Family in Manta Ecuador

Family in Manta Ecuador
January 2015

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Property for Church Building


Our son Teddy is standing in front of the property where we believe God is opening doors for us to build a church building in Manta. We are praying that He will allow us to raise the money for the land and buildings. You can help us by contributing any size gift to the Baptist Bible Fellowship International's Project Offering Fund, designating your gift to the Anzalone's church building in Manta, Ecuador (C-3202-062). The address is Baptist Bible Fellowship, PO Box 191, Springfield MO 65801. All gifts through the Baptist Bible Fellowship are tax deductible and 100% of your gift will be applied to this project. E-mail us if you have any questions.

The Big Tuna


Last weekend we received a new addition to the art and culture of our city. I imagine that the giant tuna will be quite a tourist attraction. Seriously, all kinds of industry, business, and construction is going forward in our little city. Last week there were international meetings about commercial fishing and cross-continental transportation. Plans are underway to greatly expand the volume of the port and of the transportation system from Manta to other areas of South America and the world. We believe we have a part in taking the Gospel to the nations in and through the our town.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Referendum Passed

The public referendum calling for an assembly to draft a new constitution for Ecuador passed overwhelmingly last Sunday. Now there will be nominations, campaigning and election of delegates. The constitutional assembly will then have about 6 months to prepare a new constitution which will then have to be ratified by the citizens. It should be an interesting process. Please pray for stability and peace for this country during the coming months.

This week we have been shaken by the news of the killings at Virginia Tech University. Our hearts go out to the students and their families. As the parents of daughters in college, we pray for our girls each day that they are away from us. Seeing the faces of the slain students makes us aware that those could be our kids. May God grant grace and comfort to the parents.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

After Easter

We hope you had a marvelous Easter Weekend. We were busy. We enjoyed having missionary friends from Quito staying in our home; and we had the privilege of entertaining more guests for lunches on Friday and Sunday.

Part of the ministry activity over the past week involved showing the "Jesus Film" in Travesía on Friday night. The setting was beautiful with a clear starry sky, cooling sea breeze, and sparkling surf. Once the movie started the crowd began to come. By the end of the film at least 70 people had arrived including several from the Manta church who are active in the ministy in Travesía. At the end of the video, missionary Cliff McGhee from Sangolquí (near Quito) gave a brief call to receive Christ as Savior, prompting responses from several. Nine people "came forward" to publicly make their profession of faith.

Please be praying for Ecuador during the coming days. On Sunday there will be a nation-wide vote on a public referendum calling for a constitutional assembly. The proposal involves rewriting the constitution to provide greater authority to the executive branch of government. Ecuador has had much political turmoil in the past decade, little economic or social stability, and people are reaching for whatever hope may be available. Please make this a matter of prayer. God knows the best course for this country to take in His plans for the evangelization of the nations.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Shoeboxes

Last Friday we received a couple of large boxes in the mail. They were filled with brand new sneakers in various children's and youth sizes. They were a gift from the youth group of Ocean State Baptist Church in Smithfield, RI for the children of a home for street kids run by a local charitable foundation in Manta. The Rhode Island youth had ministered in the home one afternoon last summer during their mission trip to Ecuador. In a letter accompanying the shoes they wrote:
"While in Ecuador, we went to an orphanage to perform our skits for the children there, hoping and praying that God would touch their hearts in a life-changing way. But in the end, God unexpectedly touched ours. While some of the guys played soccer with the kids, we noticed they had no shoes and it broke our hearts. Seeing this really opened our eyes to how spoiled we were; we knew most of us owned way more than five pairs of shoes. And as a youth group, we decided to save up money and buy shoes for the Ecuadorians who couldn't. We hope these shoes are a blessing."