Gidday (typical kiwi greeting there) - perhaps we have been here too long -hehe!

So I just wanted to post something quick because every so often I check the comments on this blog (even though we haven't really been on air, I can see the views from all around the world and it is nice to know that it is still attracting some like minded folks). Any hoo - just recently Claudette and Shirley and JC said they would like some further information/contact details. You can email me at marcosybet@gmail.com and fire away any questions. If I don't know the answer, then I am sure Aaron and Amanda (who as most know are still in Cuenca) will be able to help. In the meantime I wish you well on your endeavors to move where the need is great - you won't regret your decision to do so.

Quick update on us while I am here. Happily Mark finished the service year (and his time) on a high - his last call was with an Ecuadorian!! On Thursday we also had a lovely visit with a Mexican lady who has just been in the country 4 weeks. She has some strange ideas but is happy to be able to speak spanish with someone - who knows where it will lead.

I am employed again - at my old job in the bank (talk about being sucked back into our old life) - it is casual work but I seem to be getting enough to keep Mark in the style he has become accustomed to, so that is good. It also means that if I don't have to fill in for anybody - I can still go out witnessing with Mark during the week. I can be thankful the bank wanted to employ me again actually, because being a little bit older now, and in the economic climate, work is not so easy to come by here. Jehovah really has looked after us.

Not only is it the new service year today but it is also the first day of spring here in NZ. Looking forward to some warmer weather and fresh spring veggies.

Been a LONG time

Ok I just had to share an awesome experience.

Wednesday: Amanda meets a young guy (maybe 16?) in a resturant who says his brother is interested, and that he is too. Amanda comes out on to the street, gets me to go in and talk to him, and I make arrangements to do a study with him on Friday.

Friday: After the group, me and a local bro go to visit. Turns out the young guy is not there... but the older brother pokes his head out from the kitchen and says he has questions and can we stay. We of course do. He wants to know about Micheal the Arcangel, and so we study the index in the BT on who he is. (he pulled out a well worn copy of the BT and said he had read it all) His mum also wants to know. For some funny reason they belive that there are three Arcangels, Micheal, Gabrieal and Rafael. (anyone heard of that before???) Anyway we finish up arranging the next study to start at the beginig of the book on monday. I ask him if he is interested in coming to the meetings and he says "no estoy en acuerdo con ustedes, entonces no quiero." (Im not in agreement with you guys, so I dont want to) "no worries" i say... "but you still want to study" "yes".

Monday: Amanda and I arrive, and the whole family is there. Young brother, Older Brother, Mum and Dad. (Dad just sits in the background lisning) and we study the first half of chap 1. we were there 1.5 hours but mum and dad had to leave halfway though para hacer compras. After we arrange study for Wedsday (today)

Wednesday: Me and Morgan go (NZ bro who cant speak any spanish yet) and only Older brother is there. But we have an awesome study finishing the first chapter in 1.5 hours. After the study, prayer and all, we start having some casual talk, about sports and guitar etc, but HE brings it back to spiritual things and says "Que nesecito hacer a ser un testigo de Jehová?" (what do I need to do to be a Jehovah's Witness?" wow i was blown away. I told him again about the meetings and he wants to come!

What a change in less than a week! I couldnt belive he went from saying he didnt agree with us to wanting to be one of us!!!! not to mention he is wanting 3 studys a week? still unbelivable to know our teritroy is being covered every 2 weeks and finding people like him! 

I would just also like to say that we were having lunch with a local family last sunday, and they told us that only in 1979, Cuenca had only a small group of witneses. Not even a congregation. And now we have around 40 only 33 years later! Some sources have told me there is an anual growth of %15 here in Cuenca. Amazing. (if anyone knows any more acurate figues please corect me) There is a massive need for qualified brothers here.... so if you have the curcumstances... come on over! weather its to preach, or to help in the cong!

Hola de Nueva Zelanda

Aaron said that I wouldn't be able to resist posting again and he was right.(I'm never going to hear the end of it either). Its just that I have been so moved by the comments and emails I have received - I just have to say a big THANK YOU! We were really thrilled to hear that our experiences have even moved some to consider Need Greating and it is nice to know that we have been able to help out in a small way. I know when we arrived in Ecuador - we did it real cold turkey, we had no one to ask any questions of before we came and it was really scary but of course Jehovah soon sorted us out but that was one of the reasons why I wrote our Blog, so to know that it aided some of you is really special. 

