Don Sixto

This last week was perhaps less eventful than the prior two weeks, but life in Casa Victoria is never bland. On Friday night the 7th of November we had what was essentially a board meeting for Casa Victoria to usher in the new director and to appoint new honorary positions of leadership. We met at the home of former president of Ecuador - Sixto Duran Ballen. He is the father of the home's owner, mama Alicia. Sixto and his wife Fina were extremely hospitable and friendly, they are truly loved here in Ecuador because of their warmth. We were told that to get to his home you only need to find a older cab driver and just tell them "To Sixto's house". This didn't work and we spent the about 10 minutes trudging through the rain to actually find the house. It is in a very normal, non-pretentious part of town. While the meeting went well, it was mostly administrative and not too interesting. Afterward, however, Sixto and I hung out and conversed for a few minutes. He gave me one of his personal cigars which is labeled "Don Sixto". Here is a photo of the man and me:


Wednesday of this last week we then hosted a breakfast for the Ecumenical council of pastors that have gotten together to unite the church of Quito for over 11 years. It has long been a dream of the directors to share our ministry and home with this council in hopes that it can better connect us with the larger community. About 25 total attendees made it and we received numerous compliments about the home and the program. Here is what the dining room looked like:


The week then ended shockingly and the majority of the last two days have been spent glued to the internet and Skype trying to find out about the tragic fire in Santa Barbara. It has been difficult to try and make sense of this from so far away. It is just unthinkable that so many friends have lost their homes and my heart goes out to them. I wish there was something that I could do but from here I can just send sympathies and prayers. Being that the community is just waking up to these realities much more prayer will be needed. I am very thankful that my home was spared but many more friends were not so lucky. The Montecito community does not often need to reach out for help but this is one time where there is much vulnerability. Casa Victoria sends thoughts and prayers.

Long Overdue

Seeing that it has been just about one month since my last post there is much to be covered. I can promise no coherent structure and I can't mention everything but here is what La Vida Loca has looked like over the last 4 weeks.

We invited a new member into the home about three weeks ago. His name is Ivan and he is by far our youngest member at 17. He is also the only guy in the house with a girlfriend so I guess the age thing doesn't matter much. He has been a great addition to the home and he is soaking in everything very well. He is somewhat the archetype candidate for the house because he comes in with great people skills and lots of maturity. He can potentially come out of this experience with great leadership abilities and we are all excited about his presence here. His arrival also spells the end of a short tenure for Ricardo who moved in the week after Char and I. Ricardo has some pressing financial needs that have required him to get a job and look for a place to live outside the house. His addition here was really valuable and he will be missed.

Just in the last week the house has acquired a new director named Carolina Bueno. It is a very exciting time of transition and it will bring about many good changes. Jose Luis and Carolina are excited and grateful as they are busy enough with their 2 year-old daughter Julia Isabel and work demands. They are largely responsible for the success of this house both structurally and idealistically and they will remain involved on a more casual level. The timing is great though for the new director. New vision and energy is always a good thing. Carolina will spend 40 hours a week in the house involving herself in all of the activities and implementing new strategies. This all begins this week.

Two weeks ago Char and I took a day trip to a friend's plantation in the rain forest zone to the west of Quito. The drive took about 2 hours and saw us descend from 10,000 feet to almost 2,000 feet. The landscape was rugged and awesome. The plantation itself was like nothing we had ever seen. He has more than 6,000 African Palms planted between wild jungle which produce the fruit responsible for conventional cooking oil. We got to relax in his pool, swim in the river, eat rotisserie chicken which probably was anything but safe, and fine dine at Arasha (a premier resort near his property). Being that it was the first trip we had taken, Char and I were especially appreciative to our friend Maurizio for generously sharing his home with us.

Just this past weekend we then made our way to Naranjito 235, home pueblo of former Casa V resident Lenin Pavon. We have been spending a good deal of time with Lenin of late and he was really eager to share his home and family with us. Char and I were very excited to get to know the place as it came very highly recommended. We left Saturday morning and arrived by 5pm. The hike into the village from the main road is about 15 minutes and we arrived to a driving rain and a mud covered path. No one fell but we got to Lenin's house thoroughly soaked and with mud-covered shoes. It was a humorous way to start the weekend. We spent the night playing guitar and drinking "el beso del diablo" (the most intense liquor that I have yet tried) with Lenin's extended family. In the morning we awoke to roosters and dogs going crazy, and it was only 430am. We got up later and ate a humble breakfast before gearing up and heading out to hike the mountain behind the village. We left by about 1030am and climbed all the way through the fresh mud to the peak. We were completely exhausted at the top and the three of us shared one beer to celebrate the achievement and the incredible view of the valley. The descent was much drier and faster but very difficult given the severity of the trail. We also got back to find that Lenin's brother had drank all the cold beer that morning with a friend so we were bummed. (The water is not good to drink in the village so beer is the new water when there). The weekend was phenomenal and it proved to be the polar opposite experience of the previous weekend. We ate the same soup for every meal (not breakfasts) and just spent time conversing. We played soccer, drank more "beso del diablo", shared about ourselves, and just generally enjoyed great fellowship with genuinely loving people. The generosity of these people who have next to nothing is an incredible thing.

Charlie and I have been cultivating a great new friendship with the neighborhood baker and his family over the last two weeks. Charlie spent nearly 10 hours with the family last friday helping make bread kids (GuaGuas in quichua) and all the guys in the house took turns lending a hand. the experience really endeared us to the family and we have since eaten with them twice and spent probably at least an hour a day hanging in the bakery getting to know them. We are planning a fishing trip with Edwin (the baker) and then a potential trip to Cecilia's (the wife) home town to meet her family and see another part of Ecuador. They have been exceedingly welcoming and generous to us as well and we are so excited to bring them into Casa V to know the whole house. On friday afternoon we made pizza in his bakery and had their family over to eat it with us and it was a phenomenal time. Just know that Edwin makes the best bread in Quito and if you come to visit you will have a friend in the barrio.

Yesterday, the gringos played in the Quito Turkey Bowl which is hosted by the Alliance Academy, a school in the north of town which has most of the missionary kids and American families living in Quito. Jon, Char, and I played for the Youth World team which comes highly respected due to years of success. We played four games of flag football over about 7 hours and eventually lost in the championship to the teahcers of the Academy. Lots of men went down due to injury but nothing too serious. As I am wiriting this you should know that all three of us are in a world of pain from sore muscles and aching joints. It was a gringo-filled day and it was a great networking opportunity for Casa Victoria among the giants of ministry here in Quito.

On the horizon we have several large plans. On Nov. 24th we have the arrival of Chris and Angela Bouma, a couple from Washington DC who are coming to serve for 1 year in the home. They are great friends with Los Eshleman and having another woman in the house will be a great blessing for Anita. On that same day we have Byron and Robyn Beck arriving for a short visit and we plan on showing them a great time. A few days after their arrival we are going to head out via bus to Chile for about 3 weeks. We are going to stop along the way in Lima and Guayaquil and on the way back we hope to climb Machu Pichu. More to come on that in the coming weeks as we still have no definite plans in place. Look for a new blog next week as well, but in the meantime watch Char's video blogs at his site www.charbeck.blogspot.com. Ciao from Quito.