Zone Conferences in August 2010

After the stake conference in Chillogallo, we met with all of our wonderful missionaries for a few minutes of the Chillogallo Zone. L to R front row: Hermana Pakay (Guatemala), Sister Pakay (Philippines), Stephanie, Natalie, Cindy, Tim, Elder Pereira (Costa Rica), Elder Arellano (Mexico), Elder Wallace (USA), Elder Messer (USA), Elder Mann (USA); second row, L to R: Elder Pomalaza (Peru), Elder Sotomayor (Ecuador), Elder Corado (Guatemala), Elder Woods (USA), Elder Whitlock (USA), Elder Resendiz (Mexico); third row, L to R: Elder Guadamuz (Nicaragua), Elder Parrish (USA), Elder Briggs (USA).

Elder and Sister Curtis perform some humorous but serious role playing for the need to maintain apartments clean and orderly. We will miss them very much for the many contributions they have made to the mission.

Tim routinely meets with the stake presidents in the mission, usually the night before zone conferences or other training meetings to discuss missionary work and the progress being made in their stakes. Here in Otavalo Tim met with President Camp (left) from the Otavalo Stake and with President Arellano from the Imbabura stake. These are wonderful leaders and we feel honored to serve them.

In zone conferences and in all kinds of meetings we always do role-playing. Here is Tim as an investigator "demonstrating" with a pair of Zone Leaders in the Iñaquito chapel in Quito.

Sometimes Zone Conferences can be little boring, especially around the sixth time for the girls. They are real troopers who endure long rides all over the country. Stephanie and Natalie can fall asleep just about any where, especially sitting in the back of the SUV. Here they are sleeping in the Santo Domingo stake center.

Here is the Santo Domingo Zone of whom we are very grateful for their hard work and dedication: L to R: Elder Redd (USA), Sister Jaramillo (Ecuador), Sister Herrera (Guatemala), to Tim's left is Elder Marín (Bolivia), Elder Nole (Peru); back row L to R: Elder Kearns (USA), Elder Olguin (Bolivia), Elder Wright (USA) and behind him, Elder Fuentes (Chile), Elder Vogl (USA), Elder Noe (USA), Elder Mendoza (Mexico) and Elder Cujilan (Ecuador). Tim, Cindy, Stephanie and Natalie are in front center.
We love to recognize the accomplishments of our missionaries! These are hard-to-earn certificates that missionaries receive when they memorize scriptures listed in Preach My Gospel and organize their Area Book with perfection! L to R: Sister Figueroa (Chile), Sister Sandoval (Guatemala), Elder Cevallos (Ecuador), Elder Moreyra (Bolivia) and Elder Larrea (Ecuador)

After zone conference in which zones from the San Rafael Zone and Esmeraldas Zone joined together, we took a moment to take a picture of our wonderful sisters. L to R: Sister Perez (Guatemala), Sister Sandoval (Guatemala), Stephanie, Tim, Cindy, Sister Figueroa (Chile), Natalie and Sister Mateo (Guatemala).

This is the Esmeraldas Zone with great missionaries. L to R: Elder Smith (USA), Elder Gallego (Colombia), Sister Figueroa (Chile), Elder Merrill (USA), Sister Sandoval (Guatemala), Elder Garcia (USA), Cindy, Natalie, Stephanie, Tim, Elder Segura (Costa Rica), Elder Hendrickson (USA), Elder Cevallos (Ecuador), Elder Moreyra (Bolivia), Elder Larrea (Ecuador).

This is the San Rafael Zone serving in Esmeraldas. These are great missionaries! L to R: Elder Hymas (USA), Elder Cauhuana (Ecuador), Sister Perez (Guatemala), Elder Vergara (Chile), Sister Mateo (Guatemala), Elder Diaz (Guatemala), Cindy, Stephanie, Elder Steiber (USA), Natalie, Tim, Elder Pincay (Ecuador), Elder Pinchana (Peru), Elder Ariaga (Guatemala), Elder Caballero (Peru), Elder Visca (Argentina)

The Orient Zone which covers the isolated branches in the mission which are located in the Amazon region. L to R: Elder Dávila (Peru), Elder Farinango (Ecuador-Otavalo), Sister Chu (Peru), Sister CujCuj (Guatemala), Cindy, Natalie, Tim, Stephanie, Elder Vomocil (USA), Elder Eliason, also known as President Eliason who presides over the Tena branch, Elder Cumez (Guatemala) and Elder De Hoyos (Colombia).
The Ambato Zone of missionaries who have worked hard to help the Ambato stake grow. L to R: Elder Mercado (Bolivia), Elder Lopez (Ecuador), Sister Alava (Ecuador), Elder Alarcón (Ecuador), Sister Nicolas (Bolivia), Elder Garcia (Nicaragua), Cindy, Elder Ward (USA), Natalie, Tim, Stephanie, Elder Matsen (USA), Elder Benavidez (Mexico), Elder Coc (Guatemala)

Natalie loves to ride her little scooter around the chapels when we hold zone conferences or specialized training for the missionaries. Here she is in the Imbabura stake chapel outdoor basketball court (Otavalo).

