AROUND QUITO--SORRY THIS BLOG THING AND I ARE NOT GETTING ALONG. TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE CAPTIONS SAY UNTIL I CAN GET THIS THING TO WORK. ENJOY THE PICTURES.

Special for T.J.

we really do live in the clouds

Quaint Road Our department Store

Sometimes we But most of the time
walk on this kind of it's like this.
sidewalk.

Tom at the office

Two of many sales people

It cost $1.00 to take this

picture.

Quito from our Snow on Pichincha
apartment

Special for Brent

AROUND QUITO

Take a walk to work and back with Tom and I. These are some of the things we see.

More Equator

Fun with eggs, Elder Padilla
Elder Lazalda
Elder Rivera
Tom's not so strong right on the equator

At the Equator

Shrunken head over 100 years old

Tom balanced an egg on the head of a nail

Easter and Conference

More of the Procession,
Easter dinner
President and Hermana Sloan

Easter and Conference

Tom's past time. Studying Spanish
Emily and Kathy coloring eggs

The Procession on good Friday I'm having trouble with my computer and blogging so the rest of the pictures will be in a separate blog

PICTURES

This is Pedro, one of the boy scouts doing a tree planting project on the mountain at Pichincha. Cute huh?

Tom love to talk to everyone. These men are security guards. He thinks they are there because there is a lot of communication antennas and stuff there.

Senior missionaries and new friends

Elder Rose, Hermana Ottosen, Hermana Griesemer, Hermana and Elder Ward, Elder Ottosen The Curtises did not go with us

The volcano "Pinchincha" is in the background.

This is a member of the church in Otavolo. They sell jewelery. Kathy went to their house and saw where they make the jewelery.

Notice the baby on her back. They carry them around like that for 2 or 3 years.

MultiCentro and Getting Started Here In Quito

2nd from the top ! 3rd & 4th window from left

We moved into MultiCentro on Mar. 6 It has blue carpet and paint. Maybe that's why it feels good to me there. (It's like home) We live on the 17th floor of an 18 story building. Yes there is an elevator. we have cleaned it, had it fumigated, and maybe next month we might be able to get it painted.

WEATHER: It is always like spring here. the temperature - between 45 and 75 degrees. It rains most every day and the sun shines most everyday. One day we were at home and it rained down on the street but not up at the 17th floor. I think we were in the cloud maybe.

FLOWERS: There are all kinds here. Roses are $2.00 to maybe $8.00 a dozen. There is a poinsettia tree (yes tree) that we pass on the way to church. Everything grows big. There are no seasons so I guess the flowers just bloom according to when they are planted.

FOOD: They use a lot of cilantro and garlic here. We have not eaten very much traditional food yet. There are lots of American restaurants. Groceries cost about 1 1/2 to 2 times as much as at home. I am in the process of learning how to make adjustments in recipes. All baked goods need to have less sugar and butter and more flour.

BANO: Our toilet water goes down the drain clockwise. Check yours out. I finally learned how to tear the paper off. It's right in the between of the cabinet and the tank and it's hard to do.

BEDROOM: Yeah!!! We have a queen size bed. What a difference it makes over the double we had in the other place. We also bought new pillows. One end doubles as a utility room.

EXERCISE: We walk at least 1 1/2 miles a day, to or from or both ways to work. Tom is stretching with Kathy each night. Ow!

CHURCH: It's all in Spanish. Kathy feels like she lives in a bubble. Tom can answer questions in class. We walk to get there, about 6 blocks. There are about 150 people there each week.

FRIENDS: We love the other seniors. We have family home evening together each Monday. There is also a girl named Emily who is down here on an exchange and a young couple and baby who join us. He is a Doctor down here doing humanitarian work and will be going back to a residency in the States. We are also beginning to know the Ecuadorian people at church better.

CLOTHES: Tom now has some clothes to relax in thanks to the sewing machine. We still can't find T shirts big enough for him. No grande. He bought a black hat and when he walks the street in it and his black coat, he is pretty imposing. Everyone tells us he will not have to worry about being mugged because of his size. I stay pretty close to him.

WORK: We need to make lots of phone calls so the language slows us down. We have a volunteer who helps with that. Kathy now sends happy birthday texts to all the participants on their birthdays. Tom is studying everything he can get his hands on, making flow charts, and trying hard to figure out the process. One of the flow charts he sent to Bogota (our head quarters) is going to be used by them in training.

TIME: We are at the office at 8:00 am and home between 3:00 & 5:00. The sun comes up at 6:30 am and goes down at 6:30 pm every day. They say it's year round.

MISSIONARIES: They are the greatest young men and women. They are very capable, on the ball, willing, and real go getters. They got 100 baptisms last month and begged to set their goal for 120 for this month.

Next blog - Around Quito

QUITO Temporary Housing

We arrived Friday night at 10:00 pm Quito time. There were about 10 people there to meet us including the Mission President, what a surprise. We drove in the President's car to our apartment. Everyone helped with the luggage thank goodness. We climbed one flight of stairs took the elevator to the 5th floor then climbed up to the 7th floor. It is big with lots of windows. It has a large terrarium at the east end with a hammock stretched across that end of the front room. There are 2 bedrooms. The bathroom is up one stair. Kathy managed to forget and fall out of it the first morning. The laundry in the basement is included in the rent and they are supposed to change the sheets and vacuum.

It rains here a lot, almost every day. We are on the top floor of our building with a tin roof so the noise it makes is indescribable. This picture is a view from our bedroom window.

Tom managed to get down here without any pants to relax in so he sleeps in his thermals. I call him my man in tights. I have bought some fabric and borrowed the mission sewing machine and will make him something more comfortable.

There are three other sets of Seniors plus a single sister here. We have a lot in common with the Ottosen's who will be leaving soon. Tom and Elder O. love inventing and making and you name it. Kathy and Hermana O. both love doing productions and music etc. Too bad they have to go.

We will be moving into their apartment. The Wards are the financial manager and nurse for the mission. They have six months left. We also have a lot in common with them. They are a blended family and have 11 children. The Curtises will be taking the place of the Ottosens, managing and maintaining the mission apartments. Hermana Grissemer is the mission secretary, she is amazing. They all live at MultiCentro across the street from where we are now.

We usually walk to the office 1 1/2 miles away. We are on the 5th floor and the mission office is on the 2nd floor. There is no one there to train us but a girl who only speaks Spanish. Tom is doing so well. He could not understand her at all at first but after three weeks he is understanding quite a lot.

We have been to Guayaquil for training, It was in Spanish so not that great but better than nothing. We were able to go to the temple while there. It was beautiful and very calming.
We have also been to Otavalo. It is a town with an open market, lots of textiles, jewelry, carvings, paintings, chickens, vegetable, fruits, and more.

We were able to go to the mission presidents home last night for dinner with the new zone leaders. What a treat, they are wonderful young men. Dinner was great. The view was spectacular. And the spirit was amazing.

Next blog - MultiCentro and getting settled