Visitors from Home!

The past week has been one of my very favorites in Ecuador so far because my Mom, Dad, and Aunt Karen came to visit me! They were supposed to get here on Thursday afternoon, but they couldn't land in Quito on Wednesday night because of a huge storm. They ended up landing in Guayaquil and spending the night there, so they missed their connecting flight to Cuenca on Thursday. There are not flights from Guayaquil to Cuenca, and they couldn't take a car because their luggage was still on the plane. They ended up being flown back to Quito Thursday afternoon, and had to spend the night there. They got to go visit the Equator on Friday morning, which they loved, and then went to the airport for the 12pm Cuenca flight. However, American Airlines "forgot" to book them on that flight, so they had to sit around the airport until they could take the 6pm flight. My host mom and I went to pick them up, and I was so excited to see them! They stayed in a great hotel near my house so I was able to be there with them a lot. On Saturday we went zip-lining in the mountains, which was a big adventure but they loved it. On Sunday we went to church, ate lunch with my host family, and visited a beautiful viewpoint of the city. They were able to go to a great spa in the Baños (hot springs), visit the Centro, spend time with my host family, and hang out with the Taylor group throughout the week. It was so awesome to have them here with me and show them around. I'm so glad that they'll understand what I'm talking about when I get home, too. They left the following Wednesday, and made it home safely. American Airlines lost their luggage in Miami, but they were able to get it back the next day (needless to say, American Airlines is our least favorite airline in the universe at this point). I was so sad to see them go, but I only have 6 weeks left here in Ecuador. It's going to be an extremely bittersweet moment when I leave this place- I'll be so happy to see my family and friends again, but I've had the time of my life this semester. I really love Ecuador, especially Cuenca, and it feels like home. I've never lived away from Indiana and I never thought I could call another place home, but Ecuador is a very very close second for my favorite place in the world. I'm so blessed to be here, and I'm still amazed at the way God has provided for me and worked everything out for me to be here. Our group is leaving for the jungle on Thursday morning, so I'm sure I'll have more adventures to write about next week! :)