It was a real treat to bring Jessica to Ecuador for the holidays. She made Christmas special for the whole family. She is surrounded by Stephanie and Natalie.
Early in December, we were invited to attend a stake conference in Esmeraldas, located on the northern coast of Ecuador. After the Sunday session of stake conference, we had a delicious lunch at President and Sister Cando's house. We had rice with shrimp and the best fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. Standing in front of the Cando's house are L to R: Temple President Jorge Rojas and his wife, Elder Dávila of the Seventy, President and Sister Cando, his first counselor in the stake presidency, his three children and Cindy and Tim.
We stayed at a beautiful, but inexpensive resort called PortoLago on a beautiful lake at the foot of the Imbabura volcano. We were here for zone conference in Otavalo. We had a wonderful time. L to R are Stephanie, Natalie, Jessica and Cindy. 
On a Saturday afternoon, we decided to visit the Parque Carolina in downtown Quito, just a few minutes from our apartment. We had fun on this giant catepillar ride that circled the park. L to R are Stephanie, Jessica, Natalie and Tim in the back.
The Parque Carolina is similar to New York City's Central Park, only not as big. There's lots to do and see. Here we are riding the paddle boats in the park's lake. Jessica, Natalie and Stephanie navigated quite nicely without crashing into other boats.
Here are the hostesses with the mostess, preparing and feeding some 80+ missionaries from the Quito area on Christmas Eve afternoon. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was wonderful having so many missionaries in our home. Standing from L to R: Stephanie, Sister Ottosen, Natalie, Cindy, Elder Ward, Jessica, Osmani and Sister Griesemer.
We were able to enjoy the Christmas spirit with four zones of 80+ missionaries from the Quito area. We sang Christmas carols and shared inspiring messages on the meaning of the Savior's birth. We kept singing song after song because the missionaries did not want to stop! 
The food was great, the atmosphere was warm and spirits were high as we celebrated a Christmas Eve lunch for all of our wonderful missionaries to enjoy.
A quick family photo after the crowds of missionaries had departed back to the field. This was our first of three Christmases in Ecuador. What a wonderful time we had.
Standing with the missionaries from the Ofelia/Calderon zone in front of our Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. We had four groups of this size pass through our home this afternoon.
After the festivities with all the missionaries the afternoon of Christmas Eve, we traveled with the Assistants (Elders Katzenbach and Padilla), the Office Elders (Elders Scott and Alvarado) and the mission secretary, Sister Griesemer to deliver food for single mothers. We delivered food to three mothers with many children in tiny one-room apartments. 
We are off for our two-day retreat to Baños, loading the Explorer with enough things to last a week! Natalie and Jessica are seen in the picture. Loading and unloading in our garage below the apartment complex is an almost daily routine. When we leave for four days to zone conferences on the tropical coast or for two days to Otavalo or Ambato/Riobamba (land of volcanoes), we load the car to the brim, with a green duffle filled with bedding and materials.
A view of Banos from the porch of the hostel where we stayed. To the right you can see one of dozens of waterfalls that grace the canyon walls that lead down to the Amazon basin, just 35 miles away.
In Banos, we rode a "chiva" which is an open-air tour truck. We rode the chiva to two trail heads whose paths led to beautiful waterfalls. The hikes were demanding, but fortunately the altitude was less than Quito.
In Banos, we rode a "chiva" which is an open-air tour truck. We rode the chiva to two trail heads whose paths led to beautiful waterfalls. The hikes were demanding, but fortunately the altitude was less than Quito.
After our busy day of hiking the trails to the waterfalls along the canyon, we met up with President and Sister Mayorga for an early evening dinner. Our little vacation to Baños was made possible because of President Mayorga who consulted with us on what activities we could do as a family. After eating pizza in downtown Baños, we took this picture with their young family. President Mayorga is the branch president in Baños. A wonderful family that provides the backbone of the Church in this little town. President Mayorga is the director of public affairs for the city. As we walked on the streets of the city, it was apparent that he was well known by all. Tourism is the main source of income in the city and he has his hands full putting a positive spin on the safety of the city, despite the constant threat of volcanic eruptions.
This is a view of the volcano Tungaharua that his still active. The town of Baños is at the base of the volcano.
We hiked to several waterfalls and this one was a sight to see. The spray of the falls cooled us off from the tropical heat. L to R are Cindy, Natalie, Stephanie and Jessica.
This picture cannot really convey the beauty of the surroundings within this tropical forest. Standing on a shaky bridge on which only five at a time can be on, we paused to enjoy the river and the falls. Jessica, Stephanie and Tim climbed up to the falls behind us up through narrow and tight caves. It was fun!
Jessica, Stephanie and Tim were brave enough to climb up the narrow, steep path to get behind the falls. They were wet from the spray of the falls when they climbed back down.
This picture was taken just below the cabina where we stayed at the foot of the mountain. L to R are Jessica, Natalie, Stephanie and Tim.
Enjoying the warmth of the sun, Cindy, Stephanie, Jessica and Natalie take a moment to watch people in one of the central plazas in Baños.
A downtown view of Baños. The entire city caters to tourists. There are quaint restaurants of all cuisines and the plazas are some fo the most ornate I have seen in all of Latin America. We noticed that the Otavaleños operate the majority of the tourist shops.
Another view of downtown area of Baños from porch of our cabina at the hostel.
With the families of two stake presidents, Espinoza and Benalcázar, on January 2, 2009 we traveled to the base of Cotopaxi, a majestic, snow-capped volcano south of Quito. We're standing at the parking lot which was 14,625 ft. It was very cold and very windy. To get to this point we had to drive through a river, climb steep, muddy roads with deep ruts and dodge other trucks and cars that were stuck or virtually inpassable.
Here we are, standing on the mountain of Cotopaxi, trying to stay to warm. From the left is Presidente Espinoza and family, President Benalcázar and family and the Sloan family.
We made attempts to climb to the Refugio, which was 15,600 ft. high, but the cold and wind was difficult to endure. Here is Jessica, Stephanie and Natalie, trying to stay warm.
We made an attempt to climb to the "refugio" but the wind and the cold was too much for us to bare. L to R are Sister Griesemer, Stephanie, Natalie, Cindy and Jessica.
Dozens of trucks and cars were stuck in the mud in the accent to the parking lot on Cotopaxi. Since no one ever drove in snow, Tim took the lead in gathering people to push and pull cars out of the way. We couldn't drive down the mountain until these everyone was out of the way. It was onoe big traffic jam on the side of the mountain! The elevation at this point was roughly 14,300 ft.
Here we are, standing on the mountain of Cotopaxi, trying to stay to warm. From the left is Presidente Espinoza and family, President Benalcázar and family and the Sloan family.
We made attempts to climb to the Refugio, which was 15,600 ft. high, but the cold and wind was difficult to endure. Here is Jessica, Stephanie and Natalie, trying to stay warm.
We made an attempt to climb to the "refugio" but the wind and the cold was too much for us to bare. L to R are Sister Griesemer, Stephanie, Natalie, Cindy and Jessica.Dozens of trucks and cars were stuck in the mud in the accent to the parking lot on Cotopaxi. Since no one ever drove in snow, Tim took the lead in gathering people to push and pull cars out of the way. We couldn't drive down the mountain until these everyone was out of the way. It was onoe big traffic jam on the side of the mountain! The elevation at this point was roughly 14,300 ft.
