Today's Ha Ha

Actually, I believe when you sneeze, your eyes always close, so perhaps the best way to get rested up is to develop a nasty head cold!  :-)  

Farewell, Marsha

This past Sunday was our last gospel meeting in Guayaquil before we leave for preps and conventions.  Since Marsha will be leaving for her home visit directly after the rounds, the friends wanted to have a get-together to say good-bye.  She's been in this field for four years.  It was quite a surprise for her and everything turned out very nicely.

Everybody wanted to get their picture taken with Marsha.  Since I wasn't involved in the picture-taking process, I'm depending solely on what others have sent me.  That being the case, these are only a fraction of the pictures that were taken that day.  I'm sure more will come in later.  Anyway, here are some of our Guayaquil friends with Marsha.

Lachlan & Karina Harris, Adrian & Sabina

Carlos & Maria, Katy & Jared

Carlos & Mariuxi, Astrid, Keyla & Brett

I couldn't escape altogether.  :-) 

Joined by Steven

The living room entertainment

Wilson & July

There were too many to get a picture of the whole group, so they divided up and took a few "group shots."  

She's got the flowers divided up and ready to be dispersed throughout the house and shared with others.

Playing tourist

I kept my camera (phone) out on the trip from Vernaza back to Guayaquil on Saturday.  Here's a sampling of the sights we saw.

It's hard to see, but those are soybeans laying out to dry on that concrete pad back there.  Some people also had them out drying on the side roads, but I didn't get a picture of that. 

The folks around here call this their "beach," and it's quite a popular spot for local tourists.

The fellow on the bicycle with the umbrella is selling tanks of gas.

Sacks of rice for sale

I think that's cheese in the glass case.

More fruits of the harvest:

See the bridge that gets you back to this house?  With a cow underneath.

Roadside "stand" selling oranges

That bridge looks a little rickety.

Watermelons for sale!

Apparently something is being celebrated in that house with the balloon arch over the doorway.

Caution: Pig Crossing

Rice fields

Another pedestrian bridge

Some kind of amusement park

We're now approaching the edge of Guayaquil, and the scenery starts to change little by little.

Can you see the rather large "urban complex" there in the background?

These gated communities have become quite popular on the outskirts of the city.  

A new shopping mall: one of the largest in South America

Can you see the man selling oranges on the sidewalk?

Some of our friends live in this "urbanización"

Who's hungry for chicken???