6-28-2014 (Saturday)

5:30 am. I couldn’t sleep any longer even though the night was a little short. We are leaving about 7 this morning to go into town to visit the local market. This market is almost all food sold by people who bring it in from Colombia or outside San Lorenzo. We are interested in seeing the varieties of fruit and vegetables and other foods that will be for sale. We want to walk through the market just to take in some of the sights before packing the car and heading off to Quito.

Father, thank You for a restful night. This is the final day in San Lorenso and the past two weeks have been productive service to You. Thank You for inviting us to come here and serve You in various capacities. So many times I wonder, Father, if what little I am doing makes a difference for You. Yet, You have the big picture and You know how important my little part plays in the overall scheme of things. Sometimes, Lord, You give me a glimpse into that big picture like You did last night allowing me to see the little girl I delivered 4 years ago and seeing a new life growing up in a home that honors and worships You. You also gave me the honor of seeing Beatriz again, something I never thought I would see, a complete healing of a cancer that I didn’t think was possible. These are examples of the bigger picture that You are orchestrating. Thank You, Father, for including us in this plan and giving us specific roles to play for You today.

Lord, I pray for our travels today. I pray for safety on the road. I pray for our time as we travel together that we would focus on You and continue in our service to You. Lord, thank You for making this all possible for us. We worship You, Lord. Amen.

7:10 am. We are on our way to the market downtown. Jane drove to Angelita’s house and met her to walk to the market. The market was a busy place with all sorts of food vendors with vegetables, fruit, raw chickens, fish, and meat. At one place we stopped and had a glass of morocho which is warm, milky and contains soft chunks of a grain, the morocho, which is somewhat like corn. The drink was very good. Along with this we had a fresh fried tortilla, which is like an elephant ear without sugar and not like the tortillas that we use to wrap food. It was an interesting walk through this market.

Local meat market

This big pig is going to the market.

The building where the clinic first started.

Enjoying the morocho and tortilla

Cooking the tortilla.

The morocho and tortilla vendor

Some super jumbo shrimp!

A street preacher at the market

Woven grass bags filled with live crabs

Chickens ready to cook

Lots of fruit

Get whatever chunk of cheese you want

Dried fish

The busy market

Fish — snook, Spanish mackerel, and others

Shrimp

Plantain

Fruits and vegetables

Back at Angelita’s we climbed into the car and it wouldn’t start. Jane tried and tried with no effort to start. Angelita’s husband came out and looked at the situation and then went on his motorcycle to get a local mechanic. This guy came and checked the fuses and wiring to the fuel pump. The problem was the fuel was not being delivered to the engine. He found some corrosion and a fuse that was bad and replaced that and the car started. Jane and the mechanic took the car on a test drive and it ran fine. This delayed us an hour or more waiting to determine our next step if the car could not be fixed. So our start to Quito was later than planned. I was rejoicing that the car started as I was praying for God to bring an answer and help us so we could travel. Our prayers were answered.

Howard and the mechanic are searching for the problem

Looking at what won’t start

We returned to the clinic so we could load our luggage and then leave. At this time Beatriz came up to the gate to see me. What a thrill!! It is so good to see her now 10 years out from her surgery and cured of her cancer. She is a walking miracle! Her situation is one where I was able to participate in a miracle that God orchestrated and delivered. Wow!

Beatriz

Upon leaving the clinic a short distance out of town Jane pulled over to show us cacao plants. there was a field filled with these plants. The cacao seeds are used to produce chocolate.

Cacao seed pods

Field of cacao plants

We traveled to Lito and stopped for a walk about and to get a snack. We stopped at a fruit vendor who gave us some fresh pineapple and it was absolutely delicious. Of course, we bought two pineapple to bring with us to Quito and have over the next couple days. Jane said the lady who owns and runs the guesthouse will cut up the pineapple for us. We also got some tangerines and some orito, a small, sweet banana. These are delicious also. Jordan got some lunch of fried chicken and a chunk of cooked yucca. Walking around with the fried chicken brought a faithful friend to Jordan, a street dog who followed him everywhere. The dog gambled and won. Jordan gave him the chicken bones and it made the dog’s day.

Jordan purchasing a snack in Lita

On our way to Ibarra we saw once again the spectacular vistas of the lush green Andes mountains. What incredible scenery! we stopped in Ibarra for a walk around the shopping center to look for a couple items. In the lobby of the center there was set up a huge HD screen with the World Cup Soccer on. Colombia was playing and the lobby was filled with people wearing Colombian shirts and cheering for their team. We saw several cars with Colombian license plates in the parking lot.

Beautiful mountains

Looking behind us

Every turn brings a new vista.

After Ibarra we moved on to San Antonio where there are a lot of wood carvers. These artisans produce some remarkable sculptures. In the city square there were several vendors set up selling various wood artwork. It was interesting to see all of the carvings. From there we went to Otavalo to the market. We spent a few hours in the market as we shopped.

After leaving Otavalo, we moved on to Quito eventually arriving at our guesthouse by 9:00 pm. Enroute we stopped for gas and the car wouldn’t start again. It behaved just like it did in the morning. We sat at the gas pumps for a few minutes trying to start the car with no luck. Then Jane tried it again and it started. Once we arrived to the guesthouse Jane left the car running while she ran inside to check us in and then we unloaded the car and moved inside while Jane left to go to her apartment. She will return to pick us up about 9:30 in the morning.

Father, thank You for the safe journey and especially for keeping the car running. Thank You for answering our prayers this morning by enabling the mechanic to understand the problem and get it fixed so the car would start. Thank You for the delay in getting back to the clinic this morning so I could see Beatriz. That was very special. Thank You, Lord, for the beautiful scenery as we traveled. Your creation is incredible. Thank You, Lord, for Your unfailing love and blessing us so richly. I pray for a good rest tonight. Thank You, Lord. Amen.