Ecuador Branch of Jehovah's Witnesses

This morning we traveled from Cotacachi to Guayaquil.  That required a 2 hour drive  south through the mountains into Quito.  Then we boarded an airbus 320 jet and flew another hour south to Guayaquil at sea level. Once we checked into our hotel we changed and hired a taxi to drive us to the branch.  We were anxious to meet some more brothers and sisters in our new country.  The branch is located outside the city so it took us about 40 minutes to drive there. The countryside is quite interesting here.  It's very common to see horses or goats grazing along the highway.  At last we arrived at the branch.  The grounds were perfectly clean and beautifully groomed, of course.  So, it really stands out against the rest of its surroundings. Here are some pictures.

The bethel family is about 140-160 people.  The dining room seats 200.

This branch doesn't handle the printing of any publications but their shipping department is very busy.  All publications and magazines are received here then re-distributed to the congregations all over the country.

We toured the branch with these sisters.  On the left if is Missy.  She lives in the mountains near where we are staying and is from Kansas.  In the middle is Gretchen.  She lives in Kansas and is here visiting Missy.  And on the right is Cloris, our tour guide.  She is a missionary of many years here in Ecuador and is currently a bethelite at this branch.

Our complete tour lasted about 40 minutes.  And we met many friends along way. On our way out we were able to see the Assembly Hall where we will attend the convention later this weekend.  Here are a couple pictures of it.

A solid roof for shade and some plastic lawn chairs for seating.  It's usually in the high 80's during the day here and the only air-conditioning is the breeze.  We are keeping a positive attitude and thinking "cool" thoughts for this weekend!