Please pray for the family of a dear friend and co-worker of ours here.  Patty Uscategui’s 20-year-old son, Daniel, had a heart attack and passed away.  Patty has been such a tremendous blessing to us, and her family (who live just a block away) have become some of our favorite people.  Pray that they will receive comfort in their grief, and that an other-wordly strength will sustain them in their darkest of hours.

We recently sent out a newsletter of sorts, recapping the year that was 2008.  Most of you will have read it somewhere else, but just in case we missed anyone, here ya go:

Rick and Rachel Sams moved to Quito in September of 2007.  Bless their hearts, they didn’t have a clue.

2008 was their first full year in South America.  (Well, I guess technically it was Rick’s first full year in South America.  Rachel has a bit of history there.)  Throughout the last 12 months, Ecuador has been (at varying moments) a dream come true, a crucible, a very honest mirror, fertile ground, and an absolute nightmare.  Probably in many of the same ways that the settings of any of their friends’ and families’ lives have been.  (Except perhaps with less learning of other languages, customs, cultural idiosyncrasies, and complete career changes.)  Otherwise, I’m sure it’s very similar.

With regard to language learning, Rick can now tell taxi drivers “Vamos a la Granda Centeno y Bobadilla, junto al Canal Cuatro. (We’re going to Granda Centeno and Bobadilla, near Channel Four.)“  If pressed for more info, he can also tell them that Bobadilla’s first name is Gregorio, and that the whole kit and kaboodle is “cerca de la intersección de América y Brasil (near the intersection of America and Brazil).“  He has also developed the ability to insert other street names and landmarks into the basic formula, on the off chance that he wants to go somewhere other than home.  Ordering food in restaurants was one of the first skills he developed, but the last year has seen him move into the uncharted waters of being able to ask them to upsize the drink, to please refrain from slathering anything with guacamole, and to kindly batter and deep fry the pork that’s going in his “chancho agridulce (sweet and sour pork)” instead of just using slices of pork roast.  On a side note, “kit and caboodle” doesn’t seem to have a direct Spanish equivalent.  Rachel has learned the appropriate conjugations of the verb ‘coger’ (to grab, pick up, or catch … but can mean something very different and very bad and very starting with the letter “f” in much of the rest of South America) and phrases such as ‘Hay, porfa’ (a whiney, Ecuadorian way to say “please”).  Rachel can also read complicated Spanish novels and newspapers, have conversations in Spanish about politics, religion, and all the other things you’re not supposed to talk about at parties, and never says she “did” something when she means “never will do.”  Rick tries not to resent her.

Back to 2008 … Rick started the year by entering the employ of Alliance Academy International.  The previous 3.5 months had been pretty scary, as he watched his three-year-old business dissolve.  The plan had been to continue to operate Elemental Design from Ecuador, but you know what they say about the quickest way to make God laugh.  Rick spent the second semester shadowing/assisting David Tieszen, the teacher that he would replace during the 2008-2009 school year.  In January, Rachel was already most of half a year into her position in the counseling department.  It was a definite shift from her previous job (less prostitutes, meth addicts, and sex offenders), but came with its own share of challenges (more middle-school girl meltdowns, more elementary girl meltdowns, etc.).  Rachel was one of two counselors, and the only full-time one.  She worked with Deb Anderson, the counseling department head, who despite not being there all the time, prepared Rachel pretty thoroughly to take over the position the following year.  Over the summer, Deb and her family returned to the States on furlough, and Rachel has taken over the department head position, managing three part-time counselors as well.

Rick’s uncle Robert Tate, from Alaska, visited Ecuador in January.  He was along for the ride with a group from the Wesleyan Church’s Kansas district who were working on a church plant just outside of Cuenca.  Rick and Rachel had visited Cuenca just about a month earlier with some friends, had loved the town, and jumped at the chance to visit the group.  (Particularly since his aunt in Alaska decided to pay for the plane tickets.)  What had been a 9 hour bus ride in December was only a 45 minute plane ride in January.  Rick still believes he’d move to Cuenca in a heartbeat.  It’s a beautiful place.

The big news from February was kidney stones.  After four hours in the emergency room, and another three days of sheer agony, it all “came to pass.”  Rick decided that he’d about had enough of peeing through a sieve, and promised to drink more water from here on out.  The entire medical bill for the incident was less than $140.  File that one under “reasons to live in Ecuador”.  (The medical costs, not the altitude/dehydration/kidney stones bit.)

