The Jensen's Journal

Nick's Birthday

2009-06-29T19:27:00.001-07:00

Nicolas has been obsessed with Star Wars for about the past 10 months and he had never even seen the movie until right before his birthday this month. All the presents he asked for had to do with Star Wars... light saber, movies, bedding, etc. He was very excited on his birthday.

We had a BBQ with a couple families for his birthday dinner and the boys played Star Wars the entire time! It was so fun to watch and listen as they made the sounds of the light sabers clashing even though the toys made the sounds themselves.

Jordan, Tanner, Nick and Luke (4 Jedi knights)

William's, Jensen's and Bryan's Kids

Nick and his new Star Wars bedding from Grandma Rosie and Aunt Laurel

New Light Saber with light and sound!

New camera from Grandma and Grandpa Jensen which as you can see he was very excited about

Lunch with Ayano

2009-06-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ayano's mom made them all bears out of towels.

Mikala has 3 best friends here in Quito. The four of them are in the picture above. There is Mikala, Hye Lim, Ayano and Amanda. Amanda just moved back to the states. Hye Lim is from Korea. And Ayano moved here from Japan this last February. Ayano's mom invited the girls and all of us mothers over for lunch at the end of the school year. It was a wonderful time. I found it quite comical that none of us spoke Spanish incredibly well, but it was the only language that all four of us had in common. There was a moment that we were talking about the differences between the Japanese and Korean languages and we were discussing this in Spanish, and I thought to myself... How crazy is this? Good times in Quito!

Pictures from Mother's Day

2009-05-24T19:24:00.001-07:00

Nick's class had a special Mother's Day brunch.

Mikala made me some sweet shades for Mother's Day.

We went out to dinner for Mother's Day and Nick wanted to dress up. He was the best dressed in the entire restaurant.

World's Largest Avacado

2009-05-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

Chelsea, one of our semester abroad students, came home with 5 avocados one night, one of them being the size of a papaya. It was given to her by a woman she was helping. I guess the woman climbed up her 80 foot avocado tree and started chucking these ginormas avocados down to her. Since it still wasn't ripe by the time she went home, we inherited it. It ripened and we were able to make a full bowl of guacamole with it.

Would you look at the size of this thing?

Have you ever seen an avocado this big?

It's about the same size as my head.

Guacamole, all from one avocado.

Pictures of the new house moved in.

2009-05-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

We moved into our house on the 22nd of April. We had a bunch of people help us move our stuff over... fortunately we are just down the street from our other house. Rosemary, Matt's mom, thought it would take us about a month to get settled, but thanks to Elizabeth Payne and a few others, most of our stuff was put away that day and we are now pretty settled in. We do still have some work to do in the office. I need to find something to put all my stuff into.

I have to admit that I really struggled at the thought of moving into this house. It was incredibly dirty and was falling apart when we first started to move stuff in. But, now that we have been here for a couple weeks and it is starting to shape up, I think I am going to actually like it more than the other house. It's not as big, so it's easier to clean and we can't accumulate as much junk. I also love the back yard and the space outside! And best of all... Nick has been sleeping in his own room ever since we have moved in! God is so good and he knows just what we need, even if we think differently. I'm glad we can trust Him. I am so thankful for a God who provides.

Our Room

Nick's Bedroom

Mikala's Room

Living Room

Office

Kitchen and Dining Room

Grandma Rosie Visits!

2009-05-05T06:04:00.000-07:00

The night before the team from Lancaster left, Matt's mom, Rosemary arrived. The day after the team left, we packed up and headed to the beach for Easter. There were a group of others from Youth World at the beach as well, so we all met Easter morning and spent time worshiping God together. Two days after the beach trip, Matt and Rosemary went with the semester abroad students back to Shandia. They helped further the work that the Lancaster team had started. When they returned from Shandia, we moved into our new home.

We had a wonderful time with Rosemary. It was a bummer we had to move in the middle of her trip, and we wish she had stayed longer (the kids often complained that it was way too short), but we sure enjoyed our time with her.

Having a picnic lunch at our park down the street.

At the Market Place

At the beach.

