Servants In Ecuador

Photo journal of 2011

2012-01-12T09:57:00.000-08:00

1. We celebrated New Years Eve with a fire to burn the New Year (and our figure of the new year which we had made out of busted old wooden chairs.

2. Weston celebrated his birthday with friends from school.

3. We traveled to the equator and had a friendly tug of war game right at the middle of the earth.

4. We took a walk through Ecuador's incredible rainforest and had our faces painted.

5. Becka taught a class by lantern light in Portete

6. We celebrated Carnival with more water than Noah's flood.

7. Esther celebrated her birthday with her very first sleepover.

8. We had an El Sendero Jenga tournament. It was fierce! Dustan won!

9. Estelamarise and Becka continued to study God's word together.

10. We said goodbye to our co-workers, Doug and Kim.

11. Becka's cousin Michael came to visit for a few months to work at Sendero.

12. Former missionary to Loja, Colin Bacon, came back for a visit and hosted an Australian Bush dance for the English Club.

13. Dustan continued studying the Bible with Edgar and was joined by Becka's Dad.

14. The family spent a little time resting in Vilcabamba.

15. Marcus took Tennis lessons

16. El Sendero held a ping pong tournament.

17. Dustan's parents came to visit and learned about all our ministries.

18. Becka and esther continued to build a friendship with two girls who came to the house each weekend to play. Becka read to them from a Bible story book.

19. Dustan and Becka celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary by renewing their vows on the roof of the Loja Ministry Center.

20. We moved into a new apartment and Dustan and his dad worked hard to get us a safe functioning hot water supply. It doesn't look great but it works wonderfully.

21. Becka and Janeen planned, wrote, and then taught the material for Vacation Bible School. We held a teacher's training and had three churches come for the VBS teacher's clinic.

22. Our Ecuador SIM missionary team held their annual Spiritual Life Conference.

23. VBS was wonderful. Our church had over 30 children most of whom were not already attending church. Becka now has many of those children in her Sunday School class.

24. Weston's cat, Lilly, gave us some excitement with a litter of kittens. Violeta, Tigre, and Nimrod were a fun distraction for a while and we were happy that they all found good homes.

25. El Sendero celebrated Christmas and Weston had the honor of drawing our Christmas board. he did a fantastic job!

Is God Working In Sendero? (Part Four)

2012-01-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

This is part four in a series that discusses how God is using a small cafe in the Andes mountains to further His Kingdom.

Before going any further, I want to tell about how God has used El Sendero to disciple me and to grow my own faith. You see, Dustan and I arrived in Loja as green as a missionary can come. Although I had experience in US based missions Dustan had none and neither of us had done any missions work internationally, not even a week long missions trip.

Furthermore, we could not speak the language past “Hola” and “Gracias”. Practically speaking we were pretty unusable! We were untrained, inexperienced, and without a lick of language skills. The only thing we DID have was desire and El Sendero is a unique ministry in that it can use missionaries just like us.

Because of our English ministry, young missionaries can get involved right away and inexperienced missionaries can get on the job missions training. The cafe provides the perfect environment to learn mission strategy and gain practical experience.

In the year 2011 El Sendero welcomed 5 short term missionaries as well as several volunteers. These young people worked hard to keep the cafe functioning as well as share the gospel. All of them left changed by God and encouraged to share the gospel no matter where God sends them next!

One of our volunteers was a gal named Stephanie. She did not come to Loja as a missionary but rather as a student/volunteer at Loja’s University. She was busy doing research on the Andean Bear when she heard about El Sendero. She had a deeply rooted faith in Jesus and took the opportunity to join many of our ministries. She had the following things to say:

About El Sendero’s Global role in the body of Christ:
“I'm learning that no matter where I go, the Church will always be my home and family. My friends/time at Semilla de Mostaza and El Sendero in Loja and the Compassion staff in Colombia have made my time in those places a jillion times richer than they would have been otherwise and I am super thankful to be a part of a global loving welcoming awesome body of peeps.”

About an experience at Spotlight Club:
I don't know what portion of the guys in my group were already Christian- one obviously was, maybe a couple more.. We talked about it a little, and then the guy on one side of me straight up asked why, 2000 years later, Jesus is so important. So with encouragement from the Christian guy on the other side of me, I directly shared the gospel with a new person for probably the first time in my life- about how we're sinful and deserve punishment, but God sent Jesus to live a perfect life and take our punishment so we could live free from fear and live in God's love instead. The guy seemed receptive, commenting that it was a good example of sacrifice. I have no idea how much else the guy knows or what his background is, but I hope I was able to accurately express what we're all about and please join me in praying for him and the other students too!

About how God used El Sendero to provide her with an opportunity to share her faith:
It's funny because at the end of my freshman year in college, I was terrified at the thought of an English-teaching mission trip to Japan (which got cancelled anyways), but here I am in Ecuador as a student, not even on a mission trip, but just trying to live my life in line with God's mission, and I've ended up teaching English and sharing Jesus. And it was easy and fun. Yay!”

God is using this coffee shop. He is working. He is changing not only the lives of unbelievers as He pulls them to Him, but He is changing the lives of His children as He strengthens our faith, gives us opportunities to share the gospel, and teaches us to rely on Him.

Here are some photos of some of the missionaries and volunteers that God has blessed us with.

Is God Working in El Sendero? Part Three

2011-09-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

English Teaching and Gospel Sharing:
How one helps us do the other...

El Sendero hosts a Spotlight club every Wednesday night. Spotlight is an international program that helps students of English practice their listening and speaking skills.

It also allows us to share with them truths from the Bible in a non-confrontative manner.

So, I thought I would walk you through one of our meetings to give you a glimpse into how the club works, and how God is using it to reach into the lives and hearts of young people in Loja.

We start each of our meetings with a short introduction and a simple question.
This gets the students warmed up with English sentence structure.

This particular meeting we asked them to introduce themselves and say how long they have studied English
“Hi, my name is Becka, and I have been studying English my whole life. I am a native speaker.”
“Hi my name is Cesar, and I have been studying English for 5 years. I am an advanced student.”
“Hola, me llamo Carlos, y no puedo hablar ingles.”

After we introduced ourselves, the group of students listened to a Spotlight broadcast about the miners in Chili, and what had become of their lives after they had been rescued. Many of the Chilean miners are traveling around the world to spread a message of hope.

After a time of discussing new vocabulary words, we broke into small groups.

I had three ladies in my group. We talked about what we had heard and read through some discussion questions. Including one that asked which of the following was more important, world unity or faith in God.

Somehow we got off track and the girls began to discuss self-faith. One girl boldly stated that without having faith in ones self, you would be doomed in any crisis. She gave an example of when she had been in an earthquake and was frantic and not thinking clearly. “I had no faith in myself” she declared. “I could have died from my crazy behavior”. She continued on, “In Japan, so many people survived because they were calm. They had such great faith in themselves.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but am so glad that I was interrupted by another young girl in the group. Carmita has been attending a Bible Study at El Sendero with Ruth, another SIM missionary and the Spotlight leader. Carmita replied, “I have suffered before. I know that there is a suffering that is so bad it makes death seem good. I have suffered so badly that I have wanted to die. Faith in myself meant nothing. Because, if you suffer and do not have faith in God, there is no peace. Not even in death.”

And that is how the gospel of Jesus Christ was heard on that one Wednesday night as I helped a group of students study English.

It’s just one story. Every time we meet the gospel is heard, shared, and discussed. Once a week. At least 3 groups sometimes more. Between 10 and 30 students. Every week.
God’s great news of salvation is told and many times received.

From these discussions, Bible studies are formed. Students begin to ask questions, they ask for books to read, and they begin to meet with us one-on-one to seek further what the Bible has to say to them.

Helping them to learn English is meeting a physical need but by meeting that physical need, God has thrown open the doors for us to meet such a yearning desire to know His Word!

God is working in El Sendero.

Carmita and Kimberly. Carmita began studying the Bible with Kim, a short-term missionary who worked at El Sendero and with the Spotlight ministry. After Kim returned to California, Carmita continued to study with Ruth. She is a strong believer and is bold in sharing her faith during Spotlight Clubs.

Will you pray for Spotlight? Pray that God will continue to provide weekly opportunities to share the gospel. Pray that He sends more volunteers. Pray that the University students will continue to come back even though their contact will be leaving for a short term trip back to the US.

Pray for Mark and Ruth Lans, missionaries from Colorado who are an integral part of the English ministry. They are returning to the states for two months to care for Ruth's mother after a hip replacement surgery.

Pray for Becka as she leads and teaches during these two months (She is normally a small group discussion leader, but will be doing all the leading during this time). Pray that she is guided by the Holy Spirit as she chooses the Scripture to read and as she writes the discussion questions.

Pray that more students will be drawn to studying the scriptures through individual Bible studies.

Is God Working in El Sendero? Part Two

2011-08-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

"I don't see much ministry going on here."
"How can a business possibly function as a ministry?"
"Are you guys actually sharing the gospel here?"
"What is this place all about?"
"Is there more than eating going on at El Sendero?"

I was asked to share with our Loja missionary team about what kind of things God is doing through El Sendero. I thought maybe you would be interested, so I am going to spend the next few days sharing with you how God is using El Sendero and using it in a mighty, mighty way!

So, what is the second way that God is working in El Sendero?

BIBLE STUDIES!

Right now, there are five active Bible studies meeting in El Sendero. These are small Bible studies with as little as one student and as many as five students.

This Christian cafe provides a nuetral place for missionaries and nationals to meet and teach the Bible.

It provides a place for anyone interested in learning the Bible to meet and to study.

Some of the students are believers.

Some of them are not.

But, five times a week, they meet with Christians who either disciple them in their faith or who share the gospel of Jesus with them.

Every week. Discipleship and evangelism.

Five groups.

Does it make a difference?

Stelamarise is now a believer.

"What makes a person a Christian?" I asked her
"Believing in Jesus. Putting all your faith in Him." she replied.
"But, you go to mass" I said. "Doesn't that make you a Christian?"
And she answered: "No. Going to church does not make me a Christian. What makes me a Christian is that I believe Jesus died for my sins and that He and only He can save me."
"But what about your baptism?" I asked.
"I am saved because of my faith in Jesus Christ." she said.

And God moves. He changes lives. He saves life.

Not because of me, but using me.

Not because of a cafe, but using a cafe.

Yes. God is working in El Sendero.

And He's not done.

Please pray for Stelamarise, for Monica, Carmita, and others as God grows them in their walk with Him.

Pray especially for Ed*** that he will find answers to all his questions and give his life to the only answer. Jesus.

Is God working in El Sendero? Part One

2011-08-03T06:08:00.000-07:00

"I don't see much ministry going on here."
"How can a business possibly function as a ministry?"
"Are you guys actually sharing the gospel here?"
"What is this place all about?"
"Is there more than eating going on at El Sendero?"

I was asked to share with our Loja missionary team about what kind of things God is doing through El Sendero. I thought maybe you would be interested, so I am going to spend the next few days sharing with you how God is using El Sendero and using it in a mighty, mighty way!

So- first things first. Part of our vision statement says that our mission is to provide a safe place for young people to meet that is safe from drugs, alcohol and cigarette smoke. Those who are familiar to Loja know that not only is El Sendero the only place with this as an actual goal, it is also the only place meeting this need.

I can stand on the balcony that looks over the park and see students drinking in rounds. They pour in and out of the disco tecs. They sit on the stairs of the cathedral and laugh and joke, and drink, and smoke, and then they walk to the bar to continue doing the same thing.

Only, not every young person wants to spend their evenings this way. The Church has made an impact on their young people and some of them just want a place to hang out with their friends. Non-Christians, and Christians alike are looking for somewhere they can pass the time in a safe environment that is fun, cool, and designed for their interests.

El Sendero is that place!
iQue Chevre!

TIST (Things I saw today)

2011-07-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

(picture: goat head and animal entrails.

We have recently begun taking the bus when we have less than our whole family. It's cheaper at .25 cents for adults and .12 cents for the kids. Marcus has been taking tennis lessons at Parque Jipiro and I take him and pick him up via bus.

Today was the most interesting day ever.

You are not even gonna believe the first thing I saw, so I am not even gonna bother telling you. Sorry.

The second thing I saw was a man beating the rollers from an office chair against a tree. I have no idea why. Surely he wasn't trying to cut down a tree with the roller legs of an office chair?

I saw a mother and son collecting and piling leaves to wrap tamales in.

I saw a man taking the paint off a brick wall. The brick walls are used for murals and it looks like this one is about to get changed out. Which is sad, because I laugh at that mural every time I see it. It is an old (1990's maybe) ad for a heath club. There is a painting of a woman in a swimsuit bent over a weight bench. Someone has graffitied puffs of air coming out her back side. Anyhow, It looks like my farting female weightlifter will soon be no more. The man was very carefully removing all the paint using the sharp end of an axe.

I saw two teenage girls get on the bus. the first one sat down but the second girl talked her into switching seats to the opposite side of the bus. Through giggles, the girl explained to her friend that "Jose works on this side. maybe we will see him". Adolescence: It's the same around the world.

So, that's it. It was such an interesting bus ride that I missed my normal stop. In fact, I missed my stop by quite a ways.

Okay, okay, I will tell you what I saw that you will never believe. Don't twist my arm so hard.

First you must understand that Ecuador is a public bathroom. No need to stop into the local McDonald's to use a toilet when the world is your toilet bowl.

I saw a very large "older" woman who was taking a squat in the park by the river. THIS is not uncommon. THIS is not the part that you won't believe.

So there she is squatting and doing her thing when up comes a wienie dog and stole her rag that she would need for toilet paper. He ran off with the rag and she ran off after him, all the while with her underwear around her ankles. She caught the dog, wiped herself, and THEN proceeded to beat the dog over the head with her "rag".

Yep. I bet you didn't see THAT today.

Are missionaries real people?

2011-07-18T09:02:00.001-07:00

My childhood was full of missionary heroes. I read about them, I studied them, I met them, I listened to them... I even idolized them. To me, as a young child, missionaries were bigger than life. Saints. Nearly perfect. They lived awesomely exciting lives and I wanted to be one!

So what do I think now that I am an adult woman who understands the world a little better and who is, after years of wanting, finally- a missionary?

Missionaries are not super heros. God never did grant me any super powers. He did give me a LOT of things (including power), but I have yet to stop a bullet, move things with my mind, or become invisible.

So, I thought today I would tell you what REAL missionaries are REALLY like.

They are busy. Sometimes they are too busy to take care of themselves, their family, or their friends. Sometimes they are so busy that they let important things drop.

They are cranky. Sometimes they snap at their children, sometimes they bad-mouth their friends. Sometimes they react badly to any and almost all situations.

They are scared. Sometimes missionaries don't want to step out on a limb. Sometimes they avoid talking to someone because they don't know what to say. Sometimes they don't volunteer for something because they are afraid of failure. Sometimes they don't share their faith because they are afraid of rejection. Sometimes they avoid using a long list of words for a year and a half in an effort to not humiliate themselves.

They are self-centered. Sometimes missionaries choose to watch television or play on the internet instead of doing a ministry that really needs to be done. Sometimes a missionary knows about a need and assumes someone else will take care of that need. Sometimes a missionary will eat the last cookie.

They are forgetful. They forgot to call you. They forgot to write you. They also may have forgotten your name. They most definitely forgot to say Happy Birthday. They may have even forgot to pray for you.

They are procrastinators. They will do it. It just won't be until tomorrow.

They are tired. They juggle a hundred balls, a thousand roles, and a million tasks.

They are weary. Sometimes missionaries forget where they get their strength from. Sometimes they rely on themselves so much that their soul gives out and they crumble inwards.

They carry a powerful burden. We have been told to carry the gospel to ALL people in ALL nations. Sometimes we fall under this burden because we forget that though the task is ours- the burden is not.

Missionaries are sinners.

Missionaries are saved.

They are so human and so without super power that sometimes it can become painful.

So, that is the real deal people. I bet it all sounded familiar didn't it? I bet it sounded like you, your spouse, and your friends.

Will you please pray for your missionaries today? Pray that God will continue to grow in them a character worthy of Christ's name. Pray that they will have REST. Not just rest of the body, but rest of the soul. Pray that God will grant them patience with co-workers, love for nationals, power to overcome fear, and the memory of a thousand computers.

Sunday prayer requests:

2011-07-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Michael trying his first (and last) taste of Guata.

My cousin Michael was an awesome help the last couple of months at El Sendero. He made friends so quickly, and in Ecuador, friendship becomes ministry. Please pray that he has a wonderful trip back to the states. pray that his re-entry is as painful as possible so that he will come back even sooner! Just kidding! Please pray that he will readjust to the culture of the US in a way that will make him effective in sharing the gospel with youth in his own country.
Pray that his church will feel connected to our ministry here because of the testimony that he brings back to them.

Also, pray for Dustan's parents who arrived in Quito last night. They will be visiting for a month to see ours and Amanda's ministries as well as to do some ministry themselves.

PRAISE!!!! We found an apartment. Is it ideal? Of course it is, because it is exactly what God sent us to! At the same time, it will take some getting used to. It is much smaller, further away, has has far fewer conveniences than what we are used to. Pray we transition well. We are excited to see what ministries God sends our way in our new home.

Oh, pray for my finger. Cause I broke it. Anyone who knows me well is wondering how I went this long in Ecuador without breaking something. It's not bad but a bit uncomfortable. And it makes it really really hard to type.

Weston is sick. He is miserable without being in pain and is running a continuous fever. Please pray he gets well. We are traveling to Cuenca on Tuesday via bus.

