In Shell for a couple of weeks

Wow, I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I posted something here. I guess I need to check my own blog more frequently!

We are in Shell for a couple of weeks to provide technical support to the hospital here until we can train our new employee in all that he needs to know to provide the support here in Hospital Vozandes del Oriente.

So far it's been fairly quiet, probably because not many people know I am here. That will probably change though.

The good part is that Marlene, Joshua & Joel could come with me as there is a nice house here at the hospital which we could use for the time we are here.

Joshua & Joel are quite excited about being here. It is something different for them and they do like doing and seeing new things.

We'll be going back to Quito July 3.

Elections this weekend

This Sunday, April 26, Ecuador will go to the polls to vote for mayors, congressmen, assemblistas and of course, president. There has been a lot of campaigning and as so often happens in many countries, lots of new construction, road work, tax incentives, etc.

Among the front-runners are Rafael Correa (currently president), Lucio Gutierez (ex military, known for his coup against President Jamil Mahuad in January 2000 and for his own ouster in 2004), Jaime Naboa (a well-known businessman from Guayquil) and a number of others.

It should be an intersting time as many either are totally behind Rafael Correa, or they don't trust him. Although it is not a sure thing that he will be re-elected, he is the front-runner in the campaign

We continue to pray for our current president and our future president that he would be able to lead this country with wisdom and integrity.

A visitor

We had a different kind of visitor to our offices this past Tuesday. The little guy was quite scared not being able to find his way out of the building.

But it seemed that he knew exactly where to go. He ended up in the office of Hermann, the Assistant Director for the Region.

When the bird got caught in the plant, German was able to catch it, and let it go outside of the window.

I was actually surprised at how calm the bird as in German's hand.
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New HCJB Global video

Here is a new video from HCJB Global. We hope that you enjoy it.

Strong winds

We had a couple of very strong gusts of wind which are uncommon for this time of year. According to the guard at HCJB, he saw one gust coming up the street and jumped into his guard shack.

He watched it past and then saw another gust come down the side-street. Where the two crosswinds met it created a small cyclone and plucked this tree from its' roots.

Now I have some firewood for next year.
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Change the battery?

Joshua told Marlene this morning, "Mommy, I'm going to pray to Jesus that He teaches you to speak English. Maybe Jesus needs to change a battery in you so you can speak English."

"Why do you want me to speak English?" asked Marlene.

"Because English is nice." was his response.

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I thought you might need a bit more context for this to make more sense (plus, it sounds funnier in Spanish). Marlene only speaks to the boys in Spanish and I only speak to them in English. Joshua speaks mostly Spanish at home. If I don't catch myself, I'll listen to him explain things to me in Spanish. It costs him more to explain things in English.

For those of you who understand Spanish, here is the original version.
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Joshua le dijo a Marlene esta mañana, "Mamá, voy a orar a Jesús que te enseñe hablar inglés. Talvez Jesús necesita cambiarte una pila para que puedas hablar inglés."

"Por que quieres que hable inglés?" preguntó a Marlene.

"Porque inglés es bonito." le respondió.

Merry Christmas

Our desire is that this Christmas may be a time of joy as we worship our Lord and Saviour whose birth we celebrate during this time.

Emmanuel, God with us. What a wonderful truth to celebrate! Our God is one who takes a very active interest in our lives and didn't just create us and then leave us to make our way in this lost world.

May you know Him  this year.

Barry
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