Farnsworth Forum

Some of the folks of "Amigos en Cristo" church recently held a luncheon to welcome Pastor Walter and family and to say an early good-bye to our family. Here Maru and Fanny are checking the guinea pigs. The weather was beautiful on that Sunday afternoon. Enjoying the food together with the other children. And adults too! Joel, Beate and Daniela Volleyball here is played by teams of three persons, which involves hustling, and they used a soccer ball to play.  Ouch! Then the next day was a good-bye celebration for Andy, Donata and family (who already left for their furlough in Germany), Kimberly (an MK who graduated from high school back to the States to study), Eli (who was here helping Kevin and Kathy for the year), Lauren (our niece) and us.  Also a time to welcome new pastor Walter, wife Pamela and daughter Neus to the Liebenzell Mission of Ecuador. We started off with a few songs. Then the games.  We had to say a tongue twis...

 Today we celebrated Cinco de Mayo, two days late, in grand style with Mexican chilaquiles, which is a tortilla-based dish with red sauce, chicken sour cream, feta cheese, and cilantro.  We all enjoyed it very much.  You can read about Cinco de Mayo below.  And no, it is NOT Mexican Independence Day! Cinco de Mayo ( pronounced:  [ˈsiŋko ðe ˈmaʝo] ; Spanish for "Fifth of May" or "May 5th") is a celebration held on May 5 . The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican Army 's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza . In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has taken on a significance beyond that in Mexico. In the U.S. the date has become associated with the celebration of Mexican-American culture. In Mexico, the commemoration of the the battle continues to be mostly ceremonial, such as through military parades. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mista...

We have enjoyed having numerous people in our home over the past year.  Here are some highlights.  German Impact volunteer Tabea who has been teaching Joel on Thursdays recently received a visit from her parents.  They came to spent a night with us.  Thank you, Ute and Josef. Daniel, a former Impact team member who taught Joel a couple years ago (2012/2013) visited with his lovely wife Maria.  What a wonderful reunion to see him again and to meet Maria.  They are currently doing an internship at an orphanage in Colombia. And my dear amigos from my Haycock Mountain Brigade Camp days, Glenn and Faith Horter, spent a week with us earlier this month.  Educators in Connecticut, they visited us during their spring break. They blessed us immensely through their visit.  It was great to catch up with them. Liebenzell Mission Ecuador president Diego helped us enjoy the tiramisu that fellow missionary Andreas whipped up.  Absolutely de...

Before April becomes a distant memory, I want to post a few birthday pictures.  I turned 51 on April 4.  Many thanks for all the birthday wishes.  We celebrated with a few friends on April 3 with taco salad, peach pinwheels, veggies and dip and apple cake.  Yum, Yum, YUM! Sometimes I would love to know what children are thinking.  Here are Noemi and Jacob. And with Elias too! On April 5 the ministry team at Cotacachi surprised me with a belated celebration. (Sorry that the pictures are out of order.)  Back to April 3!  Group picture. Showing off my high school senior year shirt, which still fits after all these years!  Incredible but true! April 4 breakfast.  And no, there were not 51 candles on the cake.  I would have hyperventilated! Gifts from my darling family. Like Tevye, I could sing "If I Were a Rich Man", and God has made me rich indeed, not materially but emotionally and spiritually! Now...