Portoviejo Update

One year ago, Joy, Teddy, and I started assisting the church in Portoviejo that was without a pastor. From early February through the end of June we went each Sunday afternoon and Wednesday night to hold services. During June Gustavo, Lidia, and their son came from the Santo Domingo area to help us. They did a great job, and were able to hold the fort while we took what was to be a short trip to the States. When our furlough was extended, they continued to do a great job. Meanwhile, the church called Patricio Solis, also from Santo Domingo, to be the pastor. Patricio was unable to move his family immediately, but in November he began to make the four-hour journey to Portoviejo pretty regularly, working together with Gustavo. Now Patricio, his wife Silvana, and their daughter Kyara are ready to move to Portoviejo. They have arranged to rent a house, and have found a good school. Gustavo and Lidia will continue to serve the church as well. They all make a great team. The church is not able to support these families through their offerings so several Ecuadorian congregations will be providing some financial support. More support will be needed for a couple of years until the church really starts growing. Let us know if you would be interested in sponsoring a pastor and his family.

Updating Our Position

A lot of time has passed since the last post. We have spent lots of time in the car. We have also enjoyed the opportunity to see family, friends, and supporting congregations around the USA. Right now I am in Springfield, MO. We have a few more days to be with our daughters, sons-in-law, and grandson who live here. BTW, our grandson Curtis is doing very well. He has been out of the hospital for about a month now, and has been growing fast! We are so happy and thankful.
During the past several weeks, we also visited our daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids in Ohio. The new baby there, Saranna, is doing great! It is so much fun being grandparents. It is going to be tough to return to Ecuador and be far away from them, but we are thankful for all of the ways we can communicate and travel these days. Imagine what it was like when one said good-bye to loved ones to go on a journey or to be a missionary, knowing it would probably be the last time you saw them! In reality, we never know when it will be the last time in this life, so we should enjoy the times we do have to the max!
We attended the annual BBFI missionary family reunion. That was a good time of fellowship with other missionaries from around the world, most of whom we had never met before in person. We had a good time. There were a few fun activities, and some information we needed, but the best parts were the testimonies from fellow-missionaries and the biblical teaching from Pastor Lewis Mclendon.
August 10-12 we had the great privilege of celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of Joy's parents, Ted and Verneta Wille. We were able to arrange a luncheon and overnight stay for them and several of their friends and family members at a beautiful place in Tennessee. It was neat to see them with some of their life-long friends who have also been pastors and Christian ministers. What a testimony of faithfulness!
All along our journey of these weeks we have visited supporting churches and even a couple that don't support us yet (we always hope and pray they will). We have had some opportunities to share, and even to preach in services or teach adult Bible study groups. The response is always friendly and sometimes there is obvious interest and appreciation for our work. We are thankful for these opportunities. It is especially exciting when we realize that at least some people are trying to pay attention to what is going on in our work in order to pray or participate somehow. I am conditioned to expect to hear nothing more personal than, "How are things in Ecuador?" or "So what's Ecuador like?" When my answer goes beyond "Things are going well," people tend to look for a way to escape or change the subject. It is cool when someone in a church lets you know that they have been praying for some specific aspect of the work, have read my blog posts, or even seen the pictures or video I've posted on the internet. I thank God that there are some of those people whom God uses to encourage me.
Please be praying for us, especially for Joy. We recently learned that Joy must have surgery before we return to Ecuador, so we are changing our return plans. Instead of our return to Ecuador on September 10, Joy will be having surgery on September 16. We will be able to return to Ecuador after she has fully recuperated. Please be praying with us about this.
We receive frequent news from the church in Manta. A couple of babies have been born to church families, the services have been good with fair attendances and sufficient offerings, a few of the necessary steps in construction have continued (a security apartment, wiring, bathroom fixtures), the Thursday night class is almost ready for the test, and the leaders continue to meet for prayer and planning. There are some very positive reports from Portoviejo where Gustavo and Lidia are doing a good job and have reached out to some new people. Please keep praying for all of these things.

Past Couple of Weeks

Let's catch up on a few things.
On the 10th through the 12th we enjoyed the visit of our friends Patricio, Sylvana, and Kyara. They are in the lower picture. They are from the city of Santo Domingo. They stayed with us for a couple of days of their vacation. They went to the beach even though it was rainy. They are a sweet family who love the Lord and are serving Him in a number of ways. We think Patricio would be a great pastor for the church in Portoviejo. Please join us in prayer about that.
On Friday the 13th we showed a movie at church, Fireproof. We had a group fo about 50 people for the movie and they loved it. We had planned an intermission at the halfway point for food and socializing, but the crowd didn't want a break. They were into the story. We have heard a number of comments regarding the impact people felt. They could really put themselves into what the characters were portraying. We pray that their are long-term results. Several have asked to borrow the DVD or asked how to get one.
The rest of that weekend we went to Santo Domingo. The top picture shows Joe and Sylvia Wells, our good friends and co-workers in that part of Ecuador. One of the churches from their ministry invited me to speak at a banquet and at their Sunday church service. We always enjoy staying at the Wells' house. Teddy has a wonderful time playing games and enjoying their attention.
Javier, Darwin, Juan, Wilda and others substituted for us in Manta that weekend and did a great job. We are blessed with good workers.
We had a good weekend in Manta (this 20th to 22nd) with our regular services and special study groups. There was a ladies ministry meeting at out house too. Of course we had church in Portoviejo on Sunday afternoon as well. This is a big holiday weekend in Ecuador that extends through Tuesday. On Thursday we will start a short vacation Bible school for kids.

Exit Pastor Eduardo

Sunday (Feb. 8) in Portoviejo the church said good-bye to Pastor Eduardo Guano and his family. Pastor Eduardo started the church 8 years ago and will be going to Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. I will be serving as interim pastor in Portoviejo until a new national pastor is called by the church.

A Great Day

Sunday, February 1, was a great day! It was very busy and full of blessings. At least 90 attended the Sunday morning service and we had a few first-time visitors. The weather was hot, but beautiful. After the service a good-sized group went to the beach for our first baptism service of 2009. Seven people followed the example of Jesus in baptism. This was a victorious time for each of them, and they were happy, (as you can see in the picture below).

A little bit later, Joy and Teddy and I went to Portoviejo, the capital of Manabí province, which is located about 45 minutes away from Manta by car. We had our first meeting with the congregation there. We will be overseeing that ministry while they are in the process of seeking a new pastor. 15 people attended the meeting. Please pray with us about this opportunity.

In the evening we led the second of the new Bible studies that began this weekend. On Friday night 18 people attended the Freedom Class, and we had a great time there. Sunday night was How to Study the Bible for Yourself. 26 people attended (photo above). We had expected around 20; so we were very pleased with the interest in the course.

Portoviejo

Starting February 1, I will be assisting a church in the city of Portoviejo as they will be without a pastor. Portoviejo is about 45 minutes from Manta, and is the capital city of the Manabí province. This temporary responsibility will require some extra work, energy, and travel. Please pray with us about this.
This past Saturday, January 24, the church in Portoviejo dedicated a small building, the first stage of a two-stage building project. The congregation is excited to be getting into their own building after waiting eight years. The Ecuadorian pastor who started the church will be returning to his home area of Santo Domingo.
This coming weekend we will be starting two new Bible Study series in the Manta church and expect to have some baptisms as well. We will be celebrating the church's 4th anniversary in a couple of weeks. It will be fun to look back at what has been an eventful and fruitful 4 years of ministry here.