Thursday, April 19, 2012

"Hola" from the Galapagos Islands

God is so amazing. We are really learning to pray and trust Him in every little decision. So many things are not under our control here in Ecuador: like when a bus comes and goes, what will be needed at camp and when, etc. For example, a great big huge eucalypus tree's root ball became saturated in our Pallatanga rains and fell along the front of the camp's hall, so Don's construction plans for the day changed to chain-sawing plans. The challenge became an opportunity, as Don and Guido designed curved brick stairs for the area where the tree had been, and the new steps really compliment the camp's infrastructure and improve access to the main hall.

Now I am typing to you from under a pool-side umbrella, on Santa Cruz Island, in the Galapagos. We had planned to come to the Galapagos Islands in July, after completing our mission work and before heading home. But there weren't any camps booked for mid-April, and its the low-season here at the Galapagos, so we were able to arrange a really great tour of the islands. We pre-booked and pre-paid in Guayaquil, with a travel agent recommended by another OMS missionary. Now we get picked-up and dropped-off here and there without a care, except our sunscreen needs. Its an amazing experience!!!!

This morning, we were scheduled to change hotels, from one side of Puerto Ayora to the other. The children were concerned, because the hotel where we'd been staying had a little, clean pool. They asked if we could change back if we didn't like the new hotel. But everything is pre-booked and pre-paid. So we all prayed about it and decided to be thankful for the time we'd already had at our nice hotel. Now we're settled into our new accommodations: the pool is bigger, the internet access is stronger (I can blog!), and the rooms are cleaner: we just feel so very blessed! And we are learning so much through these kinds of experiences.





Today, Don is off scuba diving; we haven't been in 15 years. The children and I are having a “free day”, which is lovely as our tours have begun at 5:30 and 6am each day. We've been to four different islands in the last few days. The kids LOVED bodysurfing at the beach on Isabella Island. The ocean is warm, the beach sand is hot. The children have all learned to snorkel. We've snorkelled with lots of neat fish, SEA LIONS, PENGUINS, STING RAYS, an eel, and even a jellyfish (ouch - that one hurt, but we're all okay now). We just feel so absolutely in awe of the nature and geography we are learning about.





Meanwhile, back at camp, Kim is heading to the US for a few weeks, with her youngest daughter. Guido and the two older girls are heading to Cuenca for awhile (where he grew-up). The camp's cook is staying at the camp with her family to look after things. Kim is scheduled to speak at a conference in the States, so please do pray for her. If you could pray for both of our families. We live close together, camp times are intense and we all get tired. So please ask for unity, grace, and perseverance for each one of us. We fly back to Guayaquil on April 24th, then we plan to take a bus back up to camp on the 26th.

Blessings to you! We are all really missing home, and this amazing holiday is definitely a distraction. We wish we could send you some of this heat. =)

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