You can make anything out of flour and water...

Today we are back in Pimampiro...so nice to be ¨home¨! Yes, I know that home is a stretch but it is my home for right now and its nice to come back to my bed here after being gone for a month. When we arrived on Tuesday morning we had nothing in the house...flour, water, and pancake syrup. That...became breakfast and then lunch too! You would be amazed how far just a few ingredients will go...

We arrived back in Pimampiro on Tuesday morning...after a super speedy bus ride. We left the beach (yes we spent a few days soaking up some sun before coming back to work) at 5pm and arrived in our beds by 8am! That is super fast...and definitely surprised us!

The 26 hour bus ride was quite uneventful, except that we got to sit in the front and look out the front window the whole time! There is place to rest your feet...and space to move around...its most definitely the best seat in the bus! After that ride, we will NEVER sit in the back again...we decided. Our ankles werent swollen and we actually had pretty decent sleep. Crazy...for a bus...I know! It was also a pleasant ride since we were accompanied by 5 of the Canadian students and Javier! We had also bought a 10 pound bag of candy and cookies to take along with us...that also helped pass our time.

As soon as we arrived in Guayaquil, (after Liz had slept most of the 26 hours-which is abnormal for her)we had already decided that we werent going to spend any time there, we jumped on the last bus to Moñtanita! We arrived a few hours later after being packed like sardines into a tiny bus with way too many people in it...but super grateful to be back at the beach! All that Pimampiro is lacking is the beach....can someone take care of that for me? I got to surf again and get tan...super enjoyable! Also, a little slice of home showed up in front of my face...no bake cookies!! Laying on the beach a girl passed...suddenly I smelled the warm chocolate...I looked up and what else could it be?? I wanted to eat her whole plate...but I decided to leave a few.

One night we went to a birthday party...a barbecue....with a few of our friends from the beach. We ate before going but of course they insisted that we eat on arrival...the food was great...but the only thing I could manage to say was "I cant eat any more of this, there is too much sand!". Truth is, no matter where you go or what you do everything is covered in sand!

I mentioned that Liz slept a lot on our last adventure...I think that Solidarity in Action wore her out...thats the only explanation! I am the one that sleeps while in  moving vehicles...but this time she was unable to be awoken by anything or anyone. While in that small bus, with 20 other people, and our legs intertwined with the people sitting across from us, and no headrests...she slept! After we arrived at the hostel, she went straight to bed...no shower and without even changing her clothes! Best part...she woke up in the morning covered in bed bug bites! I told her that that is what she gets for getting in bed so incredibly dir-ty! Kidding, I was actually pretty worried about her...I dont think I have ever seen her sleep so much...glad she is finally out of that funk!....and waking up at the butt crack of dawn once again. Yay for me!

Currently we are working on a presentation...hopefully that we can use as a tool for awareness and fundraising. We are hoping to finish it over the next few days and get it out there. If anyone knows of anyone who might be interested on more details of what we are doing....please let us know! The grand plan is to send my little brother to as many places as we can and have him be our voice until we can get back to the states and do it ourselves. Thanks Jo!!

My sister is working on a website for us, yes I do have an amazing supportive family, and as soon as I get that link worked out I will attach it to here also! This will be where our progress will be kept and there will be a ¨donate now¨ button available. All types of contact info, and hopefully anything and everything that someone might need to find out about what we are doing.

Paul will be back next week and we are super excited! We have a lot of talking to do with that man and a lot of future planning!

We have one  major issue that we must overcome before heading home...our visas! Unfortunately the man at the boarder only gave us 31 more days...and we need 40! The way that it works is that all US citizens receive 90 days per  year, free per say to visit Ecuador. After those 90 days you must apply for an actual visa, whichever type best fits why you will be staying in the country, if you do not take care of this you are banned from the country for a period of time and must pay a $200 fine. We definitely do not want to deal with that, so Thursday we got up early and headed to Quito to take care of this...or attempt to take care of this rather. We were sent to four different offices...all the wrong place...until the last place that we arrived was closed. This place is the right place but who would have known that it was only open from 9am-12pm? Great, now we traveled more than 3 hours to Quito and accomplished nothing! So, please think about us this week as we go back to Quito and request this 9 day extension. We are hoping that "requesting" it is all that it takes...and we wont have to change our airline tickets.

While we were in Cusco we celebrated our 3 month anniversary in South America and as a traveling duo! Just so you all know, we are still sleeping in the same room...the anxiety is too great when we sleep in separate rooms! Funny...but true!