Easter Morning at the beach

In Shandia

At Jim Eliot's house in Shandia

Canoe trip to the zoo

Church

Mikala took Grandma to the Elijido Market all by herself. They rode in a taxi and Grandma was very impressed with Mikala's use of Spanish.

Eating lunch with the kids at school

The middle of the world

Supposedly, it is easier to balance an egg on the head of a nail on the equator. Rosemary did it and has a certificate to prove it.

Rosemary and I went to the Basilica and Colonial Quito. We actually got a backstage tour of one of the Catholic Churches by accident. We kind of joined a group, not knowing it was a special tour. They welcomed us and we learned all about a street boys ministry that has been going on since the 1960's. It was really interesting.

Rosemary and I also got to go to a luncheon for the Youth World Women

At the Teleferiqo.... a gondola that takes you above the city of Quito. Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day. Nick and I were at home. Nick had a 102 fever.

We went out to dinner for Grandma's birthday. It's this really cool Italian restaurant that has an outdoor patio and they have pots of hot coal to keep you warm. It was our third choice, but the other two restaurants were closed due to the elections.

We had cake at home.

The Group from Grace Chapel in Lancaster, Ca

2009-04-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

Grace Chapel from Lancaster, CA brought a team to Ecuador from the 31st of March to the 10th of April. What an incredible time we had with them! They were such a joy to get to know and I am so excited to have even more familiar faces the next time we visit Lancaster. We had the opportunity to go to Shandia with them to work and build relationships with the people (especially the children) of Shandia. On Friday we played some games with the kids and then went down to the river to swim. On Saturday we spent most of the day shoveling dirt. On Sunday we worshiped the Lord together singing in English, Spanish and Kichwa and Eric delivered a sermon. Some of the group also went and did Sunday School with the children. Monday we went on a little river trip and then headed back to Quito.

I was encouraged to see many familiar faces in Shandia and actually be able to communicate a little better this time. I also had the opportunity to taste my first chicha... can't say I enjoyed it much. But, I did love the sugar cane.

When we returned to Quito, we spent the remaining time at El Refugio. The team did a lot of hard work and also participated in some team building activities.

We sure had a wonderful time with Grace Chapel, Lancaster and we can't wait for them to come back!

At El Refugio, the team also did the ropes course and some team building activities. Mikala and Nick participated in both and enjoyed it tremendously.

Nick and many others were painted with a dye derived from plants. The red only lasted a day, but the black stayed on for a week!

We celebrated my 39th birthday in Tena, near Shandia. We had an incredible downpour and thunder and lightning show. The electricity went out. It was a lot of fun.

Shoveling sand from one side of the river and carrying it over to the other to load in wheel-barrows to be taken down the road about a 1/4 mile to the church.

Cynthia and Halley enjoying the sugar cane.

My friend Carolina! It was so great to see her again.

Nick and Dario playing on the Napo river with the kids from Shandia.

Mikala and Kimberly (One of the girls she met when we first came down with our youth group in 2004.)

Kayaking

2009-04-23T20:02:00.000-07:00

At the end of March, we took our interns kayaking down the Napo River! What a blast! Next to Megan and Chelsea, Matt and I were the ones that tipped over the most!

On the bridge in Tena

Right before I fell in!

Criste, Hannah, Me and Chelsea. Where's Emily?

A New House

2009-04-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

In March we found a house to move into! It was a bit difficult to even think of leaving our other house, being that it was a mansion and in really great condition in comparison to this new one, but we will be saving close to $400 dollars a month! So, along with some extra help from some of our supporters and a new church partnering with us, we are now getting really close to meeting our budget! Thank you all for your prayers and support and thank you Lord for helping us find a house!

The outside of our new house. The yard to the left is our neighbors and the one in the back is ours.

This goes to our front door.

The staircase. The lawn out the window is our backyard.

Dining room and kitchen. We removed the cabinet that is hanging to make it more open.

Our living room.

The window to the right looks right out into our neighbors yard and house.

