Back Stateside

It's been an incredible ride over the past month and a half as we planned our transition back to the States. While our time in Ecuador was much shorter than what we had originally wanted or planned for, we hope that we were able to have significant impacts on many children at the school and on those who have been rescued from trafficking. We want to thank you, our supporters, for partnering with us and for your financial and prayer support. None of this would have been possible without you.

If you are a financial supporter who is still giving, we ask that you stop giving now that we are in the States. God has been good to provide us with some promising job opportunities, one of which is at his old job in Missoula. While the offer is not yet official, his bosses have told him they expect to be able to offer him a position early next week. We are excited to return home, though it will be a busy summer looking for a new home while working what promises to be an active fire season.

Please read this important post...

A Tough Month…

It all began with some wheezing that Jonathan began to experience shortly after moving into our home in late March. After a month of it progressively getting worse, we took him to the doctor and found out that he was reacting to the black mold that had developed on the ceiling in the upstairs bathroom. The doctor explained that it would only get worse along with the health of the entire family if it were not remediated. She also said that Jonathan could develop asthma if we didn't deal with the problem. The recommendation of several healthcare workers both here and in the States is that we should move as soon as possible. Not what we wanted to hear. We really are enjoying our home, otherwise.

In early May, Bryan contracted a parasite in his stomach and got extraordinarily sick for 4 days. Upon going to the doctor he learned that the high altitude in Quito has given him high blood pressure, despite having lost about 30 pounds. The good news in this is that the parasite medicine worked quickly. However, Heather started to take the medicine as a precaution and quickly developed an anaphylactic reaction, which doctors said would only get worse if she were to take it again. Parasites are everywhere in Ecuador, and the general population here takes the medication every 6 months to prevent the level of sickness Bryan experienced. It's easy to get an infection. If she can't take the medicine, then that's a real problem.

The cost of living here is much higher than what we were told before we started raising support. The actual cost of living is more than double what we were told to raise in support. With this in mind, we are projected to run out of support funds around April or May of 2016, based on our current support levels. Unfortunately, we have learned that many other families have faced the same issue, and many have had to return to the States earlier than projected. In light of these challenges, we are committed to continuing the ministry to which God has called us as long as we are here.

Due to our multiple health and financial issues, we may have to come home earlier than anticipated. If we are unable to stay much longer, our preference is to go back to Montana. Our home, dear friends and hearts are there. Our belongings are there. We are beginning to explore job opportunities in Western Montana. The only other option that we have talked about is going to be near our families in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. However, we do not have ANY job leads there. If any of you reading this know of someone who is looking for a meteorologist/former meteorologist or generally a hard worker who works well with anyone, please let us know. I will be happy to forward a resume. To our Montana friends, if any of you know of a lower cost rental in a safe area that is available or is coming open this summer, please let us know.

Please pray for God to give us wisdom and encouragement. Please also pray for an immediate or near-immediate provision.

These serious challenges have been sobering and unsettling as they have unfolded in the last month. We ask you to lift us up in prayer. These are hard words to write.

Safety Concerns

This is Bryan. I wanted to send out a quick note asking you all to please continue to pray for our safety. In a given week, we are almost hit by vehicles (cars, vans and buses) 3-4 times while trying to cross streets. Frequently while crossing, I hear cars off in the distance accelerating in our direction. Until yesterday I thought that this was just the practice of the local city drivers here (aggressive, impatient). Immediately following our latest near-hit yesterday, a street vendor standing beside us uttered under her breath the words "that's because you are Gringos". This means that people are intentionally trying to hit us with their cars and vans. We are safe while walking on sidewalks; however, the danger increases dramatically when we begin to cross the 6 lanes of traffic that we have to cross each day to get to/from the school and to go to the grocery store.

Thanks for reading this.

Getting Settled and Plugging In

The past several weeks have been busy...but good weeks overall. We have finally moved into our home and have begun to get settled. We have been able to plug into an outreach effort to a state-run orphanage and into some mentoring programs at the school. Teaching is going well. Bryan has been able to build many good relationships with the students. It is really neat to have such an ethnically diverse group of kids to teach and mentor. We are very thankful that our new residence has a decent sized yard to play in. Nearly all residences around us do not. We see this as a great opportunity to open up our home to neighborhood kids, especially to the kids from the school. Kids need a safe place to play. Most here do not have that. We have already had a group of kids over for an afternoon. Several of them from the USA stated how much they missed having a yard and that this was a good break for them. We look forward to opening up our home on a regular basis.

With the property owner's permission, we have been able to plant a small vegetable garden (about 10' x 10'.) Nearly everything will grow here, though some things grow more slowly due to the cool nights--which often dip down into the upper 40s. While some of the warmer climate plants are slightly struggling to grow, like tomatoes and peppers, other plants like squash and peas are really taking off in the rich, volcanic soil.

Last week, Bryan and Jonathan were able to visit the orphanage with a group of students from the school. The children ranged from around ages 4-8 and generally came from two backgrounds. Some of the kids were "traditional" orphans...meaning that they had no parents. Either their parents had died, or they had been abandoned at birth. The other kids there had been dropped off at an early age by their birth parents (with a plan to be picked up when they get to an age where they can work for the family or worse.) All were starving for attention and love. During one of the activities, we overheard a little boy sobbing. (During this activity, the kids were supposed to write a letter to an orphanage worker thanking the workers for all that they do for them. Evidently, some of the kids at that table were doing something slightly different by writing a thank note/cartoon to their birth parents (who had probably abandoned them.) The crying child who was sitting at the same table had started to write his note but then realized that he had no parents to write it to. It was heart-breaking. Thankfully one of the students, a junior named Dany, picked up the child and was holding him in her lap. This helped to calm the boy, but we can only imagine all of the broken hearts in that orphanage...and all orphanages.

You may be wondering how we are doing "menatally". To be honest, we are very much homesick for our dear, dear friends back in Montana and across the country. We think about you all every day. We so much miss Montana itself too. Bryan misses his former coworkers in Missoula and at church a good bit. If you are looking for something in particular to pray for us about, that would be #2...after our continued safety.

Physically, we are doing well. The frequency of illnesses is slowing down as we adjust to all the germs, viruses and bacteria around here. We are all getting into pretty good physical shape. Bryan and Jonathan are losing a good bit of weight having to walk everywhere. Will's dietary problems continue to be pretty much a non issue here. Bryan is frequently banging his head on things--most times unintentionally. (Most Ecuadorans are fairly short, so some doorways and passageways are built with low clearances as well.) Last week, he cut his head and it bled for 6 hours.

Heather, Rebecca, and Will, are planning on flying to Jacksonville, FL at the end of this month to pick up some things that we had to leave behind when we came in January while Jonathan and Bryan stay in Ecuador. We are thankful that American Airlines waived the ticket change fees on our credits that were left from the fiasco (failed home sale) back in July. Had they not, this upcoming trip would not have been possible. We also plan to restock on some supplies and hopefully bring back some elk meat that was left in the freezer in Florida.

Cost of Living Information for families moving to Quito, Ecuador

Earlier this year, my family and I moved to Quito, Ecuador from the USA to serve at Alliance Academy International and to work in the surrounding community. While doing due diligence in trying to estimate the cost of living here, we were surprised at the lack of information out there on the internet. So, we contacted several people with families at the school and surveyed others serving in metropolitan areas in countries nearby. Overall, the estimation that we made was ok, but could have been better had we been able locate some “hard data.”

The purpose of this posting is to provide the information that we wish that we could have had prior to coming. Some of you reading this are in the process of raising financial support to come down here to serve as well. It is our hope that you will find this information useful. All in all, the net cost of living here is the same as living in most areas of the USA. While cheaper than living in the metropolitan areas of the Northeastern states (mainly New England), most of California, Western Oregon and Washington, you will see that the net cost of living is about the same as other parts of the USA. If you are coming from more rural or less expensive areas of the USA like parts of the Southeast (MS, LA, S AL, and S GA), the Midwest, and parts of Texas, you will find it more expensive down here by about 10%.

For a family of four living on support without a stipend, I would recommend that you should raise about $3200-$3700 in monthly support. This cost does not include having a vehicle. If you have a monthly stipend from a source like AAI of around $1000 per month, I would recommend $2200-$2500 in monthly support. Our family of 5 has raised slightly less than that, but we have been able to cut corners by being creative…like walking everywhere and taking taxis. If you are coming down and are single, I would recommend coming with no less than $1800 per month in support. If you are receiving a stipend, then $800 should suffice. For couples coming down with no children, a good estimate would be about $2000 per month without a stipend. If one spouse has a stipend, then $1000 per month in financial support should do. If both spouses have a stipend, then I would recommend raising about $500 in monthly support.

In addition to raising financial support, we found the start-up costs to be about $6000 for our family. This included two months prepayment for rent-which is customary, furniture, and appliances. The least expensive and best way to get furniture for your home is to have it made locally. It is also the best way. WIFI service is about $40 per month. Cell phone service is substantially less and depends upon the plan. There are no contracts. We brought our Samsung phones down here with us and were unable to get them unlocked. Our carrier, Verizon, somehow made it impossible for us to do it.

So, how do the costs break down? Rent here is generally between $550-$750 per month, which is good. Electricity is about $35-$45 per month. Water is about the same as electricity. The water from the faucets here is mostly not drinkable, so it would be a good idea to bring down a water filtration system that utilizes UV light and filtration. That works well. We use one have are able to drink from a dispenser at our kitchen sink.

 Since we don’t have a car, we don’t have to worry about gas prices, which are actually good down here and are fixed at $1.50 per gallon. Taxi rides for us generally cost around $1-$2 each way to places within about 2 miles of here. Some taxi drivers will attempt to give Gringo pricing which is a couple of dollars more. Don’t fall for it. Always prenegotiate prices with them before getting into the taxi, and you will be fine. If you can find a metered taxi, they are generally even cheaper. A used vehicle costs about $9000 for a local, older vehicle that is more than 10 years old. The government does not allow for vehicles older than 1 year old to be imported. Vehicles that are imported, along with all imports, have a 39% import tax put on them. So, if you are interested in purchasing a vehicle here, you will be able to resell it for almost the same price that you purchased it for. 

The markup for imported goods also extends to imported groceries which have obscene prices. (A Hershey bar costs $1.77 for the standard small size.) Excluding produce, groceries are generally about 10-20% more expensive here. Produce is generally much less. If you can find and buy imported items, expect to pay double of what you pay in the USA. Beef is generally cheaper, much leaner, but not as good of quality as the States. There is no GMO food here. Chicken is about 25-50% more than in the states. Eggs are about the same price, but much fresher and better. Good cheese is nonexistent here. Bread is about 25% less in the stores. To be honest, it is much better and much cheaper to purchase it from a local panaderia (bread store) each day. There are a gazillion of them around. All of them are good. Toiletries cost a good bit more down here. TP is about 25% more. Paper towels are double of what they are in the states. Canned goods are about double the price (or more than that even) than what your see in the states. For example, a regular size can of refried beans costs around $1.70 here. Rice and dried beans are really cheap here. Tuna is about $1.10 per small can.

Medical care here is what it should be, not what it is in the USA. One of our children caught pneumonia just after arriving and was hospitalized for 4 days. The total cost of staying, everything included, was just over $700. Medicines are generally cheaper by about 50%-90%, though Ibuprofen is about the same cost as in the states.

Local restaurants are generally very inexpensive if you eat at the mom and pops-type restaurants. You can generally get a meal for about $3-$5. More upscale restaurants are similar to what you pay in the states.

The last thing that I probably need to mention for you is that there is a 12% sales tax on nearly everything. That will also make a difference on the grocery bill. The good news is that foreign taxes paid are deductible on the US Federal Tax Return.

That is all that I can think of right now. I really hope that you will find this information useful. If you do, please leave us a note on our blog. Thanks.

Handing out Operation Christmas Child boxes, Extreme Response, and Roasted Guinea Pig

We've spent the past few weeks getting settled in a bit more and learning more about the surrounding area. During this time, we have gotten to know some of the street vendors a bit more and have noticed a street kid (about 8 years old) selling bananas to make a living over the past week. We look forward to meeting him and getting to know his story. We have also been able to establish contact with groups serving at two local orphanages and hope to make our first trip this coming Wednesday. We wanted to go last week, but were unable to get something set up with our contact here at the school. It ended up being a good thing though because while waiting, we met with someone else who does some work at the other orphanage. She was hoping that we could join her this week. Pretty neat, eh?

We have also been able to make contact with a couple that is working with an outreach organization called Extreme Response. In this area, they are working on several fronts. The first is called Pan de Vida. Every Wednesday and Sunday, they feed hundreds who are in need--many of whom are poor local street vendors. Another ministry in which Extreme Response is involved is at the Quito trash dump. There is a family center there where they teach individuals basic job skills so that they can try to make a better life for themselves. Another effort that they are involved with is helping to rescue girls/children who have been victimized by the sex trade. Some of the stories that we have heard are the most heart-breaking, gut-wrenching things you could possibly hear. What Jonathan and I saw back in Guatemala with that baby slowly dying from his enlarged head is nothing compared to what some of these precious children have gone through. Truly, there are things in life that are worse than death. At any rate, we are looking forward to becoming involved with this organization in some way. I (Bryan) think that I need a few weeks to process some of the things that I have learned first.

On a much brighter note, we were able to partner with a team working with Samaritan's Purse yesterday and to distribute Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes to children in a barrio on the outskirts of the city. The shoe boxes that our church and others across the U.S. put together and send out has a big impact that on kids that have basically nothing. It's awesome! I heard that more than 1,000,000 boxes went out to kids across the globe this year. It seems that boys here love matchbox cars every bit as much as they do in the states!

Jonathan had a great idea a week or so ago. He would like to create a YouTube channel to post videos of some of the things that we are involved with in Ecuador. After talking about it a good bit, we thought that we would like for it to have a format similar to Travel The Road (which is now on Netflix, I believe). So, it would have a documentary/reality TV feel to it. We think that this would be a good way for us to be accountable to you, our supporters and donors. It would also teach him some valuable computer skills.

We have recorded a rough draft of an initial video and have posted it online if you want to check it out. It needs to be edited down to about 15-20 minutes and the transitions need a bit more work. The audio is so-so. We would also like to add in some background music at the beginning. The video shows us going to the barrio to hand out Operation Christmas Child boxes. At the end, it shows our first taste of a local treat: roasted guinea pig. Here's a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui5T_vkIJ7o&feature=youtube_gdata. We had a wonderful time!

Venturing out of the city to the Equator and further north

This past weekend we were able to venture outside of Quito to a smaller community called Otavalo which is a center for the local Quichua (Inca) Indian tribe. The Quichuas are a welcoming group of people who are very creative at designing and making woolen clothing and leather goods. If you have an alpaca wool sweater or blanket, there is a good chance that the product was produced by this people group. The town of Otavalo is home to about 90,000 Quichua who live in varying degrees of poverty. While impoverished, we did not observe any extreme poverty like what was observed in Guatemala in 2013. However, the need there is great. The town has a large population of youth. While there are a few churches in town, there are not any known youth programs to help guide and mentor the kids.

Though our trip there was brief, we were able to establish contact with one of the community leaders who owns a Hostel that we stayed in for two nights. Jose, the Hostel owner, appeared to be open to helping us out should we feel led to do something in this picturesque community that lies about 2 hours north of Quito.

Here are some photos of our trip. There is a neat video on Heather's blog.

Life at 373 Juan Villalengua Ave.

So far, Bryan has done all the blogging. Today, I thought I would take advantage of Will’s nap time and write. Every day, countless times throughout the day, I think of thoughts I’d like to share. Contrasts in life in between Quito and life in western Montana. New discoveries. What the Lord is teaching me. However, Mr. Will keeps me quite busy. In fact, daily life here is more time consuming. Not that it is bad, just different. When we moved from Atlanta to Pendleton, Oregon, in December 2001, we had to get rid of our washer and dryer and move into an apartment where I became the dish washer and Bryan became the pack-mule that hauled the weekly laundry to the laundromat. Life is a little like that here. Our temporary two-bedroom apartment at the corner of Juan Villalengua and Vera Cruz (see the building in the third photo from the top--not a great photo) has a washing machine but no dryer. So every few days Will and I put on our hats (a must for sun protection), and we stuff our red carry-on suitcase with wet clothes, and walk the block and a half from our apartment building to the school dormitory where I can use the dryer on the third floor. Unlike in Pendleton, where I traveled by minivan, my transportation is my own two feet, and at times, a taxi cab. The benefits of walking are obvious, but also include some unexpected benefits. I am getting to know my neighbors and some of the street vendors that I pass along the way. First, there is Marcelo, the man who stands outside our building and helps people parallel park, earning tips throughout the day. Liliana and I pass each other as well. Liliana is the caregiver for my 90-year-old neighbor, who kindly helped me by sharing an extra tank of propane until we could return the favor. Then there is the female street vender whose 20-month old boy frequently sits with her on the street corner opposite our building (sometimes napping, sometimes finding trash with which to play while his mom eeks out a living selling fruits and nuts). Jonathan recently bought two toy cars, one for Will and one for the vendor’s toddler. What joy to see her eyes light up as she gave the toy to her little boy. (Will wasn’t sure about that! J) And then there’s Laura, the 60-something street vendor whom I met while standing in line at the pharmacy just inside the hospital while filling a prescription for Will. We bonded while standing in line, and now we stop to talk to her each day on the sidewalk. 

I love that people smile and greet one another. Many people are very friendly. Others are not so nice. The propane guy ran off with one of our full tanks of propane yesterday. That was an interesting way to start the morning. I might have run after him, but I was still in my robe. Liliana called the police, but no one ever came. Definitely a learning experience. But through each challenge, the Lord always provides. I now know to call a dependable Christian man who will deliver our gas. Propane lasts about two weeks. Five containers of water last about a week. For water, we call Alfredo. Just this morning, I was able to share with the dormitory housekeeper Rebecca’s amazing story of how the Lord brought Rebecca into our family. With each encounter, I pray that we would reflect the Lord’s love and light.

With our new transportation mode comes some new challenges. Crossing the major thoroughfares is in itself a death-defying experience. We are learning to pray “in all circumstances.” Last week, Jonathan had a close call as we left the local market, for which there is no real crosswalk or stop light. Somehow he had gotten behind a few people also waiting to cross. When there was a break in traffic, Will and I zipped across but Jonathan lost precious seconds trying to navigate around some slower moving pedestrians. I am sure that in spite of the fact that no one around me spoke English, everyone knew what I was telling Jonathan once we made it across. I was scared. So I promised myself that I would actually ask everyone to please pray for our daily safety. We are trusting the Lord for His faithful protection. That same night, He reminded me that He is ACTIVELY involved in answering those prayers for protection. As I lay in bed that night trying to fall asleep, I heard the unmistakable voice of the Lord clearly speaking to me, saying to get up and go check the gas knobs on the stovetop (something I had never thought about doing at bedtime). I immediately got up, and sure enough, one of the knobs was not completely turned off. That evening at dinnertime, Rebecca had asked to show me that she knew how to turn on and light the gas stove. Reluctantly, I let her. I took over the cooking, but somehow one of the knobs had not been turned off. After I discovered the knob was still on, we determined that only Mom and Dad will turn on and off the gas. The Lord is so faithful!

I love relearning the language that I learned in my youth. If I had to start learning Spanish for the first time now, it would be so much harder. So grateful that my Spanish is slowly coming back. I love getting to know the people that the Lord is putting in my path. I am enjoying the Ecuadorian cuisine and the sights. This weekend is Carnaval weekend. During the break, we will escape the concrete jungle with a family from Oregon who works at the school and will explore the natural beauty of a lake that sits atop an old volcanic crater. Stay tuned…