To conclude this blog of a million things...yesterday I had a migraine...my first one since I arrived in South America. When I opened my eyes Liz was already out of bed and rattling things in the kitchen...I knew what she was doing...heading to the roof to start the laundry. All I could think was that I had no desire to move straight from my bed to the roof to pretend that my hands are a washing machine. But...this is what I did! Liz and I scrubbed and washed all of our laundry by hand! We have done it before, but this is the first time that we have actually done it all by ourselves! This will become a habit...and for anyone who comes down to help us or stay with us...this will also be your reality!! I consumed some food...then started on the house. Remember our house had been closed for about a month while we were gone...shortly after starting to clean I started to feel a migraine coming. boo! I hate migraines, not that anyone likes them but they always seem to come at the most inopportune times! Anyway, I laid down and thankfully Liz finished cleaning! Later on we went to visit Elaina (our mom here) and she asked me what was wrong, I told her and she said that I am very sensitive to change. Apparently since the house was closed up some bad energy got caught in the house which in turn gave me a headache, true or not her method of getting rid of it worked. She took a raw egg and rubbed it on my head...and then my back and legs...but mostly on my head. Apparently the egg absorbs the bad energy and gets rid of the headache...my headache did dissipate! Crazy...I know...but whatever works Ill take it!

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers...We are in a very crucial time...things are on the verge of exploding!! ....and we are super excited about it!

"When we dare to see things differently, life opens up to our eyes". -Paulo Coelho

"All we have to do is understand that we are here for a reason and to commit ourselves to that. Then we can laugh at our sufferings, large and small, and walk fearlessly, aware that each step has meaning." -Paulo Coelho

Where to even begin

What a super duper long two weeks this has been...this is the first time since the students arrived that I have actually had time to sit here and even think about writing. 30 students from Canada are here working with Solidarity in Action in different placements around Lima. Liz and I are helping in every way that we can. All week I have gotten the chance to be in the orphanage! I have gotten to spend every day with my kids! I love and miss them so very much!

A little background....we first came to Lima and worked with Solidarity in Action in February, after our time here Larry (the guy who started and organizes the groups) asked us to come down and be a part of their project for these two weeks. The students got the opportunity to see the "shanty towns" of Lima and make a lasting impact on these people. Their eyes have been open to an all new world and many of them have mentioned that they would like to do more work like this! Of course...I am super happy about that! The had the opportunity to teach English in a middle class school, work in the orphanage playing with the kids and cleaning and organizing, building onto the orphanage to make a bigger space for the kids, and working in a school for mentally handicapped children. They also did a project in one of the poorest areas of Lima where they picked up trash and planted some grass and a few plants to make them a "peace garden" since all of their living space is sand. By doing this project we have left them something to take care of and be reminded of the people that came from Canada to help them make their lives a little better.

Thursday before the students arrived we got to visit the orphanage and see all of our kids! As we were walking up the hill one of the kids was outside...he just started yelling and telling all of the other kids that we were back! Before we could even reach the door they were all out in the street screaming and hugging and kissing us! What an amazing feeling to see these kids after so many weeks and be able to hug them and tell them that we missed them!

After the students arrived late Thursday night, we got up Friday morning and took the them to visit all of their potential placements. An eye-opening experience for some but an amazing time to get to show them all that they could do in their short time here. Saturday we were supposed to do a dental campaign inside of a building in a very poor part of Lima, when we arrived the building was locked and their was noone to be found. We had taken the orphans with us, so we started playing soccer...as we played soccer more and more people arrived. Eventually we busted out the toothbrushes and toothpaste and started showing the kids how to brush their teeth...right in the middle of the soccer field! Everyone got a new toothbrush and some toothpaste and hopefully enough teaching to keep their teeth for a bit longer.

Sunday was a beach day...before the start of a crazy week! Little did we know the extent of this crazy week...little sleep with lots of work and lots of happy Peruvians! Monday we arrived at the orphanage first thing...to be greeted with those beautiful faces! Liz unfortunatey was placed in the clinic with 2 students this day, but she got to join us most other days. I had three students with me playing with the kids and teaching them English. The kids love to learn, they love to ask questions and have to attention that they are not getting.

