This morning's church service was wonderful. We attended Pastor Noberto's church and made up half the congregation.
Here is Pastor Noberto...
The worship service was refreshing. We sang "Shout to the Lord" and "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" with them – us in English and the congregation in Spanish – and I thought of how big God is and how lifting our voices in praise together was a glimpse of what Heaven will be like.
Here is the outside of the church...
The pastor called us up to the front of the church and prayed for us, asking God's blessings and protection over us. Then, as the service ended, he asked us to stay in the front of the church and allow the members of the congregation to greet us and show their gratitude. Of course this was done in the traditional Ecuadorian way – with hugs, kisses, and "Dios le bendigas." (God bless yous) -- all in Spanish.
Their gratitude brought tears to our eyes. We have learned to love the people so much and their contentment is so refreshing. There are no words to describe the love and connection we feel and it's impossible to express the oneness we have with them.
With renewed vision, we reluctantly said our good-byes and headed back to the hotel.
As quickly as possible, we lunched, changed clothes and headed 45 minutes toward the coast to Bahia de Caráquez (Bay of Caracas) for a look at the beach, a little shopping and dinner out. The town seemed shabby, the water dirty and the non-existent beach rocky, so no one wanted to swim. But it was nice having some time to walk around, take photos by the water and relax.
Here I am, fooling around by the sea...
We went to a really great pizza place for dinner and had a taste of home, then it was back to Tosagua and homework for the rest of the evening.
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