Ecuador!!

Hi everyone! We've been in Ecuador for about 30 hours now, and everything has been going great! Interenet is hard to come by, but I'm sure that will get easier as we get to know the area better. We landed in Quito at about 3 yesterday, got a phone, and called the brother that was supposed to pick us u from the airport, who spoke no English. That was tough. But! a few phone calls and about 3 hours later, we met up with Kyle France, the brother we are staying with in Quito. We're staying in his apt, modest, but its everything we need, and we're thankful to have a safe place to stay. Here's our room:

This morning we woke up, and headed out to Pichincha, a mountain that hovers over Quito at 15,000 feet above sea level. (Quito is at 9,000) We took a cable car up to an amazing view of the city

we started hiking up after the cable car and found some more awesome views...and horses...

So.. Naturally, we rode them..

That was amazing!!! a little painful, but nothing compared to what was to come. We rode the horses for about an hour, up to the point where they couldn't go any further, and thats where the hiking began. At about 13,000 feet we began hiking, and I've never felt so out of shape in my life. Every 100 feet my heart was beating out of my chest like i had just sprinted a mile. I underestimated the effect the altitude would have on me (my pounding headache is a constant reminder of my neglect in this area) Still with that said, it was amazing, the views were incredible at 4,000 + feet above the city, the pictures don't do it justice, but here are a few 

We hiked for about 4 hours total, much more than we had bargained for, but it was unbelievable. It was about 35 degrees at the highest point we got to (while the city was about 75), in fact a few hundred feet further up, there was snow..on the equator. Crazy! Tomorrow, we will wake up at 5 am for our first day in service. The group is going out from 6 Am to 12 in the afternoon to beat the heat. We'll get to meet some friends, and see what service is like (Tomorrow will be with the English Congregation) I'm excited, and exhausted! Theres so much more to say about the city and the culture, but I'm soo tired, and running out of battery. Hope everyone is well, i'll post again as soon as I can!

Giant Ecuador Adventure(r)