A T.I.S.T for Today

2011-07-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a dose of T.hings I. S.aw T.oday:

Dustan and I were walking down Calle Bolivar when we saw 5 school aged boys (ages 6-9) running down the road and jumping onto the back of a pickup truck. Not inside the bed part, but hanging on for dear life to the bumper. The littlest boy was too slow and by the time he caught the truck there was no room left on the bumper, so he grabbed the hand of his buddy and just dragged a bit behind. At every stop light they jumped off and when the light turned green they ran after the truck for another go.

If you thought that was the weird part- you would be wrong. The funny part of this TIST is the 6 ft gringo who ran full pace down the street trying to get a camera phone picture of what he considered a crazy game of "catch-the-truck". However, I fully expect that the dinner conversations at many a home last night started like this:

"You will never believe what I saw... Some crazy extranjero..."

Unfortunately for all of you, the crazy gringo was not successful in his attempt at anything except looking a bit funny.

This TIST is brought to you in honor of Dustan, who risked his dignity to try to bring you a picture. Fortunately his wife can replace a picture with a thousand words.

Bonus TIST: I looked out the 4th floor window (school room) of the Loja Ministry Center to see an ambulance leaving the curb. There was a young child standing on the front seat. Ironic. (When I say young, I mean maybe 2 or 3)

This is why I LOVE my job!

2011-07-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

Why do I love being a missionary in Loja city so much? Because, where else in the world would THIS happen???

My parents have finally arrived in Loja. They live in an apartment in the Loja Ministry Center, where the school they will be teaching is located. They have been hard at work setting up the school and the children's library.

Last night, I was helping them.

"Do you hear someone hammering?" my dad asked.

We told him no.

A few minutes later he said he was sure he heard someone hammering inside the building.

Knowing that we were alone, we told him he must imagining things.

But, he wasn't hearing things. What he heard was a young man, pounding (for several minutes) on the front door. This young man was insistent that someone answer the door.

He was at the wrong door. He wanted the radio station, and I told him that he needed to go next door to where the radio station was.
"But no one is there." he said.
I explained again that the building he was at was NOT the radio, but this young man was so insitent that the door upon which he knocked WAS indeed the radio, that I decided to step out into the rain and walk him over to the radio myself. My dad, who had answered the door, followed me.

The radio was almost completely closed up. The shutters had been pulled, but I rang the bell.

No one answered.

"Who is it that you need to talk to?" I asked.

He mumbled that he just wanted to talk to someone at the radio.

"I don't think anyone is here." I told him.

"I need to talk to someone at the radio." he said again.

I rang the bell again, and someone came to answer.

It was a young woman, alone, closing up the radio. It was not who he wanted to talk to, but this young woman worked and talked until finally she got him to tell her that it was a pastor he was seeking. He had heard that there were pastors at the radio he could talk to.

This young man was in obvious distress but was told he would have to return in the morning. But not without prayer!

"My sister and I want to pray with you." the young woman told him.

And right there, on the sidewalk, in the street, in the rain, three people, strangers, laid hands on this young man and prayed for him. Our prayers were fervent enough to draw attention from people walking by. They stopped to listen, moving on only we we had finished.

But- during that prayer, God sent me an idea! Because God does that!

EL SENDERO HAS A PASTOR!

So, after a bit of explanation, Dad and I decided to walk him down to the cafe to talk with David Ludeña.

Half way to the cafe, my phone rang. It was David, calling me. "Can you come to the cafe?" he asked. "There is someone here who needs your help."

Wow!!

"Well, David, I am on my way, and I am bringing you someone who needs YOUR help!"

Coincidence? NO WAY people, NO WAY. God had been orchestrating this evening from the very beginning.

When we arrive at El Sendero, I made introductions and David went to council the young man.

Huberto had come to receive help with his English. Huberto is a young man that Dustan has been building a relationship with and Umberto faithfully comes to Dustan's Bible study every time he is in the city. English was how we started our relationship, but it has since moved on to sharing our faith with him.

But, before I could sit down to help Umberto, I noticed someone else who needed my attention~

Maude!!!!!! Maude was here!!!!
Who is Maude?
Oh, you remember her. She was a an exchange student from Belgium. I included her in my prayer letters for months. She has been gone for close to a year, but is back in Loja and came by the cafe to visit.

Dad agreed to help Umberto (which gave him the opportunity to begin a new Ecuadorian relationship) and I embraced Maude like she was a long lost friend.

Three opportunities for ministries. A hundred opportunities for all three to be missed. We could have ignored the door. He could have left earlier. We could have told him to come back in the morning. We might have sent him on his way without praying for him. We might have sent him to El Sendero on his own. Dad could have decided to stay at the Ministry Center to continue helping mom.

Ministry happens when God sends the people, when those people hear the door and decide to answer it, AND when His people take action!

After all that, Dad and I danced home in the rain, so grateful for the excitement, the blessing, and the chance God gave us to be His tools in Loja, His service to three young people last night.

Your challenge?
Pray with someone in the street today.
Embrace someone as if they are a long lost friend, because you know connection is vital for the sake of the Gospel.
Go with someone to get help.

Answer your door. There are people knocking.

Maude and I at her going away party last year.

Feliz Dia de Independencia!

2011-07-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hoy, vamos a celebrar el Dia de Independencia de Los estodos, 2 dias tarde, en Ecuador, en la casa de los Austrelianos, y con presonas de Paraguay, Brasil, Ecuador, Australia, y los Estados Unidos.

Today we are going to Celebrate America's birthday. (I know it's late). We are celebrating in Ecuador in the house of the Australians. Our Ecuadorian friends love pointing out the irony to us.
We will also be celebrating with folks from Ecuador, Brazil, Paraguay, Australia, and of course the USA!

Happy belated birthday America!

Sunday prayer requests:

2011-07-03T06:07:00.000-07:00

I have lost most of my prayer team due to changed email addresses so I have decided to start posting my weekly prayer requests here. We really need to have people praying for us so thank you in advance for your prayers.

Please pray for us as we continue to look for an apartment. Pray that God's timing and placement will be perfect.

Please pray that God would call His people to support us.

Please pray for Stelamarise as she continues to study God's word with me every Monday night. This Monday we will be studying what the Bible has to say about being a Christian.

Please pray for my friend Rocio. She has asked to meet an extra day each week with me so that we can study the Bible together. Please pray that I can rearrange my schedule so that I can meet this need. This is a beautiful Christian woman who is wanting to grow in her faith, but who is not allowed to attend church. Please pray that her husband would be softened to the gospel of Jesus.

Dustan and I have been asked to lead our church's VBS this summer. Because we have no VBS material, I am writing it from scratch. I have finished the writing process and must begin the translation process. Pray that God gives us everything we need to complete this task for His glory. Pray that he will send teachers, and that we will have energy. The month of July is going to be an exhausting one.

Becka's parents will arrive in Quito this Thursday to begin their preparations for teaching at the mission school. Please pray for safe travels for them. Also pray that their house will be rented. They are counting on the income to partially support them while they are here.

We are praising God that Dustan's parents will be visiting with us in July and August. We look forward to showing them our ministry as well as showing them our wonderful Loja! Please pray that they will have a safe trip here and that we will have a wonderful time of fellowship. Pam and Dwight have also agreed to teach our children during our mission team's annual Spiritual Life Conference. Pam will be teaching the children about prayer. Please pray for her as she prepares for this important task.

What's new?

2011-07-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

Not an apartment! Yet.

We have been spending our free time wondering around Loja looking for and at apartments.

The Greenwood family will be moving into the mission house which we offered to them. We are hoping to find a place that costs us (and therefore you) about 100.00 less a month.

Plus the Greenwoods will be re-taking their ownership of Daisy the mission dog, so they need the yard that the mission house supplies.

So, what is it like looking for an apartment in Loja? Not like looking for an apartment in the states, that is for sure.

For one thing, who needs an appointment? No one! Just ring the doorbell and ask to have a look. Usually the landlord owns and works in a small business on the ground floor, just ask around until you find him/her.
Side note: We can find a few apartments in the newspaper- but most do not list there- they just hang a sign on the window)

For another thing- hot water is optional. In one place we saw electricity was even optional! In fact, that place had optional flooring and roofing. But, that wasn't what knocked the place out of the running. The mold smell and location did that.

We have found a place that we really love, but it is so small. So small we can't figure out if our furniture will fit. It isn't a simple task of measuring because none of the walls are square. But, the price, the location, and the fact that one of Weston's good friends lives in the same building really weighs it towards possible. But- we might have to have one of the kids sleep in the living room :)

We also viewed a haunted house. Supposedly the house used to be a back alley abortion clinic and the owners can't find people to live their for more than three months at a time. The location was perfect, but the kitchen was smaller than my old closet in the states (REALLY). In Loja, kitchens are a non-important factor in a house. They rarely use them. Lunch is the only large meal and it is eaten at local restaurants (2.00 a meal). Breakfast is an egg, and dinner is bread and cheese. You don't need much of a kitchen for that. Apparently you also don't need a stove or fridge, because the haunted house had room for neither.

We also have to make a decision about how important safe, hot water is to us. Most of the apartments we have seen do not have a calaphone (??spelling??) which heats the water through a small gas tank. Instead they have what is called a widow maker (I call them martyr makers). A widow maker is an electric device in the shower that heats the water. As you can shower, you can watch the sparks that heat your water. Basically it is a human electrocution device.
We haven't decided if this is a deal breaker or not. We can't help but think about our missionary friend in the sudan who took baths in the river. Oh, but it is hard to view hot water as a luxury and not a need- isn't it?

Also, unlike the states, we must deal with the weather. Of course you all have weather (good and bad), but we must walk or take a taxi everywhere we go. And the weather changes on a dime. One day I returned home with a sunburn on the back of my neck, and when we set off yesterday it was the most gorgeous day Loja has had in a while. Let's just say we came home sopping soaking wet and very very cold.

So, those are our current adventures. Those who know me well know that I am loving it! I really did try to talk Dustan into living in the house with a dirt floor, plastic roof, and no hot water at all! He changed my mind by reminding me how far we had walked to get there.

And this post comes with a prayer request. Dustan and I have been praying that God already be preparing us a ministry at our new place. He gave us one here (with two street girls) and we know he has something in mind for us at our new home. Be praying we will be open to whatever sacrifices we need to make, but that we are wise in knowing which sacrifices God is asking us to make. Pray that we find a wonderful apartment in our price range. (Wonderful meaning exactly where God wants us).

Also, the main reason we are moving is to save our supporters money. As a reminder, we are facing losing quite a bit of our support next January. This is our way of doing our part to follow God's plan for us to stay here. Those of you who are doing your part- THANK YOU!!!!!!!! iiiiiiiGracias!!!!!!! Les amo, todos. Abrazos a todos.

And those who are feeling called to support us- there is a button over in that side panel on the right that you can use.

Censo Adventures: Part one

2011-06-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

I lost my censo (identification card) a while ago, and because there is a hefty fine for not having it, I decided to start the 500 part process today. I took Maria with me to help translate.

First we took a taxi to the police station at the top of town. We had debated walking and I am glad I didn't. It was quite a ways away.

When we walked into the building there was a very long line. If you look up "line" in an Ecuadorian dictionary you will find the following definition:
"has no meaning; zilch; nada"

So, like good Ecuadorians, we walked straight to the front of the line and asked how to go about getting a censo.

Woman at the desk: "What's a censo?"
Us: "It's an ID card for foreigners"
Woman at the desk (looking at me suspiciously): For who?
Us: For foreigners.
Woman at the desk: What is it for.
Maria: To identify foreigners.
Woman at the desk: I don't know what you are talking about. You can't get that here. Ask upstairs.

So, we walk upstairs.
Us: We need to replace a Censo.
Them: A what?
Us: A censo. It's an identification card for foreigners. Like a cedula. (a national id card)
Them: Oh, you need a cedula.
Us: No, we need a censo. It's for foreigners.
Them: For who?
Me: It's for me. I lost my last one. I need a new one.
Them: Never heard of it. You don't need it.
Us: Yes, we do need it. It's very important. We were told to come here to ask about replacing it.
Them: Go to immigration. It's very near. Two blocks down and then left on the corner.

So we walk. Two blocks in spanish really mean 12 blocks and up the side of the mountain. NO exaggeration.

We arrive at immigration exhausted and completely soaked in sweat. Through our huffs and pants we have the following conversation.

Us: We need to get a censo replaced.
Him: You have come to the right place.
Us: faint with pure joy
Him: Do you have a letter from the police station?
Us?????????????
Him: You need a letter from the police station saying your censo is lost. Like this one. (and he shows us one)
Us: We just came from there and they had never even heard of a censo.
Him: You need to go to the office in the center of town.
Us: Ooooohhhhhh. Do we need the letter signed from a lawyer?
Him: No. of course not.

So, we take a taxi to the center of town to the government office where we find out we must first go to ANOTHER office to buy a special piece of government paper.

We buy the piece of paper (3.00) and find out we DO AFTER ALL need a letter and signature from a lawyer.

So we walk around until we find a lawyer who is not busy.

Us: We need a letter saying we have a lost censo.
Him: A what?
Us: BIG SIGH. It's an identification card for foreigners.
Him: You lost your passport?
Me: No, I have my passport. I lost my censo. It's a card like a cedula.
Him: Okay, I can help you. Let me see your passport.
He looks at my passport and raises and eyebrow
Him: This is for you?
Me: Yes. It is my passport. The letter is for me. I lost my censo.
Him: When did you lose it.
Me: I am not sure. Maybe two months ago.
Him: I need an exact date.
Me:???????
Maria: Just make one up. It's not important.
Him: (raises the other eyebrow) Okaaayyyy. But, THIS is YOUR passport?
Me: yes. It's mine.

He prints the letter on the official 3.00 paper along with three extra copies we have been told that we would need.
Cost: 10.00

We then walk back to the government office.

Her: These copies are not valid. They are made on regular printer paper. We need copies of the official government paper.

We walk to a copy shop and have copies made.
We walk back to the government office.

Her: These are perfect. Can I see your passport?
Me: Yes.
Her: Whose passport is this?
Me: It's mine.
Her: This does not look like you.
Me: It is me.
Her: It does not look like you at all.
Me: I have lost a lot of weight since being here.
Her (squints her eyes): Yes, it's you. You look really different. I don't mean anything bad by that- just that you really look different
(Because only in Ecuador does losing weight become equivalent to a put-down)

She stamps all of the paperwork. Then she sends us to another lawyer, who thankfully was in the same office. He signed the same papers as the first lawyer. He never asked to see my passport.

And I go home, because it's noon and all the offices shut down at noon.
But, before leaving, we were told we need to go to a THIRD police office for MORE paperwork before we can return to immigration.

So, lessons learned:
1. Don't wait in line.
2. 2 blocks really equals 12
3. No one has ever heard of a censo so therefore NEVER EVER EVER LOSE YOUR CENSO
4. If you lose weight you will have a lot of questions to answer. Try to look like your passport picture.

5. NEVER EVER LOSE YOUR Censo! EVER!

6. Make sure you block of a week if you ever actually do lose your censo. Because it is going to take a VERY LONG TIME to get a new one.

TIST (Things I saw today)

2011-06-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

It's about time for another TIST, wouldn't you say?

I remember searching for the very best car seat when my babes were little creatures. I rejoiced in the safety laws requiring SIX year olds to remain in a car seat. I researched the best way to keep my kids safe, forcing them to remove their heavy coats in the midwest below zero weather and climbing on top of the car seat to buckle it in as tight as possible.

So imagine my surprise when I chilled so easily upon my arrival to Ecuador. My children have rarely even SEEN a seatbelt for the last 1 and a half years. I have drawn the line and disallowed them to ride in the back of a pickup truck despite their hollering and screaming and constant begging, but we do pile 6 people in a 4 person car, Esther sitting on one of our laps, and we understand, this is our new lives.

A life without seatbelts.

And I hear the collective gasp of every resident of my home country. Rightfully so. Seatbelts are important. IMPORTANT. VITAL EVEN.

Only, we don't have them here. We can not use what we do not have.

We do however use the safety precautions that are available. Who wouldn't? Right?

So. Hold on people. Because yesterday I saw....

A man driving a car with a child standing on his lap, half his torso inside the car, the other half hanging out the sun roof.

A CHILD.
In the Driver's Lap.
FRONT SEAT.
STANDING!!!
Head hanging out a sun roof.

Dustan and I stared with our mouths open. We may or may not have eaten a few bugs.

"Well, that's one for your TIST" he said.

"I am not sure it beats the time I saw a woman breastfeeding a baby while holding a toddler... on a motorcycle" I replied.
"It does beat that time I saw a dog on the back of a motorcycle, front paws around the driver's shoulders" Said Dustan
"He was wearing a helmet" Dustan continued.
"Who? The driver?" I asked.
"No. The dog." answered Dustan.

Helmets for dogs, children riding in the front seat, standing on the driver's lap, hanging out the sunroof. Women breastfeeding babies while riding a motorcycle.

I bet you didn't see that today. Or maybe ever.

It's been a long time

2011-06-09T07:58:00.000-07:00

It's been 479 days since I have driven a car.

My new non-overweight self is very grateful for the forced exercise.

Quote of the Day

2011-06-08T14:27:00.000-07:00

"When I grow up I am going to help poor people. Because only 1% of people choose to help poor people. Everyone else wants to be a princess or a pony." Esther King 6/8/11 age 7

Right after I hit publish for this post, I jumped over to my blog reader and read the following post on a missionary blog from Peru. What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

Soo... What do you want to be when you grow up?

What's in a day?

