Answered Prayer!

One of the biggest concerns that I've had about Ecuador is the long 5 hour bus ride from Guayaquil to Riobamba that I'll be taking on June 1st. That's really the only piece of the trip that I've been nervous about, and of course it's been bothering my parents enough that one of them hasn't been sleeping well. So, we made it a matter of prayer. :)

Two nights ago I was able to talk to 3 different friends in Guayaquil. First, my friend Gretchen arrived in Guayaquil last wednesday because she's also doing an internship in Guayaquil for the summer as well. I guess her fiance, Luis is nervous about my bus trip. From what I've read online, bus trips aren't the safest for single female gringas. So they decided they were going to ask the director of the orphanage at her internship if they could take the day off to drive me to Riobamba. I thought it was a nice gesture, but that would be much more expensive than my $5 bus ticket, plus a day off from work for Luis, and a day away from her internship for Gretchen. It seemed a bit inconvenient. However, my friend Wacho called that night. He calls every so often and wanted to know my last minute plans about arrival into Guayaquil, etc. Just before we hung up he asked about how I was getting to Riobamba. I told him I was taking the bus alone. He hesitated, and I asked "Is it dangerous?" He replied, "a little" and said "I'm going to accompany you." *Phew* Thank you, Lord for answering that prayer!! I'm pretty sure that made my parents day, and it did make mine!. It was reassuring to know that God's taking care of all the little details for me.

My friends Victor and Rosa, and their 3 children have graciously invited me to their home while I'm in Guayaquil. Their whole family was online Thursday night and I got to chat with their daughter, Michelle. She can't wait to "pasear" (hang out) and stay up late chatting! Ha! I hope I remember my spanish pretty quickly! I can't waaaaaaaait!!