Here is beautiful Cayambe from the roof of Tassy's apartment building where we are staying. I thought I would put this picture in to show that Ecuador is an amazing country full of contrasts, and while it takes about 5 hours to go from Quito to the beach, in one day here too, you can enjoy mountains and beach, and inbetween lovely rainforest, and lush vegetation that is common on the equator around the world! This is one beautiful country!
It is always the most amazing thing to walk between the cabanas at Isla del Sol and have this gorgeous view await you! I will never, ever, ever tire of that feeling. We left at 5 a.m. and by 10 we were at Isla! The bus was behind us by a few hours, and we had the car loaded with all the food for our group. So we unloaded coolers on the the porch of the place we would be staying, and began the process of making welcome signs for everyone and getting things settled! Then Phil and I walked down the beach to Bernabe and had our first lunch at Bernabe's in several years. You can't beat eating fish and shrimp that were pulled out of the water that morning. You can't beat eating it with your toes in the sand, and the water just feet from you, the sound of the waves breaking as you eat! Ahhhhhhh! Eucharisteo--grace gifts that are lovely to enjoy! The marks in the sand above are from Austin riding the quads that Isla has just bought for their guests to rent. He was moving a little too fast for me to get a good picture, but I was struck by the tracks he left behind, and the reminder that where we go we leave imprints! What are those tracks I am leaving?
I have sent a few pictures of chairs that I have sat in to enjoy some time with God! This view and spot has been a favorite over the years! It just is hard to get better than this! I guess you can tell that I really, really enjoy the beach! :)
For those of you who know Islas! Gladys and Erik have expanded the patio and it is just being finished up. It is a great improvement! If you look closely at the tile, and see the grey 4inch stretch there in the middle of the patio, that is where the old patio stopped back in the day! Some of you will notice how big the palms have gotten too. The palm on the right front was shorter than me last time I was at Islas! It was fun to see all the foliage and trees that have grown up. It was great to see Gladys again. Those of you who know her, please pray for her health. She has had a tough year so please pray for her.
It would be impossible for me to blog about Isla without a sunset picture, but those of you who know me well will be proud and amazed that I chose only one of many beautiful sunset pictures! It was hard, but I did it!
Some of our interns and the maestros! From left to right, Diana, Diego, Gaby, Ruth and Jose Luis. Diana and Jose Luis are the Maestros for the summer, which means that they care for the interns directly and support them. Diana was a host with Austin last summer, and she works with Phil in Semester Abroad. She is an amazing girl. We are getting to know the others better this summer.
Little Graham seeing and touching the Pacific for the first time, with his proud mom and Dad!
We went whale watching one morning! And we saw lots and lots of whales! I gave up taking pictures right away, because I wanted to see the whales! So, here is the only one I have--the whale fin is at the top of the horizon in the middle of the picture. I will try to get some pictures from one of the interns that got great pictures with a good camera!
Getting ready for dinner one evening! Staying hydrated is important! :) We were making strawberry lemonade!
Sofia and Cameron and Graham enjoying the bench that overlooks the ocean!
Diving into dinner! Each evening we ate dinner around 5:30 or 6! Then we would meet afterwards for worship and time together. It was good to get to know interns a little more.
Getting a little time to love on Graham at the end of the day! He is such a precious baby! I am beyond thankful for these weeks when I get to be able to watch him grow and be a very small part of his life.
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