2011-06-06T05:39:00.000-07:00

Interested in knowing what our schedule looks like? Last week Dustan forgot both his and Weston's spanish class, and I forgot to work at El Sendero one day. Something I do every single day. Dustan says it is because we are old. I say my brain just can not handle another thing. It's on overload. But who knows? I did find a grand canyon of a wrinkle on my forehead. Dustan might have something on that old thing.

Mondays-
9:00 Becka meets with Rocio
9:00-10:00 Dustan has class
12:00-3:00 Work at El Sendero
7:00-9:00 Becka has a Bible Study with Estellamarise

Tuesdays-
10:00-12:00 Becka has Spanish classes
12:00-3:00 Work at El Sendero
6:00-8:00 Dustan has a Bible Study at El Sendero
TUESDAYS ARE OUR DAY OFF. Hahaha

Wednesday
9:00- 12:00 Team Meetings
12:00-3:00 Work at El Sendero
3:00-5:00 Marcus and Michael have guitar lessons
4:00-6:00 Dustan and Weston have class
6:00-9:00 English Club at El Sendero

Thursday:
8:00-10:00 Dustan has spanish class
12:00- 3:00 Work at El Sendero
2:00-4:00 Spanish Class
Evening (reserved for family night)

Friday:
8:00-10:00 Dustan has spanish class
12:00-3:00 Work at El Sendero

Saturday-
9:00-12:00 Michael and Marcus has worship team practice (dustan sometimes uses this time to mow the church lawn.)

Sunday-
10:00-11:30 Church/teach Sunday School Dustan is also the church treasurer so he takes care of and records the church offering.
6:30-9:00 English club/Bible Study

So, those are our weekly duties. Of course you have to add a few hours a week for paying bills (oh for an online system or even a POSTAL system!), 3 hours each day to school Weston, housework, cooking (HA), 3 additional hours of Spanish homework each day, prep time for our classes and Bible studies and you can see why my brain is on overload. I really need to print up a schedule and post it somewhere I look everyday.

Did you know that we are asked several times a month to do additional Bible Studies? We just do not have the time. Our schedule may look bare to you 40 hr a week workers, but please do not forget that we must walk everywhere, that we do not have modern conveniences (like a dishwasher or clothes dryer), our every day living takes a tremendous amount of time in comparison to what it did in the states. Just trying to get money is a half a days event, (especially if the ATM says they gave us money and didn't), also we must keep up a blog, newsletter, prayer emails, and support raising.

I am not writing this to complain, we love our live here, we never want to stop doing what we are doing, but I want to convince you that the need is more than we can possibly meet. WE NEED MORE MISSIONARIES. It's simple. Our church has asked us to start Awana's, we have English students who want to meet with us one on one. One of the English schools recently asked us to help with a drama club, our church needs help with the youth meetings, there is a couples group we would love to help with, and recently a new Bible study was started out in Catamayo that Becka would especially love to attend.

Everyone of those is an opportunity to share the gospel. And everyone of those are on our "WAIT" list.

Every missionary on our team has a similar story to tell, and I bet if I asked our missionaries in Ghana, Russia, or China they would say the same thing.

We need money. Yes.
We need supplies. Yes
We need prayer support. Yes.
We need care packages. Yes.
We need encouragement. Yes.
We need more money. Yes.

But what we need most of all?
More people.

Think about it. Then say yes. Then write me and I will help you follow through.

I can either be a missionary, or I can be an atheist.

2011-05-23T15:34:00.000-07:00

Someone once asked me how I could be so sure that God had called me to be a missionary.
I think the question should have been worded like this:

Are you a Christian, or are you... not?
Because for me, I can either be a missionary, or I can be an atheist.

But, here is the much longer version of my answer that I posted more than a year ago.

My purpose in missions has always been clear to me. From the very beginning of my walk with Christ, I knew that He had called me to proclaim the gospel- to tell others what He had done for me.

Being in missions has never been an option for me. Every time I open the Bible, every time I sing a hymn, every time I hit my knees in prayer, the message I receive has always been the same. "Go". That command has echoed in my ear from the time I was a young teenager.

God's desire for his people to carry the gospel to "all nations" has always been crystal clear to me. When I read the story of Cain, I saw God's mercy, and I focused in on how this murderous man carried the story of God's grace far from his own home.
When I read the story of Abram, I saw how God desired so greatly that all people would be offered salvation.
I read the stories of Jonah, of Daniel, of Nehemiah, and all I could see was how these men were God's ancient missionaries. As a young person, just a babe of a Christian, I realized that I had no choice but to be a missionary.

God has placed in me a heart that longs to share his grace with people who do not have access to it. When I think about people in far away lands, people who have to beg for Bible studies, people who walk for miles to worship a God they don't even know yet, people who are hurting and who have little or no access to any good news, my heart breaks.

I know that I am called to missions, because there is no other option for me. Either I am who I say I am, and believe what I say I believe...
or I am not.
I say I am a Christian, which means that I have been forgiven from a crud load of evilness (trust me- I am full of badness. FULL of it). How can I not follow the command I have been given to "Tell the gospel to ALL nations"? How can I say I am a follower of Christ and ignore the command he gave to me?

Furthermore. Those who are reading this who are Christians (I do have a few readers who do not follow Christ), I also know that YOU have been called to missions. Either the Bible is true...
or it is not.

Go. God has not called you to stay. He has called you to GO. It is written on every page of that book you call the Word of God.

You can not share the gospel of Christ by staying. At the very least you will have to go across the street, but I think God has bigger plans than that. He desires that we cross our own comfort zones, that we minister to people who are outside of our own cultural boundaries. He wants ALL people to know of His love, and He has chosen to use YOU as a tool.

Go. Go to the grocery store. Go to the moms group. Go to the inner city near where you live. Go to the homeless shelter in your town. Go somewhere, but Go.
Because God did not tell us to stay. He told us to GO.

And THAT, is how I know I have been called to missions.

My prayer this week:

2011-05-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

This week when I looked at my soul in the mirror I saw ugliness and selfishness. It was a tad bit horrifying. I have begun to pray this very frightening prayer:

God, if the fear of losing my possessions keeps me from serving you with everything I have. If I am so afraid that my precious things will get lost, broken, or stolen, that it prevents me from reaching out to those you send my way...

Then please, take it all away. My computer, my money, my house, my food... my family (gasp)(heartbreak).

Amen.

Let me tell you. I am not sure which is harder. The self-realization of selfishness or putting that selfishness directly into the hands of God.

Who's on First?

2011-04-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

Cliente: Quiero juego uno por favor.
Me: Claro, .25 centabos por favor. ¿ Cual juego quiere?
Cliente: Juego uno por favor.
Me: Si, yo se. .25 centabos es solo para un juego. ¿Cual juego quiere?
Clinete: Si, yo se, yo quiere juego uno.
Me: Lo siento. Estoy confudida. Aqui, hay una lista de juegos.

Cliente (el cliente da un gran suspiro): Quiero este juego (y al apuntó al juego UNO)

y mi cara estaba rojo con verguenza.

El no estaba divertíase.

Lo siento mis amigos que hablen español por asesinarlo su idioma una vez mas.

Sorry english speaker friends, this won't translate into English very well- let's just say I had my own Abbot and Costello sketch going on. A customer wanted to play the card game uno and I thought he wanted ONE game. He kept telling me what game he wanted, and I kept asking him what game he wanted.

He was unamused.

iCarnival!

2011-03-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

This was our second Carnival in Ecuador, but I spent my first one in fear of having water balloons lobbed at me at break-neck speed. Not only that, but we had only been in the country for a few months and everything seemed terrifying.

This year we set-out to enjoy this once a year event.

Carnival is the pre-celebration of Lent. It is a time of fiestas and eating before a time of fasting and praying. In America, we call it Mardi Gras but Carnival in Ecuador is celebrated far differently than the Mardi Gras of the USA.

Here are some tidbits of our Carnival time here.

Thursday I narrowly missed having egg in my hair. Eggs are a popular thing to toss at people.

Thursday night I rounded a corner to see a group of 6 teenage boys holding water balloons. I quickly tried to turn the other direction to avoid them. Teenage boys enjoy chasing after girls. They lobbed their balloons at me but only managed to get my socks wet.

Later that night Gloria poured a glass of water down my back. Ten minutes later, it was a jug over my head. Making people wet is the main sport of Carnival.

Friday I stayed home. I wasn't in the mood to dodge water balloons or eggs. But the kids did enjoy a short school-day which included a school-wide water fight.

Saturday Dustan and I cautiously ventured out and noticed the sidewalks were literally littered with eggshells.

Sunday, First Baptist Church of Loja was one of the few churches that still had services. No one got wet.

Today is Monday, the main day of Carnival and the amount of water poured on people, thrown at cars, and squirted into taxi windows was nothing short of incredible. And fun. It was fun.

Today water balloons were set aside for water cannons and buckets. Plastic bags were turned into water bombs and thrown at the windows of passing vehicles. There were not very many dry people in the streets today.

Vivi and Luis hosted a Carnival BBQ and it had no shortage of water.

Through out this time of festive water play, it is important for us to remember that Jesus came to be THE Living Water. Please continue to pray for the people of Ecuador and our ministry here.

And, if you like this video, let me know in the comments. I LOVE feedback!

TIST (Things I saw today)

2011-02-25T06:54:00.000-08:00

Today I saw:

A woman carrying a purse full of vegetables. That was me. I forgot my market bag. It's a good thing I have a big purse.

A cart selling a drink made of aloe. I haven't tried it. I'm not even tempted to because Colin Bacon told me it was like trying to swallow a tongue. The cart had quite a line of people waiting for their daily slimy tongue drink.

A corner full of soccer t-shirts. It's soccer season peeps. The biggest significance is that it will be several more months before I am able to sleep on the weekends. When this city cheers for their team, they do it with more noise than you would think possible. And my house is one block from the stadium.

A parking crisis. There is a small alcove on calle Bolivar where cars can park vertically. Three cars parked thus, and one car horizontally parked in front of them. When it was time for the other cars to leave they could not. Chaos ensued. I was entertained during my morning cup of coffee. Simert (parking police) came and put a boot on the tires which meant that when the driver was finally found, his car was locked up and he could not remedy the situation. Chaos accelerated. The whole of Parque San Sabastian was entertained.

PS, the picture is of cows on my street. It was taken several months ago and I acted like a lunatic by grabbing my camera. My neighbors were highly annoyed (at the cows- not me. They just thought I was a crazy gringo.)

Being Used.

2011-02-20T06:34:00.000-08:00

Dustan and I have been listening to a sermon series on Paul and while listening, I heard a familiar story. I am sure you have heard it, so I will only briefly touch on it here.

Three trees stood together on a hill. They dreamed of big things. Huge things. GOOD things.

But their dreams were shattered when they were cut down. One was made into a feed trough for animals. Another was built into an ordinary fishing boat. The third was cut down and the wood lay in a lumber yard for years.

The story builds and culminates, and brings our sentiments to tears when we realize that the feed trough held a baby Jesus. That it’s dream of being something bigger came to fruition as it held the Savior of mankind as he slumbered his first night.

That second tree, found joy as it carried Christ out onto the waters of Galilea.

That third tree was horrified but ultimately humbled as the man from Nazareth hung from its limbs and died.

But, as I heard that story, I thought again about how God uses ordinary things. Ordinary PEOPLE.

Last week I had listened as the speaker ran through the great tale of a Sunday school teacher who shared his faith with one man, and several men later, was instrumental in the conversion of Billy Graham.

But. What if?

What if those stories were written, or happened differently?

What if the first tree became, simply, a trough for feeding animals? What if it never did more than feed cows and never held more than musty hay?

What if that boat never did more than hold smelly fish, and eventually sunk to the bottom of the sea never to be thought about again?

What if the lumber had been made into doors. Just ordinary doors with no story, no sentiment, just ordinary usefulness?

What if that Sunday school teacher shared his faith with Matt Smith, who shared his faith with John Jones, who then was instrumental in sharing his faith with Micheal Brown, who is now a math teacher in Podunk Arkansas and who has never been heard of outside his town?

What if the stories were not sentimentally grandiose?

Would they be any less important?

What if I was washing dishes in Belleville instead of doing Bible studies in the Andes mountains?

What if I was sitting in a cubicle transcribing medical documents instead of sharing my faith with taxi drivers in Loja?

What if I was sitting at my son’s ballgame instead of of talking to children in the market of a developing country?

Would my story be any less grand? Would I be any less important?

Cows need to eat.
Fishermen need boats. (just ask my grandpa)
Every house needs a door.
And Matt Smith is a hero to John Jones.

I would like to suggest that our greatness lies not in what we are used for, but in that we are used at all.

Creator of my soul, molder of my being, Savior of my very life,
Use me.
Use me as I scrub potatoes in a kitchen.
Use me as I hang my laundry.
Use me when I talk to my children.
Use me as I write, as I sit, as I pray, as I walk.
Please, just use me. For ordinary things. To meet your purpose unknown.
To meet your purpose known.
I just ask...
to be used.
I do not have to be a manger that holds a King, a boat that carries the greatest teacher in all of history, or a direct contact to the Salvation of all of humanity.

If I can feed one child, teach one person, and lead one woman to her Savior...
I will be humbly joyful for your purpose in my life.

If your purpose for my life is no greater than what I see in front of my eyes, then I will be forever joyful for the opportunity
to be used.

Sometimes TISTs (things I saw today) are disgusting.

2011-02-05T16:36:00.000-08:00

This would be one of those times. You can thank me later that I didn't take a picture.

So, I was making the communion bread for tomorrow's service and what did I see in the corn flour?

A RAT whisker.

Really and Truly.

Two things:
1. Don't bother asking whether or not I used the flour.
2. I am really grateful there were no other rat parts.

And How Will They Eat? And How will They Hear? And How will They Know?

2011-02-03T06:26:00.000-08:00

We spent a few days in “El Oriente”, the part of Ecuador known for it’s beautiful plants and animals. The rain forest. It was a beautiful experience and my family soaked in God’s beauty and the rest He granted us.

While there, we met an indigenous man named Jóse. Jóse’s first language was Quichewa and he lived in a small village that he pointed out to us as he guided us on a four hour walk through the jungle.

As we crested a hill before entering the jungle, you could just see the roofs of the house, and see the smoke curing into the sky.

“That is my village.” Jóse pointed out. “I am sorrowed for it because a deal has been made with China to seek oil on this land.”

I looked around with horror. This was beautiful land. It was humbling to imagine God speaking it into existence with just a few words. “Trees. Sky. Mountains. People.” He said, and this place rose from the earth, an artistic testimony to God’s awesome power. I had never seen anything like it (and I hadn’t even entered the jungle yet).

My heart began to mourn with him. I know what happens after the search for oil. The beauty would disappear and be left spoiled.

“When this is gone,” he asked, “How will my people eat?”

And it hit me. I was as bad as Jonah. I was worried more about a plant (or in my case, a whole LOT of plants) while this man was worried more about his people.

So I told him this: “Jóse, Christians love this land too. It is our God who made it, and even more, they love the people who live here. I will tell them so we can pray for your home, and for your people, that they will have plenty to eat.”

Later, after I arrived back in Loja, the conversation stayed with me and as I mulled it over, I realized that my mistake did not stop with sorrowing after land without thinking of the people who would go hungry.

My mistake continued on by forgetting that physical hunger is not the worst kind.

“How will me people eat?” He had asked. And I responded that I and my friends would pray for food.

I wish I had told him that I would pray for both kinds of food. That God would continue to provide for his stomach, and that He would send a missionary, whether it be a national, or foreigner to teach scriptures.

But, I didn’t tell him that. My eyes were blinded first by the beauty of creation, and then secondly by raw physical need. It’s a common mistake, but eternally deadly.

So, I ask this request of you. Will you join me in praying for the following three things:

That God protects the land around a small village named “Siente de Julio” and that the Quichewa people that live there would have plenty to eat.

That God would send a missionary to this village to teach scripture.

Would you ask God is that person He is calling to this people group, is you? Because God is calling someone. He is not leaving this group of people hopeless to hear the gospel, and maybe, YOU are who He is calling.

Grapes that have been saved from their Fishes. Lunacy in Language)

2011-01-16T12:32:00.000-08:00

There are certain words I avoid while trying to learn Spanish. I might avoid them even after I finish learning the language (which will be never). Frankly, I can’t believe that native speakers don’t make these slip ups. But they don’t. Oh, no, they sure don’t. I base that on the fact that I have actually made someone have to use a wall to hold herself up from laughing so hard.

So, without, further ado... here they are.

1. La pareja/ el pajaro: I need this word all the time. It means couple. As in married couples. We have a married couples group at our church.

So, I say to Vivi, “¿Es el grupo de pajaros este noche? (Is the group of birds tonight?)

It’s easiest just to avoid it.

2. Pescado/ pecado: Yep, these two words are best to be avoided at all costs. Have I mixed them up? Yep! And my kids really love to laugh about the time I told my Sunday School class how Jesus died for all our fishes.

3. Hombre/ Hambre: I don’t suggest you ever walk into a kitchen, feeling very hungry, and wanting to express that hunger to a group of women and then announce “Tengo hombre!” You will NEVER be able to live it down. Apparently, saying that you “have a man” will be enough to tickle their funny bones for months to come.

4. Libro/ Libre/ Libra: One Year in, I still ask the market seller to give me three books worth of grapes. Only sometimes, because I am just running through them all, I ask her to give me free grapes. Not as in grapes that cost me nothing, but grapes that are not bound by slavery. Perhaps they have been saved from their fishes?

Now that you know what NOT to use, let me give you some guidance on how to make yourself understand with this lack of vocabulary. (Of course, I use spanish, but since all my readers speak English, I translated it for you.)

