As you leave the tight crowded streets of Loja, Ecuador, traveling southwest over mountains and through valleys, you continually encounter meandering herds of cows, donkeys, men on horseback and stray dogs. From the crest of one mountain, Gonzanamá comes into view, nestled in the valley, home to 1000 people and the Briggs family. The road circles around the entire town in about a minute and a half, and goes past our house as it heads on to the next pueblo. Being on the edge of town brings a small amount of privacy and, at times, quiet.

This tranquil setting, however, is interrupted intermittently by grunting pigs on both sides of us with accompanying smells and flies, roosters, barking dogs and dust. Cows and horses, buses and cargo trucks pass our window. In the mornings as the sun rises it casts brilliant light on the lush Andes that completely surround us.

The people are intensely poor, living in decrepit cement homes, but there is a passionate abiding rhythm in them and they have a poetry all of their own. We have only been here about three months, but we are beginning to feel more at home.

We are extremely grateful for Rodrigo, Macarena, and Rodriguito Bravo, the only other family of believers in town. We all enjoy their fellowship and friendship and they have been a terrific help to us. Rodriguito is 12 and is already spending whole days and the night with us, playing non-stop with our boys.

Although not apparent at first, there is a strong undercurrent of power and control asserted by the dominant church. Recently Rodriguito and another boy Austin's age were playing at our house and all the boys wanted to go and buy caps for their guns. The store across the street did not have any. When faced with the task of walking through town to another store, Lalo hesitated. He then confided that if he was seen with our boys, or the religious authorities became aware of the fact that he was playing at our house (i.e. with evangelicals), he would be expelled from school. Rodrigito confirmed this, saying a lot of boys would like to come play at our house but they are afraid. Though Ecuador has a freedom of religion law, it is not felt in Gonzanamá.

Gonzanamá is a severely cautious town; some are more open to us than others. We are trying to make friends by conversing at the market and the stores, and by participating in their holidays. Our main goal, relationally, is to get out and meet and participate with the community and surrounding communities as much as possible. This seems to involve a lot of talking, eating and dancing; the latter challenging Bill a lot!

This Christmas we handed out Operation Shoebox gifts and we are currently planning for a medical team to arrive next August. We are starting an English night and are also considering youth work. We hope to visit many smaller towns outside of Gonzanamá and bring them medical care on a regular basis.