Reminders of the Soveriegn Grace of God

2008-03-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

One of the things I really appreciate about Ecuador is the fact that we are constantly given reminders that we are not really the ones in control. So many simple freedoms we take for granted in the states can be so altered here that it takes you off guard at first, but then it is a beautiful reminder of proverbs 16:9, "The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps."
Take road work for example... a couple weeks ago they were working on a road that goes up the hill to our little neighborhood. They were repaving the road, so they blocked off the section they were working on... understandable. What we didn't quite get was how anyone was suppose to get in or out of our neighborhood. There was no warning, no information given that our neighborhood would be blocked off for a couple of hours. People would leave their houses and get sent back, leaving them to walk or go find a taxi.
Then this morning we had another great example... At 8:00 a.m. Matt went out to El Refugio (our camp about 30-45 min. outside the city) to meet with some interns. Road workers were laying some pipe in the dirt road to the camp, making it a little difficult to maneuver, but manageable. What Matt didn't know, and again there was absolutely no warning, was that in the course of the time that Matt met with the interns, the road workers had completely blocked off the road (digging a giant trench across it) making it impossible to pass. When Matt went to ask how long it would be till he could pass, they told him not until 5 p.m.
It is times like these that God reminds us that we take a lot of things for granted and it is really only through His constant gracious acts pouring out on us that we get anywhere in life.

Quito Day Festival

2007-12-08T06:37:00.000-08:00

Each class participated in a traditional dance of Ecuador. The kids were so cute. You could definitely tell who didn't have Latino blood in them.

Nicolas was very serious about his dancing.

Mikala and her 3 best friends.

Our new dog Cooper

2007-12-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

Pictures from Banos

2007-12-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

Storage Building for the Orphanage in Shell.

Kyle helping put on the roof to the storage building.

Jamie working on filling in pot holes on the road at the orphanage.

Nicolas and Eric also filling in holes.

Barney, Julie, Eric, Nick and MIkala at a waterfall outside of Rio Negro. It was a beautiful hike into the falls.

Mikala and I on the path to the waterfall.

Matt and Mikala on the same path.

Some of our group at another waterfall called Pilon del diablo (the devil's cauldron).
It is huge and very beautiful.

You can crawl through this path and actually touch the waterfall.

And one more falls. This one we took a ride on the tarabita below. It was pretty fun. It goes right over the falls.

On the tarabita

Sharayah taking the machete to the grass at the orphanage

Mikala working hard

Nicolas loved the machete

2007-10-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to hearing Mikala singing Santo, Santo, Santo (Holy, Holy, Holy) in the shower. She was singing away and sounded pretty good. How fun.

The $800 New Broken Refrigerator

2007-10-12T19:14:00.000-07:00

So we moved into our new home this last week and we had to buy a refrigerator because at the last house it was provided for us (which is really rare). At any rate, we purchased the fridge from a store called Megamaxi and they delivered it on Thursday. We plugged it in on Friday (you have to wait 24 hours) and it never cooled down. We called the store and they said they would send a techno on Monday. We asked, "Can't we just return this and get another?" "No" they replied "We have to send a techno to check it out first." Monday came and went, no techno. Tuesday... no techno. Wednesday the techno finally arrived and said that there was a hole in one of the tubes and all the freon was out. He said he could just solder it and fill it back up with freon, but he had to wait until the next day because he didn't have anything to fix it with. So, Matt called the store again, since it had been a week since we had bought it, and asked if we could just have the fridge replaced being that we didn't spend money to buy a broken refrigerator but a new one and they said, "Sorry no. But we'll give you a free DVD for all your trouble." These are good times.

Lunch

2007-10-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

I'm sure everyone has given up on this blog by now. But for those who are still checking... We were invited to lunch after church this last week by a family in our church. It was all in Spanish! We didn't do too bad. We had a wonderful meal and enjoyed getting to know them. We were invited to bring the kids anytime to play and practice our Spanish.

