Hi everyone,

We thought we’d give an update on what church we’ve gotten involved with during our stay so far in Manglaralto.  Three weeks ago, we went on a walk to a Baptist camp that we’d passed several times on the main road.  We learned that there was an evangelical church in Manglaralto, apparently a 2 minute walk from our place.  During the week, we decided to swing by and met Ramón, who we’ve now learned is the stand-in pastor for Iglesia Galilea Manglaralto, of the Alianza denomination.  The church is small (our first visit on a Thursday evening we doubled the congregation), but on Sundays there are a couple of others who join.  Ramón is studying in Guayaquil at a biblical seminary to get his master in divinity, and the church has undergone some recent hardship, so we’re praying for more members.  Regardless, Ramón reminds us every meeting that “where two or more are gathered,” Christ is with us, a verse that has become very appropriate for Iglesia Galilea.

On another note, as we were walking along the beach this evening, we were staring out at some commercial fishing ships on the horizon and saw a pod of humpback whales breaching and splashing about on the horizon.  It was beautiful and the first time we had seen whales jumping out of the water.

Until next time,

      Marsh and Trin

Since Trin's internship was a little slow last week, we decided to go to Cuenca and Loja, two cities in the Sierra (mountainous) region of Ecuador.  Cuenca is a beautiful, colonial city known for making the famous Panama (should be 'Ecuadorian') Hats.  Here are a couple of highlights from Cuenca:

The main church in downtown Cuenca- they say the belfries are short because the domes were too heavy... a minor architectural error in our opinion

Trying on Panama Hats in Cuenca

They made this hat just for Marshall!

You can buy a little chick for 50 cents!

Beautiful fruit

Yep, for those of you who had guinea pigs as pets, here in Cuenca 'cuy' is a delicacy

Lots of 100% dark chocolate

View from a rooftop

 After Cuenca we headed 4 hours south to Loja, which is a smaller city surrounded by huge mountains.  We stayed with Trinity's director Kennedy and his family.  On Father's Day, we took a trip to the Amazons where we ate sausage and yuca and swam in this freezing cold waterfall!

We passed sooo many waterfalls going down the mountain!

Marsh and Kennedy (yup, he's named after JFK- and he named his son John Kennedy to seal the deal)

Marsh and Trin holding on for dear life... The waterfall was so cold and so strong!

Deliciously sweet sugar cane

Thankfully, Emory bought us a small fridge for our kitchen.

Dining room with hammocks

A mosquito net is a must.

View from the outside... we're in the bottom apartment.

When our water goes out, sometimes we can get water from this little hut.

Here are the long awaited photos of our place.

Hola todos!
    We wanted to share some photos of the landscape for your enjoyment.  To be sure, there are plenty of unpainted, unfinished concrete buildings and spraypainted walls, but we decided to show the more appealing aspects of Manglaralto.

This is our view to the north, towards the surfing town of Montañita.

This view looks south.  During the full moon high tide, the water was crashing on the rocks to the left.  Quite a tidal change!

The fishermen all have boats like this that they keep on the beach, above the high tide mark.  To get the boat to the water, they use wooden rollers and  slowly slide the 400 pound boat to the crashing waves.  It reminds us of how the Egyptians moved the huge blocks to build the pyramids.  Could you imagine every day having to do all this work just so you could start working?

On Sunday, Marshall and I went to Las Balsas, a small community about an hour away from where we are staying.  Although I was not prepared to address the entire community at the monthly meeting, the vice president insisted that I say a few words as the "special international visitor."  Although nervous, I spoke in front of 100ish people about the TNC project and what a great opportunity it is for the community as a whole.  Here I am addressing the crowd... I look confident, but I assure you that my heart was pumping hard :)

Hi everyone!  We´ve spent 5 days in our home for the next 3 months, and here are a few of the things we´ve learned this week:

• The sun sets every night at about 7pm over the Pacific, and it´s about as beautiful as you can imagine.  The beach has a very gentle slope, so surf travels a long way up the shore.  The result is that the pink clouds above are reflected on the beach as the men push the blue fishing boats out to sea for the evening.
• In Ecuador, everything´s either really cheap or really expensive.  We bought bananas, avocados, tomatos, carrots, green peppers, limes, canned tuna, and instant coffee at a little shop on our street from a woman named Norma, and everything cost about $3.50.  Gas costs about $1.48 per gallon (yes, that´s right, per gallon).  Other things are really expensive.  A small refrigerator costs about $300, a portable fan is about $35, and a cheap computer mouse is $25.
• We´ve been hanging out with three Argentinian brothers who are here on vacation.  Tomas, Eugenio, and Agostin are all blonde haired, blue eyed guys who walk around shirtless, yet they can communicate flawlessly with the local Ecuadorians.  Interesante no?
• Manglaralto is a small town with mostly locals.  There are a few small restaurants, a couple of shops that sell fruits and vegetables, a hardware store, and an Internet cafe.  One town over, about a $0.50 taxi ride, is Montañita, which boasts the best surfing in Ecuador.  The town is comprised mostly of tourists and is dedicated to surfing.
• Ecuador´s coast is divided into two forest regions.  There is the "bosque seco" or the dry forest.  This forest has plants and trees that need dry weather, so this season is perfect for them.  A little further up, there is the "bosque de gadua," which literally means "forest of drizzle."  This forest enjoys a light rain most of the year, and it is here where Ecuador´s coffee growers reside.

Today was the first day when Trin and I could really lay low and enjoy a nice day at the beach.  I tried surfing with a friend´s borrowed board and the result was Ocean: 1, Marshall: 0.  Trin got a much needed day off from work and was very supportive of her struggling husband.
Thanks for reading and we´ll have more to share this weekend!

A typical fishing boat and a view of the Pacific

A view downtown of Montañita, the surfing capital of Ecuador

A group of coffee growers that we visited the day after we arrived in Manglaralto.  Trinity´s organization does work supporting organic coffee growing.

Marshall begins his first surfing attempt.