Happy Father's Day

 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 week to the new Quito West Mission, so we won't be able to enjoy their company for our last 5 weeks. I'm impressed with all of them. El Oriente is not an easy place to serve. Their apartments have no air conditioning or hot water. And the temperatures everyday are tough.


But they are always smiling. I was sad to see many missionaries leave this week that we have enjoying serving with. Elder Draper, Elder Rowell, Elder Yocum all have left. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

General Conference

Image
I love that Conference is broadcast in Quichua for the Otavalo saints. We were able to watch every session in the comfort of our apartment. My favorite message was given by Elder Robert M. Daines. His talk about being face-blind was so touching. The quote that I researched immediately was, "A few years ago, I got a calling I didn't feel up to. I awoke early, nervous--but with a phrase in mind I had not heard before: that to serve in this Church is to stand in the river of God's love for His children." A wonderful blog post from Faith Matters tells the story of Elder Daines becoming a stake president in Palo Alto. He was currently working as a law and finance professor at Stanford University. In his first address to his stake he said something similar: Think for a minute of your favorite story of Jesus. What is it? You show me your favorite store of Jesus and I'll show you a story of Jesus reaching out to and loving someone on the margins of society, someone who w
Read more

A Week at the Temple

Image
 We returned to the Quito Temple for a week of worshiping and recharging. The temple has a split schedule (or a siesta schedule) so they open in the morning, close for the afternoon, and then reopen for the evening. This means we can attend an endowment session and then an extra ordinance before leaving for lunch.  On Monday we arrived about 4pm and went to the Scala Mall for dinner. They are adding a 4th floor, so in the 6 weeks we have been gone, they opened the new food court up there. It is an exact replica of the 3rd floor. As you look across the open area of the mall (with its tarp roof), you can see where the 3rd floor was open. We would eat KFC there by the windows. Today we are enjoying McDonalds for the first time in over 2 years. On Tuesday-Friday we walk up from the Scala Mall on this wonderful ciclovia. Some of its largest trees were blooming with huge yellow flowers. One of the most popular restaurants in Cumbaya, El Palacio de la Fritada, is always busy. I ordered the ve
Read more

Our new favorite place

Image
 Papo's is our new favorite spot to eat. They always give you lots of food and it's delicious. I was starting to feel a cold coming on, but it was still nice to go out and eat. We picked up some of these fried bananas on the way out of Quito and they were the most delicious snack I've had. I should have bought more. They were only $1. Crunchy, sweet, and delicious. In the middle of our trip, we hit a pothole and got a flat tire. Right in the middle of the Andes. Luckily, Paul found a bus stop to pull over into because there are no shoulders on the road. He put the spare on and we drove the 100 miles home on it. And it wasn't raining. What a blessing!
Read more