Couple: Instead use the spanish for “Two people”

Bird: That animal that flies. (I also gesture with my fingers by my mouth to indicate a tiny beak. Because this is sooooo much less humiliating that the language mistake)

Fish: (This one is easy because pescado is actually cooked fish. Fish still living is “pez” Just use pez. Everyone will forgive you. You will be able to live it down far easier than asking for a plate of sins.

Sin: You can either use “bad things” or “making wrong choices”.

Man: Adult boy. Haha.

Hunger: I have no work-around for this one. You will just have to be stuck making a fool of yourself.

Book: The thing for reading

Free: opposite of a slave (I use “opposite of...” a lot)

Pound: No work around. I just say it under my breath so they can’t hear me, and they ALWAYS repeat with the correct word used.

Me: I want 4 mumble mumble mumble of grapes.

Them: you want four POUNDS of grapes?

Me: YES! 4 pounds of grapes.

Being eaten by Piranhas.

2011-01-15T10:52:00.000-08:00

Or, more accurately titled: Teaching Sunday School. But that title was too boring.

Step One: Read the story in Spanish. Underline any new vocabulary and look up in a dictionary or ask a friend who knows Spanish.

Step Two: Re-write the story in English. It will help with step number Three.

Step Three: Re-write the story again, but this time in an easy Spanish form. Use a few new vocabulary words, but not so many it becomes overwhelming.

Step Four: Cut out the different sections of the story to coordinate with the pictures.

Step Five: Cut out the pictures. Because they are not pre-cut. Make sure to take note of any sheep with six legs. (It has happened before) (Don't bother making any jokes about how sheep with six legs are insects. The children will just say you are imaginative. Which is not a compliment in Loja.)

Step Six: Tape the story sections on the back of the pictures with a list of vocabulary words, plus pronunciation for difficult words. Like Faraon. Which is Spanish for Pharaoh and is pronounced: Far- ah- own. I hope. At least, that is how I DID pronounce it. My kids usually are not sweet enough to overlook my errors. They take great delight in pointing them out.

Speaking of kids...

Here they are. I love them with all my heart. But to be honest... Sometimes they make my heart shrink.

They are... well... my mom calls it payback. I once made a teacher cry. And then she quit teaching. For life.

So... I guess I deserve some payback. I will have to remember that next time they jam thumbtacks into each other's hands and snort glitter up their nose.

Oh, and next time they play the "This Teacher is so Dumb Let's Pretend to be Like Her" game, which goes like this.

Me: How did God lead the Isrealites out of Epypt?

Them: JESUS!

Me: No. He used something from nature. What was it?

Them: JESUS

Me: Nope. Not Jesus. It was in the sky.

Them: I know. I know! GOD!!!!

Square Dancing

2011-01-13T06:47:00.000-08:00

(as in Dancing in the square. San Sabastion Square.)

A few weeks ago we had some indigenous singers at the park right outside of El Sendero. I talked Douglas into running down and videoing it for you. Thanks Doug!

Enjoy...

TIST (Things I saw today)

2010-12-01T05:37:00.001-08:00

El Sendero is located right on one of Loja's most popular plazas and because of that, when the cafe is not busy, I have ample opportunities for people watching.

This picture is of the beginnings of a student protest that would last a couple of months. There are a couple of people hand screening banners and posters for the rally, another person would lay them out to dry, and the entire thing drew quite a crowd. This particular protest was over a new law governing entrance exams into the university.

To the right of the protest is San Sabastion Cathedral. At the very same time as the protest, there was a funeral going on. The crowd on the steps are from the funeral. The man who died was a body builder and trainer at the local gym. He was young and strong and I saw many of my friends attending the funeral.

The steps of the cathedral were filled with mourners who paid no heed to the protesters on the left.

The funeral procession walks several miles to the cemetery. I have witnessed this custom many times, and have to admit that it is one I love. I think the solidarity of walking together must provide comfort, and the simple action of having something to do- an action to take, helps to bring everyone some peace during a difficult time.

Un dia en la casa...

2010-11-28T07:06:00.001-08:00

Today we have a forced day in our house. The whole of Ecuador must stay in their homes with the threat of arrest (or in our case deportation).

The hospitals are closed (except the ICU ward).

Every store is closed and barred.

Telephone calls and emails are being sent with warnings.

Churches are closed. Cathedrals are closed. Every bar in the country is closed.

Police are patrolling the streets.

What's going on?

Civil unrest?

Coup?

Violent protests?

Deadly virus?

War?

Well. Actually. It's just a census. Just a counting of Ecuador's people.

But, let's just say it works a bit differently here from back home in the USA.

We must stay in our homes or be arrested.

Even though our census was done and over at 10:00 this morning, we can't leave our house until tomorrow morning.

It was an interesting experience, taking a questionnaire in a language we still don't have a strong handle on.

Girl: Who owns your house?

Me: No. I don't work here. My support comes from the United States.

Girl: (Blank stare)

But. It is done. There is no telling what we actually said about ourselves or our children. But- the girl is gone, she is talking to the neighbors now, and we will spend the rest of the day playing games and watching movies.

A forced day inside is not as bad as it sounds. We stocked up on chocolate, soda, and chips. We have a folder of movies and a closet full of games.

The worst part is over, and what is left is fun and rest.

Happy Census Day Ecuador!!!

Retired

2010-11-19T11:25:00.001-08:00

Have you ever dreamed about your retirement?

Have you ever considered the Biblical principles of retirement?

This man of God did.

This is Mark Jenner. Last week he celebrated his 70th birthday. Two years ago he came to Ecuador as a missionary.
Can a 70 year old man navigate the difficult and uneven streets of Loja?

Can a 70 year old man begin to learn a new language?

Can a 70 year old man have a life full of purpose and God's work?

Mark says yes. And then he proved it possible.

Because of Mark's age, he is returning to Australia for his furlough. If his health checks out, he will be back in a year.

So. What are YOUR plans for retirement?

It's important to listen to your interpreter.

2010-11-09T04:41:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I had what I thought was a kidney infection and so I took myself to the doctor. I took Viviana with me in case I needed a translator.

I THOUGHT the following conversation took place:

Doctor: You have an intestinal infection, but I would like to give you shots for your back pain. Do you know what a shot is?

Me: Yes. I know.

So, when we get to the pharmacy Vivi explains to me that one of the items is the shot I am to give myself.

HUH?

Me: I can't give myself a shot!!!!!!

Vivi: Why did you tell the doctor that you could?

Me: What??????? I told the doctor I KNEW WHAT A SHOT WAS!!!! (I was very concerned for myself)

Vivi: No. The doctor asked if you knew how to give yourself a shot and you told her that yes, you did know.

And then Vivi proceeded to lecture me about how I need to tell her when I don't understand. And I proceeded to explain to her that I THOUGHT I did understand.

It was humorous and frustrating. I decided that my back did not hurt near badly enough to give myself shots!

Last night I was thinking through that event when God reminded me that we often have similar situations when reading our Bible.

We take an interpreter with us. (The Holy Spirit)

We read.

We think we understand.

We forget to ask our interpreter for help.

And we leave with a misunderstanding that will effect our growth and healing.

How in the world would I have thought, in a million years, that a doctor would ask me to give MYSELF a shot in the back???? That would never have happened in the US. Nothing in my experience prepared me for that question, and so, I interpreted it based on what my own experiences had been.

I was wrong.

It makes me wonder, what passages of Scripture have I read, understood based on my past experiences, and then went on with my life, applying misunderstood Words of the Great Physician, and sometimes even passing those misunderstandings on to others.

Somewhere there is a boy named Wincent

2010-10-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

Eager.

One word to describe 25 students.

Eager.

One word to describe the missionary woman who had come to chat with them in English.

I sat down at a desk and found the air supply drop drastically. I barely had room to turn my head. They were everywhere, all of them, asking question after question, in rapid-fire Spanish.

One girl in particular, was like glue. She was twelve-ish, and the only thing I could understand was that she had tried to talk to some gringos on the street who were wearing backpacks. She was very persistent about this, but I wasn't very sure how to respond.

Eventually, the students were made to sit down, and I was called to the front.

"Listen to this woman. She speaks English." the teacher said.

And I did as instructed and said the alphabet.

Then I listened as they learned how to ask me my name, and where I was from.

"Please describe the United States" the teacher asked me.

So, I said it was big. It was diverse. It had a lot of people. That my state had no mountains and that it had a lot of corn.

Describing the US was a very big task for me when the kids had such small vocabularies.

When I said the word Chicago, they nearly flew out of their seats. Chicago! They recognized that! President Obama received the same results. So did Disneyland and Hollywood. I had fun trying to think of words they would recognize. Words that would light up their eyes and make them rush forward to ask more questions.

Because eagerness is beautiful. And contagious.

The same girl who had tried to tell me about her conversations with gringos was especially interested in my descriptions of the US. She didn't much care about the president, Chicago, or Mickey Mouse. She was searching for something particular. I just couldn't figure out what it was.

"What is my name in English? What is my name in English?" The children wanted to know.

"Hush up" the girl commanded. (in Spanish) "I want to know what the buildings are like."

I tried to tell her that the buildings were different in different places.

"But are they noisy?" "Are they big?" "Are they right next to each other."

I answered to the best of my ability

"I tried to talk to two gringos who had backpacks." She said again.

I responded, "Why did you want to talk to the gringos?"

"I want to know if they know my brother. He lives in the U.S. I want to know what it is like where he lives."

Nothing else I did today was as important as those next ten minutes that I gave comfort to a young girl who persistently sought it.

Eager.

She was eager for a connection. I was eager to be that connection.

So. Somewhere in the USA is a young man named Wincent. I don't know where he is, but if you meet him, will you tell him his sister in Loja loves him so very much and that she misses him and wants him to be safe and comfortable?

Will you be kind to him? Invite him into your home? Be to him the family he had to leave behind?

Will you remember the next time you see a stranger in your land that he or she has a family: children, sister, brothers, mothers, fathers, that are missing them and seeking the comfort of knowing that they are in a good place?

Because Wincent's sister will seek out any white face on the street of her city, just in hopes of making a connection.

I will be the connection on this end. Will you be the one on yours?

Deuteronomy 24:17-22 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
¹⁷ Do not deny justice to a foreign resident [or] fatherless child, and do not take a widow's garment as security.
¹⁸ Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
¹⁹ "When you reap the harvest in your field, and you forget a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
²⁰ When you knock down the fruit from your olive tree, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow.
²¹ When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean what is left. What remains will be for the foreign resident, the fatherless, and the widow.
²²Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.

"Kindles are like gold"

2010-10-02T12:20:00.000-07:00

I didn't say it first, but of course, it is true.

So, take a trip to Missionary Blogs and throw yourself (and someone else) into a lovely contest.

Now, you can not vote for me yet, because, well, it isn't legal (I'm not on the list of participating missionaries), but I would LOVE to help another missionary somewhere, get themselves a Kindle for Christmas.

Plus, if you aren't reading "Missionary Blogs" yet, well, you should be. It's like traveling through the world while sitting on your couch. WONDERFUL.

And maybe, soon, (maybe even before Christmas), I will be on the "legal list", and you can send in an entry for me.

Love you all.

Follow this link to find some great missionary blogs, then read a few, and enter the contest for yourself, and for a fellow missionary.

Send a Missionary a gift of gold. Errr, I mean a Kindle... (same thing)

Have Compassion. Edit your facebook statuses, blog posts, and emails

2010-09-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

I am compiling a list of things you should avoid posting about, writing about, or talking about, if you have a missionary friend or family member in Ecuador (or perhaps most other parts of the known and unknown universe) (though in all actuality, I have serious doubts about whether or not there are missionaries in unknown parts of the universe).

Fall. STOP IT. Please do not mention the crunch of leaves, the autumn colors in your neighborhood, or the crispness of the air. You may however mention the cold, the wind, the hours you spend raking leaves, and the mold. Mentioning the upcoming flu season is also advised.
Dr. Pepper. I wish I had not written that. Now I am salivating. But, for all you people on facebook who JUST MUST post every Dr. Pepper in your status updates, please know that I have recommended you for head of the torture department at the "super secret spy agency club". They should be contacting you shortly. Your skills are needed.
Starbucks Pumpkin latte or Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. Please see the above. You may however post the amount of money you spent on you nameless hot drink. It will make me feel better when I drop by Mimo's and buy a cup of coffee for 40 cents.

I appreciate your cooperation. So will any other missionaries on your friend list.

Oh, and to you other missionaries, have any other items I need to add? Just mention them in the comment section and I will be sure to include them in this highly educational (and whiney) post.

Just a little chat....

2010-09-20T06:33:00.000-07:00

I woke up to a cupboard bare of coffee.
I also woke up and realized I had a scheduling conflict. I thought I had TWO, but Dustan calmly soothed me and let me know I really only had one.
I worked out the scheduling conflict with a text sent entirely in Spanish.
My house is a mess. Irma has been very ill and has not been here for a month. I have tried to pick up the slack, but trying to find a three hour slot to clean all the floors takes some major creativity. Irma returns today. I am going to hug her.
Ecuador creates messy houses. My windows and doors are not airtight and so wind blows, dust, dirt, insects, leaves, flowers, and more, inside the house. I have to clean the sofa with rubbing alcohol once a week.
I like to rearrange my furniture after cleaning my sofa. Dustan hates this bad habit of mine.
I sometimes rearrange the living room even when I haven't cleaned the sofa, which means that sometimes, my living room gets rearranged twice a week. Dustan hates this even more.
Today I have Spanish class with Rocio. I went down to once a week lessons with her and I miss doing more. My lessons with her are basically a gab fest. I like to gab. Dustan likes this about me.
I also have a team meeting with the short term missionaries. We have a new missionary who is from Switzerland. But his father is Ecuadorian, with a US citizen ship. Our missionary though, does not speak Spanish and has never lived in the US. His sister lives in Africa though. She teaches sewing. He will be teaching carpentry. Fascinating stuff!
This afternoon I am helping my friend Gwen with one of her school projects that deals with cross cultural communication. Boy do I have some fun stuff to share with her.
Also, this afternoon, I need to write a report for the SIM international office. I have had to do very little paperwork since arriving and so, I will not complain.
This evening, I have an El Sendero Council meeting. I am not taking an interpreter. Who needs one? (I hope they speak slowly for me)
I have no idea what I am going to make for lunch. Especially since we will be in a meeting until lunch time. Lunch here takes over an hour to make. I don't have the same convenience foods I did in the US. Also, lunch is traditionally several courses. I make meat, rice, and a tomato-onion salad. I skip the soup, the fruit drink, and the desert.
Dinner is small. Like bread and cheese. Or sometimes fruit and popcorn.

A tale of hunger, filth, cookies, kindness, and snot

2010-09-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

This morning, I managed the cafe because our morning managers needed to travel to Quito. Fortunately, it was very slow (read: dead) in the early part of the morning, because I was by myself, and I am not sure how I could have taken orders, made orders, and delivered orders on my own.

But no worries, soon, John arrived to help me.

We talked about the protest in the park while waiting on customers. John is incredibly patient. "What?" was the thing I said the most.

A bit later a small child came in and asked me for something. I was pretty sure he was begging for food, which, as a policy, we do not give, but I needed John's help with this one.

"John, there is a little boy here. I think he wants food."

"We can not give food." replied John.

"I know, but can you talk to him? I am not sure that is what he is asking for."

So, John went to speak with the child and I followed. Sure enough, the boy was asking for food.

He was hungry, he said.

A child. Hungry.

We are the hands of Christ. Sometimes, I feel like we are also the pockets of Christ.

A hungry child. And I, with a kitchen of food behind me, and a policy (a necessary one) to keep that food inside the kitchen.

But the child? He said he was hungry.

I listened as John explained to the child that El Sendero was a ministry, and that because of that, we did not have the profit to be able to feed him. That our prices were very low so that as many people as possible could afford to eat.

"It's a ministry." John said.

A ministry with the need to turn away a hungry child.

"I would like you to get a cookie. The chocolate kind." John said to me.

I said nothing, just stepped into the kitchen and retrieved a chocolate cookie (our best ones. Chocolate WITH chocolate chips).

I looked out the window to the cash register and saw John retrieve .30 cents from his own pocket, and ring up an order for one galletas en barras.

Sometimes.

Sometimes I get to see Christ in action.

Through the hands. And the pockets of someone else.

Sometimes, I am humbled to see the love one Christian young man (15 years old) can have for a child who has yet to meet the Savior.

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This afternoon, two beggars stopped to talk to me. They wanted coke-a-cola. They wanted the bike they saw in my yard. They wanted shoes. They wanted clothes. They wanted a can of tuna.

I had all of those things. I have given all those things (except the bike) to beggars in the past. But, this afternoon, I was not being asked by the Holy Spirit to be the pocket of Christ. He was asking of me, something different.

I looked at these two beggars and wondered what I had to give them.

"What are you names?" I asked.

The answer was imperceptible.

"How old are you?"

The little one was 6. SIX YEARS OLD. The younger, yet much larger child was 5.

"Where so you live?" Do you go to school? Where is your mama?" I fired off questions.

The littlest girl, the oldest girl, was sick. Her stomach was extended over her elastic-waisted pants. Her face, arms, and belly were full of sores. These girls were not fake beggars. Their life was one of poverty and hardship.

Their mama was bathing in the river.

I sat and talked with them.

The littlest girl... the oldest one sneezed on me. She sprayed me with herself and I gagged. I was ashamed and longed to take a shower, and yet I stayed. I talked, I asked, I answered.

No. I can not give you the bike.

No. I do not have a can of tuna for you today.

I am sorry. But I can not give you our coke. It is for my family.

And yet they stayed. They asked more questions. They answered more questions. And then, after a while, they left. They did not repeat their request for food, or clothes, or even the bike.

