GMP trip in Quito, Ecuador 2016

We just came back from a very interesting GMP music missions trip to Quito, Ecuador.  It was a little different than the usual in that typically we have about a dozen worship services on our itinerary, this time we only had four because our time was spent every afternoon with music camp for kids and masters classes that were open to all.  We did get to see a lot of Quito, and at 9,500 ft, it was very picturesque and interesting.  The photos are all captioned so, again, it is like a travel log.  The intent is that after our last GMP trip in 25 years, we can look back and be reminded of what we saw.

The Team

It is always good to see who the team members are.  Here are photos of the team.

Worship Services

Photos of the services can be found here.

There are also some videos that were made available, taken with a smartphone.  The first full service was televised and the plan was to have it streaming.  However, until then, here is a link to one interesting feature we observed..

          Videos of panderistas, or worship dancers, here.
          Worship team at Verbo is here.
          Full orchestra on Joyful, Joyful is here.
          Orchestra playing Majesty is here.
          Leading and singing Te Alabare is here.
          Trumpeter extraordinaire on Amazing Grace is here.
          Wild trombone solo on Jericho is here.

Music Camp

Photos of the music camp can be seen here.  There were some videos made so you can get the flavor of the music camp.

          Video of trumpet demonstration at music camp is found here,
          Video of kids singing "I Believe" is here.
          Video of kids singing "My God is So Strong" is here.
          Orchestra playing Ecuadorian National Anthem is here.

Ecuadorian Food

An important element of any GMP trip is food.  We had breakfast at the places we stayed every day and lunch and dinner were typically served at Alliance Academy International (AAI), the location of the music camp.  However, there were several special dinners we had but ending with a banquet at AAI.  Here are photos of various food venues.

Scenes Around Quito

Even though we were kept quite busy, we did get to see a little around Quito.  Of course, being at 9,500 feet and in the mountains, it is very picturesque.  Here are photos of various locations.

Basílica del voto Nacional

One of the special places we visited was the Basílica del voto Nacional.  Construction of the Basilica was launched in 1884 and finally consecrated and inaugurated in 1988.  The Basilica remains technically "unfinished."  Local legend says that when the Basilica is completed, the end of the world will come  Here are photos of the Basilica.

Excellent Public Transportation Concept

The first time I saw this concept was in Curitiba, Brazil and doing research on it, apparently other cities were using this as a model.  The concept is providing busses total use of the center lanes of main streets.  Guadalajara in the last two or three years has begun construction of this nature.  The concept can be seen in Quito in the photos presented here.

Market

There always is time for shopping, especially when there are deals to be had at a market.  The trip to Quito is no different.  Here are photos of the market that we visited.

         Here is a video to give a feel of the market

Bulgaria GMP Trip, October 2015

We generally post our GMP trips within a week after returning.  However, the more we are retired the less time we seem to have.  We like to put the blog out in the form of a travelogue because then when we are old and gray and in our rocking chairs we can reminisce without having to think about it. The travelogue is on a day-to-day basis.  We essentially covered all of Bulgaria so we spent a lot of timing viewing the countryside from the bus. Included is a map showing which cities we were in on which days.  To cover all of this, we stayed in a different hotel each night amounting to eight motels.  We did perform seven concerts with smaller groups going to a children's home and other places.  Captioned photos associated with each of the days are linked to the following:

Map of Bulgaria and our itinerary

Flight from Guadalajara, Mexico to Sofia, Bulgaria

First Friday evening - first time meeting other orchestra members at one and only rehearsal

Saturday in Sandanski - Concert at Sandanski Baptist Church

Sunday in Plovdiv - Concert in Sandanski Church

Monday in Kazanluk - Concert in theater near Old Town

Tuesday in Varna on the Black Sea - Concert at Second Baptist Church in Varna

Wednesday visit to Veliko Turnovo and ending in Vratsa - travel day, no concert

Thursday at Learning Center in Borovtsi with a concert and hotel in Montana - Concert om City of Montana

Friday, our last day - concert in Roma (Gypsy) community and then short program for Bulgarian Baptist Congress

We also took videos of some interesting sounds.

This video is of a shepherd playing his sheep stomach bagpipe.  We thought this was an instrumented needed for the orchestra.

This video is of a Bulgarian serenading us after our final dinner in Sofia, Bulgaria.  This guy can play!!