We're finally here!!!

Wow! I (Tandy) can’t believe we’re here, and this is real! We wanted to do this blog to keep our family and friends updated and also as a type of journal for us to keep in the future. I apologize in advance for the incredibly detailed accounts….we just want to remember everything!!! Also, please excuse the appearance of the blog for now….I just wanted to get the basics up, so we could start posting.
I’m going to start at the beginning, Tuesday, March 10th, when we left home. – God’s just been so good, and everything has fallen into place at just the right time. At the last minute when we were packing, we found out that we would be able to qualify for “military baggage allowance,” which is 3 bags, each up to 70lbs., per person. Apparently, Continental was not aware that their website stated this was applicable for military personnel on personal travel. :-) I wouldn’t be surprised if the policy is changed because of us. Their hands were kind of tied, because we had the printout from the internet! Anyway…we were able to bring ALL of the donations that people have given us!! We thought we were only going to get to bring a few books and toys, but we brought it all. Thank you so much to all of you who donated things for the kids at the orphanage. I’ll try to take pictures of the kids with the items and post them later.
Dwight’s parents and my mom were great and helped us make it to the airport on time. Here they are waving to us through the window as we checked in….(They were really just waiting to make sure we got through with all of our extra baggage. Ha!)

We were also fortunate to get the only non-stop flight available to Quito, and it just happened to be the cheapest one as well! Thank you again, God. ~ I was so giddy at this point I was being obnoxious. Poor Dwight. Here’s a couple of pics of us while we’re waiting to board the plane. Take note of the difference in our expressions. I made Dwight wear a money belt under his pants, and this is the face he made every time he tried to get something out of it. (When I say I ‘made’ him…you know that just means I ‘asked’ him to, but made it clear that I would be really upset if he didn’t comply.) It still makes me laugh out loud to think of it! He had to keep getting his passport out, and he was not amused. My favorite time was when we were on the plane, and he was in the middle seat and couldn’t get his passport out of the belt without arching his body up in the air. Fun times…I was laughing so hard. –If you notice my picture, I didn’t mind the money belt one bit.
So we arrived in Quito around 9:15 pm on Tuesday night, and Patti Sue (who runs the orphanage) was there to pick us up. It was so good to see her again! She had a taxi van waiting, so we loaded up and headed to the Mission Guest House. There is a couple who runs the guest house, and they provide lodging for all sorts of groups and individuals who are traveling through Quito on missions. It is so nice to have somewhere to settle in right after you get off the plane! Our room....
We got up in the morning and had a wonderful breakfast, and we were able to meet a few others who are involved in different areas of mission work. I’m always so fascinated to hear everyone’s stories about where they’ve been and where they’re going.

Patti Sue had driven her van to pick us up, so we loaded that up and headed to Shell. It’s only about 150 miles, but it takes about 4.5 to 5 hours. It’s quite the fun ride. ~ We stopped at a ridiculously huge store in Quito to get some groceries….they have everything that Super Wal-Mart has, PLUS what a Sears Home Store has. It was crazy…. I’m attaching a picture because it’s kind of surreal to me.
We got to meet Tracy as well, whose husband is an MAF pilot. Mission Aviation Fellowship is a pretty big ministry, and some of you might be familiar with Nate Saint, who was an MAF pilot that was killed along with 4 other missionaries. ~ Tracy rode back from Quito with us, and we had a blast getting to know her. About half-way we picked up Kris and Joy…Dwight now had 4 women in the car with him! :-) Kris and her husband, Shedd, are our landlords. They live on the top story of their home, and we are renting out the bottom floor. They have been living here in Ecuador doing mission work for a long time, and we can’t wait to get to know them better. Kris has been so sweet and accommodating as we’ve been trying to get settled. They have 2 grown children in the states and their son, David, still lives here with them. David has Down’s Syndrome, and he is awesome!! We got to meet him last night, and he was so much fun.
I mentioned that Joy was with her as well. Joy is 18, and she’s currently living in another city in Ecuador working on her Spanish in language school. She’s just visiting Shell right now, but she’s already fallen in love with this community. Hopefully we’ll see her again in the near future! A group from her home church in Minnesota is visiting here in Shell, so we were able to meet some of them as well.


Back to the van ride....So,all of us talked our heads off until we arrived in Shell. We dropped our bags off in our house and headed out to the work site with Patti Sue. We are so excited, because Jim (a contractor from Canada) is still here!! He’s been down for 3 months, and we thought we were going to miss him by a day. We met him at the site, and he took us on a little tour. He is awesome about explaining everything to Dwight, and it’s such a gift that they’re getting to spend a little time together! Dwight met Jim at the property this morning at 8:00, and he’s going to try to get all the info. he can for when Jim isn’t here! Construction is completely different down here, so there is so much to learn. Dwight said it’s a good thing he doesn’t know anything about construction to begin with, because now he doesn’t have any habits to break. ha! I’ll be sure to take some pictures of the site next time I’m out. So much has been done since I was here in July!
We visited the orphanage briefly after we got back, and I just can’t even describe how good it felt. There are just no words for how beautiful these little ones are. The big kids loved Dwight, and he could barely pull them off of him when we had to leave. Don’t worry…I know there will be tons of pictures of the kids as time goes by. :-)


We spent our first night in the house we’ll be staying in, and it is awesome! We are so blessed, it’s unbelievable. This house is so big for the two of us, and it’s very nice. I haven’t taken any pictures, but I’ll do so once we get settled in. I have a lot of unpacking to do!
We had breakfast this morning before Dwight headed out, and then I was able to sit and have some quiet time. I had a hard time then, and I’m having a hard time now trying to put into words what I feel. Everything just feels right….like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. It is such a freeing feeling, and I’m so glad we’re finally here. I’m also just overwhelmed with gratitude and thankfulness! I turned to the Psalms to try to find something that could put words to what I was feeling…..


“I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.” Ps. 119:32


“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth!” Ps. 47:1-2 This one just made me think of where we are…in a different nation, but one where we’re still surrounded by people who have a heart for the Lord. He is the great King over all the earth, and that truth is never clearer than when you are in a foreign country.


Thank you for bearing with me on this incredibly long first entry! :-) I hope Dwight will get a chance to write soon, because I’m sure he will have a rebuttal on the whole money belt thing.