Lia and Laura had a really, really great experience in Ecuador! They flew to Quito and then to San Cristobal to see the Galápagos Islands. They loved every minute of it! They played on the beach and snorkeled. They saw all kinds of animals and swam with the turtles. Their first night in Ecuador (which was really only a few hours before they had to get up again) they stayed in the nicest hotel they'd ever stayed in. From there they stayed in the worst hotel they'd ever stayed in where they were scared all night that they were going to be murdered! Thankfully they survived:) They bought some supplies, including work boots, and took a giant canoe to a little village called Guayacana where they were going to be working for the next several days. It took them three hours to get there on the canoe. Their project for the week was to build greenhouses for the village. They slept on the floor of the church building under mosquito nets and bathed in the river in their clothes. I knew they were going to be safe and taken care of, and I knew they were tough, but I was still so worried about them. But I also knew it would be a great experience and I was so glad they had each other. And it was a great experience! They loved Guayacana! The kids there loved them too. They loved playing with their hair and called Lia "Amarillo" (which means yellow) because of her blond hair. They also loved having their nails painted--which they would promptly go wash off in the river and ask to have them painted again (or promptly put their fingers through Lia and Laura's hair with their wet nails). They were fast friends with everyone in the village and were so sad when it was time to say goodbye. Their project was really hard, but everyone worked together to get it done, including the kids. The organization they went with is not afflicted with the church, but the bishop there facilitated the whole thing. He has an incredible conversation story and has given his life to building the village and sharing the gospel. His wife cooked for them all week and they loved going to church there. After they finished their project in Guayacana, they went back to Quito were they went site seeing for a day before heading home. We were so happy to see them and so happy they got to go!
