were probably too white to visit the city. But all went well. We started the day by trying to get a replacement tire. Then we found that the pothole damaged the wheel, too. Plus, the back wheel now had a bulge in it. 

When we drove past, we noticed someone had placed a tire in front of the pothole that had swallowed us. (The next day, the tire was gone.) 

Most places were closed due to the holiday. But we found a sweet man in a tiny shop that was able to pound it into a round shape. Paul paid him $40 and he included a used tire. We began finding the missionary apartments around Esmeraldas, which is kind of two separated areas.

We enjoyed participating with the Esmeraldas, Atacames, and Quinindé Zones for Conference. I always love chatting with the missionaries and working on my Spanish. 

I found this basketball in the Tolita chapel and was surprised to see Hermana Stokes' name. She was one of my favorites and has returned home already.

Our first apartment inspection on Saturday was with these hard-working missionaries. As we approached their street, I greeted an elderly woman with a friendly, "Buenos dais" and she replied, "Ten cuidado."

That didn't inspire confidence.

We had a lot of problems with these apartments. Sister missionaries have never been assigned here, so there's that. But there just hasn't been a lot of oversight here. I was thrilled to see Elder Rodas who was in Sacha a few months ago. There he is in the upstairs apartment.

Paul was able to replace a non-working front door lock so they could finally secure their apartment. Elder Sims and Elder Barrios found an old microwave that was still working that could go to another apartment. They are right on the beach.

 I bet Elder Sims gets a lot of attention from his ginger complexion. This picture below is a few steps from their door.

It didn't look like anyone was working on that hotel anymore. Too much drug trafficking. There are so many good people here, so it makes me sad.

We loved to visit these missionaries and tell them they were important. These elders had just moved apartments and you know how stressful that is.

We were grateful to be away from the hotel because everyone was celebrating Labor Day and it was crazy loud. Just below our room was a DJ and loudspeakers at the pool. The power kept going out on Friday night because they were completely booked. Kids would scream in the pool as it went dark. I was running on their only treadmill when the power went out. That's an easy way to get my heart rate up.