Macho Women Here We Come!

My friend, Rebecca, who we met at our mission training last October came to see us in Ecuador.  Little did we know what the day would bring!  We started off hoping to go to the "Middle of the World."  When those plans fell through, we decided to change a tire:-)

The people who we are house-sitting for have a car here that has not been driven for months.  It had a flat tire and a dead battery.
First we had to find the jack and where to put it on the car then how to pop off the hub cap.  Between the 2 of us we figured it out.  We got the tire almost all the way off when it wouldn't come anymore.  It was so flat that we had to get another bigger jack to lift it up.  The bolts were a little too tight for us to get off so I had the bright idea to jump on the wrench in order to get them to move:-)  Fortunately, another friend decided to take us to the tire shop to get it repaired.  Unfortunately, on the way we got pulled over by the cops b/c she was driving on the wrong day at the wrong time according to "pico y placa" (a recent law to regulate the flow of traffic in Ecuador). 

So a police officer hopped in our car and told us where to go to have her car impounded!  We were there another hour as they checked everything thoroughly.  Yet there is always a good ending to a good story and that is that Shelley (the driver whose car was impounded) was able to tell the officer about English classes at a local church!  She will get her car back tomorrow (after waiting 24 hours and paying a fine). 

Afterwards, we rolled the tire (what seemed like all over Quito) to find a taxi.  Got home, found someone else to jump start the car and we were off... or so we thought.

Since we don't have a license yet Shelley was going to give the car a spin when we realized we didn't have the registration papers.  Needless to say, those plans changed as well and instead we went to buy paint for our new place, all a new experience as we tackled the bus and trolley system.  It was a long day, but 3 major things were accomplished:  fix car, buy paint, learn how to get to our new home via bus!   Hopefully, we can start painting tomorrow, Lord willing!