August 2009

This is a group of young men and women who listened to a spiritual message from Tim, me and the Zone leaders. Stephanie is sitting on the right a few rows back with her friends. This was part of the YM/YW camp the stake held. Below is the stake presidency from the Quito stake who invited us to speak.
Tim, Natalie and I are standing with the stake presidency from the Ecuador Quito Stake.

Stephanie enjoyed summer camp with the Quito stake Young Men and Young Women.

We held a special fireside and testimony meeting at the home of the Curtisses who work at the US embassy. They were gracious enough to invite all of our District Leaders. It was a wonderful evening.

This is a farewell picture of the group of missionaries who returned home in August. Front, L to R, Elder Cabezas (Ecuador), Elder Galán (Ecuador), Elder Monge (Ecuador), Elder Cedeño (Ecuador), Elder Olaveson (USA), the last two being Assistants who enjoyed the dinner. Back row, Elder Coons (USA), Elder Solórzano (Peru), Elder Hirschi (USA), Elder Grange (USA), Tim, Sister Judd (USA), Cindy, Sister Tax (Guatemala), Sister Hernandez (Mexico), Sister Robledo (Bolivia), Sister Rivas (Peru), Sister Hernandez (Guatemala) and Sister Merida (Guatemala).

This is the last dinner at the mission home for a group of 14 missionaries who finished their missionaries with great honor. Sitting here at this first table are L to R, Sister Rivas (Peru), Sister Merida (Guatemala), Elder Coons (USA), Sister Hernandez (Mexico) and Sister Robledo (Bolivia). We will miss them!!

This is a typical scene as we travess the mountains. This big truck barely made the curve. The roads are not wide, but with lots of curves and bends, together with sheer 500 ft. drop-offs, it makes for an adventure each time we visit Tena.

The van was packed with three families, the familia Vasquez, the familia Montoya and the Sloan family. We had fun and no one got car sickness as we serpentined up and down and sideways to the summit in the Andes to the other side, eastward in the Amazon region of the mission. Tim was driving so there was a little more sway in the ride!

After the branch conference in Tena we took this picture. We love Tena and it's always sad to bid farewell to these wonderful saints who live in an isolated part of the mission.
Tim and I are on our way to visit an investigating family, to invite them to the branch conference the next day. The father and daughter came to church!

This is a beautiful view of downtown Tena. Tena is located in the Amazon, just at the base of the Andes mountains.

Primary children in the Tena branch.

Cindy and the girls with the Montoya and Vasquez family, standing on the banks of the river which runs through Tena.

Having dinner with President Romo and his wife at the Emperador Hotel. He is president of the Ambato stake.

Here we are with four of our incredible sister missionaries in the park. L to R, Hermana Del Cid (Panama), Hermana Figueroa (Chile), Hermana Naugaluari (Ecuador), Hermana Signor (Guatemala) and Tim and I.

How did we get such adorable daughters? We're traveling through the rainforest on our way to Esmeraldas and later to the Guayacana Village.

A typical street scene in downtown Quito.

A side view of the Presidential Palace in Quito.

Steph, Mom, and Natalie, in one of the many beautiful plazas in Quito.

Here is a typical family in Quito enjoying the plaza.

Notice the beautiful architecture behind us.

Mom at bat -- Look out! We had fun playing baseball with a beach ball. Many of the Latin missionaries had never played baseball before but it was a lot of fun. Two of the four zones in Quito participated.

Mom and the girls serving lunch to the Ofelia/Calderon and Quito zones after playing games in the Parque Carolina. It was a beautiful day in Quito, but it always is. They call Quito the "land of eternal spring" for good reason.

Every morning we have a beautiful view of volcano Cotopaxi, right out our living room window. Cotopaxi is the highest volcano in the world. The summit is 19, 250 ft. We took this picture from our window.

Tim and the Cotapaxi hikers, just moments before they made the climb. L to R, Elder Hirschi (USA), Elder Cedeño (Ecuador), Elder Ward (USA), Elder Pisco (Ecuador), Tim, Elder Lazalde (USA), Elder Olaveson (USA), Elder Galán (Ecuador).

Dad at the base of Cotopaxi, with the assistants, office elders and other missionaries

Tim, the girls and I made attempts to climb to the Refugio in December but it was too cold and snowy. The Refugio sits at 15,700 ft. and the climb is harder than it looks!

A close up view of the Refugio with the peak of Cotopaxi appearing behind the roof.
Dad, the Cotopaxi King! He was not content to just climbing to the Refugio. He and three other elders climbed to the snowline.

Tim said the view up to the summit and to valley floor below was beautiful. Here he is standing with Elder Pisco (Ecuador) on a block of ice.

Standing on ice at the edge of the glacier, Tim with Elder Olaveson (USA) and Elder Lazalde (USA) are enjoying the view of the valley floor below. They said they reached 17,000 ft. in their climb. The climb down was much easier.

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