My 29th September...

September, for me, holds a certain sense of nostalgia. As a child it meant back to school (which I loved!) with brand-new pencils and tennis shoes, the excitement of birthday celebrations, and the coolness and color of autumn. Here in Ecuador, though they do have two “seasons”, it is not as distinct as in Wisconsin.
"Welcome September, with all of your newness and promise, and may you live up to your potential!"

Enough about the future -- I am sure all of you have nothing better to do than to anxiously await word from me about what has been happening…

QUITO
After the camp, my team and I traveled on a bus (I LOVE BUSES!! :)) to Quito, where we spent almost two weeks ministering, touring, and tasting. We spent some time at Campamento Esperanza (Camp Hope), a home for children with disabilities who have been abandoned. We spent one morning in a prison for women from all over the world, where a group of missionaries has a weekly Bible study. “Opción de Vida” (Option for Life) is an outreach to at-risk kids and those that live on the street, at which we helped by playing with the kids raking leaves and participating in the lesson time. My favorite (of course!), was the day we visited an orphanage. This orphanage is much nicer than the one in Guayaquil because it is funded by the government, yet, no matter how many physical needs this place can meet for the children, it is still painfully obvious that they lack the love and attention of parents. It breaks my heart that places like this even need to exist, but I hope that by washing windows, changing messy diapers, and lulling little ones to sleep, we were able to share the love of Christ.
We made dinner for our Cristo Vive Quito team and had a nice time reuniting with them and making plans for the future. It is encouraging to see this team that is less than a year old, bonding strongly and continuing to minister together.
Let’s not forget, that the beautiful city of Quito has many sights for foreigners to behold, of which we took advantage. We visited museums, statues, the Middle of the world (where you can balance an egg on a nail), looked out over the city via the top of a mountain, ate cuy (guinea pig) at the same restaurant as the travel channel’s Andrew Zimmern ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuXKGuxB9Zc ), danced to live Ecuadorian music at La Ronda, and rested our tired bodies in the thermal baths of Papallacta. All together, thanks to our tour guide, friend, and chauffer, Gustavo, our time in Quito was both challenging and restful. We were (and are) sad to say good-bye to Christine and Brad (we miss you guys!!).

CUENCA
Noele and I left Quito, Friday night, the 27th, and arrived ten hours later, on Saturday morning. It was nice to be back in Cuenca, though only for a few short days. Incendio, “my” dog has grown up so much! He’s still as spunky as ever, and loyal…following us to the bus, where he knows he will have to turn around and go home. We made it in time for a surprise birthday party for Juan Diego and to say good-bye to Philipp who would be going back to Switzerland (I know, our social calendar is very demanding!!). We were able to see most of the CVI team Sunday at church, just enough to touch base and see how they were doing. Monday, Noele celebrated her 20th birthday, and on Wednesday, we awoke at 3:30 am to make the trip to Guayaquil. We had been planning on leaving Friday, but there was a team of Californians who were returning to the states, and were taking a much safer, much faster tourist bus, and they invited us to ride along. We were extremely glad to accept since it would cost us nothing, and we had just read a news story about a bus that careened off of a mountain cliff [http://actualeurope.info/world/ecuador-bus2099-082010.html]. I don’t mean to alarm any of you, but it was a reminder that God’s angels are protecting us every time we travel, and that your prayers are working!!

GUAYAQUIL
So, here we are in the heat of Guayaquil once again. Tomorrow we will visit the orphanage and see Flor-cita! In the meantime, Noele and I are working out a routine and a plan of attack for the tasks at hand. We have already slipped into a pattern of Kristin cooks and Noele washes the dishes, so hopefully, our work will turn out to be naturally patterned out as well. A friend jokingly asked us today if we have had our first “marital” argument. Funnily, we have been getting along well, though we both agree that soon we may need a breather, as 24-7 is a bit much for the most happily married couple or the most amiable of friends! Also, there are about ten people here in Guayaquil (including myself --- EEK!) who have birthdays in these next few weeks, not to mention about twenty more in the states…so, if you are one of them and I am not there to say it in person…HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

As I contemplate murdering the dog that is incessantly barking below the window, I leave you with these words of Truth:

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden…In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14,16