Serving in Quito North

 Family Home Evening is a unique and new activity for most families in El Oriente. The young missionaries planned an activity for the branch to introduce the concept to new members and friends investigating the Church of Jesus Christ. Here in our chapel in Lago Agrio we explain some fun options for activities. Luckily, missionaries were there to translate because our Spanish isn't good enough to describe much of anything. While studying Come Follow Me in 2 Corinthians, I came across I quote from President Eyring from April 2023 General Conference. "Yet there is reason for optimism: it is that the Light of Christ is placed in every newborn child. With that universal gift comes a sense of what is right, a desire to love and be loved. There is an inborn sense of justice and truth in every child of God as he or she comes into mortality." I thought of these two pictures of children. They do not see an artist's sculpture; they see a need. This little girl is trying to help ...

 We enjoyed traveling to Quito for a mission conference with Elders Godoy and Becerra. Elder and SIster Godoy grew up n Porto Alegre, Brazil, where Pam and Howard served their missions. Their English and Spanish seemed easy and carefree. Elder and Sister Becerra were mission leaders in Arcadia California and their Spanish was great. Currently, they are in the Area Presidency in South America Northwest, which is in Lima, Peru. We spent some time taking a picture, and then we spent several hours being trained and encouraged. I snuck a picture of Elder Godoy reading a scripture from Alma. Occasionally we'd catch a Portuguese word or two escape. I understood about half of what was said. We enjoyed a lunch together and then we all enjoyed chatting about La Paz, Lima, and Hong Kong. I learned a lot about other areas from the sisters. Sister Becerra was a joy to chat with and has visited many wonderful cities I want to see. Our hotel room had a beautiful view of the city. Although it was ...

 One of my favorite parts of living in the rural part of Ecuador is listening to the vender songs emanating from the street. This bread-seller song is so catchy, but the lyrics are so fast, I can't sing them. Here is the original for Tin Tan and another I caught from my local seller.

 While we walking I heard a little racket above me in the trees. I spotted this little monkey staring at me. Then we went out to lunch and splurged on some batidos. The restaurant was playing some superhero movie on the TV in the corner and Paul was trying to identify it. Definitely not Marvel, but pretending to be.

 I knew from my sons who all served in South America that stray dogs are a staple here. At first, I would think, "Who does this dog belong to?" Some do have homes, but not like Hong Kong. They wander on their own all day. Because trash is set out without trashcans, hungry dogs rip apart bags for food. This one figured he would take the whole thing back to his alley. This girl occasionally walks with us in the morning. One day we gave her a treat and it was all over. She walks almost 2 miles with us to the park and when we turn around, she does the same. She never fights with any other dog and gets growled at by many. We carry dog treats in the car to reward such behavior. She loves water. The heat is quite extreme and I know she needs to cool off. One time, I saw some water and picked up a rock to show her the splash, but she backed away, thinking I was going to throw it at her. That's pretty common here. I don't know what kind of melon this dog is guarding, but she...

 When I was a pre-teen, my siblings and I would pick oranges and avocados from the backyard and sell them on a nearby corner. Before the mall was built, or any of the housing on the east, we would camp out on the side of the road with our filled brown bags. Right there on the curve on Bear Valley Parkway, halfway between the high school and I-15: Eight oranges for $1 or four avocados for $1. I don't remember how much my share was, but I'm certain it all went to candy. Here in Lago Agrio, the oranges are sold out of the back of a pickup just down the road from our apartment. The oranges here are pretty green, but taste OK on the inside. They use plastic bags and sell 25 oranges for $1. I can't tell how much the avocados are, but I'm sure they just as cheap. I still can't stand the texture of avocados. I peeked in the back of this truck to see the three major sellers: plantains, oranges, and wrapping leaves. We had a mini-MTC with the missionaries and branch leaders t...

 While the US is dealing with hot weather, we are too. It's not more than 90 degrees, but the humidity is vicious. The sweat accumulates on the edges of my ridiculously large glasses, then drips down like tears. Suddenly I feel sad. Then I have to remind myself that I am not crying. I need an Olivia Newton-John pink headband. We went with Elders Bayless and Hall to meet a cute family last night. They loved singing hymns and reading their own copies of The Book of Mormon. I can't believe how much better they read in Spanish than I do. My goal is an hour per day before my brain turns to mush. I can say I'm improving. What I lack is someone to correct me when I'm wrong. The people here are too nice!