Because, they were full.

I gave them nothing they could carry back. Nothing to fill their extended malnourished bellies. Nothing to clothe their backs.

Because, sometimes we are not the pockets of Christ.

Sometimes, we are simply his voice. His hands.

Sometimes we are simply His acceptance in spite of our spittle on His face.

What I did today:

2010-09-15T17:00:00.000-07:00

I stood in line at the bank.

While in line, a man, who I swear, was Cuba Gooding Junior (or his twin), came up and asked where the end of the line was.

He was shown, and Cuba, who must not have liked the look of the line (neither did we), suddenly felt like he needed to greet a friend closer to the front of the line. He didn't greet us. We were too far back.

"I bet he cuts." said Dustan (because he is ten year old and it felt like a school cafeteria line).

Ten minutes later, Mr Gooding was still chatting with his friend. 15 minutes later he was getting cash.

"He cut." said Dustan.

"Get over", I replied. This is Ecuador. Lines mean nothing. If we want money, we have to learn to pretend we know someone at the front of the line.

Cuba got his money, turned around, waved at the entire line...

and...

I kid you not...

said, "Gracias."

De nada Cuba. De nada.

Snippets from the Equator:

2010-08-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

1. I was informed by a man in the English class that I should practice saying the hardest spanish word. I'm game. I love hard words. (really I hate them. Refrigerator kills me in spanish)
Want to know what the hardest Spanish word is?

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocios. I could be wrong on the spelling. Now, if only we had an awesome word like that in English.... And a song. And an English umbrella flying nanny to sing such a song. How perfect the world would be.

2. 13 people can fit into a 12 passenger van. THis shouldn't be a surprise. In Ecuador, 13 people can fit on a motorcycle. However, on our 5 hour ride to the SIM Ecuador team's annual Spiritual Life Conference, I was happy to squish (literally) into a van and forgo the motorbike.

3. Washing windows with spikey bars is hard. If you count my other blog and facebook, this is the third time I have written this statement. It's important I guess. Next time I live in a house with bars, I will request spikeless bars. Spikes deter robbers I guess, but they also deter cleaners.

4. Grub guts are good for all kinds of things. It's true. The man on the street told me so as he held up a grub bigger than any man's thumb. It will cure asthma, colds, lameness, spinal pain, and cavities. Want some?

5. I will never have my camera when needed. I know you would have loved a picture of that giant grub!

El dia de mi familia, hoy.

2010-08-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

Today is my free day, and boy was it a doozy. I thought I would take you on a tour, but before you buckle up, please know that every day is NOT like today, but because today has lots of tidbits of life in Ecuador, I thought I would share.

Oh, roll your window down, and leave you umbrella at home, because today is GORGEOUS!

8:00 in the morning. We are well awake by now, drinking coffee and eating breakfast. I ate coffee for breakfast. The kids and Dustan ate toast with jam, or granola.

"Hurry Up. Hurry Up. Clean Up. Irma's coming!" Yep, that's me you hear yelling at everyone to hurry up and clean for the lady who cleans the house. I am crazy. I know. But I don't want her to think I am a dirty person....

I spend time catching up on emails which I was overloaded on because we spent four days without internet. Yes. I am still alive. Barely. Internet is like air and water.

8:30 in the morning: I run to El Sendero to teach Sandra how to make omelets. We are serving them as a special in the mornings and I quickly explained that I only had a few minutes. Whew.

Then I raced back. Because I had to be home by nine.

9 in the morning: It's time for my Spanish class. OH! And there is Irma. Irma makes my bed and cleans the bathrooms. She also sweeps and mops the floor. Usually, but today she can't mop because she has too many people in her way. My house is like a bus station today.

Dustan leaves for his Spanish lesson

Rocio and I talk about all kinds of things. We talk about alcohol and the custom of drinking in Ecuador. We talk about my previous trip to Loja, we talk about how things went in Gonzo, we talked about natural remedies for parasites (I will need to stay close to a bathroom for THREE days!!!), and we talked about how I should really be boiling my water instead of buying it, because the bottled water is not safe enough (according to her).

10 am: Rocio is still here, because we are still having a fascinating discussion about parasites and the door bell rings. It is Jenny (pronounced Yenny) who is going to give the kids an hour of lesson.
The doorbell rings again. This time it is Paula, another SIM missionary, and the short term director. We have a meeting at 10.

Dustan isn't home yet.

Rocio asks me to help her write a Thank you letter for one of her friends. In English. Not TO one of her friends; FOR one of her friends. Her friend is taking a class and the teacher speaks English. The friend wants to give the teacher a thank you card in English. I wrote a very heartfelt thank you. Honestly, it was hard, and not because I have never even met the person I was writing to, but because I have almost forgotten how to say thank you in english.

Rocio leaves and we have our meeting which is interupted by Esther who is screaming AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS. The child is dying, people. She is flat out dying.
Why? Because she picked a spicy pepper from the tree in the back yard and then stuck her finger in her eye. Her eye is on FIRE!!!! I have quite a little drama queen on my hands. After I extinguished the fire in her eyeball, I returned to the meeting and she returned to her spanish lesson.

11:30 Imra leaves.
Jenny leaves.
Paula leaves.

We leave. For the post office, which, when we get about half way there, we realize we (I) left the key at the house. Dustan goes back and we agree to meet at the park.

Only, I get distracted, by a children's clothing store. I shop and post Marcus as a look-out for his father. After 15 minutes, I get worried that Marcus didn't see Dustan pass by and that now Dustan is looking for us at the park. "Please, can you save these for me?" I ask the vendor. "Sure, no problem." she says.

The kids and I race to the park and we see Dustan at the bank. "I am SO SO SO sorry,", I pant. "I had Marcus looking for you. he must have missed you."
Dustan looks at me funny. "I took a taxi." he said simply.

I no longer have a clue what time it is: I do, however know we are now rushing to the Post office and when we arrive, our key won't fit. Again. This is the third, or fourth, or zillionth time. (yes we have tried different keys). Finally, we talk the PO lady into checking for our packages.

Unfortunately we have to pay .25 cents. "Where?" I ask. "We will call you later", she responds.
Whatttt? So, we STILL don't have our packages, and we have no idea why. I think they are being held hostage.

Sometime around lunchtime: We stop at a nearby Mexican restaurant for lunch. We order tacos and soda for Esther and Weston (1.25) and a platter for Marcus, Dustan and me (4.00 each). Yummy.

Unfortunately, things get a bit soggy when Weston knock his cup of soda into Dustan's lap. Unhappy daddy with wet jeans, unhappy boy with tremendous thirst.

After lunch: Because tiendas close between 1 and 3, we have to wait until 3 to return to the tienda for my clothing purchases. So, we wander around looking into any tiendas that happen to stay open.

We also take a trip to Tia (like a dollar general store) and buy some odds and ends, plus some glasses that needed to be replaced because we keep breaking them.

We stop for icecream, where I explain successfully that Marcus and I have an allergy and can't have cookies on ours. I must have explained well, because the shopkeeper didn't even look at me funny.

I find a tienda that I visit at least a couple of times a month. They have a blanket I want. Each time the dialogue goes the same.
"How much is this?"
"16.00"
"I can pay 12."
"I will take 15. No less."
"Please, please, please? I really like this blanket. Please take 14."
"No."

This time he added:
"It's only a dollar for you"
"And it's only a dollar for you too!" I retorted.
He laughed.

Okay. This man and I have a history. We do this often. He KNOWS I want that blanket. He KNOWS I won't pay more than 14. he is stubborn. Unfortunately, for me, I am more stubborn. And crazy.

I leave. He doesn't come running after me. Because he doesn't care how much I LOVE that blanket. He wants 14.00

We still have 45 minutes to waste and Dustan pops into a movie store. I don't want to browse with the kids because the place looks seedy to me and we tell Dustan to meet us at the park on the corner.

The kids and I sit on a bench and wait. And wait. And wait. And watch pigeons. And wait. And make up a story about a pigeon who was convinced he was really a peacock with stolen feathers.
And wait.
Finally, we stop waiting and return to the movie tienda. "Do you know where my husband is?"I ask. "He left a while ago", they reply.

!!!!!!!!

Thus comes the tours of the parks (central squares where schools, government buildings, and churches are located) of Loja. Dustan is doing his own tour.

At 2:30 we discover each other at the children's clothing tienda.

The tienda is still not open so we stop by a shoe store that is open. We argue with Esther because she wants frivolous shoes. We want to by the sturdy ones. She wins. (Don't worry Grammy Pammy, we will get the shoes you sent her our of the post office one of these days, and we bought her shoes for church, so she still needs tennies)

3:00 We shop for the kids clothes. Choices are not much here. Most clothes are seconds from American clothing stores that are bought for .50 cents and then resold for between 30 and 50 dollars. We bought locally made clothes but still paid highly for it.

4:00: Dustan returns home while Esther and I finish up the shopping. He has a tutoring session with David, but David doesn't show.

Now, Dustan is wiped out and napping, the kids are climbing the mountain, the dog is howling because she has a hurt paw and can't come along, and I am taking you on this tour of our day.

I am glad that at least it was a sunny beautiful one!

PS. I have blisters on my feet.

TIme for a T.I.S.T. (Things I saw today)

2010-08-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

1. People picking their noses. Okay, you might have seen this, but in Loja it is acceptable to dig deep, in public. It's gross. One time it actually made me throw up. Even in the cafe, I have seen adult customers, sitting at the table and picking their noses. I'm getting used to it. But not enough to let anyone catch me doing it. I do that stuff in private. Thankyouverymuch.

2. A four year old in high heels. Women in Loja LOVE heels. I can not express just how much they love them. I have to admit, they have gorgeous shoes in this country and sometimes I am jealous because my ginormous feet will never fit into a pair of Ecuadorian shoes. However, seeing a vendor in the market wearing high heels is something that is beyond bizarre. A a four year old? (admittedly, it was very cute, and I had a secondary inkling to buy Esther a pair)

3. Guinea pig. On a plate. Being eaten. By me. Enough said.

4. Two bulldogs being bred by my next door neighbor. Yep, that was a WEIRD sight at 9:30 in the morning. "Buenos Dias. Why are you wearing gloves? Oooooohhhhh, never mind."

Being Challenged:

2010-07-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

Dustan, I, and the kids are spending the week in Gonzonama walking with Amanda through her ministries here.

We spent Tuesday traveling by car for 20 minutes, and then on foot down the side of a mountain. The views were magnificent, but the way was not easy. The path was narrow and rutted from erosion, and incredibly steep. Once we reached our destination we were greeted by a woman named Alba. A believer for many years, she studied and worshipped on her own, until she had a chance meeting with a missionary. Now Amanda and her missions partner, Chandra travel to visit with Alba and her husband Luis twice a month.
When the rains are not too bad.
Luis desperately wants a Christian male to study the Bible with. There are none.

On Wednesday I visited in Chandra's home as women came in to be weighed, measured, and learn a lesson in healthy eating. The people of Ecuador have some of the highest heart disease rates in the world. Chandra is doing her part in combatting that. She teaches the women how to exercise, teaches them a cooking lesson, and then teaches them how much God loves them.

On Thursday, I went with Chandra to the small pueblo of Portete. They have finally (after 4 years) gained permission to use the community center to use for a women's craft club. This was the first one. No children were allowed. TEN children came. Twenty-nine women came. Two men came. Two boys came. I stepped in to modify a craft for the children and Chandra explained that next week they will not be allowed to come because she does not have anyone to help her. No one was happy.

Thursday night I attended a women's Bible study in Gonzonama that was lead by a Christian woman from this small village. Macarena is her name, and she recently lost her teenage son to suicide. Her faith is holding strong in a situation that I am sure would bring my own to its knees.

Tonight we will travel back to Portete to worship with the Pinta family. I met the Pinta family three years ago when I first came to Ecuador on a visit. I worshipped with them then in their small concrete home and my heart was humbled over and over again. I came back to the states and told their story numerous times. Their story inspired Dustan and I to return as missionaries.

My Challenge: Pray. For more missionaries. Continue to be amazed by what God is doing here.
Your Challenge: Pray. For more missionaries. You? Your son? Your daughter? Be a part of what God is doing right where you are. And maybe... step outside the lines.

2010-07-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Who God is:

2010-07-12T05:48:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a Women's Bible Study on Monday mornings. We have been looking carefully at God's creation and this morning we are looking at God's character that He revealed to us through His creation.

Creation has long been a bit of a soap box for me. My parents and grandparents are the oddest sort of environmentalists (the best kind really). My grandfather has long had a love of trees and most of my memories of him revolve around watching him plant and tend to them. My grandmothers taught me the love of birds, and my great grandmother's garden showed me that food doesn't magically appear in a grocery store. That it grows inside dirt.

I have always been curious and non-understanding about the popular Christian view that because God gave us dominion over the earth, it was ours to use however we want. Or that because the earth belongs to God it was impossible for us to destroy.

I have long believed that the resources found in the earth are much like the ones we find in our bank account. Given to us by God to be used reasonably and to His honor.

Ecuador is a hotspot for the world's environmentalists, in fact, I have one in my Bible Study. She is fascinated by what the Bible is teaching us about the earth. Many of these views are very new to her. Frankly, no matter how many times I read the story of creation, or read the writings of David who worshiped God as The Creator, I learn new things.

Here are some highlights.

We have learned that creation was perfect. God looked at what He had made, and He said that is was VERY good. Including humans? Yep- including humans. Despising myself is a bit like despising a masterpiece. Of course creation is no longer perfect. We messed it up. Pretty badly. (which is no excuse to just continue to make a garbage disposal of ourselves or the earth.)

God created us in His image. Not to be himself- but to be a picture of himself. Because of this, there are a massive amount of clues in the Bible that show us what God meant for us to be. (A communicator, creative, full of love, Holy, immortal)

God created us fearfully and wonderfully. As people, we think a lot about ourselves. We start our day thinking about ourselves, and we end our day thinking about ourselves. However, we often forget to include in those thoughts what God thinks of us. We forget to think about the one who created us. We forget to think about how He created us and WHAT he created us to be. Do you know that God just SPOKE creation into being. "Be", he said. And then it was.

But humans were different. God put His time, His creativity, and Himself into the creation of humans. He picked up the dirt. He molded the dirt, and then His own breath gave man life. We are different than a zebra. We are more special than a Venus fly trap. When was the last time you looked in the mirror and saw a glimpse of the being that God created? Take a look. It's pretty amazing. Also, take a page from the book of Psalms and praise God for his magnificent creation.

God's creation shows us not only who we are, but far more important, it shows us who God is.
Take a fresh look at Psalm 136: Pay attention to what is revealed about God through His creation.

Psalm 136 (NIV)

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.

4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.

5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.

6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.

7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.

8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.

9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.

11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.

12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.

13 to him who divided the Red Sea [a] asunder
His love endures forever.

14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.

15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.

16 to him who led his people through the desert,
His love endures forever.

17 who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.

18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.

19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.

20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.

21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.

22 an inheritance to his servant Israel;
His love endures forever.

23 to the One who remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.

24 and freed us from our enemies,
His love endures forever.

25 and who gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.

Wow! That is awesome stuff! Beautiful!

When I look at the mountains of Ecuador, I can be reminded that God is all powerful. He, and only He has the power to speak and those massive geological landmarks we call the Andes just rose out of flat ground and thousands of years later continue to astound us and remind us of who God is.

When I look at the River Zamora, I am reminded that God's love continues forever. Just as streams continue into rivers, which join other rivers, which pool into lakes, running into other rivers, and joining the ocean. These rivers are made for our use. They provide drinking water, electricity, and wash water to the Ecuadorian people. BUT, their purpose is more than just practical. They remind us of God the creator.

When I look in the mirror, I am amazed by what I see. Just the skin on my face is a miracle. My eyelashes, my ears, the way my hair grows back when it falls out. The way my pupils dilate. AMAZING stuff! Miraculous. I am miraculous. And yet, looking deeper, I see within myself a deeper miracle.
Because I know. I know what is inside that can not be seen by a mirror. I know what I have done to the wondrous creation that God created so perfectly. I can see the bitterness, selfishness, anger, and SIN that lies within.

And then? Then I see God's faithfulness. God is faithful and just to forgive my sins. To make me new. To re-create within me what He meant to be there in the first place.

How great is our God? How powerful, lovely, and faithful is the God I serve? I only have to look out my window to see. Or look in the mirror. Or, look inside myself.

And like David, I sing His praises.

Prayer reminder: The people of Ecuador are aware of creation. They do not overlook what has been granted to them. However, what they are not aware of, is the Creator Himself. Many Ecuadorians have long looked at creation and stopped there. Creation, which should tell them of God- has blinded them. Many of them worship creation itself. Even Christians here struggle to remember that God is in control and not nature.
Will you pray for the Ecuadorian people? Pray today that the Holy Spirit will lift their blindness so that they will see GOD. Pray that Christians will be strengthened in their faith. That they will see that creation worship is idolatry and sin.
Pray that the people here will know that God created the earth, but that God is not the earth, nor can he be constrained by His own creation.

The circuits are on the fritz (or an update on learning a new language)

2010-06-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I started my day with a nine am Spanish lesson. My teacher Rocio and I went on a shopping field trip to several household trinket type tiendas (a tienda is a very small stall-like store).

The trip was entirely done in Spanish.

Then, I went to wash potatoes in El Sendero and listened to a Spanish CD.

At noon, I had a Spanish lesson with Indira.

On my way home, I stopped by another tienda to get a couple of notebooks and pens. My spanish is good enough now that I can shop completely on my own. And besides, I had just had 4 hours of Spanish study, how bad could it be?

Famous last brain waves.

