The most common topic of discussion since arriving to Ecuador has been the activity of one of South America’s biggest volcanos that has come back to life after decades of being dormant. Ash and magma have been shooting up over a mile into the air from the iconic Cotopaxi. We are only about 30 miles away from the volcano but so far it hasn’t affected us. The winds are taking the ash south and west of us as far away as the Pacific Ocean. There has been a lot of emergency preparedness training going on and people are very alert as to the current activity. Our hope and prayer is that the mountain is just letting off some steam, and not warming up for a full on explosion. We are not directly in the danger zones but we have friends and churches who are.

A recent photo from the internet of Cotopaxi’s activity

We have been overwhelmed by the kindness and warm welcome that we have been shown by old friends, new friends and neighbors. A few days ago we moved out of the guest house and out of our bunk beds, and into our beautiful house just outside of Quito. Friends from the Covenant helped us move missionary furniture out of storage and into our new place. We are so grateful for their assistance.

Loading the furniture into vehicles

Our moving crew (church/mission friends) eating pizza on our front porch.

There are 4 houses in our little compound; the first night we were invited to dinner at the neighbors’ house next door, the next day our other neighbor took us all over the surrounding area showing us all the best places to buy plants and agricultural supplies, and today the neighbors across the street had us over for coffee. We also had some problems with 2 leaky faucets that our neighbor who is a plumber came over and fixed for us! We are very thankful to be surrounded by wonderful people who are making our transition easy and grateful for our ability to speak Spanish which has enabled us to make friends so easily.

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers!