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.