Once again the weeks have flown by, more than a month has gone by since my last post. So much has happened.....the school year ended, the grade 6 class graduated, although some of those kids look far too small to be heading for high school, but that's where they're going in April!

And the camp season is upon us, with all the work, and lack of sleep, and and happy times that that means! The first week is over already, plus a long weekend of preparation and teaching for all who will be working at camp as counsellors and helpers. We have had 2 groups from Canada come and go, one group came to camp and the other went to Santo Domingo de Onzole, in the jungle, to work on the crumbling school there, fixing it up. An astonishing amount of food has been purchased, transported to camp, and eaten! Last week was for the "adolescentes", junior youth, there were about 150 or 160 there, and can they ever move food!! Carlos and Alex were the directors for the week, and they kept everybody on the move, with a schedule that would have worn out strong men. This included waking everybody up at 3am on the first night, to go out and play games - not the most popular of sports! On Friday morning we all headed off for a VERY long walk along the beach, stopped after 1/2 hour for a picnic breakfast and devotions, then another long walk further along, a stop to play games, and then finally the walk (or run) back to camp. This turned into a race for those who were up for it, first ones back earned a pile of points for their team. I was NOT up for the walk back, so returned by bus and was there with water for the returning victims! There were a few casualties of that morning for this nurse to deal with.

Visiting groups often means missing luggage, which has to be retrieved when it eventually arrives, and both of last weeks' groups arrived without some bags. With everybody who lives here fully occupied last week, I was the one who had to do the retrieving, and I now consider myself the missing bag expert! My experience in not taking "no" for an answer from guards at the hospital served me well at the airport too. All bags were successfully got and sent to their owners, 4 of whom were far away in the jungle.

And I now have an adventure of another kind to add to my list. On my way back to camp after one of my airport trips, I was robbed, thus joining the ranks of the many Ecuadorians who have been robbed. I was waiting for the bus to Playas, at a place that is well known for being dangerous - I wasn't alone, and I've been there before. As the bus arrived, Ivan went to put under the bus the suitcase I had retrieved the night before, and as I headed for the door of the bus, I was surrounded by a bunch of guys who came from nowhere, and they just crowded tight around me, so I couldn't get on. I had no idea what was happening, until I finally got onto the bus, took my backpack off and there were 2 zippers wide open. Oh no, that's not good. So with a sinking feeling I looked at my purse, and it was open too, and with the sinking feeling getting deeper, I put my hand in and of course, my wallet was gone. Not a happy find anywhere, but it felt like a disaster being so far away from home. In my wallet were my credit card, bank card, driver's license, the all important and just renewed Censo (the Ecuadorian ID card I have to carry with me), and assorted other stuff, including cash. So we raised the alarm and were dropped at the police station, and details were taken and we all knew we'd never see any of it again. Ivan went on to camp, and I crossed the road and got a bus home, to deal with my missing stuff. Cancelled my cards, and within an hour of doing so got a call, and the end of a very long story is that most of my cards were returned to me. I paid for the privilege, but I was so glad to have that censo back that it didn't matter. There is cause to think that I may have paid the thieves for my stuff, but hey - I got it back. Problem is I had cancelled my bank card and I was completely unable to pursuade my bank in Canada to reinstate it, so I have a slight cash flow problem until my new one comes, but that's in sight. So I have new experience under my belt, and am now rather more wary than I was, I've learned a new techique for carrying a backpack, and at the end of it all I'm very thankful. I was not threatened at all, didn't even know it was happening, and I'm fine. All I lost was stuff, inconvenient - yes, but not the end of the world. I eventually went back to camp that evening, and went back to many hugs and lots of TLC. And that was a reminder of what is more important than stuff. And although it didn't feel like it at the time, I know that God was still watching over me, and kept me safe.