"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate"

2006-10-02T10:40:00.000-04:00

I have some pictures left. I don't think that I will post anymore after I post them, if I even do.

San Lorenzo

2006-08-30T14:47:00.000-04:00

I met the group and then not long after that we climbed up to the cliffs. So, here's the one picture I cared to keep from the cliffs, and then I'll let you guys 'meet the group' too. (The next pictures, which should be the last bunch, will include the waves!!)

2006-08-30T11:31:00.000-04:00

These are the blue footed boobie cliffs just on the other side of the town. (Just below these cliffs is my most favorite beach I've ever been to in my life.) I just thought I'd throw this one into this group of pics ...dunno why.

2006-08-30T11:30:00.000-04:00

Here's a typical 'us hanging out' pic. Hi Summer!

2006-08-30T11:29:00.000-04:00

I liked taking pictires of the kids. This kid is soooo photogenic! His name is Jose, and he is CRAZY.

2006-08-30T11:28:00.000-04:00

Jose and his brother Misael. That's the Kingdom Hall where these pictures were taken, btw.

2006-08-30T11:27:00.000-04:00

Misael. Lol..

2006-08-30T11:26:00.000-04:00

These same two, me and their mom, Margarita.

2006-08-30T11:24:00.000-04:00

Some of the other kids. This is Angie, Ronal, and Ruben. The oldest sister, Sylvia isn't here, and neither is their littlest brother, Uber. These kids were awesome. Ruben is one of the funniest kids I've ever met AND he's completely good hearted and innocent. You can't make fun of Angie's lazy eye, cos she's a sweetheart too!! Ronal, who also goes by Tetun, was my good buddy. Unlike his older brother he was a little bit more serious, and and emotional - also, he wasn't 100% good hearted and innocent like his brother >) This next picture is one of my favorites. I had it as my background for alot of the time I was there.

2006-08-30T11:23:00.000-04:00

2006-08-30T11:22:00.000-04:00

Yinson!!! (Pronounced the same as 'Jenson') And here's his mom and sister as well. Aw. His sister is so cute. Anyways, Yinson is awesome. 11 years old, and one of the coolest kids I've met.

2006-08-30T11:21:00.000-04:00

This is sister Lyse (she's french) and Remehio. Hehe. Jay and Levi thought this picture was hilarious because Remehio is one of the most patient people someone could ever meet, and he looks like he dosen't like this conversation one little bit, lol.. It's really just a matter of Lyse's personality. Though she's a realy great sister, pioneering and everything, it's pretty much agreed that she can be a little trying ;) But, yanno, she loves us, and we love her.

2006-08-30T11:20:00.000-04:00

Here's Manuel and Clemente. Clemente is the brother who let us rent out his home - where Summer had been staying - when we were told to leave first one. They are both brothers who had been baptized long before Jay and Levi arrived, even though their meetings were irregular at best, and organization was lacking. Both of them though are good brothers who realy have the truth in their hearts.

2006-08-30T11:19:00.000-04:00

Hehe. A more accurate picture of Manuel. His voice is undeniably harsh, yet I liked it along with the guitar. I think Levi's right - you can't go wrong with a guitar and a voice. Manuel actualy has quite a backstory.

2006-08-30T11:18:00.000-04:00

AHWWW... :) Levi and Angie <3

2006-08-30T11:17:00.000-04:00

Here's Patricia. She's the only younger pioneer in the hall besides Jay and Levi. She knows probably as much english as I do spanish, from both hanging around the guys alot, and also because she's a bit of a movie freak :) You can't not love Patricia.

2006-08-30T11:16:00.000-04:00

This is Jael, Jay's dog. She goes in service alot.

2006-08-30T11:15:00.000-04:00

Convention appreciation post :)

2006-08-27T22:36:00.000-04:00

So, I just got done making a resolution (again) to:
1) Intensify my ministry.
2) Stay NO part of the world. Which, really implies making continued efforts in that area. For me at least.

It's come down to the line. "The end is near" as they say. Just gotta remember that the next big thing for humanity, the ONE thing we've ALL waited our WHOLE lives for, is just about to happen. So, really we all might as well make this resolve or else what are we gonna say when it's right in our face? Are we going to have a clear and obvious "wheat blossom" of sacred service that identifies us as a christian, or will the "reapers" look at us and have to think for a minute about whether we are just a wheat stalk that isn't producing, or in fact a weed? Cos, either way, honestly, that's just no good.

