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.

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.