March was a major milestone, in several ways.  Records say that Quito experiences several earthquakes a week, but March 20th was the first one the Sams’ actually felt.  It awakened them at about 1:00 a.m. and was over by the time they realized what was happening.  Rick got all giggly about it, but Rachel has slept through several earthquakes and didn’t seem quite as excited.  They also had their first visitors.  Brian Fischer and his daughter Brianna (aren’t they cute?) came down for a whirlwind, four-day tour of Quito.  Brianna says she now has the travel bug, and Rick and Rachel would like to think they had a little bit to do with that.  It really was a big, big deal to have visitors come specifically to see them.  That the first ones to do so were essentially family made it all the more special.  March was also a turning point in terms of the way that Rick and Rachel were thinking of their role in Ecuador.  Despite both being missionary kids, neither of them had been very comfortable with the title when it was applied to them.  “Missionaries” were people who were sent by agencies to plant churches, win souls, and generally build the Kingdom in huge ways.  Anyway, after months of chewing on it, the Sams’ started thinking differently.  They celebrated their new mindset by performing one of the quintessential functions of a missionary — they asked for money.  March of 2008 was the first month that Rick and Rachel received outside donations from supporters other than the stipend that the school gave them.  Since then, the support on an average has steadily increased.  The whole process was one that was a big step.  Admitting that working with the children of Ecuador’s elite in a setting where they were able to share the gospel, build relationships, and be hands and feet was really a calling worthy of their honor and diligence made Ecuador seem like less of a transient experience, and more of a destination.  Knowing that it was God’s will was one thing, knowing that what they were doing was really building Kingdom was another.  Additionally, the morale boost of having people partner with them financially went a long way toward making them feel like they weren’t really alone.

April and May were a blur of school-related activities.  Rick and Rachel got more involved with Peer Helpers, a group of high-schoolers that had joined up because they’d expressed a desire to pursue a career and/or lifestyle of helping or ministering.  The group turned out to be a great place for building friendships, exploring touchy (but vital) issues, and really knowing others.  Toward the end of the school year, the Sams’ had the “privilege” of tackling the subject of sex with the group.  It was a success, really, and a meaningful discussion ensued.  Both Rick and Rachel looked forward to the following year, when they would have more control over the group’s direction.

The beginning of May brought a four-day weekend, and the opportunity to travel with some friends.  Baños (kind of the Estes Park of the Andes) had been on the docket since arriving in Ecuador, and Rick and Rachel took it in.  It was a gorgeous trip, and full of relaxing fun.  Baños is famous for its taffy, its waterfalls, and its hot springs.  The Sams’ just loved the fact that they could walk the streets at 11pm with no fear of getting mugged.  It was a good time out of the big city.  On the last day of May, Rachel celebrated her first birthday in Ecuador by going out to eat with some friends at Mongo’s, a mongolian bbq in La Mariscal (the touristy district … think Westport with more attitude and culture).  Rick and Rachel both love the Mariscal.  Good food, which isn’t really a priority in much of Andean culture, is in no short supply there.  A wide variety of dining and entertainment options abound.  On the weekends the place really doesn’t get hoppin’ until about 11:00pm, and the crowds of people keep it at least moderately safe.  Though they love the apartment they’re in now, with its proximity to the school and friends, Rick thinks that if they ever do move within Quito, La Mariscal is where he’d like to end up.

June brought about the end of the school year and the second round of house guests.  Former youth group kid and seriously loyal friend Dan Audley came down for the better part of two weeks.  He got the typical tourist treatment: Otavalo (market town an hour or so to the north), Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world equator monument that’s actually several hundred yards off the equator because the French couldn’t get it quite right), and the Teleferiqo (cable car ride most of the way up the mountain around which Quito lies to the east).  Dan got into town just in time for Rick and the yearbook class to miss it’s completion deadline, and got to spend two days in the dungeon (a.k.a. “Rick’s classroom”) helping him finish it up.  After that, Rick and Rachel were better hosts.

From July 4th through July 16th, Rick’s family descended on the Sams’ place in a happy, buzzing horde.  For four of the nights, there were eight people sleeping on couches, inflatable mattresses, contrived mat-like beds and such.  The last time the whole bunch had spent the night at Rick and Rachel’s it had been at their duplex in Olathe.  The apartment in Quito, at three, had two more bathrooms than the Olathe duplex did, which greatly contributed to the emotional (and physical) well-being of all.  All the touristy/foody sites were visited.  Christmas in July was celebrated.  Having family visit was the highlight of the year for Rick, and by “family” he means his nephews and the other folk who came along with them.  Rachel’s folks have not been able to visit yet, but they’re hopeful that 2009 will see that happen.

