Quito, oh Quito, the things I will miss....

It's hard to believe that my three months have come to an end already. As I am here for my last few days I am trying to soak up everything I love about this place. From my little babies at the orphanage to the fresh fruit, bread, and flowers available at every street corner, to the amazing mountain views all around.

This blog will just feature many pictures that describe my time in Ecuador and why I love it so much here. I am confident I will be back one day, this place will always have a huge part of my heart.

In no particular order....

celebrating birthdays

spending quality time with my baby Antoinella

she's just so stinkin' cute

the friendly llama that greets me on my way to the orphanage

the beautiful smiles of sweet children

babies strapped to their mother's backs

walking down the streets in old town Quito

the motor-taxis

beachin' it in the middle of February

sweet friends at the garbage dump day care

smiling faces, excited to see us

sharing a bottle of Inca Cola with friends

mosquito nets

the babies in the orphanage

sweet little babies in their swings

Quichua women singing in church

buildings that make me grateful for the blessings I have

cramming all of Corban and the interns into one car to go to church

feeding precious children snacks

visiting the street children and loving on them

the mountains

cute babies on the bus

people selling just about anything and everything at every intersection

the vendors on every street corner

cutie pie kids coloring

ghetto taxis (this is rare for Quito, but so fun!)

beautiful churches

the Panecio

chiva rides

amazing architecture

this picture needs no words

And the thing I won't miss...

Meals that include entire animal bodies, including the feet!!

I thank my Heavenly Father for this opportunity
and praise Him for all He has done in my life while serving in Quito!!

I ate Cuy!!

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I've been in Peru for the last two weeks traveling around with the Brown's, Corban, and the other interns going to different Summer Camps (it's summer in Peru right now) and helping out. More pics of that trip later...

One night before we left for Peru, Corban was invited to lead worship at an Indigenous Quichua church in Ambato. We made the three-hour drive with them and had a great time of fellowship and experience! 

Some surrounding buildings around the church.

Here is a picture of their school, there is only one school for the whole town. 60 children. Grades K-7th. One teacher. Sad. I wish I could do something to help! My wheels were spinning all night...

We spent a little time upstairs, which is where we found the women in the kitchen preparing our meal....Cuy. For those of you who don't know, Cuy is Guinea Pig. It's a common meal here in Latin America and I thought that maybe, just maybe I'd go the whole three months without coming into contact with this fried rodent. No such luck, tonight was the night! So, here I am, trying guinea pig for the first time! They were chanting all of the Gringos on the whole time. 

Here are the women in the kitchen cooking.

This is him before...

Here it comes, yikes!

And this is him after...

Bye bye mister cuy...

Side note: I did not eat it all, just a bite. Small advantages to sitting next to a boy (just slide over anything you don't want to finish and they'll finish it for you!)

A day (or two) off for the interns!

A few weeks ago, we had two days to explore Quito a little more. It was so fun and we were able to see so much of the city! Old Town Quito is amazing! Ecuador is different than any country I have been to in South America. Because we are in a the city of Quito it's pretty "americanized" however, at the same time, there are many things all around that remind me I am still in a 3rd world country. Once you leave "central city", you will see much of the poverty that makes up the rest of this country. However, Old Town Quito's streets are lined with beautiful old buildings, huge churches filled with gold, and amazing statues all around!

Kirsten and I in central Quito. Apparently we're looking at different camera, haha!

Fun statue, I can't remember who that is...details!

One of the many beautiful Catholic churches.

The inside of the church...pure gold!

This is one of my favorite buildings because of its rounded corners!

The Chicas!

 (Ashton, me, Chelsea, Kirsten, & Janet)

The next day we hopped on the bus to "Mitad del Mundo" (Middle of the World). I couldn't wait to see the actual equator...funny thing (and this could only happen in Ecuador) but years back a park was built around the equator. It's a big tourist attraction with huge monuments marking the middle of the world. Inside the gates are many little tiendas, restaurants, and a museum all dedicated to the "middle of the world". Well, years later and many scientific tools later they figured out that the location they thought the equator was, was NOT really the equator. Oops! So, you have to walk down the street to this tiny dirt path leading to the real equator. It's not the sight or the "greatness" of the fake one, but here you can do many fun little things that you can only do at the equator. Such as, flush a toilet on either side of the line and see the toilets flush opposite ways, balance an egg on the line, try to balance yourself (you can't) on the equator. It's hilarious that they messed up on such a major thing. But, it is Ecuador, so what can I say! Ever since I've been here I've been making this "Only in Ecuador" list, it just seems like crazy things happen here and this is no different.

How often do you get to see that in real life?! Fun stuff!

Standing on opposite sides of the earth!

Mitad Del Mundo

The entrance to the real "middle of the world"

Not quite as elaborate as the other one!

To be honest, as I was writing this blog, it reminded me of Christ, in a way. (Not the mistake part, of course!) Matthew 7:14 says, "But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." The people in Ecuador spent all this time, money, and effort to make something that was, in the end, really a lie. But the real attraction is at the end of this narrow, tiny, secluded, dirt path. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to Him except through the Son...the narrow way that only a few will find! Thank you Father for this truth you revealed today.