River Fun

Cooling off in field service

Now I know how Icarus felt when he flew into the sun...

 Wear a shirt when you hike a 15, 800 ft mountain in Ecuador...Officially my worst sunburn.

This Past Week

 Some sweet graffiti in Quito

 Joshua and I kicking it at the base of Rucu Pichincha (15,000)

 Up a river in the Amazon with the Carache bros and Joshua

 Panoramics of Quito

 I have the most intense sunburn of my entire life, so that's why my face looks so awesome.

 El Hermanos!!

Going to Quito

So I'm leaving tonight on a 6 hour bus ride BACK to the capital to register my visa, then Josh and I are going to hike the Iliniza Mountains, which are approximately 16,818 ft.  Yeah buddy...we're gettin' work DONE!!  So I won't able to talk to anyone for a few days until I get back to civilization. 

Here's the link to where Josh and I will be going..
http://www.summitpost.org/illiniza-norte-iliniza-norte/151055
Till then,

Happy Trails!!

 So we cam home from a Watchtower study to find this little guy.  We had a little fun ;)

 Yes...I "Manned" a steed.

 Harvesting Cocoa.  Chocolate for all ya Yankees ;)  They're muy rico.

 SUGAR CANE!!  Man..This stuff is no joke.  I can only eat so much before I feel like I'm gonna get some cavities. 

 This is the tongue of the pig we slayed.  Pay no attention to my Alpaca lips in this..it was the lighting.. 

 We lit that bessie up to kingdom come!!  That's how they roll in Sucua!!

 After we lit it up, scraped away all of the dead skin about 5-6 times, he was ready to eat.  Right there, Andrea is peeling on off the skin right off of the pig, which they call Coochie...and it was very tasty.  No joke.

 Part of our service group leaving the Shuar territory.  I found out that riding in the back of a truck is the main mode of transportation around here.

 I was out in service, and was attacked by a lone Leopard, wrestled it into submission, skinned it alive, then gave it to this restaurant which lies next to the forest edge.  I told the woman who owned the place to put it at the front door to make an example, so if any other Leopards decided to get wise..they'd think twice...

 The congregation in Sucua.  Here's Wilber cheesin' for the friends in the states :)

Holy moley guacamole...

So these past few days have been nothing less than INTENSE.  Went out in service to the indigenous area that is occupied by the native tribe of people called the Shuar.  Let me tell you what..these people are beautiful.  The language is extremely captivating from what I've heard.  So my roommate William Carache and I are talking to this group in their tent area that's covered in these leaves, and after about 30 minutes, they offer me this drink.  And of course, I didn't want to disrespect their hospitality, so I drank it.  My hands started to shake after ingesting the drink.  I shared a scripture in Spanish with them, and after about 40 minutes in all, we left with new friends.  I told my American friends that they offered me a drink.  They said, "Did you drink it?"  I said, "Of course!  Did you want me to say, Estoy bien?  You're crazy..."  Well, they said the drink is called Chi che, and it's fermented Yucca.  The problem is that the Yucca is chewed by the locals, spit into a tub with the masticated Yucca, blended up, then served fresh, saliva and all.  Oh happy me.  One friend here, Daniel, told me he drank it 6 years ago..and he was out for a week or so.  THE RUNS.  So, that evening, I went with a brother to a neighboring town called Mendes.  Right before his talk, my stomach acted up...and it was crazy.  But it was gone as fast as it came. 

So I'm good now, no weird stomach parasite...at least for now...

And this morning at 6 a.m., we slaughtered a pig.  A bessie.  A massive sow.  It pretty much was the most disturbing thing I have ever participated in.  The screaming haunts me...

But that town Mendes (mentioned earlier), was beautiful.  I milked some cows, harvested Cocoa (chocolate), and ate Suca de Canea (Sugar Cane).  Man..this trip is encouraging..

Here's some pics of Ecuador...

 They had a picture of Sequoia Nat'l Park in Ecuador..INTENSE

 This Shuar guy was just...lookin like John Travolta...I had to take a pic.

If you look closely at the door, there's this little boy.  Great pic..if I do say myself ;)

My first day

So my plane ride was quite uncomfortable.  I guess I expected a lot more from my first airplane ride...bubbly drinks on the rocks..."would you like a hot towel sir"...yeah..there was none of that.  Mostly crying baby's, random turbulence, and the occasional flatulence from someone near me who wouldn't admit their stinkyness.

When I arrived in Quito, I was surprised at how many Haitians there were.  Of course a lot of peddlers, but Quito to me, seemed like Rio De Janeiro except FLAT.  Very crammed in, colorful buildings that the paint was peeling off of, but still very eclectic .  We stayed at a Hostel called The Palm Maple, and it was $17 a night /person.

Our bus ride was actually really nice.  I got to witness to this older gentlemen who looked like a Peruvian, and he spoke 5 languages. AMAZING.  I took a lot of pictures along the way of the locals and Shuar people.  The ride really seemed like a National Geographic documentary.  Yurts, little shoeless children, street vendors, and Volcanoes scattered the whole duration of the 6 hour bus ride. 

The town here Sucua is quite tranquil.  Everyone waves and makes an effort to say "How are you" in English, as I say "Que Tal" in my John Wayne Spanish accent.  It's been on and off torrential down pour here, so service is still a no go as of 10:50 my time, 7:50 your time.

The internet connection is good if there isn't any rain..but so far, there's A LOT of rain.  Stay in touch for pics!!

My first night

Well what can I say...Jehovahs people are truly THE only people I can travel more than 4000 miles and still be welcomed with hugs and good food!!!  So in the evening here, it's about 80 degrees, and let me tell you what...the sky here is huge...Beautiful clouds and ornate jungles.  The people are smaill..So my Napoleon complex is working out just fine.  When it rains here..it pours...so this morning...we're just waiting to go out in service.  I'll post pics tonight hopefully.

Miss you ALL!!

I'm HERE

Got here last night.  Plane ride was interesting..I'm here at a hostel getting ready to take a truck and or bus to Sucua.  Ill keep ya'll posted.

The whole family looking...special? Do I look related..maybe a little ;) I'll miss these guys...they're like family to me ;)

John and I

Caleb and I on our last night