When in Doubt Add An Apostrophe

The Grammar Nazi in me couldn't resist taking a picture of this sign.  I love that they not only stole the name, but the Weekend is possessive of something but that Wilo must possess the same thing.   Gotta love it!

New Year's Eve in Shell

  We spent our last New Year's Eve in Shell enjoying the evening with friends.   We walked through town and got to see the "old men" and women.  Families make a person and usually it is someone that has been important to them during the year and then at midnight you set the person on fire.  It isn't like burning a person in effigy-  its all in good fun.  When the hospital was open, each department would make their man and usually it was a doctor that they wanted to have a little fun with.

We ran into some friends of Bella's while in town (above)  and then also ran into many of these guys (below).  

For some reason, men dress up as women on new year's eve and walk around town.  They add a little in the front and little in the back, put on a very tight and revealing dress and then amazingly high heels. 

We ended the night with good friends who we will miss very much!

Changes, Changes and more Changes

We are so blessed to be here in Quito.  We were all (well, not really ALL of us- but the adult "all" of us) were ready for something new.  However, Quito is a different world for ALL of us.  One change that is evident the moment you try to walk anywhere is the altitude.  In Shell we were at about 3400 feet in elevation and now we are in the heart of Quito at 9350 feet- a considerable difference, especially when walking uphill- which I think most of the city is.  Joe just told me that Quito is the highest official capital city in the world-  but I'm not sure we trust his sources...

The elevation also makes other things a little different-  baking for example.  I tried making cookies last week, and lets just say they didn't turn out very well.  They were so bad that I couldn't even take pictures of them.... yep, they were that bad.  Joe tried his hand at biscuits Saturday and with a little doctoring (and i didn't even plan that pun!) for the altitude they turned out very well.


And didn't last very long.....

The other thing that is definitely different is the weather.  We have been here 7 days now and it hasn't rained once.... not even a little.  We are used to daily rain... and we kind of miss it. I don't miss the extreme humidity, but I do miss the sound of rain in the morning.   Also, we are COLD.... cold.  Normal temperatures in Shell aren't hot, but compared with Quito they seem steamy.  

Estamos Viviendo en Quito

So, first of all, Happy New Year!  We hope the year is starting off well for all of you.  We are in the "process" of moving which means we are in Quito house-sitting for another missionary family who are in the states, but our stuff is all still in Shell (growing mold I'm sure) while we wait for the house we are moving into to be ready.  God willing (and no, we don't use that term lightly) we will be in the house by the beginning of February.  The house will be much further from Bella's school, but much closer to the main clinic Joe will be working out.

So, here are a few pictures from Bella's first day at a "real" school as she calls it.  She is attending Alliance Academy here in Quito which began as a missionary school, but is now about 60% Ecuadorian.  There are about 40 4th graders and she is loving it.  Sebastiao is still being homeschooled, but there is a large homeschooling group up here that we are getting together with next week.

Please pray for our family as we settle into a very different place and culture.  After 5 1/2 years at the edge of the jungle, life in the mountains has been a challenge.  Pray for Joe as he starts work tomorrow and as he travels back and forth to Shell and flies to jungle communities once every month.