Ecuador - Day 6

It was an early start as we hit the road by 8 a.m. to drive back to Quito.  Again, we travelled along The Avenue of the Volcanoes and we got a good view of 2 dominant peaks.  Ecuador has 12 peaks over 16,000 feet (there were a few people on our trip that

Cotopaxi Volcano

had altitude sickness).  Preparing for the trip, I reread Evelyn's letters and she mentions an active volcano (Tungurahua at 16,500 feet).  Chimborazo is the highest Ecuadorian peak at 20,702 feet and the third highest in America.  We got a glimpse of its peak, surrounded by thin cloud but got even luckier with Cotopaxi, which is the highest active snow-capped volcano in the world at 19,347 feet.  It has been fairly quiet since its last burst of activity in 1904.

We arrived in Quito for lunch and had a local dish called chugchucara, which included white corn (lots of corn out here!), pork, potatoes, popcorn, pork rind.  For the afternoon, we went to see the Compassion Ecuador office.  They explained the various programs, finances and auditing procedures of the organization.  The best room was the mail room - filled with incoming and outgoing letters between sponsors and their kids!

Francisco, Manases, Alba, Yessenia

We returned to the Swissotel for the remainder of our trip.  In the evening, four Leadership Development Program (LDP) students also joined us for supper.  Each of them was sponsored through the CDS program and then continued to be sponsored through the LDP as university students.  They shared from their hearts about how Compassion had made a difference in their lives and how they want to be able to make a difference in other people's lives now.

Again, it was an emotional time together.  Each of the LDP students was asked the question if their sponsor was in front of them, what would they say?  That's when the tears really flowed!  Maybe more so for all of us sitting in the chairs listening to them, as tomorrow we knew that we would be hearing an answer from our very own sponsor child!!  After months of planning and packing, tomorrow is the day - I finally get to meet Evelyn!!!