We just got back from looking at a house/farm that would be perfect for our orphanage! It is about 10 acres, has fruit trees and a garden, and alot of rooms and bathrooms! We plan to take in as many kids as we can, employ as many women in the community as we can to cook and clean, and a few men to teach the kids how to work in the garden. The plan is the teach the kids how to grow as much food as possible and eventually grow all the food that is eaten on the property. We also plan to teach the kids English, and teach the people in the community English because the people who speak English have many more opportunities here. Once we get all of this under control then I hope to be able to have all my friends and family from home come down and share in my joy with these kids! So many things that we want to do! and cant wait to get them started! The only issue is money...it is for sale...we are going to talk to the owners tonight! If this place is meant to be, please pray that it will all work out! Yesterday we went up to Chuga...a community that we can see from Pimampiro...but that is about an hour drive around the mountain and up a very steep bumpy terrible road. The first time that we went to this town (one day last week) we went on dirtbikes. Shhh, dont tell my mom! It so happened to be raining that day, which it does most days, and the guy who was driving the dirtbike couldnt keep it on the road. It was definitely an adventure, with only one time that we were going one direction and suddenly we slid in the mud and were facing right back where we came from. There are about 100 families that live in this community but there are about 5 other communities that feed into this one. It is beautiful and the people have an amazing spirit. All the people here work so very hard and have so very little but are truly happy. We worked with the nurses in the clinic and saw quite a few patients...they only have a doctor in this clinic on Wednesdays so the people come from far and wide to see him. You would die if you walked the distances that these old ladies walk...i would die for sure! I just realized that the last time that I blogged was last Tuesday....I know that I say this everytime that I blog but the days are flying by! I dont even know what else to write about...this weekend we went down to Quito and met up with a bunch of whities! They all work in different parts of Ecuador for the Peace Corp. It was a fun weekend, we ate alot and spoke alot of English! How nice it is to be able to speak English with someone else other than Liz...dont get me wrong I love speaking Spanish but I cannot truly express myself in Spanish yet. It is super frustrating and I wish that it was easier...but someday...I hope someday soon it will happen! Before we went down to Quito we went to Paragachi...remember that little town with about 100 families just down the road from Pimampiro? It is super dry and Montañas de Esperanza (the organization here that is doing the biointensive gardening) is trying to get them water. They have rights to water but dont have the money to channel the water from its source to their town. They have drinking water but are not allowed to use that water for their plants. We are hoping tto get that project going soon! But, we went there on Saturday with our friend Romero who works for Child Fund out of the US. They work with the families and kids around Ecuador to get them food, clothes, and schooling. Since there were going to be lots of families and kids around we went to ask them some questions, to see if there are orphans in their town, what kinds of foods that they eat, and what we can do to help them. These people are so happy and they live in a desert, lacking most everything that you or I would consider necessary to live... While in Paragachi I got so many bug bites that my left ankle was swollen to the size of an older lady who hadnt gotten up to walk in weeks!! It was horrible...so swollen and so itchy...its getting better but I still have dark purple circles all the way around. This is the worst of my suffering, on top of the shower...I will survive! I love it here! One day this week we went to Ibarra, Ibarra is the closest ¨city¨to where we are...the main reason we go there is to have capuccino! Its the little things in life that make me happy! What I would do for brownies or homemade chocolate chip cookies or a fabulous breakfast!! The things Im willing to do without but...still miss all the same! This capuccino place makes great coffee..i mean great compared to the instant stuff that this entire country drinks daily. We also went there to get jackets...we have to wear white jackets when we work in the clinics, cause all of the nurses here wear all white. They say that they people dont know who we are if we arent wearing them...haha! While driving down the street that day Paul ( the one that lives here and invited us up here) started yelling at someone on the sidewalk. We parked quickly and started talking to this guy...he just so happens to be the medical director of this entire province. Amazing how things just work out! He actually used to be the director here in Pimampiro of the clinic and has organized some medical students from New York University to come and work down here. He is super excited to have us here and wants us to go to Ibarra to work and his very good friend is the administrator of the hospital there. This hospital in Ibarra is the closest hospital to Pimampiro, which means that if there is something that needs more attention than the clinic here can handle everyone must go there. Its about an hour away...can you imagine?? To answer the questions about donations...we plan to set up something somewhere to make that possible. As soon as I get it figured out I will let you know! Thank you all so much for all of your love and support!! I couldnt do this without each and every one of you...