Then came August.  It wasn’t a good month, really, for either of them, but Rick in particular found it excruciating.  All the house guests were gone.  Most everybody they knew from the school was back in the U.S.  A friendship in which Rick had (foolishly) placed a lot of stock went south in a dramatic fashion.  A trip that Rick took toward the coast with Samaritan’s Purse ended up being a hellish experience on several levels.  About a week into the month, he began (violently) coming to grips with the fact that he’d been suffering from a depression for the better part of a year that had been slowly growing.  Now that the buzz of early summer was over, and the quiet of impending autumn had fallen, the darkness began to grow more quickly.  Rachel didn’t really know what to do except for just be there.  This wasn’t something that could be “fixed.”  They had planned on painting the apartment after company left.  Rick spent most of the painting time holed up in the bedroom staring at the wall and sniffling, while Rachel made the place prettier.  Rick didn’t want to live in Ecuador, didn’t want to learn Spanish, didn’t want to do without Tea Garden, or Chipotle, or Brian, or Kurt, or Shawn, or Jon, or Chris and was sick and tired of pretending that everything was okay when it so obviously wasn’t.  Rick saw a psychiatrist.  He started taking anti-depressants.  He reached out to a local pastor acquaintance, looking for a shoulder to lean on.  He started spending a lot of time in the gym.  Slowly the darkness started to lift.  Once the medication leveled out, things started looking less bleak.  Ecuador began to seem like less of a sentence, more of an opportunity.  The pastor became a valued friend, and started meeting with him weekly.  (He continues to do so.)  Rick put 70# on his bench press by the end of the year.  Not a huge accomplishment in the greater scheme of things, but something he could hold onto.

School started.  Rachel was the counseling department head.  She’d never managed anything before.  Now she had three people under her.  Meetings and scheduling and administrative work took up much of the time she had for pursuing what she’d loved so much about the position the previous year.  Much was different.  Still fulfilling, but different.  Rick was teaching for the first time ever, and realizing that leading youth groups wasn’t adequate preparation.  He loved the kids, and even loved seeing them learn things he cares about.  But the mechanics of teaching wasn’t something he could honestly say he loved.  His additional responsibilities (graphic design, member of the public affairs team, webmaster, peer helpers, etc.) kept him busy as well, and provided some variety.

The 2008-2009 school year brought a lot of new people, and more affirmation that the AAI/Quito missionary community is highly transient.  This year, the nationality most represented in the Sams’ group of friends is, oddly enough, Canadian.  Next year will be different, likely  There’s a group of a dozen or so that make it a regular date to crash their place on Tuesday nights for 2-for-1 pizza night and occasionally a movie or two.  There’s no shortage right now, really, of people to hang out with.  Real engagement and authenticity are harder to come by, but are starting to make an occasional appearance.

September also brought a new ministry opportunity for the Sams’.  Alliance Academy has a program called CSO (Christian Service Outreach), where high-school students can get involved in ministries that range from mentoring middle-schoolers, to working with families that live at the city dump, and anywhere in between.  Rick and Rachel hooked up with one called Opción de Vida (Choice of Life), that ministers to homeless street boys in Quito.  It’s been remarkably rewarding for them to be out and about and be recognized by kids on the street, including one fire-eater who performs for commuters near the school.  Just a week or so ago, the OdVida group picked a bunch of the kids up on a Saturday and took them out to a property the school owns about thirty minutes north of the city.  The boys played games, rode horses, ate lunch and had a short devotional out in the country, far from the harsh reality of their city life.

Rick turned 39 in October.  He celebrated it with a large number of friends at his favorite restaurant in the Mariscal, the unfortunately (and highly intentionally) named “Uncle Ho’s”.  The owners created a special menu for the occasion, and gave him a t-shirt that says “I (heart) Ho’s” on the front.  He’s careful where he wears it.  Rick had been planning his 40th birthday for several years, but obviously had to readjust some of that since he now lives in another hemisphere.  The redux is coming right along.  Stay tuned.  Rick and Rachel started the process of getting their Ecuadorian drivers’ licenses in September, and finally got them in October.  There was a ridiculous amount of red-tape to navigate, and the process really underlined the degree of government corruption that exists in Quito.  They owe most of the credit to a friend, Doris Ruales, whose husband is high up in the police department.  In a city where clout and persistence pay off, Doris has both.  (You can’t tell her no, Rick has tried.)  She’s been a huge blessing on many occasions.

