HCHS Ecuador Trip, 2013: Day 3: The Tim and Josh Experience

Hola padres y amigos,

Today us guys were awoken from a slumber interrupted by a man known to us as Eric Fogg. By the yanking of ankles, us men were dragged to the floor in order to bring us to a state of awakeness. We as a group had our first mission at HCJB Global. We loaded items from Quito into our bus to transfer to the hospital of Shell. We had pancakes for breakfast. I ate 3. After our hunger was satisfied we loaded the bus and started our five hour journey to Shell. On the way to our destination, we stopped multiple times including a stop to a restaurant serving rotisserie chicken. One issue many of us found ourselves facing was a lack of running water in the bathrooms. After some of us used the restroom we attempted to us the sink that was not in use. In replacement for the running water there was a single bucket filled with water in the center of the counter. Such a replacement seemed to make some nervous but definitely brought us face to face with yet another third world experience. Also, we stopped at a town to treat ourselves to frozen goodies in a town known as Ice Cream Town. After our delicious treats many found themselves extremely high. This could have been caused by the serious increase in elevation. Then we traveled along the mountains to Baños. Yes, I used the baños in Baños (don't judge me). After our bladders were relieved, we visited the waterfall of holy water. This waterfall has historical value in the city of Baños which is illustrated in the cathedral. This opened many or our eyes as we gazed at the many statues, paintings, and even experienced a small portion of a Mass service. Once our visitation of Baños was complete, we went on our way to the many waterfalls just minutes outside of the city. We spent time at two of the waterfalls that we saw on our way to Shell. At the first waterfall seen, we came in contact with a group of seemingly local people that strangely asked for our picture. Once our picture was taken we learned that these people were Christian artists. They gave us a couple CDs in gratitude for our picture. Random Fun fact: one minute of flight time on an airplane over the jungle in Ecuador equals one hour of walking on foot. Once arriving in Shell, our first stop was to the hospital where we unloaded the items we picked up in Quito. The hospital is located only steps away from the house of Eric Fogg. We helped drop the groceries that we had also brought along from Quito for the Fogg family. After the groceries were given, we ate as a group in some nearby picnic tables. Once all of our eating, planning for the next day, and cleaning was completed, we walked ourselves back to our hosteria where we unloaded our luggage from the bus and began with devotions. We discussed the outstanding moments of the day and in the end, Guillermo explained his own testimony which was seen as powerful for many of us. After prayer and explanations for tomorrow, we found ourselves blogging. #bloggersforlife

Thanks for the prayers and support. Holla atcha boii in Ecuado'.

-Tim and Josh