Adoption Finalized

On December 17, we were in Quito for the adoption hearing for Carla and Mateo. The judge was pleased to sign the order formally and finally making these precious kids our own children!

Christmas Activities

This month we have held Christmas activities for the children in Travesía village as well as for the children at the church in Manta. Over 20 adults volunteered time at these programs. We are very thankful for those who serve in ministries to children. Men's and women's groups also had Christmas activities with very good participation.

Construction Continues

Retreat for Women in Ministry

This was the twelfth year for this retreat planned by missionary wives for the wives of pastors and other women involved in the ministry of local churches around Ecuador. This was the best attended of all! It was great to have Sharon Smith as a special speaker. With her husband Jim, she ministers to missionaries and churches through the BBFI Missionary Service Center. They returned to Ecuador, where they had served for 30 years, after a two-year absence.

Jim and Sharon Smith Visit

It was great to have Jim and Sharon Smith visiting our church this weekend. They have been our friends and mentors in ministry, and now serve in the Mission Office of Baptist Bible Fellowship International. Sharon was the speaker at a weekend conference for women and Jim preached in our Sunday Morning service as well as teaching the Men's Bible Study. It is an honor to host them briefly as they return to Ecuador to visit the churches and pastors that are the fruit of their long ministry in this country.

Women's Bible Conference

Sharon Smith from the Baptist Bible Fellowship International, Missionary Service Center in Springfield, MO was the speaker. Sharon and her husband Jim were missionaries in Quito, Ecuador for many years. The theme was "Adopted Princesses." The ladies enjoyed great lessons, refreshments, and fellowship. A simple handcraft is always a big hit too.

Two Young Ladies Were Baptized Today

It is always a great Sunday when we have baptisms! I especially enjoy our baptisms at the beach because it provides a truly public testimony of faith in Jesus. Before we know it, we will be using the baptistery in the new auditorium, but I hope we will still go to the beach to baptize once in a while. Liseth became a believer just a few months ago. She told me that she accepted Jesus during the invitation time of the very first service she attended. She and her family have been coming to church faithfully. Pray that the whole family will soon follow Liseth's example. Stephanie accepted Christ as her Savior over a year ago through our youth ministry. She has been coming faithfully to church and youth Bible study since she attended the youth retreat we held in March. We are so very thankful for these young disciples. Please pray for them to continue to grow in grace.

October Prayer Report and Newsletter

Here is a link to our October Prayer Report.

Also, Joy's Cup of Tea newsletter.

Congregation in Future Auditorium

At the end of this morning's church service we asked the congregation to gather on the platform of the auditorium that is under construction. The floor was just poured yesterday. We are very thankful for what God has provided.

More Construction Photos

Here are a couple of photos showing how the auditorium is taking shape.

Evangelism Class

Training people to do personal evangelism and discipleship is a big part of our overall discipleship and leadership training strategy. Lately we have been teaching a simple method for personal evangelism to a group of interested church members. They are memorizing scriptures, practicing a presentation of the Gospel, and are praying for God to present them with opportunities to share their faith with others.

Construction Progress on the Auditorium Building

We are really excited about the progress made during the past month on our auditorium construction! The perimeter foundation and columns are almost completed. Tons of fill have been brought in to prepare to pour the floors. Here you see me standing where the baptistery will be at the back of the platform and then at the main auditorium entrance. I can't wait until the building is ready to fill with people. There is still a lot to do, a long way to go. We will see how the Lord supplies what we need in financial and material resources. Please pray for this project, and ask God how you can be involved.

A Full House

We are thankful for the growth in our church over the past year. The past several weeks we have consistently seen a full house. The temporary auditorium holds 90 to 110 people each Sunday. The classrooms are full, and even the nursery is full. That's why we need to get the auditorium built soon. Please be praying with us about that.

Building Project Continues

Work has begun on the auditorium for the church in Manta! We have been getting ready for this for several months. We have purchased the steel and cement for the foundation, columns and floor. The church has saved money for most of the labor that will be needed for this part of the project. We could definitely use more financial help to continue the work and finish the building. If you would like to contribute, please let us know and we will get the information to you for making a donation through Baptist Bible Fellowship International.
We really need to get the auditorium finished. We had 155 in church on Sunday. That fills up the temporary auditorium (made up of 3 future classrooms) and the current children's classroom space in the education building.