Tuesday Liz and I ran a health campaign in this same poor community (Pacifico), with 4 students. We basically did what we did when we were here in February, identifying lice, flat feet, cavitites, and scabies. We documented all of our findings and gave it to the community director. But, as we were doing this a mom brought me her little boy who had an infection on the side of his face. The mom said that he had had this for almost a year, you could tell that there had been abcesses in different places on his cheek but he had one that was pretty full of infection. Since I didnt come prepared for this sort of thing, and we just happened to have our friend who is a dentist with us, I asked her for something with a point...I poked the abcess and a ridiculous amount of puss began to come out. One of the students was helping me hold the little boys head and unfortunately a large amount of that puss squirted straight onto her shirt! oops! Luckily she saw it as humerous and had a great story to come back and tell the rest! I told the mom what prescription to buy (because we did not have any with us and you can buy whatever medications that you want at the pharmacy here) and covered it.  Unfortunately I saw the mom a few days later and she told me that she didnt have any money to buy the prescription.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent at the orphange with my kids! Some amazing times were had with them...cant wait to come back and see them again! Friday was the students final day of volunteering, so we took them around once again to see the things that had been done at each site. The construction on the orphange was amazing! they did half of the concrete floor after moving dirt in and out and all around...they painted and did lots of other odds and ends. Friday was a very special day! When we arrived at the orphanage the kids put on their dancing outfits and danced for us! So cute and amazing! A married couple that was working with us that live in New York, raised money to buy a wheelchair for a child that has cerebral palsy that spends alot of his days at the orphanage. They got the honor of presenting the child and his mother with the wheelchair! This child is 7 years old and the mother carries him around all the time...I cannot even imagine! The tears were streaming down everyones face, and the mother just cried and thanked them over and over. Amazing!

Thursday night we invited Clara, the lady who started the orphanage, to come and share her story. This lady is amazing! She was a teacher and some years ago would have kids come over to her house to learn how to read, there were kids who were sleeping in the street so she slowly started taking them in. As time went on she says that she could not leave the kids in the street, so she just started taking them all in! She is truly amazing, she takes very good care of the children and they all love her tremendously. I look at her and hope that someday I can be where she is today, she is such an inspiration to me! As she shared, the tears ran down my face...I can only hope that I have half of the impact that she has had on so many children/people!

3am wake-up call on Saturday morning to head to Cusco! We arrived in Cusco, found our beds and set out to see what we could find. It was sureal being back there...such an amazing place with amazing culture. I loved being back there and seeing Liz experience it for the first time. Sunday morning was another early wake-up...so we could spend the day at Machu Picchu! Our train left sometime before 7 and we arrived in Aguas Calientes before 9. Unfortunately I slept most of the ride, since I hadnt gotten much sleep, so I didnt get to enjoy what I missed the first time when I hiked the Inca Trail. But, I did get to walk into Machu Picchu when it was beautiful and sunny and I wasnt exhausted. Machu Picchu is a beautiful place with so much mystery...and noone to tell what exactly happened but most definitely a spiritual center. So mesmorizing how much that they knew so many years ago...this year they are celebrating 100 years! A place that I dont think I could ever get tired of...

I was sharing the other night with the students after one of the girls made a comment about wanting to do this again and again and maybe for the rest of her life but her fear is that her family and friends will not support her. My response was to follow her dreams, to do what she loves and to keep an open heart. I feel so blessed to be where I am today and to have my family and friends to support me. I honestly cannot believe that I am getting to follow my dreams and that I am where I am today...I have truly been blessed! I honestly feel this way and I want these young people to understand that they can have it too..if they stick to what they think and believe and live for what they want out of life it will eventually come. I have spent more than 10 years of my life doing short term trips, travel nursing, and living my life to get to where I am today...and I want to see as many people have the opportunity to live out their dreams as well!

We just got off of skype with Paul (the one that we are working with in Pimampiro) and things are going well up there. He is in the states now and is preparing to come back and get our house together! We are working on getting the money that we need and starting the construction ASAP. We are hoping to get this project going as soon as we get back up there...which is only a few days away! Also...forget to add this in up there but as I was riding the bus down from Machu Picchu the other day I was sitting next to an older lady who was on a trip with 18 other "older adults". They are traveling around seeing the sites of Peru and Ecuador, the lady behind us heard us talking and chimed in. She is a rotarian and wants to help us out! She is going to get us the contacts that we need and the information that we need to share with the rotary in our area...and hopefully this will lead to an excellent relationship with them! Crazy how we are put in places for a reason...and how God just works things out!! I live an amazing life!

This morning we left early and arrived back in Lima. We are back at the convent and preparing to leave on our 26 hour bus ride to Guayaquil tomorrow!

Over the river and through the woods....