So we are all settled in here in Tauranga - back in our old congo and we have been welcomed back with open arms. It is a bit hard knuckling down to life (ie applying for jobs etc) but we have had some lovely autumn weather so its not all bad. I even had two Spanish conversations last week - one with a study of one of the sisters (who is mightily glad we are here to help with the language barrier) and the other with a young Ecuadorian lady who owns a shop in one of the Malls close by. The goods she sells is so obviously Ecuadorian I just had to say -"¿Hablas español?" From there we had a chat and I took her in the Spanish mags. We are also hoping to go up once a month at least to the Spanish meeting in Auckland (2 1/2 hours drive) - Gotta keep what we have learned if possible.

Oh must just tell you about one little blessing of coming home - seeing our grand daughter Indie. She's at a lovely age (11 months) and was not at all shy of me. I am sure she recognized my voice from all our skype conversations. We are heading off down to see her again (and her parents) tomorrow - got to take all the opportunities I can before I actually do land a job!

Ok - now I will really say goodbye - with a photo of Mark checking out his charges before going to the meeting the other day - Thanks once again for all your encouraging words!

The End Of An Era!

The time has come - well nearly, we leave in 4 days time and so this is to be the final post on "The Ecuador Experience" - sad but true. The video is a quick little recap of our time here (Warning - it is  quite long - about 12 minutes - but then again 4 years have been condensed into  just 12 minutes, so I didn't do too bad really!)

Thank you everyone who has commented over the years - and others who have loyally read and watched our adventures - we hope in some small way to have helped any who have been thinking about serving where the need is great. 

So if you can be bothered checking out the video - I would recommend grabbing a cup of coffee first - hopefully it doesn't put you to sleep. 

Adios, Zai jian and Goodbye

Goodbye again!

Once again we have been thrown another desperdida (farewell party) - how many is that now? Number 50???? Anyway this one was a little different as in they played games, which was quite cute really. In the top photo - we were made to do a presentation, using whatever was handed to us - not an easy thing to do in another language, but I think we held our own - or maybe they were just laughing to humor us! The photo showing Mark with a match burning is a question and answer game - you have to answer the question before the match burns your fingers - nice hah? I had an easy question - name 5 people from the bible, but Mark found it difficult naming 5 different flowers. he found out that no, white rose, red rose, yellow rose etc are not different flowers! He had a few laughs though when he tried cauliflower. Anyway it was good fun but hopefully we won't have anymore goodbye parties for awhile!

When in Ecuador......

 Aaron's friend, Joel, is here visiting for a couple of weeks and today we went with them for lunch to see him have the ultimate Ecuador experience - eating guinea pig! I was very impressed by his fortitude - he even tried a bit of the brain! (He said later though that maybe he took it too far doing that).

 Also visiting from Canada is Sarah (she is staying with Megan and Britney, who have been here for a couple of years). Obviously, as the photo shows, Sarah was pretty game too - to the disgust of Britney (love the look on her face).

Amanda shows she is an old pro at eating the ratlike creature by breaking off it's paw and chowing down on that!

Something much nicer to eat was Joel's lasagna that he spent hours and hours making for us. The don't have fresh pasta here so he lovingly made the pasta sheets from scratch - believe me it was the best lasagna we had ever tasted! He can come back anytime! (Or to visit us in NZ as the case maybe!)

Visit from the Coasties!

Just finished a really lovely week (last hor-rah) with our friends from the coast - David and Abbi, Stephanie and Chad. It was a week filled with delicious food, touristy stuff and lots of laughs. While we were out in town one day, we met up with the Kelly's and another sister from the english congregation, so I snapped this shot of them all. While acting as tourists, something we really haven't done in Cuenca before, we found a lot of interesting places (mainly eating places, hehe) so it was nice checking out the city from a different prospective!

Aaron's friend, Joel, arrived too this week so - it's been a busy old household. I suppose I really should try and work out how to fit our lives back into 4 suitcases soon  - countdown has begun!