Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers - today we continued getting to know Ecuador, ate VERY well, and finalized our prep for tomorrow.
Sunday morning began with a wonderful devotional time led by Pancho y Pity. After singing together (thank be to God He doesn't judge morning voices!) we received a wonderful teaching from Ephesians 6:10-18, the Armor of God. In a visceral example, we wrote down our fears on paper airplanes which Pancho hurled at us, after giving us the shield (aka "lunch tray") of faith! We are blessed hearing their stories of faith and are greatly encouraged.
After worship, we piled in our vans and drove off to "La mitad del mundo" - the "Middle of the Earth" - not to be confused with "Middle-Earth" - though we did learn that the local indigenous peoples grow to a Hobbit-ish 5 feet.
After learning about the ancient culture of the area, we stood on the equator itself, attempting to walk with eyes closed and struggling to balance an egg on end. Congrats to Mariah, Maddie, and Mr. McCune for balancing the egg and earning "Egg Master Certificates"!
You may know them as Guinea Pigs, but the locals call them "Cuy"...and yes, the rumors are true...they are a delicacy in these parts. Beyond this though the locals thought the cuy contained the ability to sense "positive energy" people. They would be calm around the positive ones and raucous around, well, the others. I'm pleased to report that the cuy were very content with us looking in...a testament to the bonding happening in the group!
In a big "whoopsadasie", Ecuador built a large and impressive monument and park on the Equator. Well, turns out they didn't have GPS back then and the original park is actually south. Ya, whoops! So after visiting the "real" equator above, we visited the original park below. It's more local and less touristy and had these colorful dancers. A good reminder to us going in to teaching that things don't always go as planned...but you've just got to make the best of it! Ecuador certainly has.
After another day traveling we returned for dinner...steak wrapped in bacon...I mean Ecuadorian hospitality is ALL OUT!! Here are our cozy dining arrangements...
The afternoon also consisted of prep for teaching tomorrow. This group has put A LOT of time in to this and is loose and relaxed going in to Amor y Esperanza.
We're reminded in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that "His grace is sufficient for us". We pray we remember this as we enter a new challenge tomorrow, putting on the Armor of God. Thanks for continued prayers!
Amor y Paz (love and peace),
~EMT 2015~
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