Do you sometimes wake up and wonder what you are doing in the place that you are currently in? Well, this morning I woke up in Lima wondering just exactly what am I doing here. I could be in the states, working...making a decent living, and not having a worry in the world. But, instead I am here, in South America spending the little savings that I have giving all that I can to impact these people to possibly make their lives a little bit better. I believe that today is the first time that I have doubted my place being here... On to happier things...we are finally in Lima! Liz counted 9 buses and 3 taxis, one unmarked car, and who knows what other type of transportation. We left Quito on Saturday...arrived in Cuenca around 2am on Sunday morning...slept for 6 hours and were off again. This is where the journey officially began...Cuenca 12pm...we left Katie who is flying out of Guayaquil tomorrow to wonder about the city and set off for Lima. Lima doenst look that far on the map but let me tell you...it is far! Super duper far from the northernmost part of Ecuador! First bus...Cuenca to Huaquillas...5 hours turned into 8...hours spent on the side of the dusty PanAmerican highway when the bus would only go in reverse. Not sure what happens exactly but something apprently was stuck...the driver got under the bus with a medal bar and started beating on something. As he was beating on whatever this something is the bus boy was jiggling the gear shift...eventually this worked and we were on our way. About 30 minutes later, on the side of a cliff the bus decided to suddenly reverse...once again we are on the side of the road while the bus driver and bus boy beat and bang trying to get it to go forward again. Unfortunately...or fortunately for our lives another bus came up behind and we boarded that bus to our destination. Only a few hours late we make it to Huaquillas...this is the boarder town between Ecuador and Peru...the bus boy throws our packs on the curb and takes off. We gather our belongings and go through customs...by this time it is dark outside and we are left with a few other people on the side of the road to catch a bus or car to take us across ¨no mans land¨ to the entrance of Peru. We run across the street and jump on a bus...hoping it will take us where we want to go. A few minutes later we arrive on a bustling street, once again with our belongings thrown on the curb. We try to get a taxi, instead he tells us that he boarder is just a few blocks and we should walk. Walking....with about 70 pounds on my back through the busy streets of a border town...in the dark...might not be the smartest choice. With no other options we walk...until a man asks if we would like a ride. Liz immediately sees his unmarked beat up station wagon and says under her breath that she wouldnt dare enter that car. So...we keep walking....and he keeps following us. In the end we got in his car...luckily we did because the border is not a safe place...he took us to the entrance of Peru and handed me his car key while we got our paperwork done. After he drove us all around Tumbes (the border town on the Peru side) trying to find us a bus to Lima. We got on the last bus leaving to Chaclayo (somewhere north of Lima but better than staying in the north)...thankfully! We made his day and he made ours! Super thankful for random persistent people! Chaclayo took about 8 hours...throughout the night...landing us in a tiny bus yard at about 5 am. Fortunately we looked up and across the street was another bus and the bus boy was yelling that they were going to Trujillo...we threw on our stuff and borded yet another bus. Some hours later we had arrived...still not in Lima but slightly closer. By this time we realized that we had only used the restroom twice since the start of all of this madness. Liz cheated and went on the side of the road while we were waiting for the bus to be fixed....but I on the other hand had not relieved myself since about 3 hours into Peru. So, once before we left Cuenca at 12pm on Sunday then not again until about 11pm somewhere north of Mancora and then one more time before we arrived in Lima somewhere in the sand about 3pm on Monday. I do believe that a bladder infection might be in my future...lets hope not! Once we arrived in Trujillo the bus boy told us to wait right there for a few minutes and there would be a bus to Lima...we were done with that bus line! Right next store were a few buses that looked a little nicer...were we wrong...oh well we borded and headed to Lima. Many hours later we arrived...about 7pm...we grabbed a cab and came to the convent where nice clean beds awaited us. While en route to the convent we realized that we had only eaten once since this whole fiasco started...cold bread with cold eggs at about 8 am on Monday morning. We were suddenly STARVING! After fighting with the cab driver on how much it would cost to get us here we very nicely asked him to stop somewhere...anywhere that had fast food. We ended up at a chicken place....Liz ordered the entire menu...and some. When she got back in the cab with the food we started tearing into those bags but decided to wait the 5 more minutes until we made it to the convent. The first thing that we did on arrival was throw down our stuff and stuff our faces like we hadnt eaten in days! since we hadnt...chicken and french fries and some sort of chocolate cake never tasted so good! How thankful we are for the little things! Now we are in Lima....we just met Larry...the guy who started Solidarity in Action and we are going to get the low-down on what the next few weeks hold for us. We are super excited to see our orphans and get to help them out! Liz and I will be taking a few students (30 college students will be here for a few weeks working on different projects) to work over there with the kids! Cant wait to see those beautiful faces....and the smiles when we open the door! This is what we are here for! As for fun in the past week...since Katie was here we wanted to take her somewhere to see some other parts of Ecuador...we went to a cloud forest! It was beautiful...called Santa Lucia...is the first coop of its kind in Ecuador. It was started by 30 families...now only 3 farms remains because of the poor soil conditions but they focus on ecotourism. The cater to bird watchers but anyone is welcome to explore their protected land. After leaving at 4am from Pimampiro, arriving in Quito at 8am, then taking a bus to Nanagelito, then a taxi to Nanegal we arrived at the Santa Lucia office where a nice English lady met us. She quickly described to us the path that we would have to walk to get to the lodge and we reorganized our packs so that they were easier to carry (or so we thought that they were). We put on our rubber boots and jumped in the truck which took us to the first landslide. Ecuador has been getting an unsightly amount of rain recently...so there are landslides everywhere. This made our hike to the top 4km longer than it should have been. Originally it should have taken us just over an hour to hike the uphill 2km but with the added 4 more it took us just over 3 hours. We carried two packs between us...thinking that this might have been easier...in the end Liz carried about 30 lbs and Katie carried about 25lbs. I carried it for awhile but apparently Im a sad sight carrying a pack uphill with rain boots and bad hips! Yes, my hips grind together when I carry my pack...always but especially uphill in rain boots! Liz is young and spry and she busted up that hill faster than I could go with no pack! On the way the road had washed out so now there is a river where the road used to be....the English lady told us to just ´take off our trousers and make our way across´. Hmm...fortunately the river was only about knee deep so no removal of clothes was necessary but I can only imagine the three of us with our packs taking off our pants to cross! When we arrived at the top...lemonade awaited us and warm showers! Our bungalow was amazing...overlooking the cloud forest...no electricity and only wildlife to enjoy! ¨All we have to do is understand that were all here for a reason and to commit ourselves to that. Then we can laugh at our sufferings, large and small, and walk fearlessly, aware that each step has meaning. We can let ourselves be guided by the light emanating from the Vertex.¨ What do you mean by Vertex? ¨In life too its the culminating point, the goal of all those who, like everyone else, make mistakes, but who, even in their darkest moments, never lose sight of the light emanating from their hearts. The Vertex is hidden inside of us, and we can reach it if we accept it and recognize its light.¨Paolo Coelho (The Witch of Portobello)

