Ambato and Marco and Elena
So, I want to take some time and talk about our hosts in Ambato - Marco and Elena. They were absolutely wonderful. I honestly can't say enough about them. I'm sure we didn't make the greatest first impression rolling into town late, but they were wonderfully gracious and kind to us once we finally made an appearance.
Elena had been an exchange student to Illinois when she was in high school, so her English was excellent. Marco understands English but does not speak it very well (kind of like me with my Spanish). They are an older couple and Marco is retired - he was a professor at one of the universities in Ambato and I believe he also worked in the IT sector for many years. Elena works for the same university as a librarian and is semi-retired.
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| Marco and Elena in Quisapincha |
We made an amazing discovery about Marco and Elena on the first day we spent with them - they are Christians! So not only were we comforted by being able to communicate, but it was an even greater blessing to have that relationship as brothers and sister in Christ in common! The Lord truly took care of us in a way that reflected his kindness and generosity.
They have 4 mostly grown children - 3 daughters and 1 son. We met 2 of their daughters, Anita and Fernanda, as well as their son, Danilo. Danilo and Fernanda are both married with families of their own. Fernanda lives about an hour away in the Oriente in a town called Puyo. We met her and her family one evening as we were on our way back to our casita, and we promised them that we would go out to Puyo to visit them and see the area when we return.
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| Drinking morada colada in Achota |
Danilo and his wife and baby girl live in Ambato, about 15 minutes away from Marco and Elena. Danilo is a software engineer for accounting firms and he and his wife run their own business together. They both understand and spoke some English, so it was yet another chance to communicate with them, and they were very helpful when we were asking about neighborhoods to look for a house in.
Marco and Elena's youngest daughter is Anita. She still lives at home and is currently going to school for graphic design. Their oldest daughter just recently got married and moved to Chattanooga with her husband! Talk about odds. Chattanooga is roughly 4 hours from us, so it's amazing to think that we went all the way to Ecuador, met Elena and Marco, and their daughter lives literally less than half-a-day's drive away. CRAZY.
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| Seeing the countryside around Ambato |
Anyway. Marco and Elena were nothing but kind to us. They told us repeatedly that they were just wanting to serve us and that they were so pleased to be able to help in any way. I was truly humbled by their serving and giving spirits. They clearly have their own (busy!) lives, especially with a new grandbaby! But they reached out to us constantly and consistently, inviting us into their home and freely giving their time to drive us around and show us their country. There aren't enough words to say how thankful I am for them and how excited I am to be going back and seeing them!
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| Pupe! |
