In The Beggining......

I want to go back a bit to our arrival in Otavalo.  Really Sherry and I were both feeling like we had bitten off more than we could chew.  When things are so different but you have no choice but to live with it, it's a little overwhelming.  The shower, for instance.  The water is heated by an electric device that is right there on the shower head. A little unnerving when you have been told your whole life that water and electricity don't mix.  Then you have to turn the water faucet just so until you see the spark.  Spark?!  But, after the first cold shower and you finally figure it out then it's not so bad.  Oh, it's the only hot water in the whole house.  We heated water on the stove [only one burner works] to wash our dishes.  There is a washer.  It's a funny contraption, but it does the job.  You put your clothes in one compartment and fill it from the hose.  Turn the dial and it spins the clothes in one direction, it stops and then goes the other direction.  It does this for however much time you set it for.  Then you turn another dial and the water drains out.  Repeat the process for rinse.  Take the clothes and put them into the next compartment.  Turn it on and it spins the water out.  We were amazed at how well the dryer worked.  The Ecuadorian sun did a great job after we hung the clothes on the line.
Sherry and I are constantly reminding each other how blessed we have been on this trip.  Yesterday morning, on the way to the airport in Quito I called a brother in Manta.  I had been given his phone number the night before at the meeting.  I told him we were flying in and could he please recommend the area that was safest in Manta to get a hotel.  He asked when the flight arrived and told me to call him when we got here.  We did just that.  He said he would be there in 15 minutes.  I asked how I would know him and he said " I will be the gringo with the Panama hat and orange T shirt standing next to a super model".  And there he was 15 minutes later.  Cute couple in their 60's drove up in an old SUV and immediately threw our bags in the back.  He said there was an apartment we could stay in while here as an American Witness family had gone back to the states to work for a few months.  The price was right....free.  There is a young Ecuadorian sister living here also.  Korina speaks perfect English [she teaches English to children 5-12 years old at a local school] and is in the English congregation.  She has helped us so much.  When we got here we were greeted by another witness family that lives upstairs.  They have been here a month from Australia.  He has already been appointed an Elder in the English.  They invited us to dinner.  Tonight is the meeting which will be half in English and the service meeting will be in Spanish.  Tomorrow we are invited to their apartment to watch this months broadcast.
So, just to prove my point.....yesterday morning we didn't even know where we were going.  Today we have new friends that we will have for life...forever.  We spent the day with our new Aussie family, went to the best bakery [recommended by Korina] put our feet in the pacific ocean, ate lunch at a really good restaurant, did some grocery shopping at the "Super Maxi" then came home and took a nap.  Excited to meet more new friends tonight.