It is hard to believe it has been more than a month since the last blog entry. We have continued to keep busy, and the time just seems to fly by!
Garth has recently been working in the surgical wing of the hospital, doing facelifts and color changes. He seemed especially happy to work in the anesthesiologist office…maybe it was that hissing bottle of compressed gas??
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| Kindergarten Students Storybook Character Day |
Valerie has been working the Kindergarten students hard, trying to prepare them for Grade 1. The class will dissolve at Easter, when one of the students (50% of the class) leaves for the USA with her family.
It seems there is a constant change in missionary families as they leave on furlough or are reassigned to other areas or countries. For as many that leave Shell, as many new families arrive. This changes the school population often. Valerie’s original Grade 5/6 class has doubled to eight students, another class still has the same number of students, but only one that began the year. The others have left and been replaced by new students! Because of this rapid change in the mission community it seems the missionaries and locals are very open and willing to take an interest in you and friendships are made quickly.
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| Drama Performance Gr 5/6 |
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| Winning Entry of Goodbye to Mrs. Johnson Song Competition |
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| Despedida Buffet |
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| Presentation to Valerie |
Unfortunately, we have recently been to two despedidas to say goodbye to friends, and two other couples have announced changes in their careers and will leave Shell soon. Now we will be leaving shortly.
In our final weeks here we have a full social calendar. Despedidas for Valerie with the school and Garth with the hospital maintenance staff, an Ecuadorian/American wedding, an Easter brunch, and gatherings with our friends who we must leave behind. It is a time of high emotion as we realize the strong attachments we’ve made in the past 8 months. On the upside, we now have open invitations to Sweden, Lesotho and of course Ecuador!
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| Garth' Despedida |
There are many things in Shell that we will miss:
-Mountains, volcanoes and the lush jungle
-Iridescent colored insects and birds
-Friendly people
-Large, delicious meals for a small price
-Walking to work and for groceries
Several things we won’t miss:
-Sidewalks and streets that are never finished
-Constant and loud traffic (we live along the main hi-way)
-Carrying an umbrella everywhere you go
-Spiders and ants of every shape & size
-Termite poo!