Nicolas' Thoughts on Heaven

2007-04-15T14:00:00.000-07:00

Nicolas was asked the other day if he was a Christian. Sandy proceeded to ask, "Have you asked Jesus into your heart?" Nicolas replied, "Yes I'm a Christian." Then he said, "There are three ways to get to heaven." We all turned our attention to him and said, "Really? We thought there was only one way to heaven. Please enlighted us." Nicolas confidently responded, "No there are three. Listen. First you have to confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. Second, you have to believe in Jesus, and then third.... you have to die."

2007-03-07T16:43:00.000-08:00

So, Mikala has been throwing up for the past 3 days and it is really weird because she throws up every 12 to 24 hours. Right when I think she must be over it, she does it again. So this evening we took her to the doctor and they are going to run some tests. After the doctor we went to the mall for some food and gave Mikala some Gatorade. After some time, she felt like she was going to throw up so Matt had me run her to the bathroom. The bathroom was divided up into three different rooms which I didn't even pay attention to... one was the women's, one the men's and the other for children. Unfortunately I went straight to the empty one, which, I'm sure you guessed, was the men's. When Mikala finished puking, we walked out and there were 3 men standing at the urinal... oops.

Carnival

2007-02-25T14:00:00.000-08:00

From February 6th (Epiphany - the celebration of the wisemen's visit to Jesus) to February 20th (Fat Tuesday - the day before Lent) is the season of Carnival (which some have said comes from the latin words carne (meat) and vale (farewell). Carnival is the Spanish version of the French Mardi Gras. Carnival is celebrated in many Latin American countries and most are similar to the New Orleans version of Mardi Gras, although more elaborate. In Ecuador however, it is very different. Here they do not have parades as much as they do water fighFrom February 6th (Epiphany - celebration of thets. They do have parades in a few towns, but water balloons and water guns and even flour throwing is very popular... especially in the warmer places. We didn't see quite as much in Quito, but every once in awhile I would see a person walking down the street with their shirt soaking wet or white in their hair from flour. I have been asking around for the reason for this tradition and no one really seems to know. I have had a couple of explanations given... a sort of purification ritual of past sins and a mix of the Catholic celebration of Carnival with the Incan celebration of the rainy season. But, for the most part, nobody knows why they do it besides the fact that it is just fun. The two days before lent are actually declared an holiday for Carnival. The kids are out of school and everyone heads to the beach.
We didn't go to the beach, we actually visited Quito Colonial with a couple of our interns. This is a picture of one of the streets in Quito Colonial. This section of the city was built in the 1500's. It is very beautiful.

We also visited the Basilica and the Plaza de Independencia. The Basilica is actually fairly
new... finished in the early 1900's.

While we were visiting we heard a mass with an electrical guitar and a very out of tune young singer (interesting and somewhat out of place in this beautiful cathedral).

We also were able to climb all throughout the cathedral.

One can climb up into the clock tower and actually step outside on the ledge. It is crazy!

The gargoyels on the side of the Basilica are actually creatures found in the Gallapogos and other areas of Ecuador. Their are lizards, pelicans, qui and all sorts of interesting creatures.

When you stand at the alter in the cathedral, you can actually see the panecillo (a statue of the virgen Mary) on the hill top about 5 miles away through this heart window.

We met these boys in the square. They wanted to polish our tennis shoes so they could get some money to buy another squirt gun for Carnival.

New Years Eve

2007-01-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

Ecuador celebrates New Year's Eve with gusto. The whole city looks as though it is on fire as fireworks are set off and the "burning of the old man" takes place. They have a few different traditions here... one is the "burning of the old man." About 5 days before New Year's Eve, there are stands all over the place with stuffed dummies and masks that you can purchase for the dummies' head. It is very odd seeing all these fake people on every street corner. The idea is that you buy one of these and fill it full of firecrackers and gasoline and set it on fire at midnight (sounds very similar to something our youth group did back home on the sled hill). It symbolizes burning the old man and starting a new. There are hundreds of thousands of these burning men all throughout the city at midnight... in the streets, on the curbs, vacant lots etc. and no one seems to tend them when they're done... they're just left to burn out.

