Cuicocho...

Today my brother and I went with a group to a town called Cuicocho to see a lake within a volcano crater, Cochocho. It was absolutely amazing. these pictures do not come close to doing it justice. We actually got to take a 30 min boat ride on the lake around the two islands...What an amazing way to start my brothers visit! enjoy the pics...


This isn't Cuicocho, this is the lake in San Pablo...which is on the way to cuicocho.


this is my street i live on..this is a normal thing here in quito..j/k. this is still in san pablo. i guess this could be normal here, very random though..


Cuicocho lake, inside the crater of the volcano Cococho. Amazing right??


another view inside..


yet another...


yours truly..just for you mama!


The snow-capped volcano Cucocho. I took this through the window of the restuarant we ate at. The clouds literally let up for 5 mins, if that. so everyone in the restaurant at once stopped eating and got their cameras out..i felt like such a tourist.. the things i do just for you all!


Brothers! (Me and Luke) I promise I really am older..wish you were here gbb..


my roommie and fellow m ronnie.. Don't those glasses make him look like bono?? (yes, he did wear those all day too..)

mucho susto?!

Hey guys...yours truly again. I'm back, and I come bearing pictures!
So last night I met my neighbor. A fellow m came by to pick something up last night and i thought he was only going to stay for a minute so i left the garage door open. We got to talking and soon up comes an unfamiliar ecuadorian man..on my carport. He's rambling on and on very fast in espanol, and he doesn't seem to realize that im white and cannnot understand him! Actually, i picked up a few words, and got the gist of what he was complaining about. I heard, "puerta," "cerrar," and "abrer". (door, closed, and open) Apparently he was mad bc i left the door open for a whole 5 minutes, and he made it known that he is not supposed to be my babysitter! I told my lang. tutor this morning this story, and i said that I told my neighbor, "lo siento, mucho gusto!'" (which means im sorry, oh and by the way im your new neighbor its very nice to meet you!) He told me i should have said...mucho susto..which means instead of nice to meet you, im scared and frightened! (i guess you had to have been there this morning, it was funnier then that it is now that im actually typing this.)

Well, the last few weeks have been crazy..but fun at the same time. Here are some brief updates:

* Working with the teams from tennesse was an absolute blessing.
* I'm absolutely enjoying language school (is that weird?) God truly has blessed me with a great tutor. Everyday I'm learning so much, yet everyday I realize how little I know..
* Three Sundays ago I preached my very first sermon at Iglesia Bautista Central.. (I hope to blog about that later)
* I'm so excited...My little brother Luke is flying into Quito to stay with me for a month! He will be attending the same language school as me, im so excited...Im leaving to get him at the airport in 30 mins..

Prayer Needs:
* That I will daily walk worthy...
* My lang. acuistion...
* That God will bring a good national friend into my life..someone that i can invest in while im here..


This is what a typical carnival looked like. Lots of games and stuff going on..



This is how the team ended every carnival..they would do this dance...yea, i know..they arent true southern baptists..its ok God still loves them.





drama the team did to share the Gospel...pic should explain it..


Im pretty sure the team used thousands of ballons during the two weeks here..


This is one of the guys I had to privilige of leading to the Lord. He is a security guard, and he was working near one of the carnivals one day... this pic is taken after he chased us down, so we could sign his bible we just gave him.


This is a kid i met at a church a few weeks ago. We played soccer for a bit, just the two of us, but that ended once i kicked his ball over a fence! i felt really bad bc i couldn't really apologize since i dont know spanish! (Yes, he ended up getting it back the next day)


the juices here just aren't the same as back home...


a volcano here in quito. I forget the name...lo siento.


This is Phil (my sc) and his family.. they will be stateside for the next 6 months or so..

matame por favor....

hey all... I learned this cool little phrase today while waiting hours upon hours at the Ecuadorian Immagration Building. As of today, I am an official resident of Ecuador! Ronnie and I both got our "censos" today... not really sure what that means, but its pretty much an id card. I've come to realize today that when it comes to taking pictures for an important document/id/etc. i am no bueno! On the way to the immigration place, ronnie and I were laughing at my passport picture i took when i was about 17...I really wish I could change it but oh well, gives it character.. Im really not trying to sound this vain.... ha! Anyways.. i say this bc today when i took my censo picture it was another classic one. Im wearing my north face back pack (thanks dad) my hair is looking crazy from wearing a hat all day long, and right as he takes the picture, for some reason I blink and turn away at the same time... its a really funny picture.. just imagine and laugh with me..
As you can probably tell, im really tired.. and sick.. I've been working with teams the last two weeks, and this past week i started language school. Something is going around here, as it seems like a lot of the m's are getting sick.
I promise i will post again soon, with pictures from the last two weeks with the teams.. as well as some other random pics!
Oh ya... most importantly. The last two weeks, the teams were involved in street evan. and they did carnivals in the afternoons. The unofficial numbers from the past two week are insane... upwards of 450 sal. and about 40 potential new works... God is good, amen? Hasta.

(Congrads mi amigo mejor juan y his lovely new bride... wish i could have been there.. love you guys..i promise the video is coming..)