One of our objectives in coming to Ecuador was to become involved with one of the local orphanages.  Mike had found out about one of the orphanages on the website www.mantaexpatsonline.com.  It is run by Al and his wife, Linda, as a free informational site to help people who are new in the area.   They also… Read More The Manta Gringos

Life in Manta thus far has been pretty amazing.  However, there have been some unexpected challenges. We had actually been planning to live in a different condo than the one we are currently in, but the owner was pulling some crazy antics with our real estate agent.  A few days before we left the States,… Read More Life in Manta, Ecuador

After almost 3 months of prepping, planning, an estate sale, packing up our house, getting it ready for rent, a trip to Oregon to pick up our kids from their grandparent’s, back home, 10 days of packing, rearranging, unpacking, and more rearranging…we FINALLY made it to Ecuador. Our trip down took about 3 days.    Trip Highlights… Read More Traveling to Ecuador

Question #10 – What are your goals in going? Do you feel that you’re a little idealistic? I am under no illusion that everything will be as we expect and that it will go 100% smoothly. Nothing in life is certain.  In fact, I anticipate some of our best memories will be of those situations… Read More Ecuador!! What Are You Thinking?!! (Part 3)

Question #4 – Are we going on a mission’s trip? (This is probably the top question we’ve been asked.) Not exactly.  We read some articles about an orphanage in Manta that is run on volunteers and donations.  We thought this would be a great opportunity to show our children the true meaning of being a Christian. James… Read More Ecuador!! What Are You Thinking?!! (Part 2)

A few months ago my family and I decided to go to Ecuador for six months.  This obviously brought about a lot of questions from family, friends and anyone who heard about what we were doing.  Most people wanted to know “WHY??”.  I figured what better way to start the blog than by answering most… Read More Ecuador!! What Are You Thinking?!! (Part 1)