Dear Grandma,
A couple weekends ago, I had the
chance to go visit Merida, where I lived
last year. On our last day there, I went
"canyoning" with a few friends.
Canyoning is basically hiking down a
river, rappeling down waterfalls with rock
climbing harnesses and ropes, and the
occasional jumping down short rapids.
I've been a few times, including with Dad
when he and mom visited in 2007. It's
always a lot of fun. God bless, Eben

Dear Grandma,
A couple months ago, we went to a beach on one of the keys just off the coast of Venezuela. Here are my teammates Justin and Oscar and I on the 20 minute boat ride to get there. It was quite an adventure, and as you can see by looking at Justin, we got pretty soaked on the way there.
God bless, Eben

Dear Grandma,
A few weeks ago, our team took a trip to Quito, Ecuador to renew our traveler's visas. While there, we went up a cable car high into the mountains overlooking the city. We also got to go visit the equator. I think my favorite part was watching water drain in a clockwise swirl on one side of the line, a counterclockwise swirl on the other side, and without a swirl on the line. God bless, Eben

Dear Grandma,
About 3 blocks away from our apartments there is a botanical garden. I finally went and explored it about a week ago. There were all kinds of birds; I saw some black ones with bright yellow tail feathers, a hawk, a woodpecker, and many others. In the middle of the garden there is a clearing for this giant, epic tree. It was much bigger and its limbs sprawled further than any of the other trees. I think it is probably now one of my favorite places in Valencia. Love, Eben

Dear Grandma,
A few weeks ago on our way to and from the beach, we drove by a "forest" of palm trees. I don't think I've ever seen so many in one place before. On closer inspection they seemed to actually be planted in rows, so I think it was probably a coconut plantation. However, even though it may have been man made to some degree, it was still a pretty fascinating sight. God bless, Eben

Dear Grandma,
I think in a prayer letter a while back, I mentioned that we were praying for an apartment with hammock hooks. Well when we found this apartment, the landlord told us we could put in hammock hooks, and we finally got them installed back in December! We've enjoyed the hammock ever since, especially because we can fit two people in it (they call it "matrimonial" size here). It's been a fun answer to prayer. God bless, Eben

Dear Grandma,
The little corn-meal patties I'm cooking up in this picture are a typical Venezuelan food called arepas. I learned how to make them last year, and I have been called upon several times by my teammates to make them this year in Valencia. I enjoy making them; it is fun to knead the dough and get the right consistency based on touch. They are kind of pita like in that you put meat or other sorts of sandwich fillings in them. God bless, Eben

Dear Grandma,
Over the break, my friend Darwin from Merida invited me to his house to learn how to make pan de jamon, a traditional Christmas food. It literally translates to 'ham bread" but it has ham, bacon, green olives and raisins in it. We got to be part of the whole process, from the first step in activating the yeast for the dough, to kneading it, to putting the ingredients inside and rolling it, to glazing it, and finally to baking it. It was a lot of fun, and in the end delicious. God bless, Eben