September 2009

The wonderful choir in the Riobamba District. It was an inspiring conference we held.

Another volcano, one of many along the "Volcano Alley" that runs between Quito and Riobamba.

This is a volcano called El Altar. Surrounding the city of Riobamba are several beautiful volcanoes.

This is a southern view of Cotopaxi, the volcano that overlooks the city of Quito

From our hotel, Rio Marquez in Riobamba, we woke up to see this beautiful site of Chomborazo, the highest peak in Ecuador, sitting at over 20,000 ft.

The time has finally come for the people of Coca to be an official Branch of the Church! What an exciting day.We had the honor of being present on this historic day in Coca as a new Branch of the church was formed.

It was a hot, sunny day in Coca where we were thrilled to be a part of the first official primary held in the newly formed Branch of the Church. We were deep in the Amazon jungle, outside under a thatched hut style roof with twenty children who had lots of energy-we felt a deep appreciation for the new primary president who accepted the call eventhough she was just weeks away from delivering her third child! What an example for us all.

Natalie and Stephanie alongside the river in Tena. what great girls we have- they seem to make the best out of every situation.

While our husbands were at the church calling the new leaders of the branch in Coca, us gals had a nice visit. From left: Sister Vasquez, Stephanie, Natalie, Cindy, Sister Montoya, Sister Griesemer, and little Valeria.

A few of the branch members wanted to stay and linger, and savor the moment of now being an official branch of the church. Our hearts are tender as we think of the Gospel being taken to all people everywhere- even in the jungle!

Here we are with a woman in her home in Coca. Her husband was called as one of the counselors in the branch presidency. She was very humble and willing to serve any way she could.

We had a little bit of a hike to get to the river, where we had two baptisms. We don't remember a time when we were this sweaty- the heat was incredible!

We all had to cross the river to have the best view of the baptisms. A couple members of the branch volunteered to get in the water to help us across. Here is Sister Vasquez and Sister Griesemer making it safely across to the other side. As we crossed the log we all prayed we would not fall in with the snakes, or whatever else was hiding in the murky waters.

Here is Dad with the newly called priesthood leaders of the new branch in Coca Fransisco de Orellana. Presidente Villavicencio is standing in the middle, kneeling in front are two of our great Elders Wortley, and Triado.

The first official primary sharing time in Coca! Natalie and Sister Griesemer are teaching the children how to sing a favorite primary song. It was a joyous day, one we will never forget. It's wonderful to see how the gospel changes lives , no matter where you are in the world.
Here is the home that was donated for the church use in Coca, and some of the branch members after the conference. The beautiful chapel, permanent missionaries, and a radio announcement telling of the formation of the new Branch, has stirred much excitement in the Area. All of this joy came in large part because two of our wonderful missionaries, Elder Katzenbach and Elder Padilla, went out to Coca to see if a branch was possible. It was their recomendation to move ahead that got the ball rolling- Thanks for your hard work elders!

We had the opportunity of having a testimony meeting after two new members of the branch were baptized. It was wonderful to hear their sweet testimonies and experiences.
A perfect day for a baptism. We all felt so blessed to have had the privilege of being in attendence on this special day. Tim was honored to baptize one of the newest members of the Coca branch in the nearby river.

Dad and Elder Wortley with the husband and wife about to be baptized.

What an honor for Dad to baptize this wonderful new brother into the church.

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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