August 2010

When we travel to Tena or Coca we cross many one-lane bridges like this one. So far the bridges have held up!

We were driving along the ridge of the mountains on our way to Quito from Tena, at about 11,000 ft. when we came to this landside which had just happened moments before. It was a river of mud that was about 100 ft. across the road. The current of mud carried small logs and rocks down the cliff on the left. There is never a dull moment traveling through the Andes.

When we came to the mudslide, we didn't have a lot of options. To turn back would mean that we would not arrive home until about 24 hours later with a detour through another route in the Andes. L to R: Natalie, Tim, President Espinozo's two sons, Elder Dominguez (Mexico); in the back, L to R: President Espinosa, Tim's second counselor, and Elder Morales (Ecuador).

This man entertained us all with a little shock and horror as he walked from one end to the other. He is just inches away from a ledge that dropped down hundreds of feet!

Finally, a big bus decided to trudge through the one foot thick of mud and debris. The bus started to slide towards the edge, but the driver made it across, giving us all hope that we could do the same. The Ecuadorian bus drivers are fearless.

June - July 2010

Our new missionaries who arrived in July 2010! It's like Christmas morning when new missionaries come. Here we are standing at the Panecillo, over looking the beautiful city of Quito. In the background one can see the snow-capped volcanoes of Antisana, to the left of Elder Mann's head and Cotopaxi to the right. The other volcano in the middle without snow is Sincholagua. L to R: Elder Mann (USA), Elder Glassford (USA), Elder Garcia (USA), Elder Caballero (Peru), Tim, Cindy, Elder Resendiz (Mexico), Elder Cujilan (Ecuador), Elder Choez (Ecuador) and Elder Wright (USA).Tim always likes to say hello to everyone and tries to strike up a conversation. Here is a woman whom he met at the airport while we were picking up new missionaries. Tim's Assistants, Elder Morales (Ecuador) and Elder Dominguez (Mexico) are writing down the contact information for a new reference.

We are always thrilled to see the changes in our missionaries after two years. Here we are in the mission home with missionaries going home. This is a special group of missionaries because it is the first group we welcomed back in late July 2008. L to R: Elder Gonzalez (Peru), Elder Ellis (USA), Elder Peredes (Peru), Elder Pisco (Ecuador), Elder Samayoa (Guatemala), Elder Salas (Mexico), Elder Harding (USA), Elder Condori (Bolivia), and Elder Rocabado (Bolivia)

We held special training for all the leaders in the mission. Here we are in the Iñaquito chapel in Quito with all 64 leaders in the mission. We had a spiritual feast for several days.

Here's another picture of the mission leaders, all 64 of them. It was great to be together!

One of our returned missionaries, Lizbeth Hernandez, and her mother surprised us with a visit at the mission home. They are from Mexico. We are really proud of Sister Hernandez who is a teacher in the MTC in Mexico City.

Traveling from Riobamba to Guaranda, we saw some beautiful country as we steadily climbed towards the summit near the base of a volcano called Chimborazo.

Another beautiful scene along the road between Riobamba and Guaranda. Everything is green and beautifully cultivated in Ecuador. It's amazing how the local farmers can cultivate crops on steep sides of mountains!

While traveling on the road between Riobamba and Guaranda, we couldn't help but see the contrast between the rustic and the modern. Can you see the satellite dish? We are about 10,500 feet here.

This volcano is Chimborazo, the highest peak in Ecuador and the furthest point from the core of the earth. Our road took us up to about 13,000 ft. above the tree line. It was a beautiful day. We felt we were on top of the world.

After our trip to Guaranda, we descended from the summit near the Chimborazo volcano and came across these people cleaning carrots in an alpine stream, preparing them for sale in the market.

On the road just outside of Guaranda we drove past this truck where these two ladies and a little boy were enjoying a ride. Riding in the back of trucks is quite common for people who need to travel from town to town. Sometimes there are 20 people packed into a back of a little Toyota truck!

