Where has the time gone?

I was looking at the site and noticed it's been 3 MONTHS since the last blog ...... and to think I had plans to increase the amount of blogs sent out when I sent out the last one! ...... What happened? ....... New congregation .... that's what..... BUSY BUSY BUSY..... Arranging everything and with 2 elders and 90 publishers it's ... well crazy..... but the congregation is awesome .... the friends are wonderful and appreciative of all the efforts on there behalf.... we also got a great group of MS's that are hard workers ..... One is a fireman full time, a dad of 2 lovely children, an husband of the sister on the far right and a regular pioneer (spends a minimum of 70 hours in the ministry  ...... for those unfamiliar with the liiiiingoooo)

Just last night we qualified 2 new publishers to start in the ministry (1 of the 2...2nd from the left).... yes the 3 (formally 2) congregations are already starting to grow ... with lots and lots of new bible students regulary attending the meetings... Carol has 3 that are attending, 2 regularly and one of and on ......  AMAZING..... so for those that have the circumstances and the desire to go where the need is greater... come on down to Ecuador ..... we will leave the light on for you! You wont be disappointed ..... with the ministry that is ;-o !

As for some of the tom foolery that happens here we just have to share with you ..... We were with the Webbs yesterday and they share with us, their fun little episode ... seems they decided to purchase a bed not the mattress, just the part that makes the mattress look good... evidently they went in a few weeks back a made the deal-i-o with the furniture place... they specified the color and made sure the color was written on the paperwork and highlighted and underlined and bolded and...... well you get the idea .... it was clear what they were paying for.... well evidently it wasn't ! ... when the bed comes it's the wrong color and the finish was the Cuenca Ecuador high shine ... make that spit shine special! ... all we can all say about that is  ....... YUCK!!!!!!!   ...... UGLY!!!!!! ...... so when it came they asked what was going on as this was not what they ordered .... "well lets get it set up and deal with that later" or something like that was the response ..... Carl tried to talk to the sales person and then the owner but the owner wouldn't  take the calls, until Carl informed the delivery guys that they wouldn't be receiving the rest of the DINERO..... bed set up and they don't get all the money .... Carl had to escort the fellow that was the driver, who had nothing to do with the deal, out of the apartment due to the guy "sticking his spoon in the situation" ... (translated for the english speakers and readers).... well once the setup guy realized he wouldn't be returning to the office with all the bucks .... guess who calls Carl? .... Yup the owner .... "what's going on"? .... he says to Carl .... (listen to your voice mails buddy? if so you would know.... oh but you do know ..... that's right ... THAT'S THE REASON YOU DIDN'T ANSWER THE CALLS IN THE FIRST PLACE! YOU WERE TRYING TO IGNORE THE SITUATION) ..... well when there is money involved they don't tend to ignore you ..... well the long and short of it is that they are going to have it refinished ..... well we had a good laugh at their expense ...... (never want to do that, ......It always comes back to haunt you) .....

But usually not the next day ..... so this morning we call for gas (propane) .... we have some friends coming and we don't want them to have to take cold showers and not to be able to cook their food (it's always better when it's cooked isn't it?) ... so we call for gas as mentioned ... "how long"?  .... "30 minutes" ......  ok that sounded reasonable .... so an hour later I call and ask where they are and they mention that they had a problem that came up and that the truck would be here in 20 minutes .... fair enough ... 20 minutes it is .... 30 minutes later I call and ask where they are at "well our truck was there but you weren't" ... noooooo not so Mr. gas man ... I was here! .......  and then they tell me they will come again (again? no you never came the first time, so you can't come again .... just come the first time) and deliver the gas in the next few minutes ..... ok ok, calm down Bill, calm down .... you doooooo understand I was a bit upset as I had other stuff to do on my "day off" .... the one and only during the week .... for right now .... like I said earlier BUSY BUSY BUSY! .... SOOOOOO after several more phone call and  promises to be there "enseguida" (right away, immediately, ASAP) and then being told that I gave them the wrong address .... yes all 3 times I gave them the wrong address.... I still don't know where I live .... I'm an idiot! .... finally the truck arrives and they do the gas tank trade out and I pay the driver and mention they must be really busy today.... then he tells me he's been at the shop, getting the truck fixed, something to do with the brakes ..... So I go back into the house after paying him and call the gas mans office and ask for the jefe .... (boss) and let him know that I was told that the truck would be here about 10 times between 10-12:30, and all along the truck was in the shop, and they had no way of fulfilling the promises to deliver the gas and I don't appreciate being lied to and blah blah blah ..... and then I realized ........... I was speaking to NO ONE.... I guess when I told him I didn't like being lied to like that he didn't take it too well .... Customer service .... whats that? ... we saw Carl and Esli at the grocery store same day, and told them our story, ..... we all just laughed ... even though we weren't laughing when it happened .... seems when we moved to the neighborhood/area where the Webbs live,  we stole some of their golden-ness (if thats a word) and when they came by and visited yesterday they stole it back! It's good for some laughs! ..... and a lot less hair. .... (I have so little,.... hair that is,  I have nothing to loose)

We have moved .....

