The End is Near

Wow, what an adventure!This mission has been tailor made to the both of us. I wanted to serve a mission to show my gratitude for all the wonderful blessings in my life and that of my children. I feel more indebted than ever. Does it mean I now need to serve another mission?

My soul has been filled with joy at the sight of throngs of families strolling the Temple grounds, having travelled many long hours on buses, sometimes as many as 13 hours on one of the 13 buses, now parked in the parking area. I could see my grandchildrens faces in the faces of the little girls dressed in their prettiest dresses, the little boys in white shirts and ties. I have been filled with joy at the sight of teenagers dressed in traditional clothes sitting shoulder to shoulder on the benches in the Baptistry, beautiful warm brown faces,dark hair tied back in long braids, and at the sight of young adults, parents and grandparents excitedly entering the Temple doors at 5:30 am. We could not have lived among these faithful saints for a year and a half and not been deeply affected by their faith and devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Debbie

Winding Down

In summary, I would like to say that this has been the experience of a lifetime. In what way you ask? The country is beautiful and varied. From ocean, to rice fields then rising toward banana plantations, jungle and then high in the Andes where the air is delightfully cool and the vistas spectacular. Village life is fascinating. Everywhere we find humble, gentle, friendly, hard working people, both in and out of the Church. We also love the variety and availability of tropical fruits, and the markets where they are sold.

We came for the temple and the rest has been frosting on the cake. The temple is beautiful and peaceful, and it is impossible to spend 5 days a week for a year and a half in the temple and not be affected by it. I believe I have grown spiritually as a result. We have had the opportunity to work with some altogether wonderful and dedicated people in the temple and in social gatherings outside the temple, including the other missionaries, temple workers, and members who frequent the temple. We have had the additional blessing of becoming very good friends with the Valero family, and to a lesser extent with the Tituana family, and as a result have had a deeper glimpse into life in Ecuador. The land is beautiful and interesting, but it is all about the people. They are easy to love. Though my command of Spanish is rudimentary, it seems that love is a language, and it is possible to communicate love, when words fail.

Pete

The wall goes up

Friends:

After the stairs were done, we began the security wall. It encloses what will be a small garden and concrete patio.

The first picture is looking through the fence at a celebration of the near completion of the project. A charcoal grill is set up and the Valero's are grilling Choclo (corn on the cob) , pork chops, sausages, and bananas. Also served was rice and lentils, and a home made cheese sauce to slather on the choklo. Alfonso's sister and a niece are with us as well. We had spent Christmas eve with them at their house.

Picture two shows the whole front of the fence and house, with steel gate. For the fence we bought steel in 20 foot lengths and had it delivered to the house. I cut it up with a minigrinder with steel cutting blade, and imbeded the horizotal pieces in the concret pillars. The upright pickets fit into a series of holes in the concrete. We tied everything together with tie wire and hired a welder to come and weld it up. The steel was $110 delivered and the welder $20. That is a cheap fence even by Ecuadorian standards.

Picture three is the fiesta looking down the stairs. Picture 4 was actually taken a month or more previosly. I am standing where the steel door through the fence is now. The project is not done yet. I have been learning how to apply stucco. The inside of the stairs and the bodega have been done, and the inside of the fence.

Pete