Days 3 and 4

(Monday, from my journal)

Se we went to this picnic thing. We ate lunch there David had to pick us up something to eat. It was good - rice, some chicken, and a little ice cream thing. We got to meet some of the other missionaries. Well, the one's with kids. The picnic thing was for the kids of the Nate Saint Memorial School (that Beth teaches at). They had a place to eat like a shelter with benches around the outside. There was sort of a swimming pool with a slide. It was a great place for kids to play. Jason really liked it at the hospital (this morning). After the picnic thing David took Jason and I to this place with a view of the river named Pestaza. Then to a waterfall. After that Beth took us around Shell. We walked around to the hospital. She showed us different things along the way, like the meat store and a little market with Americans. The town is really small. you don't need a car to get anywhere you want. She showed us this park that they had just built a couple of years ago. In the center is a statue of a yellow plane. Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, and 3 others were killed by a remote tribe in this area. Shell is the last city before the jungle. There is jungle everywhere you look. Beth told us that if one of the MAF pilots have an emergency run, one or both of us could ride out for free with them to the jungle. So, Beth also showed us the hospital compound where the missionaries from HJCB live. It is a really nice place to live. It is all gated and all the kids were outside playing. Everyone has been saying that it is a good place to raise kids. I can see that. The only thing with living on the compound is the separation from the nationals.

The River

The Jungle

Waterfall

The town of Shell, Ecuador

On the HJCB compound

(Tuesday, from my journal)

This morning, we got up early. Jason headed over to the hospital about 8AM. Jack was up super early, so he is taking a nap again. (After his nap) Beth's school is really cool. She teaches 1st and 2nd grade. She and her 2nd graders were organizing her books while the 1st graders were at Spanish class. The kids really LOVED Jack. They were pretty good about helping keep him out of things. That night for dinner we went to this place owned by Beth's friends. They had chicken and french fries. It was really good. That night, the kids had a little program at the school to celebrate the end of the school year. This trip has been different. And we talked about it. We get strange vibes from the missionaries here. Maybe its the compound and the gates. They seem really distant. From the nationals and even from us as well. They are friendly, but only on the surface. They are a little bit anti-social. I don't know what it is. I just feel that we don't really fit here. I think that if the Lord calls us here and it was clear, I could make it work. Especially if we were here long-term. But right now, I don't feel it. *

*And I still feel that way, after the trip as well.