Birthday Bashes

Every month at the soup kitchen, we celebrate all the kids birthday for that month. Birthdays aren't celebrated here in Ecuador like they are in the U.S. - in fact, a large majority of kids don't even know their birthdays or their age. We have to ask them to bring in their birth certificate so we can tell them. Imagine that! So, we try to make it a special day for them by having cake, games, and prizes.

Muchas Gracias

To our churches, friends, and family for your generous support to us this year. A couple of months ago, we sent you an email letting you know that we would be leaving in June unless we raised more funds to stay in Ecuador. Your response was overwhelming! Thanks to your giving hearts, we are able to fulfill our year committment to this ministry and stay until September. We are especially excited to stay through the summer since June, July, and August are the busiest months here. Next week, the first of our 8 summer teams will arrive with lots of new shoes, socks, and love.

Family Reunion

Both sets of our parents left today after spending a week with us here. We hired a Mariachi band to serenade our moms on Mother's Day, visited some hot springs in the mountains, hiked to waterfalls in the Cloud Forest in Mindo, stood on the equator, went to the soup kitchen we assist at, tasted lots of authentic cuisine ( dad Brill tried some fruit that looks like snot) and took way more buses than anyone would have liked! Some funny/ bizarre moments during our week together:

1. Dad G getting aggressively elbowed out of the way as a woman (he refers to her now as "the linebacker" fought him for a seat on the metrobus. She won.

2. Both dads trying to kill an enormously large spider on the wall next to Amy's bed in our cabin in Mindo. Nobody slept well that night.

3. Mom B witnessing some frisky behavior from a couple in a car from the bus window where she sat.

4. Walking by a man dragging a passed out woman by one arm from the curb into her house. When we asked what happened, he said she was drunk.

P.S. Some of you have asked about our dog, so we posted a pic of the three of us. Pava is still with us, but we are looking for a home for her as we are not taking her back to the U.S. with us in September.