Riobamba to Chiquicha to Quito

We left the hotel Monte Carlo at about 10:30am in route to Chiquicha. We stopped again for take a out children dinner and fries in the city of Ambato.

Ambato is famous in Ecuador for its carnival tradition. 'Disfaces' or masks of every type are worn including painted faces. People from all over the country head to Ambato or Guaranda to celebrate. Some of it serves to ''let steam off' in a harmless way." Of course at some point the party starts and things can get out of control with alcohol. The participants are permitted to throw flowers but no water. In Riobamba water filled balloons and pails of water are permitted to douse anyone and everyone. The streets fill with people in a party mood. The following pictures(free) are from the year 2014 Ambato carnival and can be found on the Web. They give a sense for the atmosphere that exists at carnival time.

Ambato is a large regional city and favorite place for festivals.

 

 

Above five pictures are typical scenes from Ambato.

 

We arrived at the Martinez home at about 1pm. After the initial greetings we decided to hold a discussion instead of a service. Walt had several questions that are used during confirmation camp exercises. There are several of them but only fifteen were used for the discussion. Following are some of them:

1. What is the most important matter in our life?
2. How did God create the world?
3. Why is man unique?
4. What separates man from God?
5. What is sin?
6. What is the mother of all sin?
7. How did God reconcile sin fallen man to Himself?
8. What does baptism signify?
9. What are the two principle parts of the Word of God?
10. What is the gospel?

Except for one young man named Adrian none of the other had been to a Laestadian Lutheran Confirmation School. All answers were verbal. In general the group struggled with giving specific answers and it at times took much discussion and coaching to get the right answer. Some answers were surprisingly difficult for them to answer for example:"What is the gospel?" (Answer: the good news about Jesus Christ)  More general answers were given: faith, the Word of God, etc. Such answers are partly true but not specific. The questions most readily answered were: 4, 5, 7, and 8. Answers for question 6 were typically a listing of specific sins instead of grasping the overall concept of 'unbelief.'

After the initial questions someone asked about family size and accepting children. The First Article of the Creed was used as the basis for the answer. Personal experiences from raising children in the United States were offered. All agreed God created the heaven and earth, themselves and their children. The discussion became more sensitive and difficult from that point on. As one person said "It is hard to trust God." And, "There is much pressure from society to limit the family size." Most had difficulty trusting in God as to family size. Those that spoke did so freely.

Celio listens intently to the questions.

 

Lisbeth expresses her thoughts about motherhood.

  

We caught the bus to Quito at about 4:30pm as we were anxious to beat the rush to the carnival. As usual vendors got on and off the bus. They were both male and female, young and old. They pitched anything from soda and water to candy bars, fruit and papas.

 We arrived at the Quitumbe station at about 6:45pm. Veronica had reserved a cab for us and we had the number of the license plate. Immediately a driver walked up to us and Walt showed the number. He nodded his head and we started to load the taxi. A double check proved it was not the right taxi. A crowd gathered asking what was wrong. The suitcases were removed. A voice sounded "Walter" and we then knew the right driver had come. It was a bit too much stress for the day but we made it safely back 'home.' The traffic was already backing up in the south bound lanes ie toward Ambato.

Walt and Avis