Another thing that people do is set off fireworks. And these fireworks aren't just little bottle rockets or little roses that spin on the ground (although they have those too) but these are huge fireworks like the ones they set off the peninsula on fourth of July. Ok maybe they're not quite that big... but similar. And the craziest thing is, fireworks are supposedly illeagal here. Needless to say, we had a blast taking part in these New Year's Eve traditions and thought fondly of Daniel Spicer, Mike and John Herman, Brian Newman and Jason Francis, knowing of their fondness for fireworks and blowing things up.

Christmas Eve

2006-12-24T13:12:00.000-08:00

So, there is a tradition here in Quito that people hand out Regalos (gifts) for Christmas to those in need. It is very similar to Halloween in the fact that kids come to your door and ring your doorbell and ask for a gift. The difference is that it is not just a little piece of candy, but a bag of cookies and candies and they don't just come one day but the whole week proceeding Christmas. So, unaware of this tradition, we answered the door Monday and some kids and their mom were there and asked for Regalos de Navidad. I was in the process of making Vicki Brownell's famous white chocolate popcorn and so I bagged some up and gave it to them. I explained that it's not the normal gift, but it was all I had. Little did I know that once you start, the word gets out and you are flooded with people from then on. So, a couple days went by where we would just give out what we had, until my neighbor explained to me that it is best to pick a day and tell everyone to return on that day. Well, today was the day... Christmas Eve day. We gave out over 100 gift bags and people are still coming! It's crazy!
Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas

2006-12-24T12:40:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been two months since I have updated this blog. Please forgive me. Time has flown by. We've had Mike Forrest and my parents come visit us and had a marveleous time (all except for my dad getting sick at the end of the trip). But, we are so grateful they were able to come.
While they were here, we traveled to Banos, went to a bull fight and went to a place called Papallacta which has natural hot springs.

Mom and I felt pretty sad for the bull.

Papallacta is beautiful and sits up higher in the mountains then quito.

2006-10-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

It is a beautiful day today! The sun is out, the mountains are out... it's gorgeous! I was sick yesterday with a fever, so I didn't go to school today. I am thankful for the fever because I was able to spend some needed time in His word. Thank you Lord for slowing me down.
Our shipment is suppose to arrive today! I and the kids are very excited! The kids will finally have some toys to play with and I will finally have some things to cook with... yea!
Matt had his phone stolen the other day on the trolley. The trolley was packed (people crowded up all around you) so it was hard to tell if someone was grabbing something. Matt thinks it was a girl who snatched it. I thought it was pretty impressive... even though it was crowded she had to reach up under his shirt and grab it out of the case! Amazing! So, we're short one phone now.

Home Sweet Home

2006-10-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

Our lovely bedroom before we painted it.

Our terrace that you access from the kids bedroom.

Our dining room that is still just as empty. =)

Ok, I'm a bit behind... We are in our new house! Yea! Our landlords are wonderful people... very nice and very helpful. We have been in the house 2 weeks now. Our first week was a bit rough. Water kept coming up through the kitchen floor drain every time we used the sink. The sink also had a leak and the cabinet in which the sink sits is molded. We also had to buy a stove and a washer and dryer for the house which was challenging. Once we got the appliances, it took us a week to get them hooked up. But, a plumber came, a technician came and we have painted our lovely rose colored bedroom to blue, so now we can cook, wash dishes and sleep well. Our house is still without furniture (besides beds) but we are working on that too. We are also waiting on our shipment. It is here, but it is still in customs. We hope it won't be too much longer. I'm excited to get my recipes and some kitchen items that are very useful (mixing bowls, spatulas, cookie sheets, pyrex, etc.). It's really difficult to cook without them.=)
Funny story... A man comes to our door the other day asking if we want firewood and dirt. Matt says no thank you. But the man kept insisting. Matt was confused, he wondered if our landlord Ruthie had ordered it for us and he was just wanting to deliver it. Matt gave the man Ruthie's phone number just in case and in broken Spanish tried to tell him to call her and discuss it. So the next day, there is a pile of wood and a pile of bags of dirt sitting in front of our house. A woman rings our door and asks for money for the dirt and wood. I try to tell her we didn't order it, but she insists that Matt did. Our landlord (who lives above us) comes down and through much discussion she explains that we can't communicate well and there has obviously been miscommunication. We ended up buying half of the wood and a couple of bags of dirt anyway and people who drove by stopped and pick up bundles of wood, so it wasn't a complete loss for them. We're learning.