One other thing. I recently had a scripture explained to me in a way that really touched me. It's a very common scripture. Matthew 6:33 "Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom...and all these other things will be added to you."
The way the person explained how they felt about this scripture is like this; First it says what our job is. Then it says what Jehovah's job is. Our job is to seek first the kingdom. Jehovah's is to add all other things, which he can and will do, so long as we do ours. So, why would we try to worry about doing Jehovah's job? We already have one, and it would be foolish to stop doing our job to worry about Jehovah's part.
I'd never thought of it in that way. It's just like - and I love the way the brother gave this experience - how he said he and his wife decided just to regular pioneer while still haveing financial debt, because it became clear to them that that was just going to be a fact of life for them and pioneering was more important than fretting over it. So, they pioneered, and in time they no longer had the debt to worry about. He didn't say how, and it didn't matter how. Jehovah obviously took up his part of the deal. They sought first the kingdom, Jehovah added a relief from financial worry. Simple.

Good convention. Even the second time.

I guess we're all tourists sometime.

2006-08-23T21:18:00.000-04:00

This batch is just the rest of Peru. Jay, Bonnie and I went to Maccupiccu.

2006-08-23T18:25:00.000-04:00

First of all, just being in the Andes Mountains was fantastic. Aguas Calientes is one of the prettiest places I've ever been.

2006-08-23T18:24:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:23:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:22:00.000-04:00

And, here it is. Maccupiccu.

2006-08-23T18:21:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:20:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:19:00.000-04:00

We climbed this mountain. I think it's called Wayanapiccu. Something.

2006-08-23T18:17:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:16:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:15:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:14:00.000-04:00

I was wishing you were there.

2006-08-23T18:13:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:12:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:11:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:10:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:09:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:08:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:07:00.000-04:00

2006-08-23T18:06:00.000-04:00

Bonnie made it to the top. That was a killer hike.

2006-08-23T18:05:00.001-04:00

And we were back in Ecuador.

2006-08-23T18:05:00.000-04:00

Before we knew it our tourist time in Peru was over.

2006-08-23T18:03:00.000-04:00

The trip, though, lasted a total of 48 hours and there were even some inconveniences, such as the bus breaking down.

2006-08-23T18:02:00.000-04:00

I don't like to travel, and so even though we saw alot of cool things and visited a country I never thought I'd ever go to I was thrilled to be getting to somewhere I could call home. Though, of course, I had never before been there. San Lorenzo. Just a little Ecuadorian beach town. Good times.

Mas y mas.

2006-08-22T22:10:00.000-04:00

Okay. Tonight we get everything from my arrival in peru to my arrival to Maccupiccu. But, not actualy the Maccupiccu pics yet. Lol. Tomorow maybe.

2006-08-22T18:41:00.000-04:00

Aw. I loved this family.

2006-08-22T18:40:00.000-04:00

The first day we went Peru-sing.

2006-08-22T18:39:00.000-04:00

And I went straight to where it's at.

2006-08-22T18:38:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T18:37:00.000-04:00

Hehe. This kid is just like his dad.

2006-08-22T18:36:00.000-04:00

This is Corey and his wife Blanca. They let much of our group stay with them. He also played guitar, and even though he butchered the lyrics he knew alot of older english music. Stuff like The Police, Elton John, and Billy Joel. Hehe :) He made alot of attempt to talk to me, and I appreciate that. I have much thanks for them both.

2006-08-22T18:35:00.000-04:00

When we went to the MTS school later that day the first thing they did was go for the graduates lists looking for Dario.

2006-08-22T18:34:00.002-04:00

There was plenty of cool stuff about the prominent foreign language group there in Peru, which is Chinese.

2006-08-22T18:34:00.001-04:00

This is the MTS classroom in Peru.

2006-08-22T18:34:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T18:33:00.000-04:00

Connected to the school was a Kingdom Hall.

2006-08-22T18:32:00.000-04:00

I didn't want to disturb but I was able to get a pic of the meeting in session.

