holidays in Ecuador, and next week

hey all,

this past Nov. 2, and 3rd were national holidays in Ecuador. Nov.2 is known as la dia de los disfuntos - which roughly translated means "day of the dead." on this day, families make a drink called "Colada Morada" and make bread in the shape of a baby. and that's what i did with my family this past Wednesday. we headed out to uncle edwin's house out in La Armenia Valley, and spent quite literally the whole day making this drink and making the bread. of course, in between there were many laughs and chats. it was a cool experience to be taking part in an Ecuadorian tradition.

thursday i went to a place called Puerto Quito about 2.5 hours north of Quito with some ecuadorian friends. in Puerto Quito, we went to a place called Cascada Azul - Blue Waterfall. well, the waterfall wasn't blue, but it was surreal nonetheless. we were a group of 5, and we had the entire lagoon and waterfall to ourselves! it was breathtaking to be in the lagoon, and then swimming under the waterfall itself as it poured its waters on us. yah, it was just about as good as Hola Vida. can't compare cos both cascadas were just gorgeous!

im in the office today, working on some last minute things before i head out next week. yes folks, im gone for another week, this time to a city called Portoviejo. it's a Quichua community close to the coast, and i'll be going on a medical caravan. i've already been told that i'll be helping with taking the names of ppl for the clinic, and taking blood pressure, and possibly some other things. thank goodness Bonnie taught me how to take vital signs...ooh, i feel so medical :p just kidding...i think it's a group of 7 - a dentist, a doctor, a nurse, then 4 assistants. i'll be out there till late friday and im really looking forward to be helping out in this way. medical caravans go to the poorest places of the poor in ecuador to meet the needs of the less fortunate who don't have access to healthcare. hey, if you get a chance, say a prayer for our safety, and relationship building, and that ppl will be healed physically and spiritually thru our visit. i've heard that we also show the Jesus Film during the week - super cool cos i did that in Tanzania last year! for more info on medical caravans, check out the site

by the way, the Spotlight Listeners' Club site that i have been working on for the past month is LIVE on the hcjb.org site. i'm so happy to have been a part of this and helping to start clubs around the world. the site will primarily be used as a hub to access resources, and share ideas.

eek, yet again my prayer letter for October is late...i'll work on it this weekend, and hopefully upload it early monday morning before i leave for Portoviejo.

thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. i definitely feel loved. my friends kara and harriett started planning a little fiesta for us tonite so the plan is to hit a place that's like Boston Pizza called Sport Planet, eat cake, then watch ZORRO....oh man, i've waited so long to watch this sequel! i hope it's good!

OH yah, did i mention that we served 130 people at Pan de Vida last week?? it was AWESOME!

love to you all,
dL