Piqueros

From left to right: Anna (from England), Jennifer (Anna's sister), Brooke, Anna, and Kaisa.

 So yesterday Kel and I got to go to the most beautiful beach I've ever seen! The water was so clear that we could see the bottom. Piqueros Patas Azules (Blue-Footed Boobies) was the name of the beach. Everyone calls it Piqueros. We went with a group visiting from... no se, lol. I don't remember. I'll ask Anna later. But it was Kaisa (or however it is spelled) and Anna from Estonia. And Brooke from Washington state. Anna and Kaisa can speak 4 different languages! Russian, Estonian, Spanish, and English. Anna from Estonia is one of the ones in the new Ecuador article in the July study Watchtower. They tried to teach us a Russian card game that seemed like it would be super fun... if we could understand what to do. The rest were Eden, Sarah, Anna (from England), Jennifer, and Courtz.

 While we were on the beach there was a mud bath there. So all of us tried it out. Except for Eden. He wasn't brave enough. Once we were fully covered, we went wandering down the beach. We looked like a bunch of monsters from the Black Lagoon! The employees came over and took pictures of us in the mud bath. We're gonna be famous! We went walking on the rocks and picked up some beautiful shells.

 Apparently a certain kind of shell that could be found on this beach used to be the currency for this area. They had them plastered into the side of the buildings. Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of that.

So we got up bright and early this morning for service. Worked with Sarah and Eden. Got to place a couple sets of magazines and then nobody was home after that. There must be something going on today that we gringos don't know about. So we headed in early. But now I have a couple more return visits! The people here stay and listen to whatever you have to say. Even if you're taking forever trying to struggle through their language. They think it's neat to have foreigners in their houses. They think we're 'exotic' lol! Hopefully that will help someone come into the truth.

But today is the day of me and Kel's first spanish lesson!!!! Yay! I can't wait. We have it from 2-4pm. Afterward, we plan on treating ourselves to something sweet or trendy. Not sure yet. I would like to go and see what kind of scarves and dresses they have in town. Also, I've heard that you can get a hammock for about $12. So I'm contemplating getting at least one.

I miss my family and friends. But this place has been very kind and hospitable. I have no regrets about coming. I just wish that everyone could come and have the same wonderful experience that I am. This place is so amazing! Jehovah has definitely blessed our journey here!

Oh! And also, Kel and I will be getting the apartment in Lopez that we wanted. It's available on Friday. So we will be closer to our Spanish lessons and the grocery stores. We'll still live in Machalilla part time. But our main house will be in Lopez. Now we won't have to worry about transport as much. Really excited about it!

Ciao Ciao mi amigos!

Maria

A quick little update for everyone. Maria (the little girl with Dengue Fever) is on the mend! It was touch and go last night. But she's pulled through and she is finally doing better! Thank you for your prayers everyone.

Machalilla Kingdom Hall

This is our beautiful Kingdom Hall! these pictures don't truly capture how beautiful this place is, but it gives you an idea. For the meetings, there are big windows that open up on both sides of the hall that show a gorgeous view of the mountains. ... It's kinda distracting, lol.

 Yes. There is indoor plumbing. Thank goodness! But! When I went to go and use it, there was no soap... pass the hand sanitizer please!

Our Day Today at the Beach

First freshly dead puffer fish I had seen.

These rocks are about a half mile up the beach from us. So beautiful!

THE BIGGEST PUFFER I'VE EVER SEEN!!!!

Chilling out on the rocks!

First day at Puerto Lopez Beach

Trying out surfing for the first time

The view from Court and Anna's place.

Jordan's surfboard.

Kelly was the one that really tried to surf. Look at that determination!

Yes! This is the Kingdom Hall in Puerto Lopez. It just so happens to be on the way to Court's

Random Pictures

       

This was a Queso soup that was DELICIOUS! I also had a Coco Pescado. Yum!

Courtney and Sarah made a chicken pasta dish. And then we had a movie night! Such fun

This is my favorite picture of Kel. She was about to venture out to el bano, lol!

This is Maji, Suleka, and Joann! Mi nuevo amigos!

This is Kel while we were making our way up a ridiculously huge hill. Isn't she disgustingly gorgeous!

This is Joann spelling his name for me in mi computadora. Apparently he actually has four names!

Courtney enjoying her coco soup and fried fish

This is Sushi. Court's been housesitting for a couple friends, this is their gato.

This is me being the kids merry-go-round.

Then they decided to dog pile on top of me.

Me and Kel's manos. She's so tan! And I'm still Blanca Nieve lol

Update

So I haven't posted in a few days, sorry. But things have just been super busy and my brain is being fried by all the Spanish, lol.
So we still haven't started our Spanish lessons. We have an email to send off to the school to get it all set up. Hopefully next week we will finally be starting those. Yay!
And I have become friends with the kids around here. They have been running around calling me "Blanca Nieve" which apparently means "Snow White"!! How cool is that!?! lol! I'll post some pictures of the kids dog piling on top of me and using me as a merry-go-round. erick chancay. <That was one of the kids :) He just came over and wanted to spell his name into the computer (computadora) So cute!
I got to go out in service again. This time I spoke twice at the door. I have a couple return visits now! I just opened up the watchtower and read the "Learn From God's Word" section. Really easy and everyone is willing to listen! A couple more times and I'll have a couple studies! I just need someone to go with me so I'll know what they are saying back to me. lol. The problem is that there are so many studies that there isn't anyone to go with me most of the time! We'll see how this works.
On a sad note, one of our little next door neighbors has Dengue. She's in Guayaquil in a hospital right now. Our elders Eden and Steve are with her right now. She apparently has the worst kind of Dengue. It causes you to hemorrhage. She lost alot of blood. At a certain point they force a blood transfusion. But she has managed to stay just above that mark. The brothers and sisters here are very emotional. Kelly and I walked into the Kingdom Hall and everyone was sobbing! We thought that she had died. But she had gotten worse, not dead. Still waiting for word as to how she is doing today. They thought last night that she was stabilizing.
Kel and I took a break and took a walk down the beach. It was so beautiful! I'll post pictures. But there were several reminders that the ocean can be unkind. Two dogs, four blue footed boobies, one pelican, and an inumerable amount of puffer fish. Although I suspect the puffer fish are cast-offs from the boats.
I got to help out with the cleaning at the Kingdom Hall yesterday. We swept out the hall and dusted down the chairs. Then we went outside and picked up every leaf from the gravel outside. It was alot of work, but alot of fun :) As I was leaving I headed down the wrong road. It was just like something out of a movie. The little lost gringa went the wrong way while all the locals are screaming at her and she's too busy daydreaming. I finally got the message and headed the right direction with a ridiculous smile on my face. It's such a good thing that we have so many good patient brothers and sisters here!!
Tomorrow is the country-wide day off. Not sure what we will be doing. We'll have to wait and see. But we got a response to our email to the Spanish teacher. She said that we can definitely have lessons on Tuesday. And we're not sure if we can get another one yet. I really hope we can!
Well I've gotta get going. I have two little ones running circles in the kitchen. Ciao mi amigos!