Monday: After Dave walks to the Alliance Academy to kick off a week of Bible teaching, Beth gets the boys ready to grocery shop at Quito’s biggest supermarket chain, Supermaxi. It’s very similar to grocery stores in the U.S. and there’s even a bigger version of the store (called Megamaxi) that includes apparel, toys, electronics and appliances.
For our first two years in Quito, we always took cabs (about $1.50/ride), which was getting to be a handful without car seats for the boys. But now, thanks to your kind support for our work with HCJB Global, we have finally purchased a vehicle! We love the freedom it affords and the opportunities to give rides to our friends!
Tuesday: The boys and I prepare to attend Bible Study Fellowship. Our study on Moses is a real hit with them because, as Luke says, “I have a brother named Aaron, just like Moses did!”
The rest of my small group is all Ecuadorian ladies and most have only a basic grasp of English (the language of the study). We laugh a lot as we try to pronounce Hebrew words like Kohathite in both English and Spanish.
At school, Dave spends Tuesday lunches with a small group of young men, alternating more serious Bible study with weeks of fun activities (they were playing Wii together this past week – another hit!).
Wednesday: It’s off to AWANA’s Club on Wednesday afternoons, or, as Levi and Luke call it, “Iguanas.” It’s fun for Aaron and Mom to have some quality time alone while the boys are gone. At night Dave does mid-week stress-busting playing soccer (called futbol here) with fellow teachers and school alumni.
Thursday: Titus Women is a Bible study sponsored by our church and Beth leads the weekly worship time with her guitar. This gathering has been the source of some of her closest friendships and prayer partners. It’s also a time for sampling cuisine from around the world as Ecuadorian, German, American, Canadian, Filipino and Colombian ladies take turns bringing snacks to share.
Friday & Saturday: When Dave isn’t working on lesson planning for the upcoming week, these are our days for entertaining. In a highly mobile community like ours, it can be hard to open up to friendships when you’ll likely be saying goodbye to those people in a year or two. Yet we all long to know and be known, so we make a point to keep reaching out. And the returns in friendships are rich indeed!
Sunday: We head to church at English Fellowship. Beth leads music about twice a month, so Dave pulls extra kid duty. And then comes the Sunday afternoon siesta (nap)– hopefully as much a staple in your home as in ours!
Regardless of the day of the week, every evening ends with Beth speaking the Aaronic blessing over the boys before bed. And it is our prayer for you, through your week that:
