Out and About

On Monday, the girls and I decided to go to el centro (downtown) to have lunch at a restaurant we frequented last year called Cilantro.  Our almuerzos was delicious.  The lunch bill for the three of us came to $8.50.

This was a potato soup.  It was tasty but a little bland which is why they give you a bowl of popcorn to add a little saltiness.  After adding the popcorn, it was delicious!

Smothered pork chops with rice and gravy, salad and a glass of fresh pineapple juice!

Strawberries and whipped sweet cream!

After lunch we happened upon a beautiful park along the river called Parque de la Madre (Mothers' Park).  This park is specifically designed for mothers with children ages twelve and under.  There are guards in the park to make sure that the mothers and their kids have access to the toys.  But everyone is welcomed to enjoy the lawn and benches.  This park was under construction when we visited last year.  Now it's complete.  India had a ball!  She just loved this park.

After all that work, it was time for ice cream at Tutto Freddo!

Our First Gathering

Brother Cordoba and his wife Lula gave a BBQ for the congregation on Saturday after service. Their story is quite an interesting one. They used to live in Arizona. While there they were not interested whatsoever in the truth. He actually used to run the witnesses off. Then they moved to the Bahamas. Sister Cordoba met some witnesses there that answered her questions from the Bible. She had been fed up with the churches. As she put it, "All they were interested in was money. In the States...money. In the Bahamas...money. No one was teaching from the Bible." So she told her husband that she found some people that were going to come over and answer all of their questions directly from the Bible. But she didn't tell him they were JW's. (Smart lady!)

Of course, they loved what they were being taught. So much so that they started preaching to others and telling their friends and family that they had become JWs. Then the brother who studied with them had to let them know that they weren't witnesses quite yet. They weren't baptized. She told the brother that she had that covered because she'd be been baptized three times (Catholic, Baptist and Pentecostal). Well after explaining the process to them they decided that they wanted to get baptized at the next assembly. But they weren't even halfway through the Bible Teach Book. She said at the rate their study was being conducted they'd never get baptized. So they arranged to study every Saturday for two hours. By the time the next assembly came they had completed the Bible Teach Book and were in chapter 7 of the Remain in God's Love Book. They were both baptized in March of 2012. They hadn't even been baptized for a whole year before they decided to move to Cuenca to serve in the English Congregation. They've been here for just a few months and are proving to be an asset to the congregation. They're good people!

And their efforts have certainly been blessed by Jehovah. They found a house for rent for $900 a month fully furnished. The owner was relocating to another part of the country to run his business there. The owner's wife is a witness as well as their adult son but the son was inactive. Long story short, after prayers, negotiations, holy spirit's help and their trying to reach the son's heart and encourage him to go back to meetings...they were able to rent the place for about half of the initial price! But Jehovah didn't stop there. They needed a car. One day he saw one for sale and called the number on the windshield. The owner needed to go back to the States immediately and need to sell his car. He wanted somewhere around 8k for it. Bro Cordoba offered him 5k in cash the next day and he accepted it. So now they have a house and a car. Maybe house is an understatement. View the pics and decide for yourselves. And keep in mind Matthew 6:31-34, Isaiah 59:1, Psalms 34:8-10 and Psalms 37:4.

BTW, the food was off da chain! And everybody had a wonder time getting to know each other. There are quite a few visitors here right now and more on the way. Won't you join us? The English District Convention is the first weekend in August in Guayaquil. There's still time to make your arrangements!