With Carla in Quito

We spent five days in Quito getting to know our new daughter Carla. She has been at For His Children waiting for God to provide her with a family. In this photo you can see Teddy, Carla and Mateo as we made an afternoon outing to the top of Mt. Pichincha which is situated just to the west of Quito. The children have been adjusting very well to life in the Anzalone family. We appreciate your prayers as all of us get used to each other and learn to live as a family.

With Mateo (Matthew) in Latacunga

We have spent the last few days getting acquainted with our new son, Mateo in Latacunga, the small city south of Quito where he has been living at For His Children. Mateo is at the foreground of the photo with Joy and Teddy at the end of a long hike. He has received excellent care and has been well-prepared for the adjustment to our family. Please keep him in prayer. Next week in Quito we will be getting to know Carla. Thank you for all of your support and encouragement.

Prayer Request

We returned to our home base in Manta on Friday. It was great to be in our church. We had a super service. It´s nice to go to church and find so many people happy to see you! I enjoy preaching to our congregation too. The house was full!
Today (Monday) Joy, Teddy and I traveled by plane to Quito and then by car to Latacunga which is about 1 hour south of Quito. Today we began our time of family adaptation with the 2 children we are adopting. In Latacunga we are working with Mateo who is five, and the dedicated staff of ¨For His Children¨ at this home. Then next week we will be meeting Carla and spending time with her under the direction of the ¨For His Children¨ team in Quito.
This is exciting! but we really need your prayers as we get to know these kids and they adjust to the idea of having parents, and a brother, ... and sisters,...and brother´s in law, ... and nieces and nephews, and grandparents, and .....
Please pray for us as we make these transitions.
Also, we are praying that our auditorium building project finally can get going this week!
Thanks for your prayers.

New Granddaughter

Our granddaughter Adrienne Nina Taylor was born on July 23. We are now in the States visiting our family for a few weeks. Here Nana gets to take her to church!

A Few More Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from July 11th, the Sunday after our family retreat. We had a full house with 165 in attendance--our highest Sunday morning attendance ever! Going back to the last Sunday in June we have had 125 or more four Sunday's in a row. 130 were in the Sunday morning service today, with 9 first-time visitors. We really need to get started on building the auditorium. This week we plan to buy the steel and cement for getting it started.

Mission Team from Tennessee

Recently a team of 5 people from West Park Baptist Church in Knoxville ministered with us. Pastor Bill Gowder from the West Park staff, his wife Becky, Teresa, Kim, and Jeff were the team members. We also had a friend from a church in the Quito area come to help with translating. The team did evangelism with help from our church in a community where we would like to start a ministry in the future. On Friday and Saturday they led activities and teaching in a family retreat held at a nearby camp. The team did a terrific job.

Photos from Men's Retreat

Here are some pictures from the men's retreat I spoke at before Father's Day. The retreat was held at "El Prado" Baptist Camp near Santo Domingo. Seven men from our church in Manta were able to go with me.

Men's Retreat and Father's Day

Thursday through Saturday several men from our church and I had the privilege of joining about 50 other men from churches throughout our region for a men's retreat. The theme of the retreat was Be a True Champion. It was a blessing to the men both as a time for fellowship with other Christians and as a time for learning solid, biblical principles for the family. I'm sure we will see some good results in their homes, just as we did last year as a result of a similar retreat. Since the retreat involved missing a couple of work days, not all of the men could go. Some of our leaders had to miss it, but a number of our newer believers were able to go. I was one of the speakers, and my messages were about The Heart of a Champion. The other speaker talked about "Champions are not those who never fail, but those who never quit."

We had a good crowd for our Father's Day service, 109, the most we've ever had on Father's Day! I think there were 18 dads present. Lots of families don't get to come to church on this day, so we are glad for those who have learned to make every Sunday the Lord's Day. It is especially rewarding to see families that have gone through severe crisis, but are on the path to healing their homes make a special effort to be in church as an entire family! Please pray for God's blessings on them all.

