Our First Post while at camp!!!

Well it’s taken a little bit of work but we’re finally online at El Refugio (The Refuge). Things so far have been great! Here’s a bit of a rundown of what we’ve been up to so far:

- We arrived at Quito around 1:30pm (we’re 2 hours ahead of you guys in California) after some stops in El Salvador and Costa Rica

- Got settled into our casa – which for those of you unfamiliar with the Spanish language, that means house - for the week. It’s got a kitchen, two bathrooms (with HOT WATER!!), and a living room with a wood burning stove. Blake and Andon are sharing a room and I’m with Mitch and Taggart. It’s really comfortable – except for the mouse we’ve seen several times, which has created a small amount of discomfort for me. Let’s just say I’m never the first into the house just in case he’s out

- We visited the Equator and had dinner out and had some de-lish local cuisine

- Saturday we started on the tree house project. We hauled, by hand, about 100 pieces of lumber, a generator, tools, and tons of hardware 300 yards up a narrow mountain path to the worksite. Before you call me a wimp keep in mind we’re at an elevation of about 10,000 feet (!) which means that 300 yards feels like a mile……at least

- The first day we got a few of the braces for the tree houses up – check the pics – which was more than we expected

- Sunday we went to a local Spanish speaking church and endured, I mean, enjoyed a service that last almost 2 hours in a language none of us understood

- After church we went to an old cathedral in town that I’m not even gonna attempt to spell. We climbed all the way up to the bell tower which challenged my fear of heights. But it was well worth the experience. After that we went to a local market to do some souvenir shopping.

So that brings us up to Sunday night. We’re all sitting around the fire relaxing after a long day of soaking up some sights and sounds of Ecuador.

We’re all healthy and doing well…..except for the occasional gasping for air when we get working too hard (which is code for simply walking around camp). It’s a blessing to all of us to be here serving at El Refugio. We’re pretty confident we’ll accomplish what we came here to do with the construction project, which is encouraging.

Everyone here says hi to family and friends!

We love you guys and really appreciate your prayers! And if you have a minute after reading this, leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Oh and one more thing…..GO ANGELS!!!!! Whoot Whoot!!!! Swept the Red Sox!!! One step closer to the World Series!!!!

Pictures coming later today......