Such a special welcome!

 

Airport fun

 When don Moisés, Jill and I went to the airport on Saturday afternoon to meet our two Canadian friends, the place was crowded with Brazilians who had flown in for the VERY IMPORTANT soccer game that day.  That meant that police presence was heavier than normal.  While Jill was away buying coffee, don Moisés and I decided to get our picture taken with a couple of them.  😁

Liah

 And then I made a new little friend in the home where we stayed in Guayaquil...

With Grandpa Moisés

A little bus friend

 On our way to Guayaquil after El Cristal preps, Jill and I made a little friend on the bus while his mama was engrossed in the movie that was playing.

Maito

For one supper meal at preps, Lourdes prepared maito, a dish that is typical in the Amazon region of Ecuador.  Essentially, it is tilapia wrapped in banana leaves.  

Norman was in charge of procuring the tilapia from the little pond next to the kitchen.  Henry was on hand to help.

Sra. Ligia and her daughter, Alejandra, descaled the fish.

All ready for further preparation

Tío Jim does his part preparing fresh ají (hot sauce) for the table.

Lourdes serving up the finished "product"

I wasn't the only picture taker in the group!

Yummy!

 

Looks like the kitchen and dining are shaping up as well!

 

We only use this as the dining area during preps.  At convention time, everyone eats outside.

All in a day's work

The mattresses got sorted and moved out of this corner so we could get this part of the house ready for the workers' meeting.

Here they are, now stacked in the other corner of the room.   

Also, a LOT of dishes got washed.  Don't worry, there are PLENTY more.  😁

Around the grounds

Convention kitties

Plenty of bananas (and gas tanks)

One view from the sisters' cabin

Brothers' quarters are on the left.  Sra. Ligia's house (used for sleeping and convention kitchen) are on the right.

Another view from the sisters' quarters

Chickens live behind the sisters' quarters.

From the upstairs window of the sisters' quarters, you can see where the meeting tent will soon be set up.

Take the picture quickly...

before the fog moves in.

That's the "White House" that you can see off to the right.

Yes, he got deaded before being shot (by the camera).

Have you ever seen such a creature as that?

Turn's out he's a shag carpet caterpillar.

Pirate (Pirate) waits for me to catch up with him.

Trufa (Truffle) plays with a large green grasshopper.

That's the brothers' cabin on the left (storage below) and the stairs heading up to the space where the meetings will be held.

Out the dining window

Looks like the convention kitties pretty much spend their time sleeping!  

While the convention chickens make themselves at home any old where!

 

Moving in and taking a look around

It felt really good to get moved into my little corner for the duration of preps.

Checking out the "White House"

This will be my primary preps responsibility since I am on beds at El Cristal. 

I must admit to feeling a little overwhelmed when I walked into this space.  

This is the view from the entrance door.  Mattresses and blankets are stacked up directly in front of me at the back of the room.  To the left (partially visible) are MANY dishes to be washed.  To the right (partially visible) is the storage for cleaning supplies.  This is where the women sleep during convention, so all will have to be emptied out and cleaned.  We also hold the workers' meeting here before convention begins.  

The dishwashing area

Close-up of mattress piles and dining benches in the background

In front of the mattress stack (to the right) are two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Bedroom #1

Bedroom #2