Nuestra casa...and other ramblings

We have now been in Ecuador for two months.  It's such a weird feeling to be somewhere completely different and not call it vacation. We are living here. For a short time, yes, but we do not have a house or apartment waiting for us in the States. So weird.  But sometimes I find I need to remind myself of this fact. That right now, Ecuador is my home...or I should try to make it home for the time being. I learned that lesson at Bethel. We were encouraged to make it our home, make our Bethel rooms the way we like it (within reason) and draw close to our congregation. These were the things that would help us adjust to all the changes, and help keep us in our assignment. I take this advice very seriously (imagine mischievous smirk slowly spreading across face). Yes making a place a home takes work, pain staking shopping sprees at times (hehe) and some creativity. Have we been up to the task? You bet you we have! So without further ado I introduce to you, our apartment...wait, wait! I mean, our HOME! (Full on cheesy smile now).

The upstairs, right outside our bedroom and before the terrace.

Our terrace in all her mustard colored glory

I always wanted one of theeese! It leads to the master bedroom and terrace.

Kitchen and dining room

Living room where we watch our beloved two English channels that only show forensic evidence shows. We can tell you who the murderer is in the first four minutes like nobody's business now.

Now, having an apartment is a big deal for both me and Matt as this is our first home that's like, nobody else's! Meaning if we accidentally start a fire, we'll be the ones manning the extinguisher. If we oversleep, no housekeeper will be startling us awake with her door knocking and no mom will be marching into our bedroom hollering that the school bus is leaving without us. Yes we are paying rent and everything! (And yes mom, I now turn off all the lights when I'm not using them, just like you always said I would when I started paying for things..:))

Now that we have our own place, I feel like I can really focus on the ministry.  I have a few studies that are slowly picking up speed. One is a door step study in the good news brochure. That one I can actually prepare for without getting a headache looking back and forth between the English and Spanish. Then there's another lady around my age that actually finished the bible teach book four years ago. Life got in the way, but she wants to give it another go. We're reviewing the bible teach using subtitles and review box questions. That one takes the longest to prepare for but, of course, extremely rewarding. And starting next week I'll start studying with her three kids all under the age of ten (which is my absolute dream come true to have a kids group study). And tomorrow's my first study in the bible teach book with a teen girl I met last week.  Jehovah has also answered our prayers to study with a married couple. One we do on Saturdays and the other on Sundays.  Some of the details on how these came about are kind of cool, so I'll be writing another post with more details.

So that's that. I'm still debating on writing more about the emotional side of this journey. The challenges have taken me a little by surprise, as the things I was anticipating having a hard time with, are not so challenging and the things I never even stopped to think about have been the sneaky little devils that have made me at times, want to swim back home and go shopping at...CVS or something:) after that comment, maybe I should fill you in because, like, who gets cravings for CVS?? Hope you guys are doing okay with all the snow. Be careful on the roads and go sledding for me please! Xoxo

I'll leave you with a few pics from service the other day...

 This was a great day in service. First time working with this sister and we hit it off right away.

 Photo shoot with my friend Elsa

Snuck this pic while on a study with this little boy.  He's watching a jw.org video here. He was captivated and it was so sweet.

 My favorite service partner.