More of Riobamba

Beautiful, quiet, tranquil, retreat, gardens, flowers, manzanas (apples), horses, sheep, cows... these words describe Daniella's grandfather's farm up in the mountains. We visited it yesterday and today, Judy and I will be going there for an overnight retreat. It is one of the most beautiful and peaceful places on earth. Judy and I are really looking forward to spending some quiet time with God and with each other today and tomorrow. Below are a few pictures of his farm.



We will remain in Riobamba till Saturday when we leave for Cuenca and then Guayaquil. We continue to absorb the daily life and culture of Ecuador. The daily routine is quite different from the states. Most wake up between 6 and 7 with breakfast around 8 a.m. Work begins at 9 and runs till 1. Almuerzo and siesta from 1 till 3 and then work from 3 till 7 p.m. A small evening meal around 8 and eventually bed.

Riobamba is a large city spread out over several miles with population of approximately 125,000. The city seems to be either middle to upper class or else poor. The rich are owners and managers of stores, businesses, and farms in the surrounding mountains. The poor are house helpers, maids, and employees.

I wonder if the city could exist without the poor? Could the poor exist without the rich? What should the objective and goal be - to make the poor richer? Should the rich be poorer? Which group of people are the most happy, joyful, and contented? What would Christ do? What would his objective and goal be?

It's a totally different world than the jungle or the indiginous villages in the mountains where the farms are. And yet in Riobamba, both worlds exist. Elderly indigenous women dressed in brightly colered clothing bent over carrying huge loads on their backs. Men and boys dressed in dark clothing with dark hats. So many similarities to Amish and yet so different. All of this in the middle of the city of Riobamba with buses, taxies and busy streets. Beggars, street vendors, sirens, alarms, roosters crowing, dogs barking - just a few of the noises I hear from Daniella's house as I write this.

Many similarities to New Holland and yet so different.

The architecture of houses are very different. Chickens, dogs, flowers, and other animals on the rooftop, often with rooms for the house helpers. No clothes dryers - wash is hung on clotheslines on the rooftops. It dries quickly in the hot sun and breezes. No air conditioners or furnaces - it is just right during the day and a bit cool at night.

No shopping centers, movie theatres, or Walmarts. Instead hundreds of little shops lining the streets. Shops selling bread, clothing, fruit, food. Shops with raw meat hanging on the sidewalk. Shops offering services such as internet access, copies, long distance telephone calls. Small places to eat with a whole roasted pig out front on the street. Instead of shopping once a week or once a month, most people shop every day obtaining fresh bread, fresh fruit, fresh herbs and spices, fresh meat, etc.

This morning, Janelle has been invited to watch Daniella's father do surgery. At first we thought he was inviting her to an opera, but we later discovered it was an operation.

Last night, we were privileged to watch a true South American futbol (soccer) game. An Ecuador team from Riobamba played Venezuela and won 1-0. It was quite an experience to experience the excitement of a large crowd of Ecuadorian soccer fans.

Yesterday, we had lunch with Laura and her family. Laura stayed with us in New Holland for a week last fall. Her father and mother are leaders in their church. They treated us to a wonderful almuerzo (lunch). Below is a picture of us seated around the table. The other picture is for Paul Snader and Tim Martin. It is a picture of her father with boxes of bibles. He is a leader of the Guideons in Ecuador. He gave each of us New Testaments that are in both Spanish and English. Judy and I are really enjoying reading the bible in spanish and discovering how much spanish we have learned!

Riobamba

This morning (Wednesday) Judy took an early morning walk with Daniella’s grandmother. She thought it was to be a walk around the town, but instead it was to a park where more than 300 persons gather each morning at 7 a.m. for an hour of aerobic exercise.

We visited a historic church, active convent, and museum with some of the oldest art in Ecuador. Riobamba has some of the richest and oldest religious history of Ecuador. I found the room that focused on the trinity the most interesting. It had a sculpture of Christ, the Holy Spirit as a dove, and God as Father. It is the first time I’ve seen an actual depiction of God in sculpture.

From Daniella’s roof, we can see three volcanoes capped with snow. God has extravagantly given Ecuador some of the greatest beauty on this earth.

We just got finished eating some roasted quinea pig. It was very tasty.

