A Cold October Day

Weather and temperature are relative, right? Right! William and Mariselly (a married couple), and Denny (on the right) were baptized on Sunday after church. They and about 20 of our congregation braved the cold October wind (at least it seemed cold to all of us) and gathered on the beach. Baptisms are always exciting for our church. We sing a little, ask the new disciples to give a word of testimony, and pray as a group. Since we don't have a church building with a baptistery, we celebrate these public professions of faith in a public place. The sunbathers, strollers, and swimmers don't usually seem to mind our presence, and sometimes stop to watch or even ask questions. This time we weren't there very long. Once some of us were wet and standing out of the water we hurried to our homes to warm up!

Thanks to the Smiths for 30 Years of Ministry

Jim and Sharon Smith have been BBFI missionaries to Ecuador for more than 30 years. Now they are beginning a new phase of their ministry at the Baptist Bible Fellowship Mission Office in Springfield, MO. This month we who have had the privilege of being influenced by their lives had an opportunity to say, "Thank you," and to give them a good send-off. The photo shows Jim and Sharon along with their children Stacey and Zac. Joy took this picture after they had received the hugs and best wishes of a few hundred people at the end of a testimony service at the church they founded in Quito more than 25 years ago. Pastors and members of churches and ministries that have grown from that work were present as well.
I also had the opportunity to attend a retreat for pastors and church leaders a few days before the good-bye service. Jim was the conference teacher at the retreat. It was awesome to be able to share that time with three of the ministry leaders from our young church in Manta. I pray that they will be motivated to work faithfully for the Lord and to serve others just as Jim has done.

Women's Bible Studies and Men's Breakfast

This past Friday Joy started leading a new series of Bible Studies for women. There is always a good number of ladies interested in her study groups. This time she is offering an alternative schedule to be able to include more women and yet keep the groups relatively small. Each Friday she will be meeting with a group at 3:00 in the afternoon and with a second group at 7:00 PM. More than 30 are signed up for this six-lesson study.
We don't see as many men involved in Bible study groups, but we have had a solid group of 15 to 20 men participating in the 9:30 AM men's class on Sunday. Today we had a men's breakfast at our house and 10 came for fellowship and prayer. That is a good number, and we had a great time.

Teacher Training Seminar-2

Here is a photo of the adults and teens who completed the teacher training seminar in August. Twenty-one people received certificates. We are looking forward to their teamwork in children's ministries.

Housing Boom

Our son Teddy is in First Grade. Lately he has been learning about different kinds of houses seen in different cultures and climates of the world. For a special project he built a number of houses that looked like those he had seen in the pictures and on the maps he had studied. He used things in his room and around the house to do the construction. He also made a lion out of clay. He was very proud of his work!

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!