Tacusa!

Tacusa!

Yesterday, after six hours on winding mountain roads, through the Andes and across the equator, we arrived at the coast of Ecuador.  Ah! The Pacific Ocean!  (for those of us born and raised in the western U.S., the greatest ocean - but also the biggest one in the world)

The first adventure was finding our hotel with limited and not very accurate directions.  The second adventure was finding ANOTHER hotel, because the hotel we were supposed to stay in was undergoing renovations.  It's a holiday weekend here, so we had to try a couple of places, but we found something clean close to the beach.

Then on to Tacusa!  No one has been willing to tell us what we would (or wouldn't) find there in terms of progress on the church.  They wanted us to be surprised!  We pulled into the little town, and the first thing we saw were dozens of smiling faces - people from the church and Patricio the building project manager, and many, many children.

Everyone greeted us - hugs and laughs all around - and walked with us the short distance to where the dumptruck was delivering the final load of sand for the cement for the foundation of the church.  All of the other materials for the church had already arrived.  Construction has begun!  The land for the foundation has been prepared; the holes for the rebar pillars that stabilize the walls have been dug.  The leveling lines for the floor are set.  They asked me to bless the cornerstone tomorrow.  What an honor!

After giving the kids soccer balls (a mad scramble!), the kids disappeared down to the beach to play with them, and the community ushered us into a small comedor (stand alone dining room) to feed us dinner.  What a feast!  Shrimp soup followed by seabass and rice and beans.  And the best orange juice I've ever tasted.

Travelling back to the hotel in the bus, we got to see the coastal nightlife.  Little storefronts uninhabited by day sprang to life!

Today is a day of community connection and worship, including four baptisms!

Blessings,
Janet+