A tourist day

A little more window spying from Patricia's

Vanessa and Karla both attend English classes at Gateway Academy where Ookyoung and I were invited to have weekly English Bible classes.  When we changed from a morning to afternoon schedule at the academy, Vanessa asked if we could study with her separately, as her work schedule would not accommodate Friday afternoon attendance at the academy.  We asked her if she would be willing to come to Patricia's at 8:30 on Saturday mornings, and she said yes.  Karla asked after one class at the Academy if we had other studies that she could attend, either in English or Spanish.  She was primarily interested in learning more about the Bible.  We invited her to both the 8:30 English study and the 9:30 Spanish study at Patricia's on Saturdays, and she was able to come to the English one.  Both girls listen and respond well.  At this particular study, Karla asked us after we were done with the "formal" part, "How can I please God?".  So, we continue to sow in hope, knowing that God is an expert at drawing lost sheep to His fold. 

Gloria and Patricia after our 9:30 study

Once a month, we spend Saturday night at Patricia's as well in order to be with her and Ely for the Sunday morning fellowship meeting.  This was our weekend to stay for Sunday, so we took the bus to Otavalo to play tourist for the rest of Saturday.

Cotton candy, anyone?

The artisan market in Otavalo is apparently the largest in all of South America.  Previously, I had only been to said market on a weekday, so didn't realize the greatness of it until Kim and I arrived this Saturday.  The booths were spread out in the center plaza and on every street within a block radius of the square.  It worked out quite well for us because I think most of the tourists had come in the morning, and the majority had left while we were eating lunch.  That meant that, while there were still plenty of people, we could walk freely through the aisles without being bumped or jostled.  Also, I think the vendors were a little worn out, and they mostly let us browse with minimal interruption.

I try to weed through all my pictures and post only the "best" ones so as not to bore my readers.  However, I was unable to discard a single one of Kim's market photos, so here they all are.

Lunch at Inti Huasi again

Taking a nap on her wares

The vendors at the stall where Kim bought all her souvenir t-shirts agreed to let us take their picture afterwards.  Except for the two teenage girls who quickly ducked under the tables laden with merchandise.  Guess they hadn't had a chance to touch up their hair!

Our purchases

Back in Ibarra, we did a little more touristing before calling it a day and heading back home.