I ate Easter Dinner with my hands...don´t tell my mom!

Happy Easter! I hope that everyone had a fabulous day with their families...I am sad that I did not get to partake in my families festivities but I did have a great day! and a great Easter holiday for that matter.

Let me start with telling you all that Easter here is celebrated all week, it is called Semana Santa. Starting with the special soup that is only made this week...it includes 15 grains and fruits and vegetables and fish and about everything that you can imagine. It is good, but it is a meal all in itself. That is always served on Wednesday but most people eat it most days of this week. Thursday and Friday of this week are the big days. First on Thursday night there are 3 processions that take place, starting at the church and walking down the main streets of the town and back to the church. The people walk while holding candles and singing, people take turns carrying a cross. The cross weighs about 150 pounds, women, children, and men take part in carrying this burden down the streets. This is an amazing sight and sound...people crying and praising. No one that i asked knows the significance but they do this three times on Thursday night; at 9, midnight, and 3am. Liz and I walked in part of the procession at 9 with our ´mom´ from here and then later at 12 with our ´sister´Carmen Amelia. It was an amazing experience.

Friday during the day we went to another town called Urcuqui. They had a parade during the day, where they carry the saints and other church paraphernalia down the streets and sing. The togetherness of this culture is truly something that we in the US lack and the longer that i am here the more that i notice the differences. After the parade there was a carnival set up, so we decided that we should partake in the festivities! First up was the ferris wheel...a lawnmower motor connected to a spinning metal rod which was then connected to the ferris wheel. He had to pull start this lawnmower motor every time that he stopped the ride...it was rusty and rickety and every revolution seemed as if we were going to fly off. After Liz was green we decided to stop for some fonesca...after our tummies were full we played a game of ´shoot the crooked gun at the candy stuck to a board´ which of course was much harder than it looked. Finally we road a giant worm down the streets of Urcuqui with Aventura blaring and the driver jerking from one side of the road to the other. All of these adventures were made possible by our new friend Ricardo...

Friday night was the night of the parade, which consisted again of the church paraphernalia in the street and people dressed up as Bible characters. There were lots of people in the street to watch...including us. Saturday we got up early and headed to Otavalo for the day. Otavalo is the largest market in South America, possibly the world so Lonely Planet says. We bought a rug for a new apartment! and had a good time looking at all the handiwork. We bussed back to Ibarra and Ricardo met us at the bus terminal and took us to his farm.

Ricardo, Im not sure if I have told you about him before...he is from here but has lived in Virginia for the last 20 years of his life. His family owns a farm not too far from here. It is a beautiful place...with horses and cuy (guinea pigs) and dogs and cats and rabbits and lots of plants. It is peaceful and relaxing. This is where we spent Easter Sunday. We slept in, had muesli with fresh fruit and yogurt for breakfast then road horses in the beautiful sunny weather. While we were out having our fun Mariela was slaving away making cuy for us! Cuy is guinea pig and a delicacy here. Ricardo raises and sells them but he cooked up a few for us! They were yummy...heads toenails and all! Yes mom I did eat this rat and on top of eating the rat I ate it with my fingers! Easter dinner with my fingers...a tragedy if my mother would have been sitting next to me!

