Mission Loja

This last week has been Easter break for us. We had planned on going for a few days to the jungle but was afraid the rain would cause landslides and we would either not get there by bus or get there and not be able to get back. So we did nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is a good thing. I had not realized how tired I was, and just doing nothing was nice. Now I have to get my five days of Spanish homework done and plan out the school week.

This was our first Easter here and we found that it is celebrated a little differently than in the states.In Ecuador there are no Easter eggs, new clothes bought or ham cooked. Good Friday is an important holiday here. On Thursday you get all the shopping and cooking done for Friday because it is a day that families gather to reflect on the death of Christ. There is nothing open during that day. As I stood out on the back patio looking out over the city, not a car or person could be seen. It was like a ghost town. I thought it was like Christ had come back for us and the whole city went with Him. Then I thought wouldn't that be a great thing to happen. The whole city going to be with Christ.

One of the important meals during Passion week is Fanesca. It is a soup with 12 different grains, squash, beans and fish. The grains represent the 12 apostles and the fish represents Christ.



Friday night all the bars and Karaoke places were closed so we had a very quiet night.
Saturday we had a cookout with Becca's family and cooked the meat I had planned on cooking Friday. I was told that it would not be a good idea to cookout on Good Friday as no meat is eaten that day.The smell might make some angry neighbors. In the churches there are no special activities that happen on Easter Sunday. Most of the emphasis is placed on Good Friday. The children in the church we attend did put on a short program.