This picture reminded Tim of his mission in Bolivia where he would see little children shepherding their flocks of sheep. This scene is on the road between Guaranda and Ambato. We are about 11,500 ft. in elevation in this picture.

We were a little lost in finding our way to Guaranda. We pulled off the road little too soon into a little village called Guanajo, which is just 5 kilometers outside of Guaranda. These fine gentleman on this lazy Saturday afternoon, gave us good directions to get us to our intended destination.

This is the quaint little city of Guaranda, located on the western slope of the Andes in the far southwestern border of our mission. Guaranda is about 5 hours outside of Quito. About 20,000 people live in this charming city. It's a beautiful city with green, pastoral mountains sounding it. This picture is taken from the Hotel La Colina, the hotel where we stayed for the weekend. Guaranda is only about 3 to 4 hours from Guayaquil where the Temple is located.

This is a picture of downtown Guaranda. The indigenous people who speak Quichua dress differently than those of Riobamba or Otavalo, with unique hats and colorful clothing.

A woman watching and waiting patiently while sitting in an alley of Guaranda.

A street in downtown Guaranda.

While waiting for the branch presidency to meet up with us in Guaranda, we parked at our hotel, La Colina. Our two daugthers have a great sense of humor and see the lighter side in almost everything we do and see!

Here is an everyday scene in the central plaza of downtown Guaranda. The city streets have a lot of beautiful colors. And the streets and plazas are very clean and orderly. We ate some delicious pizza just acroos from this plaza.

A picture of the family in the central plaza of Guaranda. The trees are always in bloom in Ecuador.

Here we are with President Naranjo (far right), his wife and his counselor and his wife. President Naranjo is the president of the Guaranda branch which is part of the Riobamba District.

Cindy took this picture of the Relief Society sisters on Sunday in the Guaranda branch. On this day they taught a lesson on a recent talk given by Sister Julie Beck. They strive so hard to do what is right. You can see in their faces a wonderful feeling of sisterhood.

While in Guaranda, Tim had the privilege of interviewing four young men for their mission applications. This branch in Guaranda may be small in number but they are strong in spirit. He was really impressed with these four furture missionaries. To Tim's right is Elder Castro (Mexico), Danilo Ramos, Luis Paca, and on Tim's left is Armando Moreira, Jesus Ramos and Elder Lillico (USA).

The Guaranda Branch is an amazing branch. It is growing every month with new families coming into the Church. Tim thinks we will be splitting the branch soon.

This is the van that we took on our way to Coca in the far reaches on the eastern side of the mission in the Amazon region of Ecuador. Those two bags on the roof of the car have really come in handy. We purchaed those bags years ago when we lived in Washington!

The ride to Coca from Quito was a little tight, but we had fun playing road games and eating ice cream. Elders Samayoa (Guatemala), Elder Dominguez (Mexico), Tim's two Assistants along with Sister and President Espinoza, Tim's second counselor and our children, Stephanie and Natalie were with us. Our driver thought he was Mario Andretti driving the curves as if he were racing. Tim loved the fact that he didn't have to drive and could enjoy the scenery. He could relax and study along the way, a rare treat!

An inside view of the van with all of us quite content, enjoying the lush scenery in the Amazon. Tim, Cindy, our two girls, the two Assistants Elder Samayoa (Guatemala) and Elder Dominguez (Mexico) and the two Espinoza boys in the far back. Once we left the Andes mountains and entered the heat of the Amazon, it got a little stuffy and hot for all of us, but we survived!

President Espinoza and his wife are upfront in the van while our driver takes us safely to Coca. The drive took about six hours through mountainous terrain and curvy roads through the Amazon jungle. We love President Espinoza and his wife! They are invaluable in strengthening the distant branches and districts of the mission.
A typical scene in the small town of Loreto on our way to Coca from Quito. Fruit is so plentiful in Ecuador. Vendors sell fruit in a variety of forms.
When it's hot in the Amazon jungle, you take a shower wherever you can get it. Just outside a bathroom at a gas station, Tim captured a picture of this little boy and his father getting cooled off.

Out in the Amazon, we saw this woman walking along the road carrying her child. The Ecuadorian people always impress us with their determination to make do with so little.