This week the Vice President visited us here in Pimampiro, he is handicapped and is making a lot of headway into making this country more friendly to those that are disabled. The mayor of Pimampiro asked us to meet him, and continues to ask to for our help with the center for the disabled. They need a nurse and a doctor or a physical therapist. The center is here and ready and there are a lot of disabled people and the mayor and vice president are trying their best to get the resources here that are needed. This could be an amazing program.

Tomorrow we will visit the daycare in Paragachi. There are 30-40 kids there every day with 4 women that work there from 6am until 8pm most nights. They get very little funding from the government and these kids are the poorest of the poor. These women feed the kids three meals a day but do not have the resources for toys or other teaching supplies. We will visit tomorrow and take pictures and fill you in on the rest of the information. But, the new house is in Paragachi which means that these are the kids that we are hoping to be able to give more resources. There is a lot to do in this small town...but great benefits that will be reaped eventually.

So much to do here...I am ready to get this show on the road! But, we will go to Lima this week and work with Solidarity in Action for 2 weeks and then return here to get things going! We are more than ready...and cant wait to see where this adventure takes us!

Check out Liz´s blog!! We make a pretty good team, so maybe together we can fill you in on

everything that is happening here! http://lizallison2887.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-cuy.html

This is our new house!! Definitely needs some work but has all that land and great potential! Our orphanage dream is coming true!!

Dreams are coming true...

We bought a house!!! and we have 2 months to come up with the money...only $5000! this house is going to serve as a base for our operations, our orphanage, a place to house volunteers, a place to teach English classes, and a place to grow produce! we are going to go to the house and take pictures in the next few days and i will post them! we are super excited! it definitely needs some fixing up which we are estimating to cost another couple thousand dollars and we are hoping to be self sustaining within a very short time! we are working together with Montañas de Esperanza (http://mtnsofhope.org/) to get this project started. we are super excited and ready to get things going! the community that the house is in is a place that we love, we have many friends and kids that need so much. there are 200 kids in this community...150 families that need our help. Paragachi is a town without irrigation water (which we are working on getting the funding for) which means that it is super dry and they cannot grow any of their own food. we were lucky enough to be invited into the home of a family there this week to share a meal and be a part of their lives. these people are very warm and open and willing to give every little thing that they cannot afford to give. we are amazed at the opportunities that we have been presented with and cant wait to see where this life takes us!

On top of this amazing opportunity we ´ran into´the mayor the other night. we need a physical therapist or a doctor who is willing to work with the disabled. there is a center that was built a few years ago specifically for the disabled...but it is not being utilized at this time since there is no staff. please keep this in mind as they are willing to accept volunteers.

Volunteers are welcome...please keep us in your thoughts and prayers! we have a lot of work to do and need each and every one of your support.

home?!?

