God's creation....and a few surprises

Our first day in Cuenca began with a tour of the ETAPA facility, which works to purify water for the city. We learned how everything worked and just how important it is for the prosperity of the city. We were also able to explore the studio of a local artist that we met on our stay. It's amazing how well he was able to capture the beauty of God's creation in his own way. It really made us stop and really appreciate all that God has created.

We then had a well deserved nap, followed by a long car trip to the town of Saraguro. It was dark when we finally arrived, and we were all a bit uneasy about environment we had just entered into. We were originally going to spend the night with a family of locals, in order to get the best understanding of their culture. However, we quickly discovered that there were too many obstacles when it came to that idea. For instance, the famly we were supposed to stay with had no idea that we were coming, so they had no dinner ready for us. Also, we would have had to lug our bags 50 yards uphill in the mud in order to get to their house. Overall, it seemed safe enough, but as a group we decided that the hotel would be a better option. We stopped at a small restaurant on the way, and ordered some chicken soup. Sounds pretty routine, right? Wrong. The broth was pretty tasty, but I scooped up a piece of the chicken on my spoon, and with a shocked and disgusted look on my face, I discovered that it was a chicken foot!! Gross!! It goes without saying that i then stopped eating the soup, and elected to wait for something a little more appetizing. Don't worry, there were plenty of people there to capture my freak out moment with their cameras, so there will be pics to come, if you're lucky. I will never look at chicken the same again.

Our next day was a real eye opener. We started by visiting the shop of a local hat maker. It is amazing how much time and effort goes into each hat that is made. It is not a quick process. It was a truly humbling experience. Think about it, there are people all over the world that will spend the rest of their lives making hats, and they do not know anything different. They have never had the opportunity to decide whether they would rather do something else with their lives. On the contrary, in America, we have the opportunity to choose any kind of career path that we desire, and that cannot be predetermined for us. The other amazing thing about hat makers in Ecuador is that everything they use is natural; nothing is man made. They use wool from sheep, wax, water and other natural ingredients. How many businesses in America only use natural ingredients? Close to none. That sure gives us something to think about, huh?

From there we went back to Saraguro to do some shopping. Finally, something I was good at. It was there that I experienced yet another aspect of Ecuador that was amazing and humbling. I was focused mostly on the jewelry portion, and I was amazed at how inexpensive it all was. I mean this was good quality, homemade, stunning jewelry, and I never paid more than $2 for anything. I almost wanted to pay more than they were asking for, because I felt like it was worth so much more. Then I thought about America, where absolutely eveything is over priced, and a lot of it is of a much lower quality. It is truly sad to see effort and succees over looked on such a big level.

Our next stop was the beautiful city of Loja. We were able to explore some extravagant churches, as well as enjoy the local cuisine. The last thing we did in Loja was walk through the botanical gardens. Wow, is all I can say. I had no idea that there were so many unique plants and flowers in the world, and every single one of them displays the magnificance of God's creation. I have pictures of almost everything, but the pictures hardly do them justice. It was raining the whole time we were there, but the rain drops only further illuminated the brilliance of every species.

Our final stop of the day (yes, there is more.....we were tired) was the small town of Vilcabamba. We stayed at a gorgeous hotel. It was like 8:30 when wevarrived, and we were starving, so we started driving around looking for a pizzeria. After about 7 stops, we finally found it. It was owned by a man that was originally from Richmond, Virginia. I cannot tell you how nice it was to see a fellow American, and talk in English. However, by the time the food arrived, my stomach and I were not on the best of terms, and I elected to skip the pizza. Perhaps it was a good thing I did, because later that night, while I was dealing with my own stomach problems, my dear friend Hudson was suffering much more than I was. It was so bad that Hudson's roommate and brother, Tanner, ended up sleeping outside the girls' room in a hammock, while it was raining; poor kid. Most of us were up until between 3 and 4 in the morning, and we had to get up at 7. We were not happy people. Thankfully, our various illnesses were resolved by the morning, and we were ready to go.

There is still a whole other day to tell you all about, today, but I will spread this out for you a little.

Please continue to keep us all in your prayers!