Slippery Slides

July 1st

Patate, Ecuador

The rain came down on Patate as our group of ten from Texas and Oregon traveled to the center of the city to put on the second day of our Bible School. It was a fruitful day, the kids really soaked up the memory verse from yesterday and repeated the story about Jonah almost perfectly before learning about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego today. Lucky me, I was Abednego in our mini-drama and part of my acting involved sliding down a twenty-foot high slide into our makeshift furnace (a huge piece of paper that looked like a fire, held up by several poles). I did mention that it rained quite a bit that morning, and not wanting to wet the entire backside of my jeans, I decided to slide down on my feet covered with my rubber soled Merrells. Not a good move in hindsight.

I started slowly, but quickly picked up velocity until I was out of control on this huge slide. The end result: Abednego took out the makeshift furnace at the bottom of the slide, our storyteller wasn’t exactly sure what to say, and all of the kids watching our lesson were rolling with laughter on the ground. So I learned today, slippery slides + rubber soled shoes = not a good combination.

The rest of the day was very productive back at the camp. We continued to build shelves and wire several rooms in the top floor of the camp’s coliseum. The highlight of my afternoon was standing on scaffolding three stories high working with long strands of wire. A little nerve racking, but fun at the same time. I was also able to get a good workout in around dinner tonight. Playing basketball against the Ecuadorians can make anyone feel like Shaquille O’Neal in a hurry.

The coming days will be a physical test on my body though. I won’t be able to write until Friday at the earliest as I leave tomorrow for the jungle tomorrow afternoon. Our itinerary takes us to the city of Tena tomorrow night before canoeing and hiking for several hours to see several communities deep in the Amazon. After talking to Brother Steve about it today, he said it’ll be like ‘going back to the 11^th century with people living in huts and not wearing much clothing at all.’ It’ll be my first trip to the Amazon and I hope to capture the beauty of the wildlife and the people who call the jungle their home during my three day stay. Most likely, I’ll return to Patate and to the camp Friday in time to rent gear for a climbing expedition Saturday and Sunday. Those two days, a few of our staff members will join me as we climb Carihuayrazo, a 5,020 meter (16,470 ft.) mountain here in the Tungurahua province. It’s the 9^th tallest peak here in Ecuador and just 9 meters shorter than our neighbor, Mt. Tungurahua. I can’t wait to experience the next few days, it’ll definitely be a trip to remember.