Quito, Ecuador Temple

Quito, Ecuador Temple
Here is where we will be working until Feb. 2023

Welcome

Dear Readers,

We hope as you read this blog of our mission to the Quito, Ecuador temple you will feel the joy and happiness we are experiencing by being in the service of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope you can experience some of what we feel. Christine and I met in Quito, Ecuador 51 years ago while serving as missionaries. We are going home.


John and Christine

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Monday, March 28, 2016

March 21st through March 27thOn

 March 21st through March 27th:  Monday we made the weekly trip to Walmart and Price Smart for groceries.  Tuesday I went to the temple and did initiatory and then in the evening we took President Rosales and his wife, Zenia, to dinner to celebrate her birthday.   We were going to go to an Argentinean steak house, but it was closed for Holy Week, so we ended up going to a Chinese restaurant.  The food was actually pretty good and we had a nice evening talking and eating. 
Dinner with the Rosales.
Wednesday we had the morning shift and we had a group from Belize, a 12 hour bus ride.  Many of these members spoke only English, so we had to scramble a little to do the ordinances in English.  I got to seal a family in English, my first sealing in English.  It was a lot of fun and of course, I handed out tissues before I got started.  Thursday we had the afternoon shift.  Friday we got up early and were picked up at 6:00am for a trip to Antigua to see the processions for Good Friday.  We went with a member who runs a travel agency.  About 12 couples from the area offices and missions all went together.  It was a lot of fun and very interesting.  The pictures will really tell the story. 

On our way to Antigua.
Different families or groups make carpets of flowers and colored sawdust and just about anything else.

The Procession included Roman soldiers.

Thousands of men dressed in purple robes.

This group is waiting for the float and will switch out the men carrying the float.

The floats can weigh up to 6000 pounds.

Between 60 and 70 men carry the float.

Turning the corner is a trick.

It sways back and forth as the walk along.

 Video of the float.
 
There is a band following behind playing sad music.

The next float is for Mary and is carried by women and girls.

The float is much smaller.

Maybe about 40 carriers. Walking along side are women dressed in morning.


You don't want to be the tallest.

This is what the carpets look like after the procession has passed.

You can see they have jigs to help them make the beautiful designs.

The whole family gets evolved.

Some of these take many hours to make.

They are truly works of art.

It's hard to see, but they use berries and different parts of plants.

We should have taken this with the sun in our faces.

Like this one.  Mom and Sister Plaskett.

This was outside of a bakery and it was Noah's ark with all the animals made out of bread.

A family resting on the ruins of an old church.

Many of the churches were mostly destroyed in some powerful earthquakes in the 1700's.

Most of them have not been restored, but the remains are left and are now open for visitors.

L to R.  Elder and Sister Hill, new area secretary, Sister Plaskett, and mom and I.

These are the ruins of the convent of Santa Clara.

More of Santa Clara.

That ceiling is a dome.

The church and ruins of San Fransisco.

In front of the church San Fransisco.  On the right you can see that some of the church was destroyed.

Most of the convent was destroyed.

It truly would have been an amazing complex.

Now outside stairs for a better view of the ruins.

More of the ruins of San Fransisco.

From where the stairs went.

One more view from above.

Getting ready for the afternoon procession.

One more carpet.
Volcano, El Agua, in the background.

Antigua has a population of about 35,000, but on Good Friday it has 300,000 to 400,000 people.

The Mary float again.

Turning the corner.

We heard that each person pays for the privilege of carrying the float for one city block and then they switch out and another group of people carry it.

This is where the afternoon procession ends. The church, El Merced.

This is in front of the church and is the last carpet they will walk over before taking the floats into the church.

I paid this mom a dollar to let me take a picture of her daughter.
Saturday we had the morning shift from 4:00am to 9:30am.  It was a short day because the temple closed early for the Women’s Conference.  I got to watch two March madness games and mom went to a dinner and the women’s session of conference with all the English speaking Sisters.  Sunday I took one of the Wilson’s daughters to the airport at 6:00am and another one at 1:00pm.  The Wilson’s will leave on Monday morning at 6:00am.  We went to church in our home ward the Wilson’s spoke and bore sweet testimonies of the Savior and the work of salvation.  We had Easter dinner on the roof of Victoria Suites.  Great food and great people and it was very fun to all be together. 

Easter Sunday dinner on the roof top of Las Victorias, where a number of the area missionaries live.  L to R, Mom, Sister and Elder Price, and Elder Fillmore from Burley, knows Steve Tuff.
Easter Sunday Dinner
I

They have a great view from their roof top.
t was another wonderful week in paradise and we continue to feel very blessed and honored to be able to live in this beautiful country and serve in the House of the Lord.  We testify that He lives and that through His Atonement we can return to our Father in Heaven.  We hope you all had a Blessed Easter.