Old Town Quito

ONE WEEK ago tonight, we arrived in Ecuador. We have completed five days of spanish and are discovering that four hours of spanish class and a couple hours of homework each day can be exhausting. It reminds me of an intesive German class I took one summer in college. Judy and I have exams tomorrow, so we stayed home tonight to work on homework while Jessica, Janelle and Dany went to watch a movie.

We went to two museums this afternoon in Old Town Quito. The first museum was the oldest church in Quito built in 16'th century. We learned a lot about the history of religion in Ecuador. The second museum was about the history and culture of Ecuador.

We met the protestors again today at the Presidents office in Quito. The protesters are indigenous Indians and are protesting against the destruction of the forests and farm land. We were able to walk into the crowd that was shouting angry chants and holding spears.

This morning in devotions I was struck with the possibility that our praises and shouts of joy pave the way for God to ascend. They open the door for God to appear. The sounding of the trumpets makes visible the Lord God. May the Lord appear in the midst of your praises and shouts of joy this week!

Psalm 47:1, 5
Clap your hands, shout to God with cries of joy! God has ascended amid shouts of joy. The Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.