The Road to Guayaquil

We are in full speed ahead mode!  The teams arrive tomorrow and there is a lot to do and time keeps ticking!  I took the time today while I was in the car to type out a great blog about the trip here and what we've been doing since, but as things would have it, it disappeared from my phone!!! Ahhhhhhh so anyway, I'm gonna try my best to sum it up quickly!

We split the drive up into two different days, which was a great decision on the Penley's part!  The first day of driving was full of wonder and exploration of God's creation!  We went to volcano Cotopaxi and drove right up to the snow line which was around 15,000 ft this time of year(apparently, this is their winter, or as close to winter as you can get on the equator)!  The wind was whipping up there and pummeling dirt and tiny stones against the truck. So of course, I had to get out an experience these gale force winds! I thought the wind was gonna sweep us right off the mountain at one point but it was totally awesome!

That whole day was amazing because after we got done there God decided to show off some more and he revealed the larger volcano peak in Ecuador to us at sunset.  Apparently, the mountain is usually covered with clouds and it was as we approached it, but as we got closer and as the sun began to set, the clouds have way and revealed this majestic beauty....

Pictures really don't do it any justice, but I'm telling you God was showing off and it was a sight to behold.  We are already driving along on the ridge of a mountain and this thing soars above everything else!  It just kinda makes you stare in awe that God did that and that we get to experience it!

That night we stayed in the most beautiful inn that was within view of that volcano and I was on cloud 9 all night long.  It was like I was being doted upon by the most high King that whole day!

Well, as it often goes, when you go up, you often have to come back down.  The next day started off gorgeous and winding through the mountains, but as we approached Guayaquil the scenery changed and the mountains faded and gave way to banana field after banana field after banana field (True fact, Ecuador is the number one exporter of bananas I'm told... I can see why now!!) Miles and miles and miles (or kilometers as they measure distance here) of banana trees!! It was crazy!

Guayaquil is towards the coast, and boy you can tell it is towards the coast!  The humidity in the air, the bugs, the dirt, everything about it screams "you're not in Quito anymore!" Which is fine.  It has it's own beauty, like the sun reflecting off a rice field (or bog?? I'm not sure what you call it) as it sets in the distance, or the groves of tall banana trees that trail as far as the eye can see.  The people here are different too, it's like a Southerner in the U.S. taking a trip up North.  Different environment, different way of life.  People speak faster here, (it's hard enough to understand in slow motion, put it on fast forward and I'm lost...), they drive crazier here, and so far they seem to try to pull one over on the Gringos more here.  All in all though, they are still people who need Jesus and that's what we are here for!

I think I will leave it at that for now.  Once the teams arrive there will be more to tell about, hopefully I will continue to have some Internet access!  I'm looking forward to watching the teams learn and grow during this time.  I pray that God will open their eyes and show them the things He wants them to see, that He would break their hearts for what breaks His, and that they would leave here forever changed and having forever changed the lives of the people here who come to a saving knowledge of The Lord!