Serving in Quito North

 We arrived at the new mission office to meet with President and Sister Román who are on their way to Mexico and meet President and Sister Bradshaw. I feel so much for them. It is a tough assignment, but I'm sure they will be wonderful. The Románs also welcomed President and Sister Del Carpio and their children. They spend only 24 hours together to transfer all the information. I hope the Románs do well in the transition to Salt Lake. I gave her several tips on getting rid of the majority of household goods. It's a tough job, but you feel better afterwards. Like exercise.

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.

 We saw some wonderful young men and women at the temple tonight. After chatting with them for awhile we found out they were with a charity that sends youth out for a few weeks for volunteer work. I was impressed by their enthusiasm and testimonies. They all wanted to return to Ecuador for missionary work.

Our presence has been requested in Quito for the mission president switch. So we drove to the temple and began our regular schedule. Sessions in the morning and evening, walking and lunch in the afternoon while the temple is closed. On Monday we hit our favorite Mexican restaurant for some tacos. Behind Paul is the Cumbayá reservoir. It's fun to walk the trails there. On Tuesday we walked our regular trail to a Colombian restaurant and enjoyed arepas. After a little while, we realized we were not alone. The trail is just gorgeous and the weather is always perfect. Sometimes we have to stop to get the rocks out of our shoes.  On Wednesday I heard the terrible news that my sister Jerri had been t-boned in Provo on the way to a hospice patient. She is in serious condition in the hospital. The whole family is praying for her.

 I've never lived in a country where the power went out in the entire country. On Wednesday, we had just enjoyed lunch with the sister missionaries in Coca and dropped them off to work when we returned home to no electricity. We didn't think too much of it until we saw on X that the entire country was out. On Friday it happened again. They are really having a tough time keeping the power on. Here is Elder Willard enjoying the evening. Our landlord installed a light that turns on when the power goes out so we don't have to sit in the dark. It lasts for about 3 hours.

 We enjoyed the branch's Father's Day party in Coca on Friday evening. The Orellana Branch and the Coca Branch combined to celebrate their fathers. It was a night never to be forgotten. They brought a singer in who could really belt a tune. After some great songs, we enjoyed many performances by members. They love to dance here! I brought a Texas Sheet Cake and was able to serve all the fathers. It was probably sweeter than what they're used to, but I'm a sugar junky. On Sunday, we enjoyed having the missionaries over for dinner. Two of them were headed home that night, but the roads were impassable and they were stuck until the morning. Luckily, the bus left in the morning and they still made their Monday night flight. Elders Olson and Zirker (the tall ones) completed two years of service in spectacular fashion. They were gentle giants, full of testimony and kindness. I know they will be great leaders wherever they go. Elders Ford and Rodriguez were transferred this we

 President and Sister Román are touring the mission to have their last zone conferences in situ. So we drove up to Lago Agrio and enjoyed the afternoon with our missionaries. Training continues at all times, either by mission leaders or assistants. And we are always well-fed. We love eating with the missionaries because they always ask tons of questions--about the gospel, life, or marriage. They are bright and tough, but kind. We loved hearing the Románs share their testimonies and encourage the missionaries to be lifelong learners. They will watch him for the next 20 years while he serves in the Seventy.

 What was supposed to be a baptism for four turned into eight by the time we arrived at the chapel. Seven were being taught by the missionaries and one was a child of a member. Here they all are with the missionaries. We enjoyed a great afternoon and even got a picture with the workforce. L-R: Elder Mills (Kennewick), Elder Yocum (my mom's ward in Temecula), Elder Willard and I, Sister Jensen (Utah), Sister Tuck (Texas), Elder Ford (Utah), Elder Zirker (Utah), Elder Zuniga (Chile) and in front Elder Rodriguez (Venezuela). We heard today that one of our English students from Lago Agrio received her mission call! Congratulations to Daira!

 Visiting the new Sachas family group was on our list for a long time. We kept getting held off because of crime. They finally gave us the green light and we drove up for Sunday's service. Here's Elder Mills showing off the new facility for the family group. This saves a good 20 people from an hour drive to Coca on Sunday. We enjoyed a wonderful testimony meeting. After Elder Yocum bore his testimony, I grabbed him to be a translator so I could share my testimony too. What a unique location! I hope this area grows so we can get a building here soon. I've been thinking about change lately and what an opportunity it is for us. Perhaps I'll write a talk about the power of change.

 We took an opportunity to drive downtown to the art market to buy some creches for our family. I love walking through and seeing the Otavalans. It is tough to ferret out the local art from the Chinese products. Every booth was full with blankets, sweaters, magnets, and artwork. If you look carefully, you can see the Otavalan creche pieces we were looking at. We bought them from three different booths.  I love this art piece. Wouldn't this be fun in your garden? This would be fun to create in quilt form. We finished the evening at our favorite Korean restaurant for our favorite spicy chicken. So good!