Justin leaves this afternoon for Quito and flies back to Memphis early Thursday morning. The rest of us have only a little over a week left in Ecuador.

Below are some pictures of Riobamba.

The first one is of one of the historic churches in Riobamba.

A man in the market waiting for someone who needs some clothes mended.

This one is for Scott. It is one of ten stands in the market selling roasted pigs.

Some indigenous ladies sitting on a street corner.

Chimborazo

On Tuesday, we went to Chimborazo which is Ecuador's highest summit. Its last eruption is thought to have occurred some time in the first millennium AD. Its summit is the spot on the surface farthest from the center of the Earth, measuring 20,946,232 feet from the Earth's core to the peak. We traveled on a dirt road as high as we could drive. Then Judy and the children hiked to a cabin that was 5,000 meters in altitude.

Chimborazo has breathtaking views. Hoever, due to the high altitude, I had difficulty breathing. During the three hours of waiting for the rest to return, I became sick with altitude sickness. When we returned to Riobamba, Daniella's father took me to his doctor's office in the hospital and insisted on checking me out. Everything was fine except for high blood pressure which is normally low for me. He said rest would cure me and this morning I feel much better.

It seems like when I get in altitudes over 9,000 feet, I am very short of breath. Both Quito and Riobamba are over 9,000 feet and yesterday we were at an alitidue of over 16,000 feet. The other time I had altitude sickness was when I climbed Pikes Peak at 14,100 feet.

Pictures from the Jungle

Jessica trying out the blowgun.


Our teachers with us in the jungle.



The Tarantula


Crossing the river before an hour walk in the jungle to our second village.


Judy in front of our bed


In the distance, Judy is sitting at the table where the tarantula came while playing a game in candlelight with the teachers. Our beds are in the foreground on the floor covered by mosquito nets.


Janelle in front of the house where she, Justin and Jessica stayed.

Judy and I and the teachers stayed in the top floor of this house


Our luggage in one canoe. We all traveled in another canoe like this one.

More From Ecuador

JUNGLE: On Monday, we walked to a waterfalls along a beautiful jungle path. It is extremely hot in the jungle, but is more beautiful than we ever imagined! On Tuesday, we hiked about 1 1/2 hours and then deep into a cave using candles a couple flashlights.

On Wednesday, we traveled to a second village where we had our first close encounter with a huge tarantula spider that crawled within inches of Justin's head before we discovered it. We went to sleep hoping there would be no more tarantulas. The next morning, the guide showed us where they live inside the bamboo walls and then come out during the night.

On Thursday, we traveled by canoe about five hours in the rain. We packed 12 persons in a long dug out canoe. It was constantly filling up with water, so we were using bottles and hats to bail out the water. About ten minutes from our destination where we were to camp on the beach, we went through some very wild rapids. This time our canoe filled with water and a few moments later it began to sink.

Two of our professors could not swim and were rescued by our guides. The rest of us managed to swim and hang onto pieces of wood until another boat came to rescue us. Our professors were certain they were going to die. Later they said they saw their life flash in front of them. It was a very scary experience for them, but it bonded all of us together.

On Friday we returned to our first village and sat around the table in candle light and had a good time of sharing togeether. The professors learned a bit more about our God.

The villages remind us of Africa. The living conditions are very basic with open bamboo huts and thatched roofs. The roosters wake us up each morning at 4 a.m. On our first night a chicken came into our room and tried to get into our bed through the mosquito net.

The jungle experience showed us once again that life is all about priorities. We thought large cock roaches were bad until we were confronted by the tarantulas. Sitting on the bottom of the canoe on two small sticks for four hours was a pain until the canoe sank. When life is stripped down to the bare essentials of survival, everything changes.

RIOBAMBA: We enjoyed going to Daniella's church on Sunday morning. We were greeted by about six greeters who welcomed us warmly. We sat near the front of the large auditorium that seated several hundred people. The first hour was a celebration of praise and worship. The offering was also a great celebration with everyone coming forward with their offering. The second hour was preaching, prayer and response.

We were privileged to visit on the Sunday when about 25 people were baptized. We went next door to a hotel's swimming pool for the baptism. The baptism was quite unique with continued celebration and praise and worship during the baptisms.

BANOS: Sunday afternoon, we were treated to a huge lunch at the family of one of the persons who was baptized. From there, we traveled to Banos where we hiked to a beautiful waterfalls. On Monday, we visted another waterfall and visited the local community.