As we descended into the Amazon jungle, leaving the Andes mountains behind, we had this beautiful view of the expanse of the Amazon. The Amazon is like an ocean of jungle that seems endless.
As we leave the mountains for the jungle floor of the Amazon, we pass many beautiful waterfalls, so many that you can easily take them for granted. We expected Tarzan and Jane to swing out any moment to greet us.
We crossed many one-lane narrow bridges like this one, as we traveled in the jungle on our way to Coca. We were thrilled that each bridge held up as we crossed it!
We also crossed many rivers and streams which all eventually flow from the Andes to the Amazon River in Brazil. This is Rio Suna, just outside of Loreto.
This is a view of downtown Coca (Francisco de Arellano) from the roof of our hotel. In the far distance you can see the Andes mountains.
This is another view from the roof of our hotel of the beautiful river called Rio Napo. This river and Rio Coca surround the city of Coca.
This is a different angle of Rio Napo. The houses in the city of Coca are built on stilts in case of flooding. Living above the ground is very common in all the tropical areas of the country because of the torrential rainful that comes.
Outside our hotel in Coca, we are preparing for our return trip to Quito. Our two faithful Assistants, Elder Samayoa (Guatemala) and Elder Dominguez (Mexico).
While at the Coca branch on Sunday, Natalie made some new friends.

In the Coca branch, Natalie decided to go Primary instead of Young Womens. Primary was much more entertaining and wild! The girl with the book was incharge of dicipline.

Since our last visit to Coca the number of youth in the branch has really grown. Stephanie is sitting in the back row. Sister Chu (Peru) and Sister Cujcuj (Guatemala) are a great strength to this little branch. We were impressed with these youth who were attentive and reverent in a room that was about 100 degrees, with only one broken fan for ventilation!!
Cindy enjoyed her time with the Relief Society sisters who show great strength in serving others and strengthening their families.
Tim enjoyed priesthood meeting with the branch under the shade of a palm canopy. Although small in number, there is great faith and fortitude found in this branch.
When we visit distant branches or districts, we always visit members or investigators. Our first night in Coca Tim and Cindy, along with the branch president, President Villavicencio and the Espinozas visited three families. What a blessing to us to witness the great faith of these good people who have so little as to material things, but are rich in Godly attributes.

After our Sunday meetings with the heat of the sun beating down, we took this picture of the Coca branch. What a beautiful sight! We have been so grateful to witness the growth of this little branch. In just 10 months since we were last in Coca ,we have seen great advancements on so many fronts. What a blessing to have been here in Coca.

Always hard at work are our wonderful senior missionary couples. They are making sopapillas for the Quito Zones. They traveled all over the mission to provide this treat for all of our missionaries. L to R: Sister Curtis, Brother Curtis and Sister Rose, our other nurse in the mission.

Three of our wonderful Zone Leaders smiling at our Zone Leaders' Council. L to R: Elder Benavides (Mexico), Elder Arellano (Mexico) and Elder Melendez (Peru).

At the Zone Leaders' Council, we took time out to play a little ball. Before the fun began, Tim took this picture of the Elders who played football (soccer) at the Iñaquito Chapel in Quito. Tim even played a little football with them, but his foot work was pretty rusty.

For those Zone Leaders who didn't want to play soccer, we also played some baseball with a whiffle ball. We all had a lot of fun! Tim made it around the bases at least once!

After the dinner at the mission home, we treated the Zone Leaders to a special surprise. We drove across town in Quito to the Curtis' house where we had a testimony meeting around a fire. Later we taught the missionaries how to make smores.

We have had a lot to cheer about lately. These are our wonderful Zone Leaders who paused for a moment in Quito during the Zone Leaders' Council to take this picture with a little levity.

A darling brother and sister in Otavalo strike a pose for us
Little ladies in training.

Here we are with a few of our great missionaries serving in Otavalo. L to R: Elder Vomocil (USA), Cindy and Tim, Luis Tabi, one of our former wonderful missionaries who is from Otavalo, Elder Zambrano (Ecuador), Elder Zundel (USA), Elder Cevallos (Ecuador), Elder Buckland (USA) and Elder Brugiati (Panama).


Here we are with the stake presidency from the Imbabura Stake in Otavalo. This was taken before stake conference began.

What an honor for us to be with these wonderful people of Otavalo-We learn so much from them

Tim is standing with a wonderful Otavalo couple whom he interviewed three months ago for baptism. It was great to see them at stake conference.

Tim with our two beautiful daughters, Stephanie and Natalie, standing near San Pablo Lake in Otavalo. It was a beautiful evening.

The game of "Electricity" always makes for a fun time at zone conference. We play games as fun way to test the knowledge of the missionaries on scriptures and Preach My Gospel. It is summer break, so the girls are traveling with us wherever we go. We are so grateful they are so willing and never complain!

