Day Adventures: The Oviedos

Today was another great day! We first walked to church around the corner and it was a beautiful clear morning. After church, we headed to a new park in Quito in New Town called Parque El Ejido. It was huge and there were people everywhere. There were vendors everywhere selling beautiful paintings and people selling fruit and wanting to paint your face. It was very busy, but yet relaxing and families were playing everywhere. The park had some great play structures and a zipline swing for the kids. We only stayed for an hour, so we plan to return soon. After that park we went to meet the Ovievdo family for lunch at their house in Quito. Matt stays with this family in Santo Domingo and they have a house in Quito and 2 of their children live here. Everyone came to lunch and it was wonderful. The conversation was great and I was able to work on my Spanish as well as talk a little in English. The food was fabulous and Lucas had four helpings and Melayna had two. We had chicken and mushrooms over noodles along with sides of broccoli, carrots and tomato and onion salad. We also had cheesecake and ice cream. We all ate a lot and enjoyed every bite. After lunch we were taken to another park, Parque Itchimbia by Christina and Danny. It had a beautiful view of the city including of the Basilica in Old Town. Once again, there were many families playing, flying kites, riding bikes and we even saw a group of people playing ultimate frisbee. Christina and Danny told us many places to visit and kinds of food we need to try. They even offered to take us to a good seafood restaurant next weekend. We have a growing list of fun things to try. It is such a blessing to have met so many genuinely nice, caring people. I think it will make me much more aware of how it feels to be in a new place and not know things to do, and I will reach out to people more when we get back to Alabama in for the rest of my life. A small act goes a long way, and the people we have met here have done big acts for us which mean the world. Remember to reach out to new people in your building, work, school, town or wherever you are. It means a lot.