After lunch on Sabbath, we spent the rest of the day with Magdial and his wife Susan going around Quito and having dinner with them. The old town part of Quito is very interesting and should make for a good tour for the group.
Gino in the San Francisco church
Basicalla church - been under construction for 100 years (obviously not a Maranatha project!)
Our guides - Susan and Magdiel
Magdiel, Greg and Gino in Old Quito
On sunday, we went back to one of the housing options to check on a few items and then visited two new options. The pastor and other church members and we should be able to finalize our decision this week.
After we did our visits in the morning, we had lunch and then did some more "excursion shopping" around Quito. We visited El Mitad del Mundo, which is literally the middle of the world, where the ecuator runs though the earth. It was extremely cool and a must see. If some has a handheld gps, they need to bring it!
Gino straddling the equator.
Gino practicing with a blowgun
Gino and me in our natural state - taking pictures (that is, until my battery ran out later in the day. I brought two, but one didn't work....bummer)
Dancing in the square on the equator
Then, we went on the Teleferico, which is a high-speed tram that takes you from the 9300 feet in Quito to 13448 feet on amountain overlooking Quito. The sights were fantastic, but due to poor planning by Gino and myself, we were FREEZING! Suffice to say, short sleeves are not the preferred attire at 13400 feet. Well, our pain is your gain.
Pictures on the way up in the tram
A view of Quito from the top of the mountain.
Warning sign on the top of the mounting telling us not to run....of course, we did because we were FREEZING!
Picture of Gino and me freezing on the mountain
After we descended to Quito, I had to get an ice cream cone. It is a goal of mine to eat ice cream in every country. I haven't failed yet and haven't gotten sick (unlike Ray). I usually wait till the last day in the country in case my streak is broken!
A word to the wise missionary: the weather is great in Quito, but in can get cool at night (and downright cold at higher altitudes), so pack a sweater, sweatshirt or jacket.
We then ate dinner and went to the airport and parted ways with the pastor and our intrepid guides and interpreters, Magdial and Susan. We are so looking forward to seeing them again and wish it wasn't 6 months till the trip'
The pastor and his congregation are really terrific and are going to make everyone feel so welcome.
We made the flight to Guayacail and are waiting on the plane to take off to Atlanta. We are ready to sleep on the plane and can't wait to take off.
We trust that it will be a smooth flight and will arrive in Atlanta tomorrow morning.
Pray for the trip and for God to make our housing option clear. A way will be made clear on Monday. Please keep in mind that the purpose of the trip is to serve God and the community and that the accomodations MAY not be luxurious, but rest assured that they will be adequate, safe, restful and foster a great team environment.
We plan to post pictures as soon as we get a chance. Keep checking back!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.
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