Back in the Jungle

It has been three months to the day since I last wrote something for the blog.  I'm a bit rusty with my writing skills so I hope this re-remembering process is not a long one for all of our sakes. 

Thanks so much for checking in with us here on the verge of the jungle.  It's nice to be back in Shell--so many really wonderful things have taken place to enable us to be here.  Things like sufficient funding, being able to arrive into the Quito airport hours after an earthquake hit the city, ease at the government office--twice!, running into three different sets of friends while in Quito, making it to Shell in record time, and three families blessing us with gifts of food or assistance within our first hours back have all blessed us immeasurably as we transition once again into the life of a foreigner and missionary. 

God has been looking out for us in many obvious ways.  The best story thus far though has been something that Doug experienced firsthand.  You see, when we left from the US Doug had to withdraw some money so that we could have cash on hand for our first month here in Ecuador.  Credit cards are not widely accepted, especially in Shell, so we really needed a good deal of money to keep us afloat for the first weeks after our return.  We needed approximately $600 in cash for our first 72 hours in the country to pay for various things (our ride from the airport to the guesthouse, our stay at the guesthouse until our visas were registered, our registration of the visas with the government,  our transportation to Shell--five hours away, and all the food that we would buy in Quito at the larger grocery store which we'd take with us to stock our shelves at home).  We brought just over double that amount in large bills so that the stack would not be too bulky as Doug carried it in his wallet. 

Well, when we arrived into Quito we quickly remembered that businesses here frown on the payment of accounts with the use of any bill larger than a $20.  Too many counterfeits make for hesitant transactions between parties.  So, Doug knew that he needed to exchange our larger bills for much smaller ones--especially before we got to Shell because in that town no one ever seems to have change for the smallest of bills, much less a 50 or 100 dollar bill.  They simply would not do business with us if we showed up at the store with such cash. 

So, Doug walked to the Reach Beyond business office last Friday morning with the hopes of converting his large bills into much smaller ones.  While walking he talked to the Lord about his hopes for favor with the office and his ability to communicate well in spite of his limited Spanish speaking skills.  While he walked, he encountered a couple of ladies that reported that the office was closing momentarily because Friday was a special day and many would be attending an event elsewhere.  That got Doug to speed up his step so that he could make it to the cashier's office in time. 

Sadly, Doug arrived a hair too late; the cashier had already closed up shop. 

God's good though and even works out the smallest of things. 

Doug next encountered a man (the Director of Reach Beyond in our region of the world) who he had just met the day before who asked if he needed any assistance.  Doug told him his predicament with the large bills.  Dan, the man in charge and our new acquaintance, said that he had just received a large stack of bills which he was eager to change into larger denominations because they would be easier to carry.   Ah, so they were each the answer to one another's trouble.  Doug needed small bills; Dan needed larger bills.  But, do you want to know the crazy part?  They had exactly the same amount of money that needed to be changed.  Both men needed to change $1300.  Isn't that interesting? 

So, we're hoping to be in for many more God stories this year. 
BTW, school starts tomorrow.  : )
Thanks for reading,
Blessings,
kim