Yes we finally did it ..... we moved from the cold, mold ridden, noisey (screaming kids, who scream for no reason, other then to scream, car alarms that went off during the night for whatever reason, and PARTIES until 3-4 in the morning for no good reason) that was fun ........ Some months ago, when Carol had "the Hep", I started to look for another place.... one day when she felt a bit better, she came with to see an apartment, and in the process we (she) found a small 3 story building in the process of being built..... when we spoke to the husband of the owner, he invited us to take a look at the apartments and we mentioned we had a dog ("No problem") that seldom happens ..... we go to the top of the building, and what can I say....."It was love a first site" .... 3rd storey, view of the mountains, city and a large patio to enjoy the really nice (normally) weather! It was the Dream apartment ..... and as it turned out, it was a dream .... You can check out the view from, not quite the top of the 3rd storie, in this video...

The following week,  the owner told us that her father had decided to take the place, as he was a recent widower, and preferred the smaller of the two apartments ..... Sounding like a bait and switch? ..... weeeell that's what it turned out to be..... after informing us that the 3rd story was not available .... "hooooowever the 2nd story (less view, no patio to enjoy the nice weather)  is available and you can have that unit" .... well the neighborhood is nice and the area is 1000 times more tranquil, and only 15 minutes to the city center (walking) ... so we decided to take the place ..... "Next question?" "When will it be ready?" 2 months she affirmed .... this is where it starts to sound like the movie "The Money Pit" .....  remember the Schreck or Shmelck or Streck brothers? (whatever there name was) .... "2 weeks" then 2 weeks later "2 weeks" well that's what happened here ..... roll the tape forward 4 MONTHS and we moved.... We gave notice on our old place and were ready to move in September 1, the day before the move, the place has yet to be cleaned up from all the construction ..... so we go in and start cleaning ... of course the owners think we're crazy (we probably are) Crazy Americans! But we had no place to go and they would have cleaned it,  and we would have Heilig cleaned it, then moved in .... so we decided to skip the second step and went right for the cleaning juggler .... grumbling along the way....

The apartment....

Then the actual move ....

A lady we met at a furniture store gave us a name of  "a guy" who does deliveries for the store ... she explains that he usually get a few guys from the low pay district and then shows up, to move all your stuff and it all costs less the 75.00 .... I'm in, as I don't have to lift a finger and it all gets moved! ..... So I give "the guy" a call, and he lets me know he can get together a few days later, and doesn't know exactly where we live, but asks me to come out to the street at a certain hour, so he can see me and then he will load up the goods and we will be on our way.... How simple can that be ... RIGHT ..... weeeell   evidently not that simple ...... I don't go out to the street at the appropriate time because no one and I mean no one is on time here... I told him to call me when he gets there ... which he didn't and finally when I call him he asks me why I wasn't there .... my question was "why didn't you call me if you were there, so that I would come out?" .... I have gone out to do that kind of thing before, and waited for 30-45 minutes ... so this time I thought I would make the most of my time, and keep preparing stuff, to get loaded up, and moved out ..... believe me it all made sense at the time.... well now he tells me he can't come for about an hour (that's translates 1:30 MINIMUM) When he shows up he's alone... so I ask him where are the other guys who are going to do the lifting, and he tells me, that I didn't tell him, that I wanted guys to do the lifting..... so guess who's going to do the lifting now ..... yeah ..... ME! This did not work out the way it was promised ..... "he shows up with a couple of guys to move all your stuff" ..... That's what I was told! (and yes it was in english, so I didn't get something fouled up due to the language).... Well we get all the junk here and of course some of it was banged up a bit .... but we got in and all is well .... It's a really nice apartment .... we're happy to be here .... new, no mold issues, sunny, lots of windows and a relatively quiet neighborhood ... quiet for latin America .... Right Carl?

Ooooooh by the way, speaking of Carl,  we are in the neck of the woods of the couple formally known as TGC or The Golden Couple .... so we are hoping that things will be going, all our way as we should be benefiting from the "the good vibes" coming from their direction 5 blocks away.

One other thing.... Carl upon arriving in Cuenca from the States (yes United or so they say) proclaims that "it's cold" ...... Well Carl you actually missed the "cold" (big surprise there) while you were enjoying the summertime on your trip ..... we had what I would call a cold snap... we probably had about 5 days during the month of August, when we had Mr. Sunshine with us ... there was one day, when I had about 4 layers of clothing on .... One young brother told me, his grampa told him this is the coldest it had been in 50 years ..... yeah we were here .... and Webbs?  ..... At the beach, in the warmth of Summer, in the USA.... Am I bitter? You bet I am! .... No not really... I'm glad they had a great time ..... No really I am!

Interesting times in Ecuador

Hello all... here I sit writing a blog, on on what would normally be a full day in our field ministry in Cuenca ..... Why you ask? Well seems that the Policía Nacional went on strike today ..... that would not normally be a good thing, as the Policía normally are the ones who try to stop riots and problems such as these.... It seems from what is reported that the President supposedly "has tried to reduce some of the benefits" due to the police.... So their response is "lets see what happens when the police are not working" ..... Well you can imagine ... reports of 5 bank robberies in Quito were on the news wire, and most if not all the shops here in Cuenca are closed for the day... when we say closed that means they pull the steel door down that covers the window and entrances... the malls closed down and there is not much activity on the street... you hear an occasional siren in the distance... not sure if its from the problems or from the lack of traffic, so they stand out more .... but whatever it is, it's for sure, different..... These kinds of problems are common here from what the friends say.... one thing Carol read was that in the last 120 some years, the presidency has changed 100 times.... so we will see what happens this time....

They also shut down the airport in Quito as part of the strike ... and the American Embassy encouraged all Americans to stay indoors .... so here we are, indoors!

There is something missing ..... but not strangely missing ... Carl, Eslie where are you guys?...... Ooooooooh that's right your in the USA..... always missing the happenings while serving here in Ecuador... last month they were in the US for work, while we suuuuuuuuffered terribly through one of the strongest earthquakes in years here in Ecuador..... and now the police strike, with bank robberies, rioting and looting and general decay of society ...... and where are the formally known GC? .... NOT HERE!  .......You guys are always avoiding all the fun stuff! Have fun on your trip to places beyond. (You know I couldn't miss that opportunity Carl)

To buy or not to buy ..... That is the question....??????

Hello everyone ..... we hope that you all are doing well .... things right now are going well .... more on that later (another blog) ..... As we have mentioned in earlier blogs, here in Ecuador, things are on the cheep ..... rent, food, restaurants are very reasonable,  and transportation is so cheep sometimes you ask yourself why do they even charge..... for example to ride the bus from one side of the city to the other, it costs .25 (yes that is cents) imagine going from Mt. Rose Hwy to Verdi (if you live in Reno) for 25 cents .... ridicules right? Wherever the rest of you live,  imagine going about 15 miles for 25 cents)  No that is not an endorsement for the quality of the ride,  just the price..... Here we tend to use the taxis as they too are very inexpensive 2 maybe 3 dollars and you get from one side of the city to the other..... that as you can imagine, without a 1000 stops, like you have on the bus ... (I can hear that voice in my head saying, "if I told you once I have told you a million times don't exaggerate!")

In the past we have shared our experiences talking about the bible with the Taxi drivers and we have had tremendous success sharing the bible hope for the future.... Just yesterday we had 2 out of 3 conversations turn out excellent... in fact one of them (the taxi drivers that is) we took a ride again today and he invited us to his house on Saturday to start a bible study with him and his wife.... I'll keep you in the loop on that one, as to how it progresses .... so here is the question for your consideration .... should we get a car? (Give us your feed back) We have been talking about getting one for the "Freedom" ..... when we think of the benefits of having one they include the ability to "go where you want to go ... and do what you want to do" (I know there is an old song that has those lyrics) but then with the great experiences we have, we think about the opportunities to share the truth we will miss out on,  if we get one.... (we wont use the taxis) no need, as we can be behind the wheel and drive like a crazy Ecuadorian!!!!!!

Other consideration, used cars here are very expensive.... I mean crazy expensive .... for example there is a website here called "Gringo Tree" the foreigners  get all the low down on local events and can also post want ads or stuff for sale... a few weeks ago someone (hope it's not another brother) posted an add for a 1992 Suzuki Vitara for $9,400.00 ... (yes that's American greenbacks) 17 years old! .... the truth is you can buy a 2010 for $21,000 taxes included ... used cars here are ridiculously priced can't explain it, just the way it is. The Vitara is made here in EC and it a Chevy product but if you decide to go Asian, the import taxes are a killer, about 40% is added to the price you would pay in the US..... Crazy!

To buy or not to buy that is the question....?

Sample "Gringo Tree" ad.... You too can be a extranjero living in Cuenca follow the events here in Cuenca .... need a Pig?

WANTED: A spacious home for a sweet, affectionate and smart baby black pig. "Pig Floyd" was found along side the road and we wanted to save him from a short and/or unhappy life. He would do great out in the country with a caretaker who cherishes his company and who has no interest in eating him!  We estimate he's about 2 months old, and due to our constant attention, he is very socialized, and actually seems to like dogs and wants to play with them!  Please consider this lovely animal companion.  Unfortunately we really do not have the room to keep him for much longer. 

Please email primalgrace@yahoo.com

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