Conquerors of the Andes!

Hey all! I had thought that the last post didn´t work, so I was all prepared to try to recap everything, but lo and behold it saved. That´s a very good thing, since we don´t have much time today. I thought I´d still give a short little update about the past two days, which have been very adventurous, to say the least.

On Thursday Jessica, Laura, and I woke up and caught a taxi at 6:30 a.m. to the bus station. We then took a bus on a two hour ride through the mountains to the town of Nabon, which is where Jessica spent three years when she was a little girl. It was fun to see where she lived and meet a bunch of people that she knew from back then. The town is much poorer than Cuenca is. We don´t really feel like we are in a developing country when we´re in Cuenca because the city is kept so nice, so Nabon had a much different feeling. We got to meet a woman named Teresa who is in her 60s and has been bed ridden for 30 years. She is a Christian and asked us to have people pray for encouragment and for relief of the constant pain that she is in. She was a very sweet woman and Jessica was able to read some passages from the Bible to her and we sang some hymns together. We then spent time with a woman named Rosa who has five children, her husband died one month after getting to the U.S., and her house just fell down. She is living in one room with four of her young children and her mother. Her oldest son is 15 and is working in Cuenca to support the family. Please pray for them as well. Nabon is in a valley as well surrounded by moutains. One of the mounstains that overlooks the city has a cross on it, and we all decided to walk up to it. They have made it quite touresty with stairs and all, but Laura and I decided we had enough of civilization so we avoided the stairs and hiked up the rocks and cliffs. :-) Once we got to the cross, we saw an even taller peak a ways off. Knowing that Jessica loves adventures even more than we did, we asked her if we could continue on hiking and meet her in the town later. She had no hesitations, so off we went to the next peak. When we got there the view was even more astounding. But wouldn´t ya know it - there was a HIGHER peak! So we decided that we would try to get to that one too. Even more breathtaking...if that was possible! But then there was a HIGHER peak and I wanted to go. Laura said no and that we should start heading back. Then I said please with big eyes and she gave in. :-) heheh! At each peak we were still able to see the cross, but by the time we got to the last one it was just barely visable. There was of course higher peaks after that, but by that time we only had 15 minutes to get back to town. We were a little bit late, but Jessica wasn´t worried at all and it was well worth it! How many times do you get to hike in the Andes Mountains after all? Well, this week twice. :-) Anyway, after we got back into town we visited with the only Christian family that is still strong from back when Jessica´s parents had been missionaries there. The whole atmosphere of the house was different and lighter and peaceful. We really enjoyed spending that time with them. Then it was back on the bus for the two hours home. We sat in the back and had quite the conversation with some of the guys back there. It was rather amusing! We got to practice our Spanish a lot that day. We discovered that Laura understands Spanish better than I do because she is such a good observer and I speak Spanish better than Laura does because I´m a doer and probably because I always answer before she gets a chance. :-)

Yesterday morning we helped with a few classes at the Bilingue and then were picked up by the Lackey family (missionary friends down here) and David Olson, Kirsten´s brother. We went up to a mountain near Cuenca to do a little sightseeing and picnic. When we got to the dirt road that would take us up the mountain they stopped the SUV and everyone got out and said that we were going to ride on top of the car. At first we weren´t sure if they were serious, but they were. Pastor Lackey and Mrs. Lackey stayed in the car, but Angela, Rebecca, Christina, David, Laura, and I all hopped up on top and had a rather adventurous ride of bumps, avoiding branches, and staring in awe at the beautiful view. It was SO much fun! Oh, we had Lisa up there too. Her full name is Mona Lisa, which translates to Monkey Lisa. Yep, the Lackey´s have a monkey! She is VERY little. She can sit in your hand she´s so small. She was a little scared of us at first, but then she warmed up. I have pictures of all of this, but I forgot my camera, so I´ll have to post it later. Anywho, when it started raining and the road was getting muddy we went down that mountain and up another to a river where we picniced. Before we ate we decided to do some more hiking, so we hiked down to the river, across the river to an island, and then attempted to cross again. The rocks on the way back across where a little farther apart and a little more slippery, so we all ended up slipping into the river and walking across it in our tennis shoes...except for Laura who walked across in her hiking sandals. Smart girl. :-) It was so much fun though, despite the fact that our feet and pants were all soaking the rest of the day.

We have officially decided a few things. We love hiking. Minnesota doesn´t have enough mountains (or any). I´m moving here for a year after I finish college. :-) We want a monkey and seriously considered bringing one in our carry-on when we come back. We enjoy riding on tops of cars while dodging branches. Yep, that´s it for now. Tonight we´re eating Guinea Pig. And we´re excited! Seriously. We are. Sorry you all can´t join us in our adventures, but I hope you enjoyed reading about them!

Ciao!
Kari