The beginning of the end

This was our last complete day in Ecuador, and we tried to make the most of it. We met Marcelo Lopez for lunch, where he talked to Bert and Olen about the work in Quito. They are having 45-55 people at their Lord’s Day services now, and Marcelo is concentrating on strengthening the faith of the members while teaching others the truth. He and his wife sold their car a couple of years ago so they could raise funds to renovate their house and make a suitable place for the church to worship.
After lunch, we caught a taxi to get us back to the historic area of the city. The taxi was not typical in appearance, which should have given us a clue to the situation, but we are slow learners. As usual, Bert sat in the front seat so he could translate our destination to the driver. The driver was not sure where our hotel was located, and since the hotel is only a couple of blocks from the President’s home, we just told him to take us to the palace. He gave Bert a strange look, and in Spanish he replied, “You know it is occupied, don’t you?”

Then, once the cost of the ride and the destination were settled and we drove off, Bert asked him why his taxi was not yellow. He told us he didn’t like yellow. Ok… Bert asked him if he was born in Ecuador, and he told us that he was Mexican. (Bert is VERY familiar with Mexicans!) Then the discussion included comments about “illegal”, and illegal taxi drivers in Quito, in particular. He told us that the illegal taxis had no number on the windshield. (We all looked, but there was no number on his windshield.) He said all legal taxis had a name and number on the outside of the front door. (At this point Bert hung his head out of the window, and of course there was nothing written on the taxi.) Then he “slipped” and used a sentence in English. He had been able to understand our conversation all the time! Bert asked where he learned English, and he told us he picked it up by using the internet. Fortunately, by the time we figured out what was going on, we were at the Presidential palace where we hopped out, paid him the agreed-upon price and continued on much smarter than we had been previously. As he drove off we also noticed that his car had no license tag on it! There were just soooo many things wrong with this picture. We MUST call Felix the next time we need a taxi!

For a couple of hours in the afternoon we walked around the old part of Quito and explored new areas. Tourists are allowed to walk on the front balcony of the Presidential palace, so of course we did that. We photographed the well-dressed guards standing on either side of the entrance to the courtyard. One view is looking down the front balcony out into one of the picturesque streets in Old Town.

Our friend, Felix (a legal taxi driver!) picked us up at 5:00 and took us to the place where the church met. He was on his way to a dental appointment, but promised to come to the Bible Study as soon as he could. The street photo of the building is not extremely impressive, but inside they have a very nice place to worship, with several classrooms and an auditorium area. Marcelo and his family live on the second floor of the building.

We took teaching aids to leave with this congregation also. In this photo Bert and April explain the Bible lessons for the children that they brought to share. We brought Spanish Bibles, Bible storybooks in Spanish, and several review games for the teachers to use with the children.

This is a photo of Marcelo and Anna Lopez. Anna is the picture of hospitality, and must be a great help to Marcelo in the work in Quito.

There were several preachers who had come to meet with Bert and Olen. Those in the photo are Olen, Marcelo Lopez (Quito), Bert, Miguel Quinatoa (Ambato), and David Quinatoa (Ambato).

At the Bible study there were several songs and then Marcelo presented a very good Bible study about the judgment and justice of God. He used powerpoint slides, making it easier for those of us who weren’t fluent in Spanish. But, the most important event of the evening was that our taxi-driver friend Felix, did indeed come for the Bible Study. We stood around after the class, and he visited with the people who were there and told them that he would be there on Sunday! We certainly pray that he will do that. Bert gave him April’s copy of the Bible in Spanish because Felix said he did not have a Bible. Hopefully, he will read it.

So, tomorrow morning Felix will pick us up one more time. Sadly, this will be for our ride to the airport Tomorrow will be a busy day. We fly from Quito to Miami, and from Miami to Birmingham where we will claim our truck and drive the rest of the way home. It will be a long day, so we do not plan to post tomorrow. However, we plan to enter a final post and photos we were not able to get in the daily reports. You might be interested in seeing these additional photos, so please check back.

Above all, pray for these people. Give them financial and emotional help when you have the opportunity. And…Ecuador is a great place to visit. We have given you a glimpse of the beauties of this land and the personalities of the people who live here. Your visits would encourage these Christians more than you could possibly know. The four of us leave with promises to return. Who would like to come with us next time?