Father's Day

We had a busy and exciting weekend. Saturday we celebrated our first wedding in Manta. A couple of young adults, Luis and Melanea, tied the knot. Luis is a relatively new Christian who came to Christ through the testimony of Melanea's family and our church. He has been baptized and met with me weekly for a while to learn the basics of Christian discipleship. Melanea has been a believer since childhood and grew up in church in another city. She has been a faithful part of our church, along with her mother and sister. Luis and Melanea spent a number of hours with Joy and me in recent months preparing for marriage. May God bless them with a happy, long-lasting union.
Also on Saturday, the Travesía ministry had a fruitful afternoon. They always have a good attendance of children, but the number of adults attending has steadily increased as well. The leaders are very excited because they are beginning to see evidence of understanding and belief among those who listen to the Bible studies. On Saturday, seven adults opened their hearts to God in prayer for salvation! Please pray for the men and women who minister in Travesía as they confront the challenge of teaching the Bible to these adults who, for the most part, do not read. Pray with us about an adult literacy program for this community.
On Sunday our church attendance was a bit lower than usual. On Father's Day in Manta, kids go to the beach with dad, and mom stays home to cook an extra-special dinner. However, we had 12 dads present for the morning service. That's twice as many as last year.
After church we met with around 25 people from the church at the property we are in the midst of purchasing. Most of them had not seen the property. They were very happy to consider the possibilities of such a fine location. We spent a short time there in prayer, asking God to make his plans and projects a reality through our lives.
Be praying this week for a group of servants from Blue Ridge Baptist Temple in Kansas City, MO who will be ministering with us in Manta. They will be here from Wednesday to Monday.

Progress on Land Purchase

In an earlier post we mentioned a small plot of land that we are raising money to buy for a church building in Manta. Last month we received a number of special offerings for the fund. Please continue to pray for this purchase. The opportunity and need are very great.

About Our Kids

Amanda and Mike: They serve in a Christian school in South Korea. They recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary and are expecting their first child. Please pray for Amanda since her pregnancy has been complicated early-on.
Ashley: Ashley has been working with us for the past 6 months--teaching Sunday School and helping to prepare our children's ministry curriculum. Now she must return to the States and will be getting ready for her Senior year of college. She is engaged to marry Shane Coston. He recently came to Ecuador and proposed to her.
Alexis: Alexis is visiting us for several weeks this summer. We are so happy she is here. Alexis just finished her first year of college and will be continuing her education with classes in art and design next school year. Lexi has a boyfriend who will be visiting Ecuador for a few weeks this summer.
Teddy: Teddy is having a great time being five! He is definitely ready to read, having learned the letters and their sounds. He is always telling us what letter things start with. He enjoys wrestling with the puppies and playing learning games on the computer.

Marco's Baptism

Here's a picture from the baptisms. Marco is a retired officer from the Ecuadorian air force. I have been meeting with him each week for discipleship lessons.