Camp in Cuenca

August 10 to 16th I had the privilege of teaching at a youth camp near Cuenca, Ecuador. Joy and Teddy were able to go with me. In spite of the cold weather in that area and the high altitude (we had to find coats and sweaters and needed oxygen tanks), we had a good time. We believe that God had a purpose in putting these young people in our path for a few days. Pastor Yuri Alfaro and his wife Sara were our excellent hosts. The theme of the camp was "Be Radical" and we challenged the students to live radically for Jesus Christ.

Teacher Training Seminar

Each Saturday of the past month, Joy has taught our present and potential Sunday School teachers some basic elements for effectively teaching children in the setting of our local church. Each Sunday eight to ten people teach classes for children and early teens. We were very excited when the sign-up list included 25 names. Joy has worked very hard on this material, preparing visual aids (including PowerPoint), handouts, examples, and homework projects. The response has been terrific so far. The resulsts include increased effort in lesson preparation, more concern for classroom management, and greater variety in lesson presentation (even from the pastor!). The highlight was when one of the teaching teams used a Gospel illustration they had made to lead a boy in their class of older children to receive Jesus as his Savior! Needless to say they were thrilled!
The training seminar ends this weekend and those who complete the course will receive certificates. Pray for them as they study and teach. Pray with them for the children under their care. Pray with them and with parents of some of the kids who have trouble sitting still!

Baptism at the Beach

On Sunday, August 3, 2008, eight people were baptized in the "cold-ish" waters of the Pacific Ocean at Murciélago Beach. The five young people to the right in the photo have been a part of the church youth ministry for several months. They gave testimony of the decisions they have made to follow Christ at youth camp and because of the work of their mentors at church. The couple to the left have been coming to the church for five months. They were separated when they began to follow the Lord and have since seen their marriage restored. They also gave testimony to the patient teaching they have received from those in the congregation who have come alongside them on the road of discipleship. The lady in the green shirt is Mom to two of the teens. We pray that her husband will soon take the step of believer's baptism as well. We are very grateful for this evidence of good ministry being done during our four months in the States.

Summer Mission Teams

Summer is the season for church mission trips and other very short-term mission teams. In an exciting twist we enjoyed having two of them involved in our work at very nearly the same time. First, a medical team from ABWE was making a tour of Ecuador, and our sister church in Sangolquí (near Quito) was kind enough to send them our way to do a weekend clinic at the Travesía village mission. The visiting physicians and nurses saw well over 100 patients and helped to enhance the connection between the local population and those from the Manta church who minister in Travesía each weekend. They attempted to share the Gospel of Christ very simply with each patient. That same weekend a group from Capitol City Baptist Church in Lansing, MI arrived. Pastor Daryl Franzel and 16 other people from the church worked with us for a full week. Among the many ways they blessed our church and community was in building six tables for use in our Sunday School. The picture shows some of the younger children putting the tables to work as they fingerpaint. We are thankful for the service rendered by both groups. They were a blessing.

Family and Friends

At the end of June we got together with family and friends for our daughter Ashley's wedding. She and Shane Coston tied the knot in Knoxville, TN. I don't have pictures of the wedding to share yet, but may get them uploaded soon. This picture shows our family where we gathered a few days before the wedding in Pigeon Forge, TN. Left to right: Ashley, Shane, Lexi, Tony, Teddy, Joy, Johnny, Mike, Ioan, Amanda.
It was neat to spend time with our daughters, sons-in-law (present and future), parents, friends, brothers and sisters in faith for such a special time.
By now, July 13, we have been back in Ecuador for 5 days and are getting our feet on the ground. Today was our first Sunday back. It was awesome. We got to see the new apartments the church has rented for meetings. The building is slightly larger than our previous space, is more nicely finished, and costs considerably less each month.
We also got to meet several new friends who recently began attending the church. Some are brand new believers, and others who have gotten more deeply involved in the work during our absence.
Today a special lunch was prepared for everyone who came to church so that we would have lots of time for fellowship and conversation. We had a great time. I heard that there were 112 people present! God is good, and He is great!

Father Abraham

I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately; and if I had, many of the entries would be about the thousands of miles we have traveled, hundreds of restaurant meals, dozens of different beds, and visiting churches that are involved in or interested in our ministry in Ecuador.

One recent highlight for me was the arrival of our daughter Amanda and grandson Ioan from Korea. I hadn't met Ioan yet, and I was thrilled to hold him for the first time and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him. He has a great personality, is easily amused, smiles and laughs at people, and only gets mad when the food bowl is empty, the bottle runs dry, or someone else has ice cream and doesn't share it with him!

Father's Day was neat in that I was with my wonderful wife Joy, daughters Amanda and Ashley, son Teddy, and grandson Ioan. My other daughter Lexi is busy studying and working in Kansas, but I heard from her by telephone. God has been very, very good to me!

I was thinking about something Saturday night that really made an impact on my heart. The biblical story of Abraham begins with him being called Abram, which, I have learned, means exalted father. Later, he is called Abraham, meaning father of multitudes. How ironic that a man with such names arrived at old age without children! Introductions must have been somewhat awkward:
"Hi, I'm Exalted Father."
"Oh, really? Nice to meet you. How many kids do you have?"
"Er, none, at the moment."
It probably caused him more discomfort when he switched to Father of Multitudes. I can imagine his mumbling and sheepish expression. I believe that he was often reminded of God's promises, and only through the eye of faith could he embrace the people called Israel and the huge of family of faith of which he eventually became the Patriarch. His grasp of God's promises makes him the head of a multi-generational, multicultural household of faith through Jesus by whom God has indeed blessed all people, and made Abraham's descendants like the stars of heaven in number.
I trust that he had a wonderful Father's Day too.

Church Needs to Move

Please pray for an urgent need of our congregation in Manta. We have met at the same building for over three years, but the owner has asked for us to find another location. We have been good tenants, paying the rent and utilities promptly, cleaning and maintaining the appearance of the two apartments and terrace. However, the landlord has been showing signs of wanting us to move for the past several months. The church has decided to find another meeting place as soon as possible and to vacate the building as the owner has requested. I am proud of them for not "fighting for their rights" and being willing to trust God for a suitable location. Please pray that God will quickly lead them to another site, and that the leaders will continue to grow in grace and wisdom during our absence.
Also be praying that this will create a greater urgency to build on the property that God has provided us. Joy and Teddy and I will be traveling for about five more weeks, visiting churches in the USA and attempting to raise funds for the building project. Please continue to pray that God will open doors and supply all of our needs. He has no shortage of resources and uses many channels to bless us for his own purposes and eternal glory.