I am not sure why this is a long run-on paragraph but i cant figure out how to change it....sorry!! Liz and I...and Katie have arrived back in Pimampiro!! yes, back in Pimampiro and we have an apartment!!! we are super excited to have a place to live and stay for a little while, things seems to be falling into place. there is so much opportunity here! we have alot of options of programs and projects and and and. there is so much potential and these people want nothing more than to help us help them! you would not believe the faces of our friends here when we arrived two nights ago...they are all so happy and even more happy that we have returned to spend the Easter week with them. this is a very special time here where there are lots of parades and food and family time. of course, we are welcomed into every single home...i can only imagine the amount of food that we will consume over the next week. they make a soup called fanesca which includes all the grains that you can find and beans and squash and bananas and lima beans and cheese and and and. we partook in this soup today, and it was a-ma-zing! we will have it again in another community with another family tomorrow and im sure 1200 more times in the next few days. Last night was a special event in Pimampiro that i am glad that we did not miss! they call it trueque (the night of exchanging literally) but it is a night where no money is involved. everyone comes from the communities all around (hours away) to exchange their goods, the people from the mountains come down and exchange the things that they grow up there and the people from the valley come up and sell their produce. its amazing! we decided that we were going to exhange sugar...of course if you know me thats what i would want to exchange...we bough 100 blocks of panela. panela is sugar cane that they press out the juice then boil it and make it into blocks, they package them in a pack of 100. we seperated them into bags of 4 and exhanged this sugar for everything from squash to tomatoes to potatoes. no money involved...and an amazing experience to see everyone out in the streets! Let me tell you about our apartment!! its amazing!! it has three bedrooms and one bathroom with hot water (even though we have no water at all right now)!! and a big kitchen and living room! apparently there was a land slide sometime last week and knocked out the pipe that brings the water to Pimampiro and the town has been without water for quite sometime. luckily we had some yesterday and got to shower and this morning we were warned that we would have none for an undetermined amount of time so we filled everything that we could find and borrow with water! this too shall pass, its a small price to pay to have the privilege to live in this amazing town, in this amazing country, with these amazing people! So, let me back track since it has once again been a million days since i wrote. we left Pimampiro with the intention of returning the first week of June, we were supposed to be in Lima now. but...life has a funny way of working things out exactly like they are supposed to be. just so happened that Katie and Paul (our guy from Pimampiro) flew into Guayaquil airport almost at the exact same time. Paul was headed to Lima for a few days and Katie was coming to work with us for a few weeks. i went to the airport with the driver in his tiny burgundy hatchback car that doesnt go over 40mph and barely fits 4 people to pick them up. as we are driving im telling katie that the plan is for us to head to Lima to work with the orphans and the kids in the schools but at the same time Paul is telling her all about Pimampiro. of course, she immediately was hooked on coming up here! Paul is a great saleman for this town! but...she is hooked as well! While in Guayaquil we worked with MMRC and visited the clinics that they will be working with. while we were there, on our way to the bus station i was sitting in the front of the truck with our driver (Edisson) and typing a text message when all of a sudden my phone was no longer in my hands. we had stopped at a red light for a few seconds, my window was only half way down and a teenage boy grabbed the phone right out of my hands and ran away with it. he didnt touch my hands at all, he had amazing hand-eye coordination! i mean, i guess if someone had to steal something from me im glad that he was good at it! my purse was in my lap with money and my passport and camera and all of my important possessions...so i was thankful that only the phone was stolen. i have decided that Guayaquil has something against me, it is the only city in the entire world that i have had anything stolen in (knock on wood)or that i have been touched against my will. did i tell that story? im afraid that i didnt, i was never in danger BUT a teenage boy trying to sell cookies grabbed my butt while i was walking on the sidewalk! i told him i didnt want to buy his dag on cookies, which apparently he didnt care regardless and he grabbed my butt and Liz and I turned around so fast ready to chase him down but he ran so fast it was impossible! dont get scared...i have never felt in danger... After leaving Guayaquil we headed 3 hours to the coast! the beach! i love the beach...the sand, the sun, the warmth! we arrived with a million things, remember that we left an entire suitcase of stuff in Guayaquil when we came up here the first time...so we had that plus katies stuff. we were backpackers PLUS! as we wonder the streets of Montañita to find a hostel, batteling the other backpackers, the hippies selling their goodies in the street, the dogs, and our biggest obstacle being the mounds of luggage...we finally found a hostel. cold water, bed bug infested beds, smelly, dusty....but we had a window looking at the ocean! that final thing allowed us to choose this, what most of you would say horrible place to enjoy our ¨vacation¨. its funny how little things make me happy! we had an amazing time! we took surf lessons and sat on the beach and drank coco y ron ( fresh coconut with coconut juice and sweetened condensed milk) and hung out with the locals! the coco y ron is a thing of my dreams...when i was here 4 years ago i remember sitting on the beach and drinking them in the same town in the same place...being back there after all these years of thinking about the fresh fruit and the beach was an amazing experience! After 3 full days of beach we decided that Pimampiro was calling us...so we packed our bags, said goodbye to our new friends and our amazing beach view and headed to the highway. after standing on the north bound side of the road for a good 3o minutes the bus finally came, we threw on our stuff and jumped on. after a good 2 hours we changed buses again this time supposedly to Quito. this was supposed to be an 8 hour bus ride, well when midnight came and we were told to get off the bus on the corner and wait for another bus to Quito we were definitely confused. the good thing is that we had made friends with