I was able to express what I wanted and paid, but then the vendadora asked me a question:
"Cual es tu numero de celular?"

Ummmm... what?
Seriously, I didn't have a clue.
She repeated herself, started to laugh at me, and finally delved into miming. She was pretty good mime.

Finally, I understood her.

She wanted my telephone number. Stupid of me. Numero de celular sounds very much like it's english counterpart.

All that work for nothing. I have never known my telephone number. I was seriously tempted to give her Tara's number (which is what I do (on accident) in the states).

And if that weren't enough:

Yesterday evening, I was walking to El Sendero and saw a young teenager carrying a floral arrangement. It looked like a school project and was, I kid you not, the prettiest floral arrangement I have ever seen.

It stopped me dead in my tracks and before my mouth could stop my brain, I blurted out what I think was meant to be:
iQue Bonita! (which means How beautiful!) (It's what I had actually thought)

Unfortunately, my brain was also misfiring. What I actually said was:
Buenos Dias! very loudly and emphatically.

Since it was nighttime, there was absolutely no way to get around the embarrassment. I tucked my tail between my legs and walked on to the cafe.

While there, a new spasm of a recent illness attacked me. The illness has no foreseeable cure and so I'm stuck with its awful symptoms.
Since I am the first to discover it, I have chosen the name
"Glad-to-meet-you-iphyliss"

Here's how the attack goes.
Someone hands me a glass of water.
I say, "Mucho Gusto"

Someone says they like my hair.
I say, "Mucho Gusto".
And on, and on, and on. It's terribly humiliating and I just can't seem to stop.

For those not in the know, Mucho Gusto is the Spanish form of, "so nice to meet you".

It should not be used in place of: "Muchas Gracias".

I am having to do all my own research in this matter, because everyone else seems to be caught up in things like cancer and skin irritations.

My theory is that learning a language is a bit like weight lifting. You have to lift weights until your muscle tears a little and then you take a day or two off until your muscle heals to be bigger and stronger than before.

So, I am taking the day off from Spanish. My poor brain needs to heal, and I hypothesize that tomorrow and the day after it will have healed to be bigger and stronger than before.

Probably by Sunday I will be fluent.

Time for a T.I.S.T. (Things I saw today)

2010-06-10T11:46:00.000-07:00

So, I know you have been anxiously awaiting the next TIST. Right?

Well here it is! This is the "Is that hair in your soup?" pictoral version of TIST.

Since you, my dearest readers seem to enjoy the gross stuff (I had more comments via the comment section, email, and facebook on the blood/milk drink than anything I have ever posted), I thought I would see if I could out-do myself.
The following picture was taken in the market.

Want to come over for dinner?

A little Compassion in a world of need:

2010-06-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

Leviticus 19:10 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

10 You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor (A) and the foreign resident; (B) I am the LORD your God.

The Bible has a lot to say about the poor and how we respond to them. I could probably post a new passage everyday for a few years and we still would only partially grasp God's compassion towards those who do without. However, this one stuck out to me today, perhaps because it mentions the "foreigner". Have you ever thought of saving from your abundance with the sole purpose of providing for the poor and foreign?

Think about it.

Over the last year, God has really been talking with me about poverty, and about how little I understand both of what it means to live in poverty, and of the efforts being made to relieve the effects of poverty.
Over and over again, one agency kept coming up...
My cousin from the states has a little boy named Bagus.
Our friends from Canada have a child as well.
My online friend Michelle has more children than I can count, from all over the world.
Then we met some new friends, and yes, they brought up the fact that they too have two children.

All of these children are from Compassion International, and as the subject kept being brought up... over and over... I had to ask myself if God was placing this agency in my path.

So I did a bit of research... which led me to...

Diego.
Meet Diego. He is our new "son". He already has a mother and father who care for him with the best of their resources. But, their resources are very little. They make less than 100.00 a month and their main food source is "rice, potatoes, and bread." Can you guess what one of Diego's main health concerns are? Malnourishment.
Diego is 8 years old. The same age as my son Weston. He is just a kid and he knows more about poverty than I will ever, in a million years know.
Our sponsorship of Diego will provide him with healthy food, an education, and the gospel.

I just wanted to share with you, in case we might be that last rock in your path that points the way toward Compassion International.

Compassion International

Maybe, just one child at a time, we can both obey our Savior AND make a dent in child poverty.

T.I.S.T.: (TYPD)

2010-06-02T19:25:00.000-07:00

Things I saw today (that you probably didn’t):

1. Guinea pigs being sold on the street corner. Remember the lady who sold a milk drink mixed with blood? Well today she was in the mood for cuy, a traditional Ecuadorian meal of roasted guinea pig. She was checking out the wares of another street vendor. “OOooh” she cooed, “It is so cute.” (or something like that. sometimes my spanish skills can be lacking). The entire time she held two piggies; one in each hand and turned them over and over checking them out. She finally chose an all white one with crazy hair. It was VERY cute. It is also her dinner tomorrow.

2. A crowd of people watching a bucket truck. I have never seen a bucket trick in Loja. Neither must have the crowd that was surrounding the truck and staring with awe. The city must have recently upgraded their electric department, because later in the afternoon, I saw ANOTHER bucket truck. This one snarled traffic. And I watched in amusement as the guy on the ground passed tools up to the man in the bucket. Toss- up went a screwdriver. Throw- up went a drill.

3. A parade of motorcycles. Okay, you may have seen that (if the weather was nice), but our parade involved 15 police cycles, sirens blaring, doing circles in the San Sebastian square. What were they doing? I haven’t a clue. But I should also add that it was POURING down rain. Two of the cycles slid across the park bricks and slammed into each other. They got back on the cycles and rode away. Weird stuff.

As a side note, I will add a thing I did today that you probably didn’t. We make a cheese grilled sandwich using a sandwich grill. The kind that you close a lid and it grills both sides of the sandwich at the same time. Well, tonight, I forgot to put the top piece of bread on the sandwich and I created a royal mess. So: if you make grilled cheese sandwiches, I suggest you keep the cheese on the inside.
Unless you want to make these:
Inside Out Grilled Cheese
Let's just pretend that is what I was trying to do...

Update on Jastin!

2010-05-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

The following was written by Pastor Luis. Please continue to pray for Jastin. Please pray for wisdom for the doctors. Please pray for healing, and for him to be able to accept a terribly long stay in the hospital as well as the sickness that comes with chemo.

This update is a couple of weeks old, and since then, things have been up and down. Jastin needed another blood transfusion, and that enlarged spleen is still complicating things.

I am grateful that God put us in this situation and for the comfort He has given the family.

Hello, you all prayer warriors.

Thank you so much for your prayers for Jhostin Acaro. Praise God the things are going better, he is improving. So far, the doctors say that he is moving. His body is progressing and the bad blood has decreased from 96% to 26% until this morning.

Also, his body is producing other things (I do not remember names) that was not producing in the past. We are moving people.

Also, a contact has come, a relative... a far relative knows, and is friends with the social worker. It seems that now the help, financially, is going to grow. The social worker has offered to help with the medicine, especially the most expensive. Lets see how far this goes.

I was with Max today, and he is more positive today and other days. Still this 29th the family is going to do an event to raise funds. Just until the past Thursday they owed the hospital 1200 usd. Probably the whole thing is going to cost them 3000 usd or more. There is hope that the hospital will help with certain percentage... lets see.

Thank you so much for your prayers, keep praying!

Blessings,

Luis Fer y Viviana Alva..

Chat night at the cafe...

2010-05-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Monday nights at El Sendero are what I call my “open hours” night. I reserve a couple of hours just to talk to people, to pray with anyone who asks, and also to one day do Bible studies with the volunteers.

So, I thought I would share with you tonight’s happenings.

When I first arrived at the cafe, I was greeted with an exuberant hug and kiss (kisses are customary in Ecuador) by Maude. Maude is the Belgian exchange student who volunteers frequently at El Sendero. She is very open to hearing me discuss my love for Christ and she also comes to the English faith nights on Sundays.

She was just the person I was hoping to see, and so I greeted her as exuberantly as she greeted me. However, the chat I was hoping to have was not to be. Maude was with her friend (beau) and so I needed to find someone else to chat with.

For a few minutes I helped out in the kitchen. I made an order, cleaned off a few tables, and brought some dirty dishes back to the table. While drying some clean dishes, I noticed a gringo couple with a child come in. I had seen them several times before and was curious to know who they were and what their story was.
Every other time, I was too busy to chat, but today was my declared “chat day”, so off I went to talk to them.

In Ecuador, being foreign does not mean you speak English. After several embarrassing times of going on in English, only to be told, “I am sorry, I do not speak english”, I have learned to ask.
Fortunately, this couple spoke enough english that we could communicate with a cross of English and Spanish.

They were a missionary couple from the rural area. Independent missionaries which explained why I had not met them yet. They are Swiss by nationality but have been missionaries for many years. First in Panama where they adopted their son, and now in Ecuador. I was really happy to finally meet them!

After that, my friend from church, Jenny, came by. She brought a friend and her friend was in tears. This was not a job for me and my mediocre spanish skills. Vivi took the girls to sit, talk, counsel, and pray.

I took Vivi’s place in the kitchen so that she could not worry about work not being done. While I worked in the kitchen I prayed for the girl and for Vivi. I saw them all bow their heads to pray, and I thanked God for the opportunity He has given me to watch and to be a part of this ministry.

Later, I ate a snack of humita; brought to the cafe by taxi. We don’t serve humitas (typical Ecuadorian snack made of sweet corn flour) at El Sendero, and every once in a while, the staff gets a hankering for it. So Melissa ordered it and we had a taxi pick it up and bring it to us!

I also snacked on Ceviche, another typical Ecuadorian food. Ceviche is a cold soup, usually made from fish, but Gloria used chicken for hers. And- I am pretty sure I saw some very strange chicken parts that I do not typically eat (like necks, and feet, and such).

At one point, I made a meal for Jugo, a child who comes into el Sendero for a free meal. I love this child to pieces and was thrilled to see him. However, by the time I finished making his meal, Jugo was sound asleep. It only took me about two minutes! Poor Jugo. I watched him as he slept was overcome by this beautiful child who had worked all day, both in studying at school (he has a learning disability), and by selling candy on the streets just to survive. When he woke up, I placed my hand on his head and prayed for him. “God please bless this child, fill him with everything he needs. Fill his belly with food, his head with knowledge to survive, his spirit with the knowledge of your love for him, and his heart filled with love for You.”

Later, I chatted with another missionary about the difficulties of language learning I drank a coffee, which will keep me up all night, and I arranged an appointment to donate blood tomorrow.

Jastin has begun to bleed again, and he needs more transfusions (please pray for him).

Later, I went to the porch, stood at the railing and watched the people who were attending a concert in the square. This is my favorite time to pray. So many people standing right there, drinking, partying, and having no thoughts of God or His place in their lives.
And there I am, above them, filled with only the thought of sharing what I know of God with them. I love those times for reminding me of why I am here. It renews my vision for El Sendero, and shows me how important the ministry is. At sometime during the night, those people will get hungry, and those who are not in the mood for street pinchos (shish-ka-bobs), will find there way into El Sendero.

Not all of them, but many of them that do order a meal at the cafe, will wonder about the things they see and hear, many will see the sign for our English ministry and come back. Many will see that we have a contest going on for our volunteers and they will ask about it. Some of them will see the tables full of people playing games and they will return a week from now with their friends.

Sometimes quickly- more often slowly, a relationship will be built.
and if, for some reason, you wonder if these relationships are important...

I wish you would ask
Susie,
Maria,
Eduardo...
And so many others

Because- these people met Christ because of a relationship started at a small coffee shop, on the second floor of a building, overlooking San Sebastion Square, in Loja, Ecuador.

Perhaps, tonight, I started a relationship with someone who will one day bow their head and give their life to Christ.

So--that was my night tonight. Both the everyday things and the things I don’t yet know, but pray for.

T.I.S.T.: (TYPD)

2010-05-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Things I saw today that you probably didn't.
Click here in case you missed the first installement

1. An elderly woman on the sidewalk selling a milk and blood drink.

2. Octopus (teeny tiny ones) floating in a bowl. (I had Ceviche for lunch- my favorite Ecuadorian food.)

3. A picture of a dead person on the front page of a newspaper.

4. A rainbow that ended right at a castle (I actually saw this yesterday)

5. A truck, bearing a driver with a megaphone who drove around the neighborhood inviting people to come out and buy bicycle parts. "Want to travel? Buy bicycle parts." At least I think that is what he was saying. I understood, "travel, bicycle, and buy". His truck was full of old broken down bicycles as well as wheels, axles, and other various parts.

Wednesday Work Day

2010-05-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Here is a snapshot of my morning's work.
In the foreground is a pile of translation work and a poster I am working on for El Sendero. We are going to have a Volunteer Appreciation Contest!
Part of my missionary work is making sure that our volunteers are happy. This month we are going to do that by having a drawing for a prize. Every hour they work will give them a better chance to win- and if that were not exciting enough- They will also get their name entered AGAIN for every Bible verse they memorize.

I won't enter the contest, but I am going to try to keep up with them!

So, there you can see my work with that. In spanish!

On the other side of the computer is my Spanish homework. See that big pile? Yep, that's it. I finally finished the song "Limon y Sal", I had been assigned to conjugate. I am not sure I understood what I was doing, but with practice it will get easier. Spanish is much different than English.
No simple adding of "ed" for past tense.
Sometimes my teacher and I laugh as we try to convince each other that the other's language is "crazier" than our own.

Also, you will see my coffee mug. It's well used this morning from a Skype coffee date I had with my cousin Lindsey. Download Skype and we can have a date too!

A just barely, you can see Dustan's earphones. He took a run this morning and then sat down to bother me while I worked on my Spanish.

What you can't see are the gorgeous roses he bought me for Mother's Day (they are behind the computer).

Oh, and if you care, that's my breakfast. At 10:30 in the morning. Scrambled eggs on a corn tortilla. (Are you bored yet?)

So, that's my morning in a snapshot.
If you had to take one picture to sum up your morning, what would it look like?

I smell like smoke

2010-05-07T05:31:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest and admit that this past week has been a tough one. For those of you who do not already know, Jastin is a 2 year old boy from our church who has become seriously ill.
At one point this week I thought he was going to die because his family did not have the money for a life saving surgery.
I am not sure if you have ever held a child's face in your hands and known that he was going to die simply from lack of money or not- but I can tell you this:
It is a physically painful knowledge. I wanted to save this child. I wanted to write emails back home and talk to everyone I knew. I wanted to give the family the 1000.00 it would take to save his life.
And yet, now the surgery is a moot point. It is now known that the surgery will not save his life. The spleen that we had hoped to remove because it was enlarged and pushing into his liver, is enlarged because he has Leukemia.

Everyone around me smells like smoke. Let me explain.

Our good friends here are Louis and Vivi. We work with them at the cafe, fellowship with them, Bible study with them, and Louis is also our pastor.
This week, the four of us have been consumed by this pending disaster.
Louis has spent his time negotiating with the hospital. Vivi has been with the mother, Dustan has held down the fort at home and shopped for the family, and I have sat in the waiting room holding the family's youngest child while the mother ran from pharmacy to pharmacy trying to get the best price on medicines.

Earlier this week I visited Jastin in his room and entered to the sound of growling. Jastin's father Max was entertaining his little boy, pretending to be a bear. My heart crumbled and I wondered why God would do this to a family. To a TWO year old.

Okay, so let me be very honest here. I was incredible angry with God. And I wasn't the only one with smoke coming out my ears. I thought Louis would going to wage a one man war on the Red cross of Ecuador because it has been so difficult to get the blood for transfusions that Jastin needs to survive (he is bleeding profusely from his nose). Dustan and I fought over little things, Louis and Vivi fought, life has been a big ball of stress and it was showing.
What was God doing? God brought to mind all the familiar Bible verses.
He reminded that in Romans I am told that I should rejoice in hard times. That hard times bring forth perseverance, character, and hope.
I wailed at God that I liked my character just the way it was, and that I thought the parents of this little boy were pretty awesome just like they were. And the hope that we are promised? I looked at the situation, a boy losing so much blood in a country here you can only get blood by giving blood, in a country where most medical procedures have to be paid up front, and where the monthly income is less than 300.00 and I did not feel any hope. In fact, the thought of hope scared me. What if I hoped too much and this child died? The pain would be unbearable, perhaps it was better to steel myself for the tragedy and skip the route of hope altogether.

After my wailing at God for a bit, the verse in Isaiah 43:2 came to mind. This verse declares that I can walk through the fire without being burned.
Ummm, okay, the Bible is 100% true, but this verse brought me no comfort. This process has been seriously painful. I felt burned.

And then, as I sat with Vivi and Louis wanting to cry as I watched them suffer, while I was thinking about Jastin's mother who can not even be with her son unless someone is downstairs to hold her nursing baby, and about his father who has not left the hospital in a week, God brought to my mind three young men who stood at the feet of a tyrant-King looking straight into the worse disaster imaginable.

I remembered what they said when the King threatened to throw them into the hottest furnace in history:
"Oh King, Our God can deliver us from this furnace.
BUT
If even if He does not, We will only worship Him."

And there, in the declaration that these young men would worship God even if they perished and suffered a horrible death, I found the comfort I had been looking for.

God can heal this child. He can find the money that the family needs for treatment. He can miraculously work and this boy could live!
God is able to deliver him (and us).
But even if he does not. Even if we, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego get thrown into the fire and this little boy dies, and even if this family suffers from financial crisis trying to get him treatment, even if I have to watch the worse suffering I have ever seen- even then,
We will worship God.

And in this worship, I have found peace.

