New Grandson

We had the privilege of meeting our new grandson, Curtis Anthony Coston, in Springfield, MO. Curtis was born six weeks early on July 2, and has been in neo-natal ICU. He is doing well. Please pray that he can leave the hospital soon with good health. Besides Curtis, we will be visiting Saranna Gwen Lewis, born July 4 in Ohio. We will also be visiting several churches and reporting on the great things God has done in Manta. Please pray for our safety in many thousands of miles of travel.

First Sunday

How great is that! Our church moved out of the rented house and moved into the unfinished first floor of the educational building! 117 attended the first Sunday service. There is still a lot to do to finish this classroom building and then to build the auditorium, but we are looking forward to seeing the progress each week. The church can put the rent money into the construction fund. If you would like to help, just let us know by e-mail or comment. We'll let you know how you can contribute.

New Grandchildren

We have had lots of excitement recently. First I want to tell about our new grandchildren. Curtis Anthony Coston was born on July 2. He came six weeks early. His parents Shane and Ashley are thrilled with the progress he has made. The picture above is after just 4 days. We are very thankful to God for His goodness. On July 4, Saranna Gwen Lewis was born. Mike and Amanda are very happy to now have two precious children. Big brother Ioan is shown in this picture with his baby sister. We are beside ourselves with happiness and gratitude. We look forward to the opportunity to hold these little ones very soon.

Last Sunday on the Roof

June 28 was our last Sunday in the rented house where we have been for the past year. We met in a similar house for about 3 years before moving to this one. We have been consistently filling the rooftop terrace for our Sunday morning services. This past Sunday was our biggest crowd yet. We had 148 in total attendance. Most of the children are in classes for their age group in the rooms of the house below. Adults, teens, and older children crowd into all of the plastic chairs we can fit on the roof. We are thankful that we had this place to worship and grow. Starting next week we will be meeting at our church property in our unfinished classroom building. It will be a pioneer experience!
After the church service four people were baptized to profess their desire to follow Jesus as his disciples. We are always happy when there are baptisms, and Sunday afternoon was a beautiful time. The sky and the ocean were both beautifully blue.

Women's Ministry Retreat

Joy was one of the organizers and teachers at a retreat for women in ministry from a number of churches around Ecuador. Pastors' wives, women's ministry leaders, children's ministy directors, youth workers, and others. It was a great time of fellowship and training. The retreat took place from June 25 to 27.

Building Update

Here I am, standing on the 2nd floor of the educational building! That means that the first floor is now covered. What a good feeling! We have seen a lot of progress the past few months. God has been more than gracious to us, and we are thankful. Now we are starting to get walls built so that soon we can use the first floor of the building.
We must begin to meet at the property on July 5. We know that the conditions will be "rustic" until the building can be finished properly, but we are still very excited. The people of the church have been acting on faith, and God has responded. We are all very grateful.

Youth Activity

Every Saturday Luis and Melanea lead a youth Bible study and fellowship meeting at the church. This week they brought the group to our house. We enjoyed serving them hot dogs, watermelon, and brownies. We had a devotional time, and played video games like tennis and bowling with the Wii for "recreation".