The Internet has been a frustration, hence the timing of this Monday post, as in, not on Monday. I've become tethered to an impressively slow Ethernet connection in a random room on the 2nd floor of our living building [which is a dormitory (Which, if you ask me, is more reason for me to be confused by this room)]. In all honesty, it is a little blessing-reminder from God of how good we've got it in The States. Trust me, I'm as distraught as you all are, the post date doesn't match the actual date being blogged about, and it's killing me!
With that sob story allow me to recap Sunday the 3rd of August for you all.
We all flew safe and jollily (Spell-check's not telling me that's NOT a word, and Shakespeare made up thousands of words and we like him, so that little gem's stayin' in there) all the way through. We landed in Houston at about half-hour increments on Saturday (Pitt, Philly, Cali, D.C., then Charlotte) and then left for Ecuador around 5:30 (We had an actual departure time, but it was such a blur that I don't remember now...) The TV service wasn't free, so the flight was nearly a total disaster due to my inability to fall asleep on planes until a wonderful Ecuadorian gentlemen sat next to me. I made some rough Spanish small-talk thanks to my extensive elementary school and one college year Spanish education. He lent me his pen to fill out my customs forms, what a guy! He also kept falling asleep on my TV remote on my armrest though and turning the screen back on after I'd turned it off...unfortunate, but comical now that I think about it. I'm glad he enjoyed his flight! We landed a little after midnight (which is why this is all being included in the Sunday-designated blog post). Another moment of thankfulness arose as all our luggage showed up.
Having been given sustenance, we boarded the bus and headed off to church at La Fuente ("The Source") for church. It is a fairly small church (around 50 attendees) held on the 3rd floor of building in Quito. We got there early in order to assist them in setting up sound equipment and chairs. The service started at 10:30 with Spanish worship, which truly a fun challenge for all of us, followed by a sermon entirely in Spanish. This part was a little more...taxing. Thinking in another language is exhausting, and even though the church set up an area in the back so that a member of the worship team could translate for us, it was still tough to be fully engaged considering our traveling, late night, and quick insertion into a new culture and language. All the same, it was a very strong sermon on the glory of God and Jesus's example, particularly in the Transfiguration.
Afterwards we headed out to very nearly "Spanish-Chipotle." Very simple menu, very similar ingredients, and very similar style. We took our time eating and then set out for the market, where we found heaps of authentic alpaca clothing, beaded jewelry, leather, and lace. It was fun to barter with the salesmen and women and get some souvenirs for cheap.
We returned to the Alliance Academy after bartering and changed for training. The school has a field across the street that we used and will be using all week. Despite such a long day, and being at such a blood-suffocating altitude, training came and went. We ate dinner afterwards at a sports bar down the street from the Alliance Academy. It had a very American menu (even partially in English) but a not so American delivery. My definition of pink lemonade was challenged, they couldn't help but add mustard on everything, despite not seeming to list it anywhere, and their order accuracy was equivalent to a fast food, though in their defense, we did bring a very large group.
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| Yeah, Pink Lemonade... |
Much love,
Tim & Company
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