Travel week through photos

Here are some views from around the Andes and into the Amazon:

This is the new property that Compassion Connection will be building their new training center. It has a great view of the snow-capped Cotopaxi :)

Lucas the monkey/thief/papaya lover

5 Cities in 5 Days + 2 weeks in the Amazon

Today started our 5 day, 5 city/town tour around Quito and the Amazon. Our crazy itinerary is as follows: 

Monday-Quito-- filling out more and more paper work for the Ecuadorian government and waiting in useless lines because machines are broken but no one seems to think it would be important to inform anyone of this slight hold up

Tuesday- Banos--a really cute touristy town with waterfalls and hot springs located in the cloud forest

Wednesday- Shell-- I will meet with the head architect on the sustainable building project so that we can brainstorm ideas and I have some direction on what to research and what to help with :) Another tidbit of info: Shell is also the area where Nate Saint and Jim Elliot worked/lived. They were two missionaries from Wheaton who witnessed to an indigenous tribe here in the Ecuadorian Amazon Basin who were murdered by the same people they were hoping to save. 

Thursday- Misoie (IDK how to spell that, but you can try and pronounce it like ME-SO-I-E) to do some more touristy things like canoe down a tributary of the Amazon, hike around and sight see the beautiful creation. We also will drop off one of our team members there. She will stay there for the next 2 weeks.

Friday- Tena-- A cement slab dropped into the Amazon, but also a great trading hub and market for the surrounding villages. Taylor and I will be doing our home stays there. So Taylor will stay with family #1 fand I will be with family #2 or the first week and then we will switch, which is good because one house is very rural and has an authentic 'roughing it' feel.

Please pray for travel and health safety as we go between all these towns and foods and people. Also pray that we can be a blessing and a help to our host families and not a burden. I am confident and excited to see how God will use this time in another culture to continue to grow us. 

But what Taylor and I are really excited about is what happens when we return from the jungle. A week or so after the jungle trip we hope to start our Zumba classes for the women in our neighborhood :) Please pray for women to come and to be able to relax and enjoy themselves in our classes. Also pray for new relationships with them and open doors to talk about Christ or for us to know how to just plant seeds and give the rest to God and rest in his faithfulness.

I will not be taking my computer on this trip so I will be MIA for 2.5 weeks. But hopefully when I get back I will have alot of photos and stories that show God's provision, creativity and love.

Photo Shoot in La Mariscal

After a long week, we decided to do something just for us: a photo shoot in La Mariscal- the main touristy part of Quito. It was fun to walk around and find cute places to take pictures, but what was better was to be able to be behind the camera and also in front of it too thanks to Taylor :) Enjoy!

this is a sneak peak of Taylor's pics of me- to see more visit her website at 

taylorraephotography.wordpress.com 

"that I may praise you" in hebrew

I love her eyes and the green in her scarf matched perfectly.

I know this picture doesn't really say Quito but I wanted the colors.

sunglasses= mirror

I love the yellow with the green in these pictures

La Casa Rosada

After Taylor almost missing the flight and me tearfully begging the flight attendants to let her on, we both flew together from Houston to Quito and have finally arrived in Ecuador! We are living in a cute little town 45min outside of the city. We have internet at the house but are only allowed a 1 hour time limit per day on it (which is a good rule). Our house is the pink house on the street named San Carlos Maria de la Torre. This is the only way to identify our house since there are no house numbers or really any street signs. Because of this we won't be able to receive mail since we don't have an address.

The first day here was great because we got to meet the staff here, but packed full of meetings about safety, orientation and the mission of Compassion Connection. We are doing a Women's Staff Bible Study which should be good to build relationships and grow in our faith.

After another meeting, I decided to focus my time here on Compassion Connection's new building project. They are planning to build a new conference center that is sustainable and eco-friendly, which is something I am very passionate about. The plan as of now is that I will help do research for the planning team and visit local tilapia farms to learn how they are sustainable. 

The other main project that I will be doing is to start Zumba classes here in our town for the local women. Taylor and I are very excited about this because it is a great way to open doors to build relationships with the women here. We will be choreographing dances, leading the classes but more importantly we'll be intentionally visiting the ladies that come to the classes in their homes. We hope to start a beginners bible study with them in the future if we have enough interest in it. Your prayers in this area would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! It looks like I will be working with a lot Americans on the building project so hopefully I can use more Spanish with the Zumba classes. 

Hopefully I will be able to update this weekly when I'm here at the pink house. Thanks again for all your prayers and support!

God has already shown His faithfulness and provision and I'm excited to see what else He will do over the months!