As we were ready to leave, we discovered that the local volcano was erupting. On the way home, we saw huge clouds of ash above the volcano. The volcano is only about 10 km from Banos, but the ash is blowing away from Banos toward Riobamba. We expect to wake up to volcanic ash Tuesday morning. To the right is a picture of the volcana spitting ash. Below it is a picture of Judy holding some lava from the volcana and standing in front of a house destroyed by the lava.

We continue to be stretched, to be refreshed, to learn to receive Ecuador hospitality and to experience the presence of God in many ways. Thank you for your prayers and we continue to pray for everyone back home. It will be great to return!

Jungle

We arrived back in Quito late Saturday afternoon, then traveled to Riobamba Saturday night. We are now at Daniella´s house with her family. They welcomed us with great hospitality. This morning we are going to their church and then this afternoon to Banos for overnight. We had many experiences in the jungle we will never forget including large boas, heavy storms, tarantula spiders, and our canoe that sank in the rapids spilling all of us into the river. We praise God for our safety and for our teachers safety. Several of the teachers did not know how to swim and nearly drowned. It was a week we will never forget! I hope to write more later with some pictures.

Below is a brief excerpt I wrote on Wednesday but could not upload to the internet in Tena because it was too slow.

We arrived in the community in the jungle Sunday evening after a long bus ride through exhiliarating moountain views. On Monday, we walked to a waterfalls along a beautiful jungle path and went swimming at the base of the waterfalls. It is extremely hot in the jungle, but is everything plus much more than we ever imagined! On Tuesday, we hiked about 1 1/2 hours to a cave and then deep into the cave. Today, we are on our way to a second community where we will stay tonight. Tomorrow we travel by canoe four hours to a beach along the river where we will camp. Friday more canoe and return to first village.

The community reminds us much of Africa. The living conditions are very basic. Many stories to tell, but little time now at the internet cafe in Tena. We have had severe thuderstorms, heavy rains, and strong winds. In the community, we have been staying in bamboo huts with thatched or tin roofs. The heavy rains and winds come through the bamboo walls, so lat night was quite interesting. But the next two days could be much more interesting.

It is a great experience to be living right with the people in the community. It has been a lot of walking in high boots through a lot of mud. We´ve given up on keeping our clothes and bodies clean. It has been a great experience, but we will really be looking forward to returning to some of the conveniences we have gotten used to.

Love to all!

Jungle

We arrived back in Quito late Saturday afternoon, then traveled to Riobamba Saturday night. We are now at Daniella´s house with her family. They welcomed us with great hospitality. This morning we are going to their church and then this afternoon to Banos for overnight. We had many experiences in the jungle we will never forget including large boas, heavy storms, tarantula spiders, and our canoe that sank in the rapids spilling all of us into the river. We praise God for our safety and for our teachers safety. Several of the teachers did not know how to swim and nearly drowned. It was a week we will never forget! I hope to write more later with some pictures.

Below is a brief excerpt I wrote on Wednesday but could not upload to the internet in Tena because it was too slow.

We arrived in the community in the jungle Sunday evening after a long bus ride through
exhiliarating moountain views. On Monday, we walked to a waterfalls along a beautiful
jungle path and went swimming at the base of the waterfalls. It is extremely hot in the
jungle, but is everything plus much more than we ever imagined! On Tuesday, we hiked
about 1 1/2 hours to a cave and then deep into the cave. Today, we are on our way to a
second community where we will stay tonight. Tomorrow we travel by canoe four hours to a
beach along the river where we will camp. Friday more canoe and return to first village.

The community reminds us much of Africa. The living conditions are very basic. Many
stories to tell, but little time now at the internet cafe in Tena. We have had severe
thuderstorms, heavy rains, and strong winds. In the community, we have been staying in
bamboo huts with thatched or tin roofs. The heavy rains and winds come through the bamboo
walls, so lat night was quite interesting. But the next two days could be much more
interesting.

It is a great experience to be living right with the people in the community. It has
been a lot of walking in high boots through a lot of mud. We´ve given up on keeping our
clothes and bodies clean. It has been a great experience, but we will really be looking forward to
returning to some of the conveniences we have gotten used to.

Love to all!