November meant the Thanksgiving holiday, which is a big deal at the school, but not really in Ecuador.  Thus, it’s a great time for the gringos to head to the beach.  Rick and Rachel visited La Mapara, just between Cojimies and Pedernales, for the second time.  This year the weather was much more cooperative, and nearly everyone came home with sunburns.  Incidentally, Rick got to prepare two turkeys for the holiday, and got to explain the brining process in Spanish several times.

The holiday season is always a busy one, especially in school life.  Everybody needed posters, brochures, flyers (etc.) from Rick, and there were concerts and performances and parties to attend.  For the Sams’ there was the growing anticipation of their first visit back to the U.S. since their arrival 15 months earlier.  Finally, December 20th arrived.  They visited three states in twelve days, and saw hundreds of people.  Their time in Kansas City was insane, packed full of parties, lunches, coffees, and late night runs to Buffalo Wild Wings.  The time with the respective parents was much more subdued, which was a different kind of fantastic.  Returning to Quito was rough, after just having been in the States long enough to see all the wonderful things, but not long enough to remember that paradise isn’t spelled “K-A-N-S-A-S”.  The adjustment is setting in, though, and the countdown is on for a possible (longer) trip back stateside in the summer.

Much has changed in the past 12 months.  Crime in Quito is on the rise.  Rick and Rachel know several people who have been mugged, many of them students, some at knife and gun-point.  Friends and co-workers have had cars stolen, their houses broken into, and in one case were attacked with screwdrivers.  The government is wandering into crazy mode again.  New legislation severely regulating imports is affecting the costs of nearly everything, including groceries.  Life is getting exponentially more expensive and less secure.  Some days it’s easy to look at it all as a lesson in where security really comes from.  Some days it’s easier to wonder how they’re going to eat.  Community has begun to solidify, but the intimacy that history provides remains rare.  Rick and Rachel have started attending the English Fellowship Church full-time, largely due to a desire to be able to participate in ministry opportunities.  Rick has started occasionally working with the worship team there, but wants more.  Keep them in your prayers.  Life is good in thousands of tiny ways, but the path is still sometimes hard.  They’re gonna make it, probably in spite of themselves.

Here’s some things you can be praying about during 2009:

Increase in giving - The support coming in is making a huge difference, but there is still a need.  Budgeting for 2009 is hard, considering the growing instability in the market.  Prices are literally climbing weekly.  Rent has gone up along with everything else.

Community - It’s difficult finding authentic engagement in a culture that’s defined by what everybody does, namely missionary work.  Pray for meaningful and real connections as Rick and Rachel seek out authenticity both within and outside of the missionary community.

Transportation - The Sams’ car in Olathe still hasn’t sold.  That’s nearly $400/ month that would be freed up.  Additionally, Rick and Rachel are starting to see how having their own transportation here would be a great benefit, both in personal and ministerial terms.  A goal for 2009 is to at least get closer to having their own wheels in Quito.  As vehicles cost almost twice as much in Ecuador, and usually have to be payed for in cash (credit options are minimal) this will require some effort.  The good news is that the resale value is also very good. 

Grace/Patience/Longsuffering -  As Rick takes on two new classes (four times a week each) and adds them to an already hectic schedule, and Rachel tackles an increasing amount of inter-student drama, the planning of seminars and such for students and parents,  and administrative hoopla, pray that their patience and emotional reserves are kept filled by something external.

Safety - Quito is quickly becoming a less safe place to live.  Rick doesn’t like to let Rachel go anywhere without him.  And while they know that “safety” is an illusion, and that their fate lies soley in the hands of God, some days it’s easy to fear.

Government - Ecuador’s president and government are facing some monumental challenges, and seem to be doing so in a fairly reactive manner rather than looking toward the country’s long-term well-being.  Pray for wisdom and guidance for those whose decisions so radically impact the least of these.

Opción de Vida - The kids of Opción de Vida really are, in so many ways, the most fundamental reason why the Sams’ are in Ecuador.  These kids juggle, eat fire, pick pockets, get high, don’t sleep all night because they’re afraid, smell bad, cuss a lot, beg, steal, lie, fight, and look at you with the eyes of those who have hope because there’s no farther down to fall.  It’s challenging, rewarding, heart-rending, and a total blast to work with them.  Please pray for the building of relationships, the filling of stomachs and hearts, and the changing of lives … both theirs and the ones who serve them.

EFC - The English Fellowship Church in Quito, Ecuador has got to be one of the weirdest churches in the world.  About 50% Ecuadorian national, 40% missionary community, and 10% everything else imaginable, it provides a challenge unprecedented to any who’d dare try to create a demographic needs profile.  Any given Sunday, anywhere from 5-50 people may be there for the first and last time, as they travel through Quito on business, with a short-term missions group, etc.  Pray for Len Kinzel and the elders as they lead and attempt to respond to a wild array of needs.  Pray for Rick and Rachel as they settle in there and look for ways to lighten loads.