We held a special leadership training in Quito for all the District Presidencies, secretaries, branch presidencies, Relief Society presidents, and Elders Quorum Presidents. Leaders came from as far away as Ibarra and a branch in Tulcán situated on the Colombia border, and from the far reaches of the Amazon region of Coca, Tena and Puyo,and as far south as Riobamba and Guaranda. We love these leaders. It was a wonderful day.

In the mission home, we always enjoy having the stake presidencies over for dinner. On this occasion we had the stake presidencies from the Santa Ana and Quito stakes.

Elder and Hermana Curtis are fearless! They are in charge of housing and finances, but they do much, much more to help this mission. Elder Hymas (USA) and Elder Vergada (Chile) our wonderful Zone Leaders are in the background.

A terrific group of District leaders- they really lead by example! After some training that same day they all came to the mission home where Cindy treated them to a delicious dinner and Tim and the leaders had an inspired doctrinal discussion.

It's always bitter sweet to say farewell to our beloved missionaries who return honorably to their families. Every six weeks we host the outgoing missionaries to a final dinner and testimony meeting in the mission home. L to R: Elder Contreras (Ecuador), Elder Jacobo (Guatemala), Elder Rodriguez (Bolivia), Elder Cevallos (Ecuador), Elder Hernandez (Mexico), Elder Schulthies (USA), Elder Alvarez (Ecuador) and Elder Diaz (Bolivia)

Our latest group of missionaries came ready to serve! They arrived in Quito in June 2010. L to R: Sister Jimenez (Costa Rica), Sister Jaramillo (Ecuador), Sister Dakay (Our first and only from the Philippines!), Cindy and Tim, Elder Mieles (Ecuador), Elder Caskey (USA), Elder Thurber (USA), Elder Cujilan (Ecuador), Elder Panchana (Ecuador)

A new senior missionary arrived, Sister Naylor and together with Sister Dresen, they make for a wonderful team. They bless the mission with their selfless service in the mission office. We love them both. We are standing at the Panecillo, overlooking the beautiful valley of Quito.

Just moments after leaving the mission home, these new and seasoned sisters went out to teach. L to R: Sister Groesbeck (USA), Sister Cooper (USA), Sister Jimenez (Costa Rica), Sister Dakay (Philippines) and Sister Herrera (Guatemala)

The mission presidency got together for a final farewell dinner for the Montoya family before they head out to their mission in Venezuela. They will preside over the Venezuela Valencia Mission. We will miss them! L to R: President and Sister Montoya, President and Sister Espinoza, Tim and Cindy, President and Sister Vallejo, Vinicio and Sister Vasquez.

All of the children of the mission presidency pose for a quick photo, after playing some fun games. These wonderful children are troopers, and very supportive of their parents.

Tim and his Presidency. With the help of these great men, much progress is being made in our Districts.

Cindy and the wonderful wives of the presidency. These great women really know how to serve with all of their heart!
In Santo Domingo, we met with the stake presidency of the stake to enjoy a nice dinner. President Figueroa is to Tim's right. Elder Rose, the Perpetual Education Fund missionary is to Tim's left. Elder Samayoa (Guatemala), Elder Dominguez (Mexico) and Elder Noe (USA) are up close in the picture.
We are training missionaries from the Esmeraldas Zone in the Esmeraldas Stake center in the La Tolita building. Front row L to R: Elder Gallego (Colombia), Elder Lopez (USA), Sister Mateo (Guatemala), Sister Sandoval (Guatemala); second row L to R: Elder Diaz (Colombia), Elder Moreyra (Bolivia), Elder Segura (Costa Rica), Elder Gonzalez (Peru), Elder Mendoza (Mexico), Elder Arias (Peru) and Elder Merrill (USA). In the far back are Elder and Sister Rose, Sister Naylor and Sister Groesbeck all from the USA.

The beautiful choir of the Esmeraldas Stake who treated us to inspiring music in the stake conference in Esmeraldas. Sister Cando is seated on the far right side.

After stake conference in Esmeraldas, we took a moment to take this picture with the stake president and his wife, President and Sister Cando, two very dear friends of ours.

On the day of stake conference and after our delicious lunch at a member's house, we took this picture of our dear missionaries walking down the path to the road that runs between Atacames and Esmeraldas to catch a bus. Upfront is Sister Groesbeck, our wonderful nurse, Sister Naylor, a newly arrived senior missionary and further back are Elder Vergara (Chile), Brother and Sister Curtis and Elder Hymus (USA).

After the stake conference we all had a delicious meal at a member's house where we met with the stake presidency. Sister Cando is in front cooking "patacones," or fried bananas.