Miles, Miles, and More Miles

Since my last post I have presented our ministry in churches in four states: Massachusetts, New York, Maine and Texas. We also squeezed a short visit to our daughter in Kansas into the schedule. I flew from Tennessee to Albany, NY in order to visit a church in Western Massachussetts and another in New York State. There was still snow on the ground but the temperatures had "warmed up" with highs in the 40's. After my return flight to Tennessee we all three traveled to Gatesville, TX near Waco for a missions conference. We thoroughly enjoyed the great hospitality in "The Spur Capital" of Texas. We visited a terrific museum in Gatesville that gave a wealth of information about life in Coryell County, Texas over the past couple of centuries.
We visited Alexis in Hutchinson, KS. She lives with my sister and brother-in-law and their family. We surprised Lexi; she didn't know we were coming. It was great to see her happiness as she hugged Joy's neck on the front porch. We got to spend a couple of days there; enough time to share a few meals, see her art on display at the local college, and encourage her a little bit. She recently had a car accident and is hunting for a new vehicle that will fit in her college-student's budget.
After returning to Tennessee, I got on a plane back to New England. This past Sunday I visited a church near Boston and another one in Portland, Maine. Both of these congregations have been part of our support team for nearly 20 years. We are very grateful for their faithful partnership in our work in Ecuador and for their ministry in their own communities.

A Week in Michigan

Well, spring hasn't yet arrived in Michigan. The tips of tulips are just starting to peek out of the ground to take a look, yet the snow was flying thick and fast just a week ago and the wind blew as March went out like a lion.
During our week in Michigan we got to spend a day with my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces in St. Joseph. A highlight was taking the children to a hands-on museum where Teddy got to slide down a lava flow, pick apples, and move a vehicle on the Martian landscape.
We visited three supporting churches during the week and were received with great hospitality. It is so good to see signs that we and our ministry are remembered in prayer by these congregations with prayer reports displayed and people picking up new prayer cards. One older gentleman said, "You have been on my prayer list for years. I pray for you every day." That is very encouraging because God's work is powered by prayer, and prayer is the main reason we work to keep the pathways of communication open with all of you.

East to West and Back

I'm finding it difficult to remember to post something each week. Since my last post we went to Bremerton, Washington which is located in the beautiful Puget Sound. From there you can take a ferry to Seattle. Pastor Craig Houston and his family took us to see some of the sights of the city and we spent a few hours enjoying the educational experience of the Seattle Aquarium, one of the best I had ever visited. (In the picture, we are in front of some fountains at the waterfront sampling Seattle favorites: rain and Starbuck's coffee.) Our host family, the Vinosky's were great! They gave us a driving tour to see some of the natural wonders of the Sound and its islands. Westside Baptist Church in Bremerton is an exciting and growing church that obviously enjoys great fellowship. Most people stayed around for a while after services talking with one another. We were the objects of great hospitality, food, and friendship. It was terrific to get to know this church that has been a faithful part of our support team for almost 20 years. We are happy that our relationship with them has grown and will continue. The church also pledged a generous contribution to the building project for the church in Manta.

We returned to Tennessee and enjoyed being there for the week prior to Easter. Our daughter Ashley took her vacation from school to visit us. It was great to see her! Then on Easter we had the privilege to attend services at Gospel Baptist Tabernacle in Crossville, TN with Ashley and Joy's mom and dad. Now we are in Michigan, preparing to visit two churches in Southeastern Michigan on Sunday, and another one on Wednesday.

In Manta

The people of the church in Manta are picking up the slack in our absence: preaching, teaching, planning and directing services, workin in Travesía, etc. We are thankful that we have so many who are willing and able to serve in these ways.

The attendance this past Sunday was excellent: 86, near our recent average of 90.

Pray for the situation regarding the border with Colombia. Our people desire peace and good relations with our neighbors. Also pray for Manta and the Manabí province. The season of heavy rains continues. Even Manta, usually very dry, has experienced unusual amounts and severity of rainfall. Many homes have been destroyed and the general health of citizens is threatened because of flooding and disease. I know that they are grateful for your prayers on their behalf.

This week 10 young people from our church are attending camp at El Prado. Please pray for their safety in travel and for blessing in their lives.

Thank you.

Whirlwind Travels and Conferences

We are just catching up with ourselves, our mail, and some of our suitcases. Not to mention our very-much neglected blogs!

Since my last post we have been in a whirlwind of travel and activity that I can only summarize briefly.

Joy and the other missionary wives who lead the Pastors' Wives Retreat gave a good report of the retreat held at El Prado Baptist Camp. Several of the Ecuadorian ladies mentioned that the fellowship, refreshment, and lessons were a blessing. Joy participated in spite of being smitten with the flu.

Upon ending the retreat Joy returned to Manta for Sunday services and then we packed for our trip to the States. We left home on Monday via Quito, and from there through Miami to Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday. What a climate change! It was about 10 degrees (F) in Detroit. We had felt that we were getting over our sickness, but by midnight Tuesday when we checked in to our hotel room we were exhausted.

Our first Missions Conference was at our home church in Flint, Michigan. We had a tremendous time of renewing our friendships there, catching up on news, and getting to know the new pastor and his wife. David Chittenden and Vicky are doing a great job of leading the church forward while keeping the outstanding emphasis of the church on world evangelism. The snowfall in Flint was a lot of fun for Teddy. He even got to ride a snowmobile!

Next we went to Knoxville, TN and another one of our favorite churches, West Park Baptist Church. This large and still-growing congregation treated us like royalty and provided many opportunities for us to share our vision for the work in Manta with small groups throughout the week and in the Sunday evening service. Several of the families of the church shared meals with us, and one family took Teddy to the circus.

Finally, we had a break in the action, and on Monday of this week I flew to Miami to pick up a car, and on Tuesday I drove it to Tennessee.

Pray for us this week as we visit a supporting church in Bremerton, WA.

Building Design

We have received some of the early plans and designs for the church building in Manta! It is very exciting to think about this actually being built on the vacant lot the church now owns. The part on the right would be built first. It includes an auditorium, a nursery, and offices. The building to the left would mostly consist of classrooms. This picture doesn't show many of the details that are yet to be worked out, but it is consistent with the basic concept we have had in mind since first seeing the property. Please keep this process in your prayers as we seek the funding for construction.

Tungurahua

You probably saw on the news that an active volcano has been erupting in Ecuador. The volcano is Tungurahua. It has been in a series of eruptive cycles since 1999. Every so often it punctuates it's unhappiness with an exclamation point. The mild activity most of the time has allowed the local population of farmers and villagers to stay in the area in spite of warnings from the authorities and scientists; so when there is truly cause for alarm it is hard to get them out of their homes and away from their fields and livestock. We ask for your prayers for those people who live in the immediate area endangered by lava flows and mudslides, and for those in the broader region affected by ash and cinder. Thank you.