A view from the Basilica in the historic area of Quito
We have been in Quito over a month and we would love to share with you what life looks like for us now...
Nazarene Theological Seminary where we attend our language classes
Monday through Friday Kurtis and I wake up around 6:30am (4:30am for our Phoenix peeps) and get ready for language school. We are attending classes at the nearby Nazarene Theological Seminary. The Seminary campus is about a 15 minute walk from where we live and we walk most days. Quito is very hilly, so this started out as a pretty big challenge, but it is getting a bit easier and I am thankful for the time of forced exercise, and for some moments with Kurtis.
We are in a class with 5 other students who are at a beginning to intermediate level in Spanish. Our “Professora” speaks very little english, so we are doing our best to keep up! We started class a couple weeks late due to the issues we had with our Visas, so we have had a lot of catching up to do. We have about 1 month of language school down, and we are finally feeling like some parts of it are starting to click (at least in understanding. Speaking it is a whole other story)!
While we are in class, Malachi spends time with one of our wonderful roommates, Angela. He has a lot of fun with her! They color, read books, and go to the park that is in our neighborhood. We live in a gated community in Quito that is nice and peaceful. Thankfully, we live on a street that is not a thru-street, so Malachi spends a lot of time outside playing with us! We love being outside! Its beautiful here.
When class lets out around noon, Kurtis and I make the walk back home. We get home in time to eat lunch with the kiddo :)
Our awesome roommates: Angela, Trevor, and Kindra
We can find a lot of the same foods here as in the States. We shop at a big store called MegaMaxi which is comparable to a Super Walmart. There are a few interesting food items we have experienced her so far: we drink milk out of a bag, avocados and bananas are cheap and delicious, and there are many delicious fruits here. Most interesting and surprisingly delicious fruit: Granadilla (also known as “snot fruit”). It's gross to look at but yummy to the tastebuds!
After lunch it is time for Malachi’s nap. This is Kurt and my time to get work done, do devotions or rest. Our brains are pretty full after studying a different language all morning! Once nap time is over, the rest of the afternoon is spent having fun with Malachi at home or at the nearby park.
Malachi has made a great friend across the street named Andres. He is 4 and they have a blast riding tricycles around the neighborhood. We get to spend quite a bit of time with his family while they play, which is a great opportunity for us to practice our spanish!
Having fun at the playground in our neighborhood
For dinner, we take turns making meals with our roommates. Our roommates are all great cooks! We have enjoyed yummy foods from Peru, Ecuador, and the U.S. We really enjoy dinnertime with our roommates. It is a great time to sit together and learn more about each other. We are very thankful for their humor and willingness to teach us during this time.
Once Malachi goes to bed for the night, the homework begins for us. Some nights we have just a few things to do, other nights, we feel a bit overloaded; but we get as much done as we can. We are anxious to be able to communicate with the people here. Pretty soon, our roommates are going to start speaking only Spanish. That will be a challenge, but will be really good for us!
On the weekends we enjoy time as a family. Next weekend we are headed to Ambato, Ecuador to spend time with another cluster coordinator family and their team of young missionaries. We are excited to see a team in action!
We will be in language school for about 3 months and then in mid-January we will welcome our team to Ecuador! We ask that you pray for our team as The Lord gathers and prepares them for this ministry. If you know anyone who has a call to missions, please let us know if you think they might be interested in ministering in Ecuador. We would love to talk with them!
Our trip to The Basilica in Quito