And if others smell the smoke, they will know: I have been going through a fire of sorts.

But what I hope they will see is my worship:

Daniel 3:24-25 (NKJV)
Nebuchadnezzar: "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?
The men who had observed: "True, oh King"
Nebuchadnezzar: Look! I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."

Thank you for your continued prayers for Jastin, his family, our church here in Loja, Louis and Vivi, and Dustan and I.

Things I saw

2010-04-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share some things I saw today that you probably didn't.

1. The local open air market being guarded by police in full riot gear (I have no idea why).

2. A little girl (maybe 6) in formal wear, high heel shoes, a tiara the size of Everest and a puppy on a leash with a matching outfit.

3. 10 stray dogs lazing on the steps of the furniture store.

4. Rotten garbage on the sidewalk.

5. The price tage of 18.00 for a toy that cost us 8.00 in the US.

6. A mother, breast fully bared, walking down the street and nursing the chubbiest baby I have ever seen.

7. A six year old child taking care of her infant sister (or brother) out on the sidewalk while her mother tended shop.

8. A man, a woman, a toddler, a child, and a baby- All on ONE motorcycle. I am NOT kidding. Once I saw a mother with two infants riding on a motorcycle. She held one infant in each arm. C.R.A.Z.Y

9. One friend on the sidewalk, another at the square, yet another at the radio station, and for good measure- another friend at Supermaxi. Wait- not done yet. I think I know the whole town now. I saw another friend while waiting in line for icecream scoops.

10. Gaunabana icecream.

For good measure I included a picture of Roman soldiers wearing American Gladiator helmets. I took it the week of Easter. I bet you haven't seen THAT on your streets!

M.K.'s

2010-04-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

MK is the abbreviation for missionary kid. I grew up wholly aware of my cousins in ministry because I had my own abbreviation. "P.K." (pastor's kid). I think some of the struggles are the same, but MK's definitely have a new set of issues that they must grow up facing.

Here are some of my observations, both from my own experience, and watching as my own children adjust to their new role.

1. MK's have a tremendous amount of pressure to be "on their best behavior" for almost every second of their lives. They are on "show-case" all the time. When they act up, their behaviors are magnified in the view of the community and it is always important that they represent not only their parents, their sending agency, their supporters, but also the Christ they want so badly to share with others.

2. Everyone expects great things from MK's. They are expected to do well in school, learn the language quickly, and grow up to be a missionary, a pastor, or maybe Billy Graham. Flipping burgers at McDonald's is just not in the realm of possible expectations for MK's. Nor is being an actress, a cowboy, or an environmental scientist.

3. MK's should know more about the Bible, and find the Bible more interesting than most children their age and even most adults. They should have daily devotionals, and do weekly memorizing of scriptural passages.

4. MK's are held to the standard of the MK's that came (and went) before them. They should adore children younger than them, play well with children their age, and imitate the Mk's who are older than them. They should definitely fit into the mold that was set before before them.

And here is the truth:
1. MK's are children. They misbehave at the most inappropriate times. Last week, a young woman asked Marcus for the traditional Ecuadorian kiss. He replied, "No. You are wearing lipstick on your face and will get my face all yucky." I was horrified at his rude behavior. I, like everyone else expects my child to be polite at all times and he got a strict warning about his rudeness and how it would not be tolerated.

At that moment I realized the unreasonable expectations I had for my own child. He is not a show-dog, nor can he remain perfect in every circumstance. Nor do I want him to. With every slip up comes an opportunity for me to teach him. If he holds his thoughts inside I will never have the chance to guide those thoughts, or the actions that one day will come with them.

We need to allow MK's the chance to mess up, and the chance to clean up the mess-ups. Just like every other child in the world, they will learn from their mistakes, and their growth will be stunted if they are not allowed to make those mistakes.

2. Marcus wants to grow up to be a country music singer. He is not interested in playing his guitar for church or in becoming a worship leader. He likes country music and that is what he dreams of. Weston wants to grow up and be a missionary- or maybe a comedian. Esther wants to horse-rider (still) or maybe Annie (still).

I want my children to honor God in whatever they become. Even if they flip burgers at McDonald's. I want them to be who God wants them to be, not what I dream of them becoming (and yes, I pray that one day they will be missionaries). I desire that my children fulfill the purpose in life that God sets before them, not what everyone else expects them to become.

3. My children (with the exception of one) finds the Bible to be as boring as your children do. They color during the sermon and fall asleep during scripture reading. Their prayers are selfish and self-centered. My children have probably memorized the same amount of scripture this week that you have. None. Yes, I want them to love the Bible. Yes, I desire greatly that they hide it in their hearts. I expect that you desire the same thing for your children... and for yourself.

4. My children are new at being an MK. They do not even attempt to try to squeeze into that MK role I try to smush them into. Here is a fact. They MK's that I have seen on my field (and others) are INCREDIBLE. I would be honored and thrilled to have my children grow into half the little people the other MK's are.
Here is another fact: My children are entirely different people. They ignore the babies, hit the kids their age when things get too heated, and they cry when someone hurts their feelings.
My children act the exact same way they did before they became MK's.

In the last two weeks they have not shown thoughtfulness, kindness, compassion, or helpfulness.
In the last two weeks they have been a nightmare to live with and this mama has prayed constantly that God would mold them and make their hearts to be full of compassion and kindness. I have prayed that they will be thoughtful and polite to everyone they meet.

In short, my children have twice the pressure that they had before, twice the adjustments they had before, twice the hardships, twice (or more) the expectations... as before becoming an MK and yet...

they are the same children they were before.

Will you please pray for them twice as much?
Will you pray today for every MK you know?
That God will grant them peace amidst the inner turmoil they face; that God will grant them light in the dark world they have been sent to live?
Will you pray that God will work in their hearts to root out stubbornness, pride, and rebellion?
Will you pray that they will have the courage to face the mess they create when they are rude and misbehaved?
Will you pray that God will grant their parents, mentors, and role-models the willingness to allow them to continue to be children?

Specifically will you pray:
That Marcus will have a softening of hearts towards other people. Pray that God will teach him compassion.
That Weston will have the strength to face the difficulties of life with joy instead of frustration and tears.
That Esther will face her fear of failure and try things that she knows she will not be good at.

That Dustan and Becka (their parents) will have wisdom to show God's mercy, and the strength to consistently model God's love for not just to the people of Loja, but to their own children.

Just for fun- enjoy the following link:
You know you are an MK when...

We got mail!!

2010-04-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I forgot to post an update to our Adventures In Post Officing. Dustan returned later that day and though the post office was still closed, one of the cleaning ladies showed him a set of stairs which he followed to the top and there were some ladies in a room who had him open three of the four boxes. No problemo.

We are still waiting on one of the boxes but we feel (semi) confident that it will arrive with no problem. Two tips we learned:
1. Write on the box somewhere what the contents are. This helped Dustan avoid having to open the last box.
2. Value the contents at zero dollars. Don't send us anything of value. It didn't hurt this time, but it could have.

We LOVED receiving mail, and it was super fun to open the boxes with Grammy Pammy and Papa on Skype. The kids are reading through the books at a frightening pace but I have heard rumors of an English book exchange in Cuenca where we trade old books for new-to-us ones. We hope to travel to Cuenca next week and plan on taking advantage of this service!

A daily log:

2010-04-12T05:29:00.000-07:00

I thought you might be interested in what my "day off" looks like. It probably isn't a whole lot different than yours, but I thought I would write it out so you can see what a typical day in Loja is like.

6 am: Get up, get dressed, put a pot of boiling water on for coffee, and put a roast in the crockpot

7 am: Wake kids up and make them get ready for school

7-7:45 Make breakfast, feed kids, clean up from breakfast, finish last minute school work, unlock doors (this takes about 5 minutes), and start a load of laundry.

7:45 pray with kids and send them off to school (don't forget to pay the bus driver! It MUST be done today!)

8:00 work on housework. Today Irma is coming to clean and of course, like any other woman I have to clean first.

9:00 Irma arrives and sets about her work

9:15 After making sure Irma has everything she needs I need to walk downtown to Parque Central to pay the school bill. I will need to fill out three deposit slips in duplicate and wait in line (though this line is not usually long)

9:45 Sit at Mimos for a cup of coffee (.80) and so my Spanish homework

10:30 Walk to Romar, a small Ecuadorian grocery to get some snacks, yogurt, milk, and a few other needs)

11:00 Catch a taxi home (I usually walk but today I am really pressed for time)

11:10 Unload the groceries. Figure out how to tell Irma that I will not need lunch today and that I will be leaving before she does, and that she should just lock up when she is done.

11:30 Walk to Spanish class

11:40 Spanish class with my teacher Indira (In-dear-a). We are studying questions. Perhaps today I will be able to tell the difference between "How long have you BEEN in Ecuador?" from "How long will you BE in Ecuador?" That one always messes me up. Who am I kidding? They all mess me up. Last week someone asked "De donde eres?" (Where are you from?) which is a first week Spanish lesson. It took me 5 minutes to finally figure out what they were saying. Questions are harder than they seem.

12:40 Get home and hang up the laundry I started this morning and fold the dry laundry from yesterday (If it doesn't rain on them). Start making the kids' lunch. They are served a brunch at school but since Ecuadorians don't eat lunch until 1:30 or 2:00 the kids are famished when they get home. Today we will have rice pudding left over from breakfast. I need to add some veggies to the crockpot.

I can relax for a while. Maybe I will play on the internet, read a book, or practice my spanish.

2:30 Kids get home from school

At this point I will focus on the kids. They won't see much of me this week so maybe we can do something fun like go to the park, and play a game. I will also need to translate and help them with their homework which takes about an hour. If the translation is too difficult, I will need to call someone to help me.

6:20 Listen carefully for the garbage truck. It plays music like an icecream truck. Today is green garbage day and I HAVE to remember to take it out. Green garbage is for organic and it is starting to attract flies. If I don't get it out I will have maggots. I must stand out with my garbage can or it will get stolen like our black one did. (Black is for non-organic). Also today, I need to walk out black garbage out to the stadium where there is a dumpster. We still haven't replaced our black can and the city garbage won't pick it up without the can.

6:30 We will eat the roast that has been cooking for us all day. Then maybe we will watch a movie.

7:45 the kids start getting ready for bed and brush their teeth.

8:00 Kids climb in bed. Esther is sleeping with me this week since Dustan is gone. That is a special treat for her. The kids usually go to bed without fighting and we spend some time in prayer before they go to sleep.

8:30 until I go to sleep: I read, mess around online, straighten up the house, practice Spanish, etc.

I want to add that you must always leave room for visiting in the Ecuadorian culture. I thought I was prepared for this. I had been told many times that it was a culture based on relationships. However, I am always taken by surprise when someone drops by for a visit and stays for an hour (or longer). Dustan's teacher Rosio came by and my morning to-do flew out the window as we visited.
Instead of doing laundry I talked talked to her (in Spanish), about language learning and about living in Loja. She talked to me about how hard it was going to be for her when Sheryl (another missionary) leaves.
Instead of finishing my dishes, I built a relationship. It happens this way. And this is part of the reason I love Ecuador so much.
But- I will now have to leave the dishes for Irma to do, and I better get a rush on it so I can get that laundry done.

(Just realized that somewhere in there I need to work in getting Esther's birthday present and making a few phonecalls. It will all get done. No worries. Time is slow in Ecuador.)

Adventures in Post Officing:

2010-04-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

First trip: (last week) I get to the post office and realize that I was given the wrong key.

Two days later: Eva calls us to let us know we have packages in the Post Office:

Easter Holiday: Post Office is closed.

Today- First trip: Dustan finds a key and goes to the post office. He realized he left his censo (government id) at home and calls me for the id number.

The post office needs a copy of the post office receipt and two copies of his censo.

Dustan comes home to get his censo and makes the needed copies.

Second Trip: Post Office is closed (for lunch?) and Dustan returns home.

Dustan left his keys in the house and is locked out.

We still have packages siting in the post office, waiting for us. Nothing is easy here. Everything is hard.

But, I remember reading of missionaries of old who received letters over a year after they had been sent. Modern day Ecuador is a marvel. It only takes 4 weeks for packages to arrive, and only two weeks to pick them up!

We will keep you updated.

Men Wanted.

2010-03-22T09:48:00.000-07:00

Read this post that my sister-in-law Amanda wrote about what is the greatest need in Gonzanoma, Ecuador.

Then do three things:
1. Pray that God would meet this need.
2. Pray and ask God if He means YOU to meet this need.
3. Pass on the link for this article to every Christian man you know.

On the other side of the box:

2010-03-21T17:50:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we were able to spend time with a local church as they hosted an Operation Christmas Child event. Several years my family filled shoeboxes with trinkets and gifts for children around the world. This year we watched as children opened up those shoeboxes.

I can not express to you all the joy that filled our hearts as we watched these children open up these boxes.

I wanted to share with you some of what I observed:

1. The events are hosted by a local church. I guess I never really considered it before but I also guess I assumed that Operation Christmas Child representatives from the States were the ones hosting such events and handing out the boxes. I was very encouraged to see that the local church actually played such a large role. It is, afterall, the local churches who will have contact with these children long after the toothpaste runs out and the toys fall apart.

2. The pastors of these local churches attend a training event to show them how to be a host church.

3. I am not sure if every church is like the one I went to, but our OCC fiesta had games, worship songs, and a very vibrantly told Bible story (The prodigal son). It was extremely well organized and I was impressed with the lack of chaos considering that there were more than fifty kids in attendance and they all knew that somewhere in that building were boxes of presents!

4. I was told (while still in the states) by a Samaritan's Purse representative that each child can only receive one box in a lifetime. Fill those boxes carefully. One 3 year old child received a box of soap. A few toys- but mostly soap. Being that he was three, he was more interested in the packaging than the contents, but it was a reminder to me that we must do all things with diligence and to the glory of God. Even filling shoeboxes.

5. The children were the most grateful beings on the entire planet that day. I kid you not. The room was filled with so much joy that my eyes filled with tears (seriously, it would have been impossible to stay dry-eyed). As packaging was ripped away, squeals of pure joy rang through the whole room. I did not see a single case of jealousy. One girl gleefully kissed toothbrushes, a hairbrush, and a pair of hot pink dress up gloves.

6. However, I did notice a few things that were "favorites". Several people have asked me which items were the best received and so I thought I would share that information with you. Now, it might be different in other places but in Loja, this is what I observed.

Stuffed animals. Every child who got one of these hugged and held them close. Even the parents were delighted by the stuffed animals.
Musical instruments. That screeching recorder is still vibrating in my head. The parents will despise you, but the children will LOVE you!
Matchbox Cars. I mean the name brand ones. Cheap dollar store type toys are available here by the bucketloads. Name brand toys are imports and are, therefore, very expensive. A real Barbie here is over 20.00. (If they can be found) I found a matchbox car for 4.00. When your family earns 200.00 a month it is hard to splurge on a 4.00 toy.
Small games. One child received a matching card Bible game and it was her favorite item. Someone else received marbles, and yet another child received dice. All of these were very big hits.

7. These boxes are so very precious to these children. I saw many of them rewrapping items in the original packaging so as to protect them. Many of them would take out every item in the box and re pack the box over and over again. Getting a shoebox of presents from strangers in the States might not change their lives, but they made a moment filled with joy, brightened their entire day, and perhaps brought great pleasure to them for weeks to come. And maybe, with great prayer, with follow-up from the local church, and with the moving of the Holy Spirit, their lives WILL be changed. For eternity.

What a gift that would be!!!!!

Because it would have taken me 7 hours to upload all my pictures to a blogger readable format, I opted to post the pictures on facebook. Here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57996&id=1319676567&ref=mf Hopefully that works...

Just a beggar at the feet of a Powerful God.

2010-03-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday as I was sitting in church I heard a word that I had heard several times but did not understand. One of the stages of learning a new language is being able to recognize a word completely enough to be able to look it up in a dictionary. I can now hear words completely enough to know how they are spelled and my Spanish dictionary has become like a third arm to me.

So, yesterday I heard a word and began to look to look it up. Only I found through what I can only consider the work of God, that I had heard the word incorrectly.

the word I thought I heard was "pordiosero."
My dictionary tells me it means: beggar.
And my thoughts began to wonder. "What is being said so often about a beggar? And always in a Christian context." And I began to think of the moment I knew I needed a Savior.
I had turned my back on everything I had been taught. I had rejoiced in the fact that I was not a child of God. I rolled around and reveled in the knowledge that because I was not a Christian, I could make my own decisions, and live the way I wanted to.
And then- I hit bottom when I realized just how hopeless my life without God had become. I looked hard at myself and saw, not someone who was free from the rules I had once thought I was bound by, but someone who was trapped and weighed down by her own awful guilt. I was disgusted with myself. I was ashamed of my rejection of God.
And I began to beg.
"Please show me who you are."
"Please make me whole again."
"Please make me worthy."
"Please clean me of the filth that I am wallowing in."
"Please, please forgive me."
"Please make me yours. I want to belong to you."

After several months of haughty know-it-all behaviors, I had been reduced to a beggar. Someone just begging for God to look her way. Someone just begging God to pick her up and love her, despite the disgusting mess I had made of myself.

Just a few moments after finding the meaning of the word "pordiosero", I looked into the column next to it. My eyes saw another word, and I realized that I had misheard. The word I actually heard was:
poderoso
poderoso: adj powerful

And my heart remembered. God. All powerful, all mighty. The same God who, with just a word created the entire universe, the same God who with just a single breath- breathed all of mankind into existence, the same God who flooded the earth and destroyed it in a matter of days, the same God who brought life back, the same God who protected three men in the midst of the hottest furnace on earth. This God. This God of poderoso. This God picked me up in all of my filth. This God, and only this God had the POWER to forgive the rottenness that filled my heart.