Mikala's Bailey Creek

2006-09-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

Mikala had a school progect this last week. She had to create a box community. She told her teacher that she didn't really have a house yet and asked if she could create her old community. So, here is Mikala's rendition of Bailey Creek.

Pinchincha

2006-09-29T19:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday after school Matt and the kids and Michael (one of the interns with youth world) and I went up a mountain called Pinchincha. They have a gondola that takes you to the top and then you can hike around. What an incredible view! The day was pretty clear too, so we could see the surrounding mountains. It was so wonderful to get out of the city for a bit and frolic in God's beautiful creation. We hiked around for awhile, but at an altitude of 14,000+ feet we didn't push ourselves too much. Whenever I see mountains like this I am reminded of God's majesty and I wonder in awe at the creator of such beauty.

2006-09-13T16:28:00.000-07:00

I wrote this as an email and decided to post it on my blog...
We are doing well. We are still at the Miller's house... haven't found a place to call our own yet. Everything we have seen has been out of our price range. I wish something would just fall in our laps. We started language school last week and I'm pretty sure we have covered an entire year of Sr. high Spanish in one week! My head feels like it is going to explode! :) I think I am the dumbest one at the school. I sure hope I get better at this.
The kids are doing well. They like their school. Mikala went to an Ecuadorian birthday party Saturday... 30+ kids there! Isn't that crazy! And it was 5 hours long! When I went to pick her up, they kept saying, "oh the one not allowed to watch Garfield." I thought "Oh great, what happened?" Apparently, they all went in to watch a movie (Garfield) and Mikala told the birthday girl that she was not allowed to watch it so they changed the movie to something else just for her. Hopefully it wasn't any big deal, but I have no idea. I was proud of her for saying she couldn't watch it, but wishing she would have just found something else to do instead of switching the whole movie on account of her. =) I don't even know if she's allowed to watch Garfield or not. =) So, good times.
Let's see, what else... I miss clean air. Mikala and I have been coughing ever since we have arrived. We think it is the pollution. We took Mikala to the Dr. and that is what he thinks it is. On one hand it is good news... she's not sick. On the other hand... we're smoking 10 packs a day. =) I also miss trees, clean water, and less houses. I am so not a city girl! I want to move to the jungle! =) Matt says we have to learn the language first... I guess he's got a point. =)
I have learned how to make some juices from different fruits. They are very good! The maid taught me. The maid and the guard here are very nice! The guard just laughs at me because I can't understand what the heck he is saying most of the time. But we keep trying to communicate. Betty (the maid) is going to teach me to make even more fruit juices this week. I like trying to communicate, but I wish I was better at it.
We have learned to take the trole (trolley) to school... it is 25 cents. I like riding it. We have eaten lunch at some local restaurants... we were the only gringos. The first time we went we were seated with another couple... little awkward... they didn't look to happy to share the table with us. I broke the ice by saying we were learning Spanish and then they warmed up to us. They explained what we were eating... you didn't order your food, they just served what was on the menu for the day. So, first came a little sausage of some sort with onions, then ceveche (soup) which was potato (it was good), then rice and meat and mashed potato, then fruit salad and the meal came with passion fruit juice. It was all very good and filling. All of that was $4 for both Matt's and mine! The next day we went to another... same thing, except this time the soup was different... I took a couple bites.... not bad... then my next bite had something kinda crunchy... then in my spoon I saw fish skin... then bones... I had a hard time wanting to eat more. I was just waiting for an eyeball to pop up. =) Then we got pork (which someone had warned me not to eat at restaurants). Fortunately we did not get sick! So now we have a little better idea of Ecuadorian cuisine. We like it and it is so much cheaper than everywhere else!

Jensen Journal Beginnings

2006-07-30T19:04:00.000-07:00

Please check back for information regarding our upcoming launch to Quito, Ecuador to work with Youth World.