Unexpected Bus Ministry

One of our very faithful Sunday School teachers had mentioned the same prayer request several Wednesday nights in a row in prayer meeting: that God would provide a means of transportation for some of the children whose parents didn't bring them to church consistently. She was thinking that maybe someone with a pick-up truck could drive around town picking some kids up for church on Sunday, or maybe God would bless her and her husband with a minivan. Juan, one of our deacons, is very faithful on Wednesday nights. He doesn't have a regular car, but often got people together on Wednesday nights to share a taxi, or occasionally he would drive his work vehicle, a water tanker truck, to church. One Wednesday, about the time to start we heard the typical rumble of an old diesel engine. "Here comes Juan," someone said, but it wasn't the tanker truck, it was a long, old bus! Several people from Juan's neighborhood climbed out. Among the thanksgiving and praises that night: Juan had a new ministry, many of the kids have a way to Sunday School now, and more people are coming along with Juan on Wednesday night. Isn't answered prayer great?

Our Missionary Family

One of the great blessings of missionary life for the Anzalone family has been our extended family of fellow missionaries in Ecuador. When we came to Ecuador bringing our three little girls, we left behind a large and supportive extended family structure in the States. Over the years we have been able to stay close to our family back in the USA through letters, phone calls, internet, and other marvels of modern communication; but God has also blessed us with close relationships with our missionary co-workers. When we came to serve in Ecuador, back in February of 1991, we were immediately adopted by Jim and Sharon Smith and their family in Quito. They hosted us in their home, helped us to get settled, and encouraged our girls to call them Uncle Jim and Aunt Sharon. We became Uncle Tony and Aunt Joy to their teens Zac and Stacey. Zac and Stacey received our little girls like younger cousins--played with them, ate at our house, even stayed at our house sometimes. Over those first few years we became as close as I can imagine any "real" relatives can be to one another, and during our service in Ecuador we have known the joy of family-like relationships with many other missionary aunts and uncles and cousins, nieces and nephews. Pray for all of the missionaries you know, asking God to bless them in this same way. We treasure these ties that bind.
That's one reason why it has been so hard these days to let go of our MK nephew Zac Smith. After a hard-fought struggle with cancer, Zac went to be with the Lord last Sunday afternoon. He was 33 years old. Zac was a joy to know as a teen--intelligent, witty, competitive, talented; he was always willing to join in with the missionary family, even being Santa Claus at Christmas gatherings and tickling his little nieces until they lost it completely! It was as an adult, however, that Zac's life made an eternal impact. As he grew closer to the Lord, he shared the wisdom and life-experiences with others as a teacher and through a blog. I was a regular reader. His insights often "blew my doors off." He worked in a very technical field, but eventually heard a calling to put his skills to use in ministry. Ironically, it was just a few months after he began to work in "full-time" ministry that he was diagnosed with cancer. He lived the roller coaster ride of surgery, chemo, no cancer, and recurrence with grace, and with an amazing openness that impressed him to share his experiences and emotions with others on the internet. He always seasoned his writings with biblical truth and urged people to turn to Jesus. Ultimately, with the help of the team he served with at NewSpring Church in South Carolina, Zac made a couple of videos that have been seen by hundreds of thousands of people. Others suffering pain like Zac have found encouragement in his words, and some who didn't know Jesus have turned to him as their Master. Zac's own words tell the story: "God is still God. God is still good. To God be the glory."
Link to Zac's Story.

Womens Ministry and Mother's Day

Joy and the women's ministry held a special activity for all of the women of the church and their invited guests. It looked and sounded like they had a great time playing games, singing, and doing a craft. Wilda, one of the ministry leaders, gave a devotion along the theme of building your home on the Lord. The women really enjoy these times of fellowship. On Sunday, we had over 100 people in attendance, with over 30 mothers present.
Overall, our church attendance has been excellent lately. We dipped below 100 a couple of times at the end of school vacations (that's the end of March around here), but aside from those days we have seen the attendance average over 120 for the past few months. Our next milestone for attendance average will be the 140 range, and then we will really need the new auditorium. Please be praying with us about that!

Baptisms

Five young women were baptized on May 2. This was a great day. In spite of heavy rains, there were 137 people at church. It was also our first Sunday to have a nursery for babies during the service, and there were seven babies present! Please pray for the ladies who followed the Lord Jesus in baptism.