Twelve friends from Waterford Mennonite Church (Goshen, Indiana) spent two weeks with our family in March. We were joined during the first part of the trip by three Journey International volunteers as well as Luis Tapia, former pastor of Quito Mennonite Church. The tour featured many opportunities to learn about rain forest cultures and the development of indigenous churches in Eastern Ecuador. We also had a chance to fellowship and worship with believers from a variety of cultures and language groups: Kichwa, Shuar, Cofan and Spanish.
Our knowledge of the richness and diversity of the Christian Church — Christ’s body — expanded greatly. And our trust in God for protection and guidance during this adventure helped to strengthen our faith in new ways. Getting outside your comfort zone can be a good thing!
Here are some of the photos taken by our family …
Our first day in the rain forest — one of several bridges we crossed
Gathered in front of the historic Nate Saint Family Home
Clever Machiant, Shuar church leader
Listening to Clever’s talk on the past, present and future of the indigenous church
Clever’s wife, Sophia
Fancheon gives Clever crafts and bookmarks for children’s programs
Taking part in a plant walk at the Omaere Ethnobotanical Park
Chris Canaday teaches us about medicinal plants
The park was reforested about 20 years ago
Heliopsis
Orchid
Chris explains how medicines are prepared
Taking it all in
Vance accepts the challenge to receive Chris’s traditional Shuar greeting
Traveling by boat to the Ahuano Butterfly Farm
This was our first of several boat trips
At the Butterfly Farm, a project operated by the Casa de Suiza ecolodge
Learning about the butterfly lifecycle with our guide, Luis
Various types of chrysalis are arranged on this platform
A closer look
An excellent disguise
Brilliant
One of several dozen varieties of butterflies raised here
Each has a particular plant upon which it depends
The buttefly is often a similar color to the plant on which it feeds
The variety is amazing
Two feed from the same flower
Finding a leaf upon which to rest
Sierra’s hand makes another good resting place
Petra welcomes her guest
A traditional wooden bowl and tools used to prepare drinks
Our Kichwa neighbor, Ceci, invites us into her home to teach us about traditional foods, such as yuca (cassava root)
LeRoy and Dee help peal chonta (peach palm) fruit
Ceci’s sister, Lourdes, shows us how to mash the chonta fruit to make a drink called chicha
Petra takes a turn
LeRoy gives it a try with a different type of tool
Ground chonta fruit — ready to add water and drink
Outside our home with friends from Archidona
Leaving our home on the newly rebuilt bridge
We spent the second part of the tour in the Cofan village of Zabalo, situated on the north bank of the Aguarico River
Two of our guides, Oswaldo and Alex (driving the motorized canoe)
Randy Borman, son of the first Christian missionaries to the Cofan, takes us on a tour of the village
John’s shirt says a lot!
Drying cacao seeds in a greenhouse — this is where chocolate comes from
Village children returning from school
Luis, a Cofan elder, keeps animals such as this capybara near his home
The base of a huge higuera (fig) tree
The trunk extends beyond sight
Ever wondered how to remove the water from your boots after crossing a waist-deep creek?
What’s next? A turtle release
Ariana and Karon help Kiki and others make paper turtles while the adults learn about the village’s charapa (Amazon River Turtle) Project
Manuel shows his turtle to his father (and one of our cooks), Alfonso
This one’s ready to go
Headed for the Zabalo River
Randy and Vendi are our wildlife guides
Kicking back
The Zabalo is a black-water river, calm and full of birds, mammals, fish and other wildlife
Kingfisher
What do they see?
Take a close look
Time to release some of the juvenile turtles protected by the Cofan into the Zabalo River
Here she goes
And another
Swimming away
Our group released forty turtles in all
And saw an uncountable number of Woolly and Howler monkeys, like this one
The next day, a visit to grandma Victor’s home to learn how she makes jewelry from seeds
Watching the expert
Giving it a try
The finished products
We have so much to learn from the Cofan
Iter, leader of the Zabalo Church, is a talented wood carver
Dennis holds one of Iter’s balsa canoes while Dee and Fancheon look on
Waiting for the Fiesta de Chonta (Palm Fruit Festival) to begin
The dancers gather
Carlos and Alex help prepare the tapir meat
Rolando in traditional Cofan dress
The program begins with a song from the “old man of the forest”
The dancers take the stage
A traditional dance, with a few volunteers from our group
The children of the village enjoy soccer
Our family does too!
Gathered in the home that Iter is building for us — from left: Irene, Iter, Charles (their son, seated before them), Jerrell, Vance, Jane, Felipe (grandson of the first missionaries) and Randy (Felipe’s father)
Our group prayed with Iter, Charles, and sister, Juleni, before we departed
Traveling back up the Aguarico River — a giant Ceiba tree looms over the forest canopy at the river’s edge
The Cofan of Zabalo consider themselves the Guardians of the Forest — may they continue protecting God’s creation for years to come!
Back on the bus: Are you ready to try a new fruit?
Celebrating Camila’s birthday at our hotel near Quito
One of many churches in historic downtown Quito
Outside the Church of the Compania (Jesuit)
Checking out the bells
A statue of the Madonna sits atop Panecillo Hill
View of northern Quito from Panecillo Hill
On our final evening together, we walk along a cobblestone street known as La Ronda
Good night, and good bye, until we meet again!
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Hi, Jane, Jerrell, Sierra, Naomi, Teresa, and Jordan! I loved seeing all the photos of the Waterford learning tour, and also the photos of your 3rd return to your home(s) after Jerrell’s treatment. So happy all seems well. Yes, God is good, through everything that happens! Is there a way for me to be added to those who receive this blog when there are new postings? I would love that. We are well… some of our family members are changing places: Thomas is transferring to Goshen College this fall as a sophomore. And Mandy and Derek are planning a move to Tucson in August, and Derek will begin grad school here at the U of AZ, in environmental engineering. We send our love! Tina and Jay
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Thank you for the photo tour!
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