If you’ve gotten this far, thanks for reading.

Yeah, yeah … I’ve gotten behind.  Blame Lost, a busy weekend, and a stomach bug I’ve been fighting.

I’ve mentioned our apartment many times, including here, here, and here.  So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it makes my list of things I love about Ecuador.  Everything from the view, to the distance from busy streets, to the crown moulding, the hardwood floors, to the enourmous kitchen, to the three bathrooms … I love all of it.

It makes entertaining so much fun.

Our time in the U.S. was amazing, if a little exhausting.  We did three states in 13 days, and we’re both still kind of reeling from it.  There were many, many people who contributed in lots of ways to make our whirlwind tour possible and more enjoyable.  I’m sure I’ll miss someone, but I had to list a few here:

Oak Hills Presbyterian Church
Thanks for being a “home base”. Thanks for loving us well, and making us feel like rock stars.  There simply aren’t words for how refreshing it was to be able to worship with you again.  In some ways, it felt like it had been decades.  In some ways, it felt like it was just last week.  Thanks especially much for your generous financial assistance in getting us back state-side.  Without you, this couldn’t have happened.  Finally, thanks for the huge group of you who came up to see us in at KCI.  That’s not a short drive from anywhere (well, maybe from the Mauk’s), and you can’t imagine how amazing it was to see that many familiar faces as soon as we got off the plane.

John & Linda Miller
You guys have loved us well in so many ways, I’m not sure where to start.  The amazing party, the amazing after-party, the after-church lunches … it was so easy to pick up where we left off.  Your hospitality, your kindness, your hysterical fun-ness, and your warmth made our time in K.C. so much more enjoyable.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Russ Ramsey
Thanks for all your work to make our trip back home possible.  Both our moms send hugs for that.  Thanks for being a friend, and for doing your best to shepherd long-distance.

Jon Dunning
Why do I still feel like you’re one of my “ministry partners”?  Getting to be on stage with you again was a trip.  Getting to be across the breakfast table from you was the best kind of comfort.  Thanks for makin’ KC “home” for us.

Heidi & the OHPC Worship Team
Don’t tell anyone in Ecuador, but there’s just no way to express how much I miss worshiping with you guys. Being able to step so easily back into that space where I feel like I’m doing what I was born to do … that’s huge for me.  You enable me (and encourage) me to be that “conduit point” … that intersection between two worlds where, just for a moment, a door opens and we cease to exist, and only the beauty and glory shines through. If heaven is just singing with you guys forever, I’ll be more than satisfied.  Special mention: Shawn and Boyd - Guys, that arrangement was amazing!  I loved it! (Even if I did re-write the ending on fly.  Sorry about that.)  Keep ‘em comin’.  I hope to be back in late June.  I’ll be waiting for YouTube clips.

Mitch & Mary Miller
Thanks for hosting the after-party.  Our time back would have been severely lacking if we’d not had time to hang with the “yoots”.

Matt Miller
Thanks so much for the use of your vehicle, man.  The logistics of our KC time woulda been a lot hairier without your generosity.

The OHPC Youth Group
You guys rock!!  We miss you so much!  It was unbelievable awesome to get so much face time with all y’all … alway … at.  You’re all invited to come and see us.  At the same time!  Whoooo!  Seriously, getting to process the loss of Devin with so many people who knew and loved him was majorly therapeutic for me.  You guys are some of our closest friends in KC, I hope you know that’s the truth.

Kurt & Laura Fischer
Thanks for letting us move in, whip your kids and your dog into a frenzy, demand that you host a party for us, and then hardly be there for all the running around.  I promise to do that differently next time.  Thanks for being friends that transcend space and time.  You’re so easy in a world where true friendship seems to get harder and harder all the time.

Brian & Tracy Fischer
Really sorry the Saturday night deal didn’t work.  As it turned out I wouldn’t have been much fun, unless you think watching someone have a fever is fun.  (Come to think of it, I was in a lot of pain, so Brian probably would’ve enjoyed it immensely.)  We’ll remedy that next time.  Brian, thanks for makin’ time to hang with me.  Lookin’ forward to your next jaunt southward … bring the missus sometime, will ya?

