This morning we both woke up refreshed and ready to walk. Praise God for one more hot shower!! We ate and headed out. After walking for about 2 hours, we were on the outskirts of Pereira. I saw a couple selling watermelons, and since I was thristy, I asked Chris if I could get a slice. While we were eating, a man, Rigo, came up to Chris and asked him what his pack said. I began to expain to him that Chris's pack said the same thing as mine only in Spanish. (For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Cor 5:7) I guess from the accent, he could tell that we weren't from Colombia. So he asked Chris, now in English, where we were from! It turns out that Rigo and his mom, Doña Gloria (who was with him), lived in New York City for 20 plus years. They are both American citizens...and they LOVE the US!
As we were talking to them and explaining to them what we were up to, they got so excited. They invited us to stay with them the night and then we could continue on our way tomorrow. So we loaded up our packs in the back of his truck and off we went! They took us by the market on the way to the house...we tasted more fruits that we didn't even know existed!! Then we stopped by their favorite pizza place! What a treat!! From there we headed back to "The House that Cans Built." We had no idea what they meant by that, but Doña Gloria began to explain the story. She worked in the World Trade Center cleaning offices. As she took out the trash, she began to notice how many aluminum cans were being thrown away. She and her co-workers decided to start saving them and see how much they could make by selling the aluminum. Her portion tallied several hundred dollars each month!! So she started sending the money back to Colombia and little by little constructing an apartment building. She knew that she'd retire one day and need some where to live. After 7 years or so, the people who worked in those offices realized what was going on. They were worried about attracting roaches or mice, so they asked them to stop collecting the cans. But Doña Gloria told us, by that point it didn't matter, I had built "Mi Rancho de Lata." (My Ranch of Cans) We just laughed at her ingenuity!!
Rigo called his girlfriend, Vicky, when we got back to his apartment and invited her to come over. She came and brought her little girl, Jennifer! They were soooo sweet. Then Argemiro, another of Doña Gloria's sons, came home from work. He takes care of a farm that belongs to another of his brothers. They have milk cows and goats. He brought home some really good home-made choclo (similar to corn bread but it's not fried). Doña Gloria wanted us to taste several things that she had made...wow...we were so full. After talking for awhile, Chris and I were so tired, so we went to bed!!
Sunday, February 17th
When we woke of this morning, Doña Gloria wanted to fix a special breakfast for us...huevos perícos (eggs with peppers, tomato and onion) and a ton of other stuff. We ate on the terrace over looking the city and the country...a great view especially towards the country!! They really didn't want us to leave today...they wanted to show us around to some of their favorite spots. So off we went....first we drove out to a small community where Rigo is building his house. (It was gorgeous drive!) They have this plant there that if you touch it, it goes to sleep...it looks like it's dead. Then about 15 minutes later, it recovers and looks completely alive again! Then we went to visit an indian village that is near by...some of the kids were playing on "El Burro"--similar to a see saw, but it also spins around like a mary-go-round. Another little boy was earning a little money by painting the trees white...it actually discourages ants and other bugs from climbing on the tree...I'm not sure what it's called though.
From the indian village, we went to the farm where Argemiro oversees the operations. We were hoping to make it there in time to see them milk the cows, but we were too late. We did meet the guy who manages the dairy part of the farm and his family. They had fresh milk (from that day!) that they shared with us! It was soooo good! This was the first time that I've ever drank fresh milk!! Then he took us over to the place where they milk the cows (over 200 cows and they produce more than 250 gallons of milk every 2 days)!! I've always wanted to see them milk a cow...maybe one day! Then we went up to the main house and Rigo showed us around the house and the little chapel that his brother built. It's a really nice place. They have this game called "El Sapo" (The Frog)...you throw a ring and it either lands in the frog's mouth (maximum points) or in a little hole. The ring drops down into a drawer which tells you how many points you earned. The one with the most points at the end wins. Chris was really excited because he played that game when he lived in Perú. After a day filled with fun, it was time to go back to the house that cans built! What a great day...to top it off...Chris was able to talk to his parents tonight!!
Monday, February 18th
This morning when we woke up, Doña Gloria wanted to fix us a tasty breakfast again!! After breakfast, Argemiro's son, Archie, came by...he's really messed up with some bad stuff. Argemiro wanted us to talk to him, but Archie could barely sit still. He was out of there in minutes when we mentioned the name of Jesus. We're praying for him...y'all pray for him too!
Then came the surprise for me...Vicky does peticures and manicures for a living...she offered to give me a peticure. I absolutely love to have my toe nails painted, but I haven't been able to in more than 10 months...a bottle of nail polish is unnecesary weight!! I was sooo excited to have her massage my feet and make my toe nails look nice!
We had lunch together, and then it was time for another surprise. Doña Gloria and Rigo wanted to buy a bus ticket for us...to Ipiales...the border town with Ecuador. We were shocked...we had planned on several more weeks or possibly a month to get to Ecuador...now it looks like we'll be there this week! We were speechless! On our way to buy the tickets, we stopped and had coffee...this guy serves coffee out of the back of his truck, but it is sooo good!
They got the tickets, and then they wanted us to see the overview of the city...beautiful. Then they wanted to see if they could find Don Efren...Doña Gloria's cousin's husband. We went to his house, but he wasn't there. We saw his son at a nearby store, so he took us to where his mother was. It turns out that her dad, Don Francisco, is really sick. Chris and I went in to pray with him for healing and to talk to him about the Lord. Then we learned that Don Efren isn't in town, he's in Pasto the last big town before reaching the border of Ecuador. He wanted to meet us...apparently his work is buying products in Ecuador and sellling them in Colombia. So it looks like we'll be stopping in Pasto instead of going on to Ipiales. All part of God's plan to be sure!!
Doña Gloria, Rigo, and Vicky took us to the bus...they waited with us for nearly an hour before the bus arrived. This will be our 2nd overnight bus. And off we went...
Tuesday, February 19th
We arrived in Pasto around 1 pm! Thirteen hours on the bus...that would have taken us forever on foot! We are really high up in the Andes now! They are definitely the biggest mountains I've ever seen. Don Efren was there waiting for us when we stepped off the bus. He took us straight to a hotel so that we could sleep a bit and we made plans to meet up for supper. His mother and several other members of his family live in Pasto, so he wanted us to meet them and to pray with them.
So we went to the internet and then took a little nap so that we would be ready to meet Don Efren's family. He came to pick us up around 6 and off we went. Doña Maria Luisa is his mom...she's in her 90s and doesn't hear very well. Ligia is his sister and Andrea and Maria de los Angeles are her daughters...they all live together. His brother, Clemente, who is a doctor also came over to visit with us. What a group!! We were able to share quite a bit of testimony with them...supper was delicious!! Then we were able to pray with them and Doña Maria Luisa wanted to pray too...such a sweet family. Don Efren isn't going to Ecuador tomorrow, but two of his friends are, so he arranged for them to take us in the morning.
Apparently God knows something that I don't because Don Efren gave me a pair of wool gloves, and Andrea gave me a thick jacket...hmm! It looks like we might be entering some cold places...We'll have to see what God has in store!! It won't be long and we'll be in touch again...hopefully from Ecuador...country #10!! God bless you and keep you! We love you!!
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