2006-08-22T18:31:00.000-04:00

Afterwards I got this picture of a brotherly type of association enjoyed world wide.
(Y, es verdad que eso hermano, si, tiene una cosa de "Hello Kitty")

2006-08-22T18:30:00.000-04:00

Since we were in the big ol' city of Lima, there were a few things that we just had to do.

2006-08-22T18:29:00.000-04:00

1) Go to an american food place. It prolly took the Ecuadorians a little bit out of their comfort zone - which heavily involves rice - to visit Pizza Hut, but I loved it.

2006-08-22T18:28:00.000-04:00

2) Visit the Capitol Building. ...lame.

2006-08-22T18:27:00.000-04:00

And, 3) Take group pictures. Which I did. Just it was in my own way :)

2006-08-22T18:26:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T18:25:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T18:24:00.000-04:00

Each night we spent in Peru Jason, Victor, Tito, and I all went into this little door...

2006-08-22T18:23:00.000-04:00

...thru this little alley...

2006-08-22T18:22:00.000-04:00

...and up the ladder into...

2006-08-22T18:21:00.000-04:00

...this little room :)
It was cozier than it looked. Besides, I dont even know where that means the girls slept. Very sweet of them and their family. Jay took several pictures of me sleeping after stuffing different ones of these stuffed animals into my arms. I dunno what happened to those files.

2006-08-22T18:20:00.000-04:00

I'm pretty sure it was these girls' room. Them and their little sister, I guess. Here they were practicing this neat dance for a party we had later. I can kindof sortof do the dance! We'll get to the party in a bit.

2006-08-22T18:19:00.000-04:00

Hehe. This gal is just like her mom.

2006-08-22T18:18:00.000-04:00

For some reason the catacombs beneath the church were our thing to see that day.

2006-08-22T18:17:00.000-04:00

Turns out I wasn't supposed to touch. Lol. J/k.

2006-08-22T18:16:00.000-04:00

So. Like I said, this is below a church. Can anyone say "satanic establishment"?

2006-08-22T18:15:00.000-04:00

Yaay. The party. The dance was wicked cool in full costume. One of the things I'm truly glad I got to witness.

2006-08-22T18:14:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T18:13:00.000-04:00

Then we all we got involved, and there was great rejoicing. Yay.

2006-08-22T18:12:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T18:11:00.000-04:00

That's a better picture of the grad. Congrats Dario. Congrats.

2006-08-22T18:10:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T18:09:00.000-04:00

Soon enough we found ourselves flying over the Andes Mountains.

2006-08-22T18:08:00.000-04:00

I both enjoyed my first look at the Andes, and my first legal vodka. There again was much rejoicing.

2006-08-22T18:07:00.000-04:00

In due time we landed in CUZCOTOPIA!

2006-08-22T18:06:00.000-04:00

But.. I guess I some point they decided just to call it "Cusco"

2006-08-22T18:05:00.001-04:00

That's coca tea, btw. That's good.

2006-08-22T18:05:00.000-04:00

It wasn't long before we hopped into a taxi and began our long journey to Maccupiccu.

2006-08-22T18:04:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T18:03:00.001-04:00

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2006-08-22T18:02:00.000-04:00

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2006-08-22T17:59:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T17:58:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T17:57:00.000-04:00

Yay. The mountains again.

2006-08-22T17:56:00.000-04:00

I was fine with the picture I got, but Jay just had to get out.

2006-08-22T17:55:00.000-04:00

But, I guess he did get a pretty good pic so, he's forgiven.

2006-08-22T17:54:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T17:53:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T17:52:00.000-04:00

2006-08-22T17:51:00.000-04:00

After the taxi, there was a train ride, and then after a night in a hostal I awoke to the beautiful town of Aguas Calientes - the gateway to Maccupiccu.

The pics!

2006-08-21T00:01:00.000-04:00

Tonight I'm posting the pictures I took between leaving Chilis the night I left and our arrival in Peru. It was alot of taveling all at once.
I'll post more and I should have them all done... maybe before the convention. That's a good goal right? Ok. For now, enjoy.

2006-08-20T15:45:00.000-04:00

Us on the plane the morning after Chilis.