The coming days

Monday 

Visit in Portoviejo

Night in Portoviejo

Tuesday

Bible study in Las Flores

Midweek Bible study in Buena Vista

Night in Buena Vista

Wednesday

Midweek Bible study in Portoviejo

Night in Portoviejo

Thursday

Nothing scheduled (Read: Frantic preparation for Friday)

Night in Portoviejo

Friday

Six Bible studies in Manta / Montecristi

Night in Portoviejo

Saturday

Visit in Calderón

Night in El Rodeo

Sunday

Fellowship meeting in El Rodeo

Gospel meeting in El Rodeo

Fellowship meeting in Manta

Gospel meeting in Manta

Night in Portoviejo

*That's as far as we've planned.  It seems like enough for now.*

Hope you all have a good week!

What Jill was doing while my head was bobbing on the bus:

The bus terminal in Jipijapa

It's not exactly lacking for color!

Lots of crib trees

A couple of ceibos up close

Any gaudy trinket that you need can probably be found alongside the road in between Jipijapa and Portoviejo.

Skirts #4,5 & 6 go to Jipijapa

So, this event is not very thoroughly photographed for the following reasons:

1) We were trying to hand out four packages in the ten minutes between our fellowship meeting and the gospel meeting along with explanations of how the skirts came into being.

2) We forgot about pictures until it was nearly too late.

3) That's just how things go in Jipijapa.

That said, these little ones were delighted with their new skirts.  

Luisa examines her skirt on Mommy's lap.

Allisson admires her blue skirt.

Maria Elena is beyond thrilled.  

All during Gospel Meeting, she kept taking her skirt out of the bag and looking at it.  

Grandpa gets in on the fun.

Thank you from Jipijapa!

Hopefully they won't mind

if I post their pictures without permission.  It's just that they look so beautiful!

At Mt. Sterling

At McCordsville

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Valeria!

Thinking of this special friend, whose birthday is today

Hope you have a happy day, Val!!!!

She's a girl with lots to say.

And movement to go with it!  I have several videos of our conversations on this particular day, but the others are apparently too long to post.  Anyway, this one will give you the idea.  As you can tell, I was trying to keep the conversation going with minimal talking on my end.  It pretty much worked.  :-)

Just a short sample of bus noise

Turn up the sound.  It will definitely enhance your experience.  

If you need anything, you can probably find it here.

Especially if you need bananas!

**This video taken in Lago Agrio at Special Meeting time**

That's one mosquito per second plus a couple

Another way we get ready for meeting

Turn your volume up!  That's how we listen to it.

There's no sneaking in (or out) of our bathroom!

Videos

I was finally able to get all the videos I've taken since coming to Ecuador off of my phone and onto my computer.  I'll have to see if any of them are worth posting.  Stay tuned...

And the third skirt goes to our third Rebeca

We have three little Rebeccas in our field (Rebecka, Rebecca and Rebeca).  All three of them are now proud owners of new skirts.  The third Rebeca received her skirt this morning, and it made her a happy little girl!    

Taming the curls

Hangin' in the hammock

Skirt #2

All wrapped up and ready to gift

The grateful girl draws a thank-you picture.

I'll have to get a picture of the girl in her skirt at a later time.

One of the many ways in which we get ready for meeting

Jill and I are in our room trying to get ready for Gospel Meeting.  Enter R.  She has a fabulous idea.  She could do our hair.  I silkily persuade her that it would be better to do mine after meeting.  Jill, however, has a kinder heart and agrees to play hairdresser now.

The agreement

She starts out with a smile.

Can I still drink my tea while this is going on?

The first creation

Masterpiece #2

And now for some sort of twisted up thing

Will it stay???

Don't move.  Don't breath.  It just might!  

But mean old Jill decided to comb her hair again herself before the meeting!  

Oh, and I did make good on my promise to let R beautify my hair after the meeting.  We just didn't get any pictures.  :-)  

Just out the kitchen window

Nice and green

Wait...What's that I see???

It's chicken and rice!!!

Crossing the river

Good-bye, Las Mercedes.  We'll see you again in three weeks.

Feeling fruity

Don José prepares a coconut apiece for Jill and me.  

There are a few more.

And a wheelbarrow full of bananas

BIG bananas!!!

Waiting in comfort

On Sunday evening, we arrived "home" before our hosts.  No problem, we have a hammock apiece.  

Hymning with our friends

This past Sunday, we rearranged our meeting schedule in order to have a little "extra" time in Las Mercedes.  (in reality, to make up the time we had lost there by traveling to Quito)  Anyway, we enjoyed a wonderful fellowship meeting in the morning, a lovely study in Lascano after lunch and then headed to Sra. Neira's for a friendly gathering to work on the Spanish hymnbook project.  We wanted some input from native speakers in some of our "decision-making" and decided that we knew just the people to help us out!  We provided a few snacks and drinks and enjoyed time together as our friends worked in small groups on the hymn packets we had put together.  All in all, it was a very successful gathering.

Jill gives instructions from the hammock.  :-)  

L & N

Jill gives some additional guidance to Sra. N.

D and her little helpers

Three generations working together

R, V & R

R shows off her new skirt, I his new pants

Oh, and I show off the "new" outfit that I scavenged out of the give-away pile after bleaching my own skirt.

It was nice to have a few children to entertain each other while the adults worked on hymns.

Bicycle buddies

"Stickering"