30th Jan- 4th Feb 2012
I am writing this weeks blog in advance as we are off to the amazonian jungle on sunday! As we are only on thursday I am going to make the presumption that nothing substantial is going to happen on fri & sat. This week we have enjoyed a loo roll fight with 3 year old Ainoah in yet another 'Mathambero' game, where i played the role of Mathambero the robber and Robin and Ainoah the scared citizens! Lots of screaming ensued and it is pretty safe to say both Robin and I where shattered after just 20 minutes whilst Ainoah always abounding in energy wanted to play for longer! Ainoah is like a whirlwind and you can never take your eyes of her for one moment or else she will be covering herself in after-sun cream, calling people on your phone or going through your drawers!
On Sunday Robin and I attended Claire's leaving do (another Latin Link missionary out here). Claire is getting married to Edwin (an Ecuadorian) on friday and will be leaving Ecuador to work in Panama! The party was great and was enhanced by two very rare substances in Ecuador: wine and actual cheese!! After 5 months of no wine and only a wierd rubbery bland form of cheese these two treats where consumed with much vigour and enjoyment by all!
On Wednesday the compassion project opened again so we went along for the morning. To our surprise there where not that many children there. But this was a hidden blessing as we got to spend more time talking and playing with each child. One girl in particular called Estelle had brought in her english book from school to show us and then proceeded to sing all of the songs from it.
Today (being thursay) we had a great experience visiting the local indigenous tribe of Santo Domingo the tsachilas with Amy and Victoria! They showed us some of the medicinal plants, how they created sauna's, the spiritual house used for healing, how they captured snakes to create medicine and even gave us a tribal dance complete with their own hand made xylophone! Best of all was the tribal wear and body paintings that both the men and women wore. The leader and shaman of the tsachilas showed us around he described how the red crest that the men wear on their heads is made out of crushed red seeds and is placed in the hair like dye. He also demonstrated how it is both waterproof and long lasting (up to 10 days).
Check out our pictures by clicking on this LINK.
Please pray for our safety and health as we venture into the amazonian jungle for the next week! Please also continue to pray for Robin and I about potential jobs upon our return. Please pray for the children at the compassion project that during school holidays they will stay safe and out of trouble. Finally please pray for Pati, Katherine and Ainoah as Cesar has flown back to spain.
Mucho amor de Ecuador xxx
p.s On our way back from visiting the tsachilas we saw a massive iguana run across the road! Just look at the spikes on his back............ I would not like to be walking round bare footed like the tsachilas do!
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