Jammin with Courtz

So we had a fantastically fun night with Courtz. The shrimp were huge! And muy delicioso. Courtz is an amazing singer/guitar player. So we had a jam session. She got me to sing a couple of songs!!!! Crazy. lol. And one time she had me singing over Skype for her friend Bianca. It was super stressful haha. Trying to come out of my shell more though. We were out on the veranda. And we got to see this gorgeous sunset! So many beautiful things here.

Jehovah is such a loving God to give us the joy of sight, taste... I could do without the smell here though. lol. It typically reeks of dying things (seafood, animals, general waste, etc...). Just when I think I'm getting used to it, a gust of wind proves me totally wrong.

Maria's Party

So on Friday little Maria that had caught Dengue Fever had a spur of the moment party on a rooftop nearby. I had been very irresponsible and got myself severly sunburned that day

 So I was not in any mood to dance the night away sweating on top of the gnarly burn I had. But for such a brave little friend, I stuck it out. And I'm so glad that I did. It was so much fun!

She looked so cute in her brand new outfit. You could hardly tell that she had been sick at all!

 The whole congregation was invited. Although, because it was such short notice, not everyone was able to come. So I heard that there might be another one very shortly ;) The love in the congregation here is so beautiful. I was dragged out onto the dance floor three times. My good little cleaning partner from the assembly, Jonathan, was one of my dance partners. He just laughed at me. Then the other two times our friend Stephania tried to teach me some moves. Once I started to feel like I was getting whatever move she was doing she changed it! lol. I was hopelessly lost. Kel was way more into it than I was. Her and our friend Emery (another one from Georgia, US) were having a great time solo dancing together.

 Then... they broke out into the Macarena! So of course Kel and I jumped in for that! There may or may not be photographic evidence of that particular event. I'm not sure where it would show up. It unfortunately would not be on me or Kel's camera...

Agua Blanca

Today was another awesome day in service! We got to go and work an area called "Agua Blanca". A very neat little area down off the beaten path a couple miles. It's very pretty! Not a whole lot of people were home there. But I was getting to know my little sister Daniela better anyway :) She's such a tease! It's hilarious. She's the daughter of the brother that used to be the town drunk. Such encouraging experience! In the picture she's the one second from the right... in case you couldn't guess ;)
 The sister all the way to the right is Liety. She has an amazing story too. She started learning the truth when she was still living with her parents. Her entire family was severly opposed. Her father would threaten to kill her. And when she made the brave decision that she was going to serve Jehovah no matter what, her father pulled a gun on her actually tried to shoot her. But Jehovah provided a protection for her. A brother came by her house just when her father was about to kill her and stopped him. Her father ended up killing himself after that. And in his suicide note, he wrote that the main reason he was killing himself was because she became a witness! It's almost unimaginable some of the things the brothers and sisters have gone through to serve Jehovah! It makes me appreciate everything Jehovah has given me so much more! Also in the picture is Avery (from Georgia) and Jon Carlos (aka JC).

Me and Kel's buddy in the middle is Adonis. He's super cute and absolutely loves his picture being taken! Me and Daniela were messing around with the ties that we found in the backseat of the van. Then JC and Courtz got ahold of one, LOL!

Spanish Lessons

So Kello and I have started our Spanish lessons! Super exciting stuff.
I was so naive about it. I walked in thinking that I was going to know a little bit. I know nothing as I found out on our very first day, Tuesday. Our wonderfully fantastic profesora Paola, started us at the very basics of Spanish... the alphabet. It's so sad to me that I had no clue how the Spanish alphabet was spoken. lol. And then we were distinguishing between masculine and feminine nouns. Super basic stuff, but apparently very necessary for speaking Spanish. Who knew!?! lol.

 Then today we were working on conjugating verbs. Starting out with the regular ones ending in -ar. So I have a ton of homework (tarea) that I have to finish before Tuesday. I love that I have homework again!

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