Lap of Luxury!

Well all of us are feeling extremely guilty having landed ourselves in the lap of luxury on a service vacation!  The president of the local Rotary Club happens to own a very very nice hotel in the better section of Quito and has put the group up at a greatly reduced rate.  We have carpeted rooms with blow dryers and coffee in the lobby and a great restaurant that serves a complete breakfast buffet for $4 American.  It seems a crime to be feeling so spoiled!  We are heading out this morning to work with 300 children (each of us are to be assigned 20 kids apiece to play with – my Canyon Acres friends will laugh to think of me back in the mix again without even being able to speak the language!)  I am looking forward to getting back into the “service” part of this vacation because – as wonderful as Machu Picchu was – it really didn´t give me the same kind of high as I felt working with the children at the orphanage in Cusco or the dancing with the wheelchair recipients our second day.  When I look back at the pictures I feel that overwhelming sense of connection and love that all of us experienced and just want to be able to share that with the Ecuadorians also.  More later!   (And I keep forgetting that it´s almost Christmas. There are so few indications of it here compared to back home.  It i not commercialized at all and there is so much more emphasis placed on the nativity and spiritual aspects of this holiday.  In any case, I wish all of you a very warm and loving holiday; hopefully you will be with those you love…)