Jon Winslow
Having a friggin’ huge long-distance personal trainer is kinda weird, but it’s pretty awesome when he’s also one of your closest friends. Thanks for all the time you gave up for me, and all the knowledge you’re continuing to let me mine … for FREE!  (Or have I just not recieved your bill yet?) Thanks for stayin’ in my life … and don’t hate me cuz I have better taste in Chinese food than you (and Laura Fischer) do!

Doug Ledbetter
Dude, you’ve been such a huge help and a blessing to Rachel and I.  From babysittin’ our car (and all that’s entailed), to comin’ to the airport to fetch us, to offering us your ride, to takin’ us back to the airport, and all the other things in between … we’ve leaned on you a lot.  Thanks for bein’ there.  It’s our hope to be able to spend a lot more time with you and the fam when we’re back next.

Chris Sterie
Thanks for watchin’ my Glock, bro.  Tell it I said “hey”.  Seriously, I’m so glad I got to see you.  Thanks from comin’ into town just to see me!  (Shh … I’m pretending.) I was majorly suffering from exhaustion the afternoon we hung out, and I apologize for all the really weird, offensive things I’m sure I said.  You’ve been a support to me in more ways than you’ll ever know.  Thanks for loving me.  The feeling’s mutual.

Mom & Dad Sams
Thanks for the hospitality, the Christmas lovin’, and your understanding.  I’m really sorry we had such an abbreviated time with you guys.  We’ll make up for it soon, I promise.  Really, you’ll be sick of us!  Being “home” is so centering and relaxing.  Being surrounded by the kind of love that can only come from family is rejuvenating.  We love you and are thankful for all that you are to us.

Mom & Dad Harris
Thanks for the generosity, the hospitality, and a place to recuperate from the awesome craziness that was Kansas City. Thanks for lettin’ us crash and decompress.  Thanks for lettin’ us take the nice car for a day.  (I swear we didn’t eat in it.)  New Year’s Eve was a blast!  Thanks for being a place that means peace and quiet and relaxation for us.

Like I said, I know I’m forgetting some amazing people.  Thanks to all y’all who came out to the Miller’s party, the Fischer’s party, the OT party, and the Tea Garden lunch.  Scott Rogers, Preston Pierce, Kevin Clouse, Bob Brandt, Robert & Donna Fae Tate, Brian Morsman, Brian Stites, Frenchie, Derek Herren, Daniel Duke, Josh & Levi, the Mitchells, the Smiths, the Jeffries, the Johnsons, the Morleys … there are so many of you who we love and miss and wish we’d had more time with.  Thanks to everyone who bought us lunch, dinner, or breakfast.  (I only gained 3.5 pounds over the break.  I was kinda disgusted, I shoulda done much better than that, considering how much I ate.)  Special thanks to Tea Garden, Barley’s Brewhaus, Buffalo Wild Wings, Chipotle, Spin, Mi Ranchito, and P. Ott’s for being so delicious.  Many, many thanks to Kohl’s and Target for making me look so good.

One of the new AAI families that just got to Quito stayed with us for a while yesterday and last night, while their place was being fumigated. Ben Tuten will be teaching 6th grade math & science, and Mari Hernandez-Tuten will be working with Rachel in the counseling department. Ben’s about as white as me (howbeit significantly taller), but Mari’s Mexican/Puerto Rican.

The first day we hung out with them, we went to one of our favorite local eateries, and I overheard Mari ordering in Spanish. I seriously almost cried. I don’t know that I could have identified a Mexican accent before, but having lived in Quito almost a year it stood way out. It made me realize just how much I miss Mexican culture.

Rachel and I lived in the “Little Mexico” section of Kansas City before moving here, and loved it. So many wonderful restaurants, so many passionate people. Our grocery store didn’t have a Mexican food section, it had Mexican food in every section. (Mexican cereal in with the cereal aisle, amazing pepper selections in the produce aisles, and even a super-dark, Mexican coffee you could always find in the coffee aisle.) We really loved it.

Rachel has always been a huge fan of latino culture, and I was quickly on my way. I think that there was an assumption in the back of my mind that the culture in Ecuador would have some overlap. Other than the base language, I was really wrong. Andean culture, at least in Quito, is very cold, distant, and reserved. People don’t really talk to each other on the streets. There’s a very developed sense of the proper way to do things, and what people will think if you don’t measure up. You can know someone for years before getting an invite to their house for dinner.

All that to say that there are aspects of Mexican culture that I really, really miss … and I’m so glad the Tutens are here.

From July 4th through July 16th, Rachel and I were blessed with family company. My sister and her family arrived July 4th and stayed through July 12th. My mom and dad got her on the 8th, and stayed until the 16th. We saw a lot of Quito and its surroundings. Here’s a bunch of pix from the trip:

Here’s the Rakes family at Plaza Foch in the Mariscal district of Quito. Rachel and I were strenuously corrected by a cabbie once, when trying to pronounce the plaza’s name. Evidently it’s pronounced “foash” … who knew.

