Did I mention we hosted 41 for Thanksgiving Dinner???!!!

Holidays can be some of the hardest days to be serving and living so far away from family.  So when our team asked if we would host Thanksgiving dinner, Howard and I decided maybe with the craziness of hosting people in our home, the day wouldn't be so difficult.  We ended up having 31 expats and 10 Ecuadorians, everyone shared in the cost of the turkey (super expensive here) and they also brought a side dish.  We actually ended up really enjoying ourselves and hanging out with the very people we work with!

 Waiting for the turkey's to bake, (did I mention we had 3?!)

Tables set and ready to go

Thanksgiving Dinner, once everyone sat down it was a little hard to move but well worth it

Good, good times :) Check out Jake and Christy bottom left

Sarah, Christy and Cameron, women I count an honor to call friends

Cover for the Climbing Wall

Right smack in the middle of this photo you can see the new cover (green) on the climbing wall

Just a reminder of why I blog so much about the climbing wall and why each step is progress toward the completion of a new tool for ministry.  This was written last spring.

A climbing wall in itself is not much of a big deal, but we are so excited about how God will hopefully use this wall in the future ministry of El Refugio. For one thing, it will be one of the best climbing walls in all of Ecuador, which will serve as a draw to this place for both Christians and non-Christians. In addition, the Facilitator program utilizes a lot of outdoor challenges for their Facilitator discipleship process. The climbing wall will play a large part in that process, as they use it to develop teamwork, instill confidence, and also humble those who already have too much confidence! Some may look at it and see only a wall, but we look at it and see a huge tool for discipleship. We look forward to hearing reports for years to come of what amazing things God can do with a couple pieces of plywood and some old scrap radio towers.  Tim Owens, Camp of the Woods

Prior to raising the roof, Howard, Holgar (in the photo) and Enrique had to weld the umbrella supports off of each of the three towers

Tarp on the ground and ready to be lifted, Howard is on the right holding one of the supports

Up...

...up...

...up it goes!

Howard on his way up the tower to help out Holgar

Holgar, Howard and Lydia stretching the tarp over the third tower

Enrique and Ryan working on tower #2

Daniel on tower #1 stretching to make the tarp fit

Holgar happy to have the job done!

A view from below

You may be asking, "So why did they go to all the trouble of covering the wall?"  Let me give you and answer.  Really the main reason is to protect the wall from our constant rainfall every day.  Now, it can be worked on and used 365 days of the year :)

El dia de los disfuntos

Howard and I were invited, along with Ryan and Erica fellow team members, to the home of the Santos brothers (I blogged about Esteban's baptism) to celebrate El dia de los disfuntos.  We were so blessed when Esteban said they wanted to share this time with us to thank us for our friendship and being their family in Christ.

Left to right:  Mariana, Gloria, (the boys mom), their Grandma, Uncle,  Danny ( he works with the programming with El Refugio), Santiago, Esteban, Jonaton, Ryan, Erica and Wilmar

Danny feeding his baby gua gua, ( we said he had to practice because he is getting married next July :)

To quote my friend Cameron Vivanco, "'El Dia de los Disfuntos' is a national holiday here in Ecuador.  October 31, no one bats an eyelash. November 1, All Saint's Day, isn't mentioned.  But Nov.2, known as All Soul's Day, is an obligatory national holiday."

For those of you interested here is a little history about this national holiday, which was also provided by Cameron.

The Ecuadorian Day of the Ancestors isn't quite like the Mexican Day of the Dead, nor is it like American Halloween. El día de los difuntos is a time to celebrate one's dead ancestors. In the small country villages, families dress in their finest clothes and carry a meal to the cemetery, where they dine on top of the grave of their ancestors. One plate is always left for the dead ancestor. This traditional meal includes guaguas de pan and the colada morada.

Guaguas de pan are bread babies. (The word guagua, pronounced wa-wa, is Quechuan.) Some families make their own guaguas de pan at home, but most buy them from the panaderías, or bakeries, which only make them during this time of the year. These bread babies can be up to 12 inches long and are shaped with a ball of dough for the head and a long, tapering ball of dough for the body. They are decorated with icing and may have jam or some other sweet inside.

The colada morada (translated as the purple colada, or oatmeal drink) is a drink made from cooking blackberries, blueberries, cinnamon, cloves, and other fruits and spices with a little oatmeal in the water until thick. The drink is then blended until smooth. From the middle of October until the second of November, cafés and restaurants try to outdo each other in offering the best guaguas de pan andcoladas moradas.

In the larger towns and cities, families no longer eat with their ancestors. They spend the day visiting the cemetery and laying flowers on the graves. They may make guaguas de pan and colada morada, but only for eating with their family at home. Nevertheless, the spirit of the día de los difuntos carries on as one of the important traditions of Ecuador.

(http://www.rocketlanguages.com/spanish/resources/culture_ec_holidays.php )