Cindy and I were standing on the edged of this crater looking inside the volcano, located about a half hour far from where we live in Quito. This picture is looking down into the crater that now is farmland.
This is Banos, nestled in a valley at the base of an active volcano Tungharuhua (at night you can see lava spewing out and all through the day you feel rumblings that vibrate through the town. We have a branch here but no missionaries. In 2006 there was a strong eruption causing the former mission president to pull out the missionaries. In 1999 there was a strong eruption, forcing the entire town to evacuate.) Banos is located about 3 hours from our home in Quito. Further down the valley the road follows a meandering river, fed by dozens of picturesque waterfalls. It leads to the Amazon basin, only 35 miles away.
This is another view from our hostel cabin of Banos.
A typical, beautiful view from the highway as we travel from Quito north to Otavalo or south to Riobamba.
South of Banos, edging closer to the Amazon basin, we captured this view of the river which presumably finds it's way to the great Amazon River. The road we drove on was remarkably safe, with just a few scary moments looking down sheer drop offs!
This is a view of the Cotopaxi Volcano from our apartment in Quito. We've had beautiful weather, which we're told is the same throughout the year. No wonder Quito is called the "Land of Eternal Spring."
We routinely have dinner with all of Quito's stake president's and their wives. It's a wonderful tradition that started in our home last month. We love the stake presidents and their wives. They have been so kind to us. In this picture they remembered Cindy's birthday and prepared a cake and some presents. We love the people of the Ecuador!
Stephanie and Natalie just arrived on the bus from the Academia Cotopaxi School here in Quito. Osmani and Cindy are standing with them.
It turns out that Stephanie discovered she had another talent, volleyball. It's really popular here in Ecuador. The three pictures below show her school team playing against a cross-town rival. Later, Stephanie's school, Cotopaxi Academy, won first place in the area tournament!
There she is, right upfront, looking at the camera when we yelled out at her, embarrassing her all the way! We're proud of Stephanie's power serve!
Spiking the ball with confidence. This was her first time playing volleyball. She has a real talent for the game. She made a lot of friends during the season.
It turns out that Stephanie discovered she had another talent, volleyball. It's really popular here in Ecuador. The three pictures below show her school team playing against a cross-town rival. Later, Stephanie's school, Cotopaxi Academy, won first place in the area tournament!
There she is, right upfront, looking at the camera when we yelled out at her, embarrassing her all the way! We're proud of Stephanie's power serve! Spiking the ball with confidence. This was her first time playing volleyball. She has a real talent for the game. She made a lot of friends during the season.
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While we were waiting in the lobby of the Church Administration Building for our setting apart, we took a moment to pose with Grandpa Max. L to R, Paulo Araujo, our foreign exchange student from Brazil who lived with us for a year, Tim, Chad, Jason and Grandpa Max, who came from Loomis, California for this special occasion. 
Natalie, Chad, and Steph inside the Basillica
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