From start to finish today was an adventure. After eating delicious huevos for breakfast, courtesy of our hosts, we all prepared to head over to Case de Fe to meet and greet those whom we have come to serve. Upon arrival, excitement filled the air as the children spread the news that we were there. Smiling, happy faces rushed out to greet us with hugs and kisses and all the kids were very much distracted from loading the bus for our trip we were all about to take. Today we were going swimming. All the kids and all of our group loaded up to head out to a river near Puyo for a day of fun. We all were in for a day of R&R, or so I thought. Each member of our group was assigned a child to look after for the day to get to know and to play with. I, personally was assigned Antonio, a rambunctious little boy who did not sit still the entire day except only to take a break for water and to eat lunch. Though I did not get much time to rest, I would call this day one of the most spiritually lifting days of my life. To see the pure joy in the faces of missionaries and kids as we played and bonded together is an experience that I will never forget as long as I live. From me, in the water, standing on the shoulders of another, brandishing a large knife to fix a zip line, to swimming, to eating deliciously prepared BBQ, to playing soccer with the kids I was certainly never bored. After our fun with the kids Chris and Mandy invited us to their home for coffee. Afterwords we all headed to into Puyo to check out their local Mercado and to see the city. For dinner we went to a restaurant named Escobar Cafe. It just so happens that we had a birthday to celebrate. Chris had turned 49 today and so we got him a delicious, strawberry cake and sang him songs. Peter ended up making him a birthday cap that was far from unremarkable and good times were had. From here we made our way back home. To do this, many of us took public transit. This turned out to be more challenging than expected. Due to a language barrier, we ended up passing our stop back to our hotel. God was on our side however as a wife to one of the Maestros at Casa de Fe just happened to be riding the same bus as us and recognized us. She assured us that the bus would loop around and when it did, she guided us back to our hotel. Seeing as the majority of us were as red as lobsters from the Ecuadorian sun and that we were out and about until nearly 9pm, it is pretty safe to bet we will all sleep very well tonight. I know I will, but I could not have asked for a more eventful and fun day. I will lay in my bed tonight, dreaming of what God has in store for us this week.