the guy who collects the money on the bus and the bus driver so they waited on the corner with us for more than an hour. during this hour they were stopping every bus asking them to take us to Quito and of course no one wanted to take us so they convinced us to go to Ambato with them. when i say convinced our choices were slim...we stand on the corner for who knows how long or we get back on the bus and go wherever it goes. another two hours, and two hours the wrong way we arrive at a hotel...we got door to door service at least. the bus driver helped us carry our stuff into the hotel and made sure all was well and then they left us...this was about 2am. this ¨hotel¨ left little to be desired...i chose the bed closest to the door since i was absolutely freezing and thought maybe it might be the warmest of the beds. we had traveled ALL DAY and changed buses 4 times and sweat to death and barely eaten (expect for some mystery meat and rice at a so called truck stop) and all we wanted were warm showers and a comfy bed. alot to ask for, i know...but it had been a long day. Liz decided to suck it up and shower...the water was FREEZING and the air was freezing and the room was more freezing! while Liz was showering Katie and I decided to find as many clean clothes that we had to put on and hopefully get in bed and be warm-er. i thought id at least brush my teeth...no water in the sink (of course is water supposed to come out of the faucet?) so as Liz was showering i was spitting my toothpaste into the toilet and sharing her freezing water to brush my teeth and wash my face. this event led to a pool in the bathroom which ended up being a hazard for Katie in the morning without her shoes! oops! after this fiasco i jump into my bed only to land on a rock...most definitely the hardest thing i have ever called a bed. one single sheet with holes in it so i could see the patterns of the mattress with a single sheet and blanket on top. my pillow looked as if someone had swept the floor with it...black lines and dust on it...but at least it didnt have a giant foot print on it like Liz´s did! we shut off the lights quickly so that we didnt have to see what we were sleeping with and tried to sleep. apparently Katie couldnt sleep becuase her sheets kept coming off leaving her on some plastic cover thing and i was wimpering in my sleep because i was so freezing. Katie said that she was afraid that maybe i was freezing to death...i was curled in the tightest ball possible with lots of clothes on and i was still shaking and wimpering. i survived... Now, remember we are in Ambato (yes Alessia we were in your hometown) which is 2 hours south of Quito which means we are about 6 hours south of Pimampiro...the last thing that we wanted to do was get back on a bus and ride for another 6 hours. our choices being slim once again we decided to hit up the nearest breakfast place and then head north. little did we know that breakfast would be such a hassle...we had two choices: desayuno completo (complete breakfast) or desayuno simple (simple breakfast). seems straight forward but when i asked the kid (he might have been 15 and his baby and baby momma were sitting in the restaurant too) he just mummled so we figured we couldnt go wrong with the complete breakfast. usually this means eggs and break and cheese and coffee or tea, this time it did not mean that it meant rice and chicken and salad and fried plantains AND eggs and bread and cheese! no thank you in the morning! after we got breakfast straightened out we headed to the bus terminal to board yet another bus....it was a beautiful ride but longer than ever! it rained most of the way, there were twice as many people as there were seats to sit in, it was windy and bumpy but we survived once again. we arrived in Ibarra to be greeted by Paul...waiting for us! amazing how he just so happened to be there when we would arrive. we loaded up our stuff and headed ¨home¨! how amazing did it feel to know that we would be arriving back in Pimampiro and we would have a place to live! a place all to ourselves! timing, somone up there is watching out for us! apartments are hard to come by in this town...and the time that we asked this one was available! So much potential here...so much that can be done...so many people who need so much help and who appreciate the tiniest things that you and i take for granted every single day. for example today Paul called us at 9am and said that he was on his way with our refrigerator and with some people to help us at the house. we jumped out of bed and started cleaning the kitchen to make it ready for the people and the stuff. after they helped us and we got some things together we cooked up some eggs and boiled some water for coffee and tea and sat down in our new place with our friends! im sure that i have mentioned Luis before, he is the president of one of the communities here and he weaves in the traditional pre-Colombian back-strap style and his work has been looked at by experts in the US and it is museum quality! amazing! he is an amazing person with so many talents and such a heart for the kids of his community! he has the dream of weaving and selling his products in the US...he makes everything from bags and purses to bedspreads! some time ago he was having severe back pain from sitting at the loom for so many hours weaving, so Paul was asking how his back was feeling and his response was as simple as ´it depends on the day and if i have food to eat´. can you imagine if that was your only complaint in life? I could go on for days with the stories of these people here, they are amazing and resilient and happy. they love every day and smile constantly...they do not know what it is like to have any modern commodities...but they are happy! i can only hope that i someday can be as happy with so little...

Donation Info!!

Here we are, in Guayaquil working with MMRC...today we spent the day driving to the clinics and talking to the directors about possible surgical candidates. Tomorrow we will hit up another clinic or two and make times to do initial exams on these patients and determine which are most in need of surgery. MMRC is hoping to get teams down here in the next 5 weeks, the type of surgeon will depend on what we identify as the biggest need. Katie is coming tomorrow!! Cant wait to see her and work with her down here! I have answers for the donations question! The guy that we are working with up north, in Pimampiro, has been super nice and has shared all of his connections with us and once again he is hooking us up and allowing us to use him for donations (so its tax deductible)! Check out his website at www.mtnsofhope.org. And you can send any donations to: Mountains of Hope c/o Focus International 4930 East Texas Road Allentown, PA 18106 Check memo: Ser Viva Health Project Dont forget the memo line!! This is what we are calling our project in Pimampiro for now...we are hoping to find some property and make these dreams a reality very soon!