My last month in Quinindé

Hi Friends!
Please forgive me for not having written in a while...I have been using a computer that belongs to some friends, but the internet is sooooooo slow, that I was barely managing to send my assignments and read my emails in an hour.

Things continue to go well...I can hardly believe that I only have 4 weeks left here in Quinindé. God has truly blest my time here thus far, and though I am excited about getting back to see my family, I will miss the new friends and ¨family¨I have here in Ecuador.

For those of you praying for my research and my interviews, I want to let you know that my first few have gone really well. I had planned to do interviews in another group, but when we got there on Tuesday afternoon, none of the women had come for the meeting. I really enjoyed all I was able to learn about people´s lives and the community in which they live through the interviews, and starting tomorrow, I will Lord willing be conducting interviews every day of this week. You can be praying that all the groups would meet and that I would be able to successfully carry out all the interviews this week. Also, be praying that my analysis of the information I receive would be accurate, and that I might be able to encourage the Luke Society staff through my research.

The other day I got to see my first chicken killed and stripped of its feathers, before eating it later in some yummy tamales! I did not know this, but when you open up the chicken you find all the eggs it is set to lay on its back...sometimes they are big, ready to be laid, but in this chicken they were small. I also got to see dried corn turned into a maize flour and used to make the tamales...It was a great learning experience. I still don´t think I could ever be the one to kill the chicken, but it was interesting nonetheless.

This past week Quinindé was celebrating its anniversary since becoming a ¨canton¨--which is like a district of sorts. There was a parade on Friday, and I went with one of my friends from church Maria to watch the parade. All the high schools in the area have been practicing dances and the musical band in order to march in the parade. I was able to see several friends of mine that are students and teachers in the various schools in the area. I enjoyed the experience!

Please pray that I would finish my time here strong! I have been very exhausted this past week, for no reason in particular, as well as suffering from my allergies every day. Because the dry season is now pretty much in full, there is so much more dust in the air, and that means allergies galore for me! :)
Also, please pray that I would be able to finish all my school assignments well, as I am feeling the weight of them...
Thanks for again for your friendship, your love, and your prayers!
Elise