Volcanic Hot Springs

Verse of the day: “Let us lay aside every weight that may so easily slow us down and let us eagerly do the work that is set before us. …The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.”  Hebrews 12:1 & Acts 20:24

(Sorry for the delay in posting, the internet has been down.) 

Our setup at Santa Ines

As I mentioned yesterday, today is the start of a large protest in Ecuador’s nearby capital of Quito.  We had to cancel the original village we were going to go to because the roads were closed so we instead went back to the same village as yesterday to try and see more folks.  We saw patients there for half the morning and then were able to visit a local school there and provide fluoride treatments and dental education to 60 kids.  The kids were initially apprehensive about anything “dentist” but then came around and were appreciating all the attention they were getting—and getting out of class ;-)

Susana

Providing flouride treatment

There are many reasons for the protest but overall it is the people against the government and are requesting changes to the constitution.  It involves a wide variety of Ecuadorians from the cities to the rural and indigenous villages.  The current president has been in office for nearly 8 years and has made a lot of changes in his 2 terms.  He is seeking yet another term that would start next year and the people are looking to prevent that and reverse a lot of the changes he has made. Some examples that are most pertinent to the villages we are serving is the closing of smaller schools and a steep increase in taxes.  The families can’t afford transportation to other schools and a steep increase in taxes particularly affects those who are already poor.  The doctors are also protesting because the president has greatly encouraged people to sue for malpractice.  There was even no water today and it is thought that it has something to do with the protest. 

Volcanic Hot Springs

Since not many people were coming today due to the protest, we ended up coming home early and enjoyed a nice afternoon around the town of La Merced.  We started at the volcanic hot springs which weren’t all that hot even though a volcano is spewing but a nice pool temperature at least.  Then we took a long walk up around the upper side of the town looking down into the valley and watching a huge storm come though.  And try as we might, we failed at getting a picture of all the lightening over the valley :/

Storm coming in over the valley

In the evening, Susana’s daughter brought us medicines using money that was donated and while she was here she took us all to the mall.  It was a very different experience than we have been used too and surprisingly better than any mall I’ve been to in the US.  I quickly found a favorite store ;-)