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.

December Newsletter

Here is our newest newsletter-  Please leave a comment or email us if you would like a copy sent to you directly.
Have a wonderful Christmas!

The meat of the schedule

Trisha ready for the start of our two week circuit in the jungle with Jonas getting some camera time.

Well, we'd survived our week in the Villano River area of Pastaza (see previous post) and were able to get a few days rest before we headed back out, this time by plane to several Zapara communities in Eastern Ecuador.  This circuit would take almost 2 weeks and end on the Conambo River just on this side of the border with Peru.  Again, Trisha and Hannah (summer medical interns) would be traveling with us and I'd also be bringing Sebastiao along as well.  Accompanying me on this part of trip were Compasion's missionary Jonas Lopez and Reach Beyond missionary nurse Ian McFarland.

Heading back to Masaramu from Jandiayacu

A blood pressure check prior to the doctor visit

Jonas teaching Sebastiao and the other kids a new song

Jonas letting the kids know that Christ's blood covers all sin.

Our week began with all of us and our gear being flown into Masaramu, or so we thought. Part of our group was mistakenly dropped off in Jandiayacu (Masaramu's neighbor) and later met up with us by canoe.  This was my third trip to Masaramu and I was excited to see how the village was doing.  I was fortunate enough to take part in some of the evangelism there in 2010 and 2011 (you can read about it here).  Despite the earlier mix up with the landing site we were soon reunited and began getting situated to our surroundings.

The plan was to perform checkups on all of the kids and adults of both communities and also hold a few devotionals with those willing to come.  Because each community is fairly small our medical work didn't take very long so we were able to spend time sharing the Word and had a captive, albeit small, audience both days.  Overall it was a nice introduction for the interns to remote jungle life and also  a nice opportunity to spend some more quality time with Sebastiao.  He brought his fishing pole on the trip but was unable to catch anything despite using some nice juicy worms.  When he wasn't trying to go fishing he was a great help entertaining the kids and kept them in stitches.

Hannah getting stuck in the mud and slowly sinking . . .

Trying rescue her boot - a lot harder than you'd think.

August Newsletter

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Summer interns in July

Sunset in Masaramu

For many, the month of July is a time to take a much needed break - fourth of July picnics, days on the lake, long afternoon naps, etc.  The list is long.  For us, it was an opportunity to visit a few more villages but this time with some of our summer interns.  By the end of the month we'd spend roughly 3 weeks in the jungle in ten different communities.  Joining us were two college students from the US, Hannah Borsheim from Minnesota and Trisha Carr from Chicago.  For both of them it was their first time to Ecuador and the first time into the jungle.  We'd prepared a pretty rigorous schedule so we were praying for two individuals that were flexible and eager to experience new things and were fine operating outside of their comfort zones.  Luckily, our prayers were answered.  Both did extremely well, even when both were sick in the jungle.

Hannah (L) and Trisha (R) getting to know the kids in Jandiayacu

The Caravan truck

Literally, within 24 hours of their arrival to Shell we were loading up to go on our first trip, this one to three communities that were accessible by road - Paparawa, Rayayacu and Pandanuque.  Since we were able to use the roads, we were also able to bring along a dentist and medical resident as well as the medical caravan truck which is a large mobile dental unit.  We ended up seeing over 100 patients and were able to provide care that many of them greatly needed.  What was also great was getting to know Hannah and Trisha better and getting to see how they'd do on the next phase of our trip.  They both adapted to sleeping in a tent without any complaints and also quickly started forming a close bond together that would see them thru the next few weeks.  God was good (as always) and brought us back safely and in good health.



For me it was a nice trip for 2 other major reasons - one, I was able to bring Bella with me and spend some time with her and two, I was reunited with a patient that I'd help care for in the hospital when he'd suffered a severe brain injury a few years back.

Bella in Pandanuque

One goal I'd set out to achieve at the beginning of the summer was to take each of the kids into the jungle with me but separately.  This would allow me to spend some quality time with each of them away from home (and also not have to deal with their fighting with one another, Hah!).  When given the choice, Bella wanted to go on the shorter trip (no surprise as she's not the jungle warrior that Sebastiao is).  She was a great help.  She became known as the queen of Phase 10 and helped Trisha and Hannah adjust to life in Ecuador.  She also proved to be a huge asset when we visited some of the smaller communities as she'd gather the kids together and have impromptu art classes.  In the community of Pandanuque she shared her crayons and markers with all of the kids present and held a contest for the best drawing.  The winner got some of Bella's cookies that she'd brought along.  As I examined patients near her she kept me in stitches and filled me with a great sense of pride.  Hopefully she'll remember this trip as fondly as I do.

Stymied by an overflowing Villano River causing a long delay

The Villano River when passable.

Visiting with Bruce and his family in Rayayacu last month.  Their story was detailed in our current newsletter.

Bruce, shortly after his surgery to remove the wood from his skull and brain from a fall from a tree in 2012.  You can see what was removed in the jar.