Church

Church is a big part of our lives here, just has it was in Hong Kong and in the US. The ward (congregation) that we belong to has welcomed us with open arms and had been exceptionally kind. The kids finally got used to primary in spanish (probably around the same time as school become normal and fine), and both Amy and I have been active in helping with various duties. Here we are in front of the church in town.



















We made a trip down to Guayaquil, where the mormon temple is in Ecuador. It was a lot of fun. We stayed a couple of nights in the housing reserved for temple visitors and a couple of nights in the nearby Marriot, which had a pool and fast internet. Here we are in front of the beautiful temple. d







One thing that has been special about our living in Ecuador is the history that Amy´s family has here. About 33 years ago, Amy´s grandparents (Russ and Marjorie Thomas) were asked by the church to come and live in Ecuador for two years and to help build churches around the region. Russ was involved in construction in California. They helped to build churches in Ecuador, Columbia, Peru and several other countries. They also built the first mormon church in Otavalo. On our trip back from Guayaquil, we saw a mormon church that looked like it could be about 30 years old, and stopped by to talk to the members. Several of them confirmed that it had been built around that time, and remembered a north american couple that had helped with the construction. In addition, a couple of the old timers in the our ward in Otavalo remember Amy´s grandparents, and were so excited that we were connected with the people that had helped them to build their first chapel.