Here’s the Rakes family in the market in Otavalo, along with their primary translator. When the primary translator wasn’t available, the secondary translator stepped in and did things like ask vendors whether this particular t-shirt was available in a more rapid clamshell, or whether their moccasins had angry moonbeams.

A little girl in typical Otavaleño get-up. She was cute, I took her picture, ’nuff said.

A vendor in the market at Otavalo tries to convince Gene that he needs garishly-colored, knee-high, crocheted socks for every member of his extended family.

Levi found a hat.

Levi found another hat.

Levi finally found a hat his folks would spring for. As did Josh. This may be one of my favorite pictures … ever.

When things got hectic in the apartment (particularly when there were 8 of us sharing space), Gwenda would calmly suggest that perhaps it would be a good time for the boys to go to the roof and play hackey-sack.

Levi on the rooftop.

Josh on the rooftop.

The boys threatening to drop the hackey-sack down ten flights of stairs.

Mid-afternoon snack. Did I mention how much I loved having my nephews here?

The boys in a tree at Mitad del Mundo.

Levi found it difficult to walk a straight line on the equator at Mitad del Mundo. We didn’t tell him that the real equator was several dozen meters to the north.

Some of the boys got a little carried away at El Ejido Park.

Josh had difficulty stayin’ on his feet at the bottom of the slide.

So did Levi.

More fun at El Ejido. Levi’s swing had bird poop on it, so he turned it upside down.

Guess how long that hat stayed white? Josh found a slide that didn’t throw him on the ground.

Christmas in July! Gwenda got a typical Ecuadorian tablecloth.

As did Mom. Wow, those Ecuadorian gift-givers were on a roll that day!

Jerseys from Ecuador’s national soccer team for the guys.

Mom wanted a picture of her manger scene.

Josh reacts upon finding out that Honey & Honey won’t put put their namesake condiment on his hamburger.

Dad gets a quick shot of some of the lovely ladies you can find at 14K feet, high about Quito.

The family at the top of the Teleferiqo. I think Levi’s ears were cold.

Dad’s either pretending he doesn’t know us, or mentally preparing himself for the cable car ride back down the mountain.

Dad scoping out great camera angles at the Basilica del Voto Nacional.

I’ve been up the tower twice, and opted to stay on the ground. Gene and the boys were not satisfied with such, and decided to climb.

Then they went higher.

And higher. I wish I had a shot to really show you how far up there this is. It’s majorly vertigo-inducing.

Otavalo, a market town to the north of Quito, is really something that has to be seen on a weekend. So, we made two trips. One for the Rakes fam, and one for the Sams’. Here’s Mom and Dad with their primary translator. After the previous week, the secondary translator had been fired.

“Wayne! Do they really live that close to a volcano?!”

Dad and Mom on the rooftoop, with Quito in the background.

Mom and Dad at one of our favorite local eateries, Bom K-fe. Breakfast is $2/person, lunch is $3.

By chance, Mom and Dad’s trip just happened to overlap with a missions trip that our good friend Ron Fischer was on. His son, Brian, had been down to see us over spring break. It was great to get to see Ron again. Here we are at another of our favorite places, a Colombian restaurant called “Crepes & Waffles.” (Bet you can’t guess what kind of restaurant it is.)

Mom and Dad at Mitad del Mundo.

Inter-hemisphere lip lock. Again, we didn’t have the heart to tell them that the French had misplaced the equator. We were just glad the kiss wasn’t French.

When the Sams fam was in Jamaica, they listened to HCJB, a Christian shortwave radio broadcast out of Quito. When Mom found out that HCJB’s headquarters were right across the street from our school, she really wanted a tour. Rachel and I learned a lot about this fantastic ministry, and hope to be able to volunteer with teams in the future. (I really don’t recall what had me so amazed in this picture, though.)

In the Mariscal district of Quito, there’s an artisanal market in the same vein as the one in Otavalo, howbeit on a much smaller scale. Here’s Mom trying out a finger puppet of an Andean condor, whose wingspans in the wild can hit ten feet. I think it woulda been much more interesting if the finger puppet had been life-sized.

Not that the backside of the primary translator is her best side, but I’m certainly not complaining.Hope you enjoy the pictures a fraction as much as we enjoyed having the company. We programmed a lot of free time into our schedule, and it was so amazing to have my whole family together in South America. (Even when the showers ran a little “luke-cool.”)

Oh, yeah. Happy birthday, Gwenda!

Some days here I get glimpses that make me realize just how little I know. I saw this little girl on the bus yesterday. We were riding back from Mitad del Mundo with our visiting friend Dan, and she got on the bus crying. The “conductor” helped carry her back to her seat right in front of us, as (whom I could only assume were) her mother and grandmother hobbled down the aisle, each carrying boxes loaded with fruit, plants, vegetables and such strapped to their backs with large pieces of fabric. As soon as they got seated, the girl jumped up on Grandma’s lap and settled down. She was wearing all of her clothes inside out, probably because that side wasn’t completely filthy yet. Everything about her was dirty. She had this unbelievable smile, and talked pretty much incessantly from the moment she stopped crying until the moment she fell asleep.

As I watched her, I slowly became aware of two things: 1.) I have never, at any point in my life, been “poor”; and 2.) I may not really have a good understanding of what the word poverty means.This little girl will likely never see another country. She may never leave the outskirts of Quito. She will work from the time she’s old enough until the time that she dies. She’ll never graduate from high school, let alone college. She’ll eat lots of yucca, potatoes, and chicken. She’ll never be completely healthy. She won’t ever remember not knowing loss, want, and fear; they will be her constant companions. She will grow accustomed to her place in the “food chain,” and won’t expect or hope to be treated as anything more than just another of the throng of those who “get by.” She will have children of her own, and they will inherit all that her grandmother and mother have passed down to her. They will know no better.I think that there’s a fable that the rich (like me) tell ourselves. We tell ourselves that there’s something “noble” about the poor. That there is something admirable in managing to survive with so much less than us. We tell ourselves, as we eat out multiple times a week, that the poor understand something that we do not. After all, look at the little girl as she laughs, chatters, and smiles her infectious smile. Isn’t she happy?We don’t look at her mother, as we sip our decaf non-fat cappuccino. We don’t see the permanently bowed shoulders, the lines already sunk deeply into her too-young face, or the resignation that keeps her from ever making eye contact with her betters. We don’t look at her grandmother, who has maybe three teeth left to shine out of a face weathered into crags and furrows not unlike the sides of the mountain she takes her meager harvest from.Even here, I live in luxury. I have almost 1000 square feet of home, two bedrooms, three bathrooms, and wide open entertaining spaces … for two people. I have a refrigerator, a washer and dryer inside my house, and a television. I don’t know what poverty means.

Our good friend Dan Audley is here from Kansas.  He got here June 17th, just in time to help me finish up the yearbook.  (Seriously, he and Rachel pretty much single-handedly assembled the index.  He spent two days in the basement of the school with us, helpin’ it all come together.)  It’s his first time out of the States, and he picked Ecuador!  He’ll be here until the 28th.  It’s great havin’ him.  Here’s some pix I’ve taken.

Here’s a pic of Rachel’s Birthday part at Mongo’s in La Mariscal. There were seven other people there who weren’t in the picture, but this is (inexplicably) the one I chose to put here.

We went up the Teleferiqo in the late evening with some friends, a new experience for us. The sunset was a little obscured by the clouds, but the view of the city was still amazing.

Dave is the guy that I’ll be replacing next year. Honestly, when I first met him I didn’t know how well we’d work together, let alone whether we’d be friends. I was wrong on all counts. Dave is, hands down, the most interesting person I’ve ever met. He headed back to the States last Saturday, and I already miss him.

This is a picture of Dàmaris Intriago delivering the salutatory address at Commencement 2008 at Alliance Academy International. I got more sniffly at Baccalaureate, I think. I was really proud of the seniors.

I know that one of the cardinal rules of working with kids is that you’re not supposed to have favorites. I do, sorry. Noah Pickens is such an amazing guy. Remarkably nuanced and sophisticated beyond his years, he never failed to make me think. He was in my Design & Digital Media and Yearbook classes. There was a lot of yearbook that I wouldn’t have gotten done without him. He even showed up to help after graduation! I already miss him, too.

My Spanish teacher, Aura Morillo had the wonderful idea of getting some of her adult students from the school together and teaching them to cook some typical Ecuadorian dishes.  Rachel and I offered our home for the shindig.  Last Friday, at 4:15-ish or so, Aura and 6 of her students (and Rachel) whipped up locro (a cheesy potato soup), tostada (pan-toasted, dried corn with strips of green onion), and quimbolitos (sweet, buttery, eggy flour cakes with raisins that are steamed in big green leaves).  It was a blast, and I hope we get to do it again soon!