Only a God full of power could be strong enough to clean a beggar like me. I didn't have the power. I was crippled by sin, blinded by deceit, and filled with hate and self-loathing.
I was disgusting and begging for Mercy.

Which I received. From an all-powerful God.

Romans 1:20 (New International Version)

20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

2 Chronicles 6:19 (New International Version)

19 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence.

HISTORIA DE UN LETRERO (THE STORY OF A SIGN)

Mercy in Broken Glasses

2010-03-04T13:05:00.000-08:00

Several nights ago, at the cafe, a small child broke his glass of lemonade. It was a seemingly inconsequential event. Back in the kitchen we seem to break a couple of glasses each week.

After the child and his family were done with their meal, they approached me. The mother's hand was on the boy's shoulder and he looked down as he said something to me. I could tell it was a question, I just couldn't understand it.
"Just a minute." I said, and went to get someone to translate.
Gloria, an Ecuadorian worker with no English came to see if she could help.
When the boy repeated her question, Gloria got down on her knees and held the boy's face in her hand. She said something very rapidly, the only part I could understand was a very gentle, yet consistent, "No, No, No."

Someone else informed me that the boy had been made by his mother to ask us to whip him in payment for the broken glass.

What he had said to me was, "Please will you whip me?"

I am sure you can tell where this illustration is going.
As humans, we want payment to be made for our mistakes. Big one and little ones. It doesn't matter if it is spilled milk or hurt feelings, we believe firmly in consequences. Our justice systems are built on it, our family lives are structured around it.

And yet God- the very epitome of Justice offers us another solution to our mistakes. Gloria (in a beautiful display of Ecuadorian Christ-likeness) reminded me of what mercy should look like. Gentle, and not condemning. The broken glass still had to paid for. El Sendero will eat the cost (as it has both the times I broke a glass). The cleanup still had to be done. We pulled out a mop and a broom and double swept to make sure that someone else didn't get hurt by the mistake.

But, the bottom line is, that this little boy did not need to be whipped, nor did he do the cleanup, nor did he pay for the broken glass. Instead he was met with loving kindness, His face was held gently by a woman who had one time also received great mercy.

And I was reminded that I don't need to be constantly "whipping" myself over my mistakes. That I serve a God who is merciful and who has already paid the price.

Psalm 116:1 I love the Lord because He has heard my appeal for mercy.

A request:

2010-03-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

Please go to the following blog and click on the button for "BLOG":
Serving in Nigeria
Then read the post about the "Darkest Place".

Then... remember that the rest of the world is nothing like the one that surrounds you. Each Sunday you go to church and you are surrounded by light.

Each morning you bear so much light within you that it is easy to forget the shadows.

Every day while you carry around the Light-of-the-World... the world itself is buried in a darkness so deep that it is unimaginable.

Now, will you pray and ask God to help this missionary in Nigeria? Will you pray and ask God to reveal other darkened places to you, not just so you can pray, but so you can LOVE. So you can love with not only your worlds, but your ACTIONS.

Care Packages

2010-03-03T04:57:00.000-08:00

I have been asked about care packages and thought I would point out the handy-dandy list on the sidebar. These are things that are either not available here or are too expensive for us to buy. So, if you wish to send us a care package, you might want to throw in a couple of our wishes. Nothing is too earth shattering or of upmost importance (except index cards- those have become a desperate need), but everything on the list would be pretty nice to have.

One thing to consider is that our things are showing wear far more quickly here than at home. Many of our socks have been shredded in the wash. Our smartwool socks are holding up well with the added benefit of drying in just a couple of hours. We may be adding to our list of needs as time goes by. Just check it before mailing a package to see what items might have rotated off or been added.

Also, we have been told that packages that weight less than 2 Kilos are less likely to be opened and that care packages mailed in padded envelopes are rarely inspected. Just something to consider.

All items should have the tags removed and should look used if at all possible.

Please expect packages to take a while to arrive. It has been known to take a couple of months for care packages to arrive. If you want to get a package here by Esther's birthday, it should probably be send ASAP. (She would love crayons) (and a bike, but I don't suggest you send one!)

Becka or Dustan King
Casilla 877
Loja, Ecuador

I keep wishing I had my camera with me...

2010-02-26T19:49:00.000-08:00

I keep my camera at home because I am prone to losing things and so many times I have wished I had it with me so that I can share some of the seemingly crazy sights around Loja. I say seemingly because I believe that although it is bizarre to me, it is very much the norm here. I would really like to see a list of things that a Lojano would find weird about my home city of St Louis.

Anyhow- because I haven't been carrying my camera with me, you will have to imagine.

A list of ten things that I have seen here that I have never seen in my home city: (I will do another list later on because my list would go into the thousands...)

1. A truckload of soldiers exiting the back of a truck carrying machine guns (all just around the corner of my house). I have no idea what it was about but if I had to make a guess it would be that there is some kind of assembly at the stadium. My educated guess is based also on the fireworks and the loud raucous singing and chanting that is taking place right this second. (at 11 o'clock at night)

2. Fire works outside of July 4th. Loja must love to light up the sky and I think they take any excuse to celebrate with fireworks. I love to see them. Tonight they went off while I was working at El Sendero and the entire staff rushed out to the balcony to watch them. I guess they never get old.

3. People peeing in the street. Every day. In front of my house. I am tempted to put up a sign outside my door that says "Baño". At least then it would be official.

4. Children begging for food. St Louis has beggars and I kindly give when I am led, but children asking simply for a bite to eat is heartbreaking. I am grateful to be living in a country that has a huge resource of food that allows me to help those who don't have access to it.

5. Chickens. On the sidewalk. Fun!

6. Dog poop on the sidewalk. Not fun! Seriously, there is a huge dog problem in Loja- the main problem being that the dogs prefer sidewalks to grass.

7. People tearing up roads with pickaxes. There are not big tractors here and so they do it by hand. I am amazed everytime I see it. The people here work very hard and some have several jobs.

8. Mountains. Sometimes I round the corner and the scene catches me by surprise. Each day I see a new startlingly beautiful scene that reminds me that I worship the Creator of the universe.

9. Salchipapas. I am not sure I can do this justice without a picture. It is fried potatoes. With a hot dog like sausage split on the ends and then microwaves so that the edges curl up. Have you ever seen Octopus shaped hotdogs? If so, you are on the right track. This has a similar appearance, only it is served on potatoes. And it tastes gross. I mean *I think it tastes gross*. Ecuadorians order it by the kitchen-load.

10. Every school child dressed in uniform. My children go to the only school in Loja that does not require a uniform. Each school has a different uniform and the children look so smart and put together as they walk about town in their plaids, rompers, and athletic suits. I kinda wish my kids had a uniform.

We have a new newsletter:

2010-02-17T04:49:00.000-08:00

Click here to read our most recent newsletter.

Prayer Requests for this week:

Please be praying for Esther. She has a cold which causes asthma. Right now She and Dustan are taking a trip to one of the clinics where Dr. Greenwood (an SIM missionary) works. She has also been distraught over school. It is hard to understand what is going on, but I think some of the older girls are teasing her at recess time.

2010-02-15T06:07:00.000-08:00

The other day, during a meeting, one of the missionaries read 1 Corinthians 13. It is an overly familiar passage, and like most of the earth's population, Dustan and I had it read at our marriage ceremony.

But, during this reading I saw it with new eyes. I love when the Holy Spirit causes us to see something new!

You know- God does not command us to do something He has not already done- something He is not already doing. All those things that Paul reminded us about love? It is simply a mirror of what God feels towards us! Do you realize how exciting... and humbling this is?
No valentine can ever compare with God's love towards us. No man made expression can beat out what He did for us!

God's love for us suffers long. (Boy does it ever!)

God's love for is is kind. It does not envy. It doesn't parade itself or get puffed up. (Which is why we sometimes go throughout our day ever forgetful of the magnitude of it.)

God's love does not behave rudely, nor does it seeks it's own benefit. It is not easily provoked and thinks no evil. (God's mercy towards us begins in this great love!)

God's love does not rejoice in iniquity. Rather it finds great joy in TRUTH! (Hang your hat on it.)

God's love: bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. (soak in that for a while. It's overwhelming- this love of God's.)

GOD'S LOVE NEVER (EVER) FAILS!!!!! When everything else fails us. When the stars are misaligned (I speak tongue-in-cheek), when our friends are too busy for us, when our government leaders break their promises, when our Christian heroes are caught in sin, when our family moves away, when we become so tired we can hardly breathe, when everything we have learned is revealed as false knowledge. GOD's LOVE NEVER (EVER) FAILS!!!!

Holy. merciful, righteous God, full of perfect love. Make us more like you. May the world catch just the slightest glimpse of this love- living in us, and it will bring them to their knees. Amen.

Dora

2010-02-11T16:25:00.000-08:00

I met Dora several days ago while I was shopping in the central market. Some of her items had caught Marcus' eye and I used my best Spanish on her.
"Hola". I said.
Como esta?
"Muy bien." I responded.

I don't know what the rest of the conversation was because... well... that was my best (and pretty much only) Spanish.

Fortunately for me, we had a Spanish speaking missionary with us and as the two began to converse, I began to wander off. When I eventually wandered back I noticed that my missionary friend and Dora had stopped conversing with each other and had begun to converse with God.

Wow. Is this how missionary work is done? Go to the market for some peanut butter and end up in prayer?

Well- that day, that is how missionary work was done.

Dora had wondered aloud what Marcus and I were doing there. When she found out we were Christians she opened up to Paula (missionary friend) that she was also a Christian. However, she had become frustrated in her faith because she did not feel "Touched by God".
Paula prayed with her, encouraged her to continue going to church, and invited her to a woman's Bible Study.

I left feeling frustrated with my lack of ability to understand and speak Spanish. What if Paula had not been with me? This woman had a spiritual need for encouragement that I could not have met. Is God really going to be able to use me in Ecuador?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was at the Central market again today. I saw Dora from the corner of my eye.
"Did she see me?" "Maybe she didn't see me." "Maybe I should just leave before she DOES see me." And then- I knew that I NEEDED to say hello to Dora.

"Hola Dora."
"Hola! Como esta" said Dora.
"Muy Bien. Y tu?" (At least I knew enough now to ask how she was)
And then came a string of Spanish.
"Uno momento". "HEY LUCINDA!" I yelled across the market (the people probably thought it was a just another crazy loud American)
Lucinda came over.
"Mi amiga nombre es Lucinda." I said.
I was hoping that Lucinda would help translate. But when Dora asked where my son was, I knew the answer. When she asked how many children I had and how old they were- I understood her and could answer.
In just a few days my ability to communicate has grown. So has my ability to make friends.
When my missionary friend Tanya came over I introduced her to Dora.
"Hola Tanya. Mi amiga es Dora."

And so- I am confident (even while being terribly unconfident) that God can use me in Ecuador. I speak like a two year old, but I have the Holy Spirit to give me boldness when I want to run away.

And you have a part in this. So many of you have supported us financially, and still others have been praying for us weekly, and even daily.

To you, I want to say...
Meet "Mi amiga Doro y ella ija Michelle) Meet my friend Dora and her daughter Michelle.

PS. My Spanish is really very terrible. I have written it here as I said it and thought it. I know that it is grammatically wrong, but I wanted to keep it intact without correcting it because my point is that God used it the way it was. Please keep praying for Dustan and me. Pray that our minds will be clear to understand and that we will have the energy to study and the courage to practice.
ray for Dora and her daughter Michelle that she will be able to get the Spiritual discipleship that she needs.

Pray for Paula and for Lucinda- two woman who have been an example to me in what I will call "Market-place Ministry".

Greetings from Loja!

2010-02-05T03:32:00.000-08:00

From Ecuador

We have been in Loja now for over a week and it has been overwhelming, exhausting, and WONDERFUL. Here are a few snippets of what we have done.

Met the members of our team at an Australia Day Bob-e-Q. Many of the missionaries here are Australian.

Gone through an extensive orientation (we aren't through yet).

Learned to buy things without having a translator. I am still not very good. One time someone told me it would cost thirty cents and I tried to pay them three dollars! Fortunately the people here are honest, kind, and eager to help out a gringo idiot.

Adjusted to the altitude. We followed everyone's advice, and drank lots of water. We seem to have passed through the danger of altitude sickness.

Began to set up house. This is the most time consuming task. Unlike in the US, we can't research online to know what to buy, and then just hop in a car to go get it, and use a credit card to pay for it. We have to walk down several blocks asking and talking to shopkeepers, finally decide what we want (nothing is ever in the same store- each store will sell it own thing. One store ONLY sold plastic housegoods), and then walk MANY blocks to the bank where we can only take out a specifies amount each day. At first we could only take out 500 a day- which does not go very far when you have to buy a fridge, stove, washing machine, dishes, beds, couch, and every other little things we use every day to take care of us. We finally figured out that both Dustan and I could take out money and things sped up a little.

We took a hike. The kids did great and loved it. Dustan and I loved the view, but weren't so keen on the fact that we could hardly breathe.

We went to an Ecuadorian church. Primary Baptista Iglesia de Loja. We were surprised at how much we were able to understand. We will be visiting several churches in the next couple of months. Please pray that God directs us us where He can use us best.

We ate at El Sendero! We will start our work there very soon, but it was nice to make a little visit. We haven't even had time to go back for another meal, but now that our home is almost set up we will be back soon.

We have eaten several new kinds of foods. The kids are brave and have tried everything. They LOVE the rice, and go on and on about how much better it is than mine. I found out the other day the rice is made in pig fat. No wonder they love it.

Visited the central market. I avoided buying any meat on hooks (it was too late in the day and the meat was stinky), but I was amazed at all the gorgeous fruits and veggies. I bought some beautiful plums and a couple of bags of peanut butter. There are peanut butter cookies in our future!

Signed the kids up for school. I will talk more about their school later, but after visiting it, I know that they will thrive there.

Keep praying for us. We start Spanish on Monday and it will take up about 4 hours a day. The kids also start school Monday and are anxious about it.

Leaving on a Jet plane

2010-01-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow at 6 am we will be flying out of St Louis and will arrive in Loja tomorrow evening.

Pray for us! We love you all and can't wait to show you Ecuador!

Running around like a chicken with its head still on...

2010-01-13T12:43:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to drop by and let everyone know that we covet your prayers. Life is getting crazier with every minute, and one of our biggest fears is that we will forget some tid-bit that is ultra important.

So far- we have been able to stay organized but you wouldn't believe how many tribbits of info we have to hold in our brains. Dustan complains he is getting too old. And- trust me, my brain has never been all that good at remembering anything. I can barely remember how old I am.

So- pray that God will keep our minds clear.

Also, we have been busy packing. Huge relief that it looks like everything we need to take will fit in our luggage. We have even had the opportunity to play "runner" for the missionaries who have requested us to bring a few "this and thats" for them.

Oh. Good byes. That is the other thing we have been doing.

Goodbye Heidi-dog.

Goodbye Marmie and Papa.

Goodbye Memaw and Papa.

Goodbye Aunts and Uncles.

Goodbye sisters and brothers.

Goodbye best friends who are always there for us. (Even though we get crazier by the day)

Goodbye cousins and a pastor's wife who has become as dear to me as my own family.

Goodbye Moon. Hahahaha (humor must be maintained through the tears)

Thank you all for your prayers. keep them coming. We have a hard and busy week ahead of us.

For those who wonder about our itenerary:

We fly out early am on Sunday the 24th.
We arrive in Quito that evening.
We will arrive in Loja on Tuesday the 26th.

New Year's Resolution for 2010

2010-01-04T08:05:00.000-08:00

1. Get to Ecuador!

P.S. We also resolve to be excited about what God will do in our lives in this coming year.

In the Dark?

2009-11-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light
(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)
and find out what pleases the Lord.
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
Ephesians 5:8-14 HCSV

A missionary's comments on Ecuador recent power struggle.

A retired couple's experience with being in the dark.

This American, living in Loja must blog by candlelight!

(clicked on the colored parts. They are a link that will take you to blog posts about the recent power outages that Ecuador has been facing)

Happy reading

Praising God-

2009-11-09T04:50:00.000-08:00

Our hearts are full of joy today.

Last night our church voted to complete our support and we are now at 100%.

Please stay updated for an estimated time of departure.

Soon this blog space will be filled with news from the field (and will, therefore be far more exciting).

Keep praying for us. Reality is settling in. We will be spending the next couple of months wrapping up Dustan's job, getting our things packed, making sure we have everything we need, making decisions about what to take, and saying goodbye to family and friends.

Something has been weighing heavily on my mind that I would like to share with you. I think there is a sacrifice that is often overlooked when missionaries leave the field, and Dustan and I had to stare it in the face yesterday.
Life will change while we are gone.
People who are here when we leave will be gone when we get back. As they go on to heaven, we will be grieving in a foreign country.
God has blessed both Dustan and me with a chance to know our grandparents very well. All of my grandparents are living- as well as my great-grandmother! Dustan lost his first grandparent last year.
We know that as we prepare to leave, we have to say good-bye to them for what might be the last time here on earth. I don't mean to be morbid- or melancholy, but recent events have made me take a stronger look at what we might be leaving behind for good.

I tell you this because there are missionaries on the field right now dealing with serious sacrifices and I would like for you to pray for them today.
In particular, please pray for Jodi Janz, a missionary in Mmabatho, South Africa whose father has become seriously ill as she does God's work so far from her family.

Please remember to pray for our missionaries.

And thank you for all your prayers. it was, indeed, exciting to see God working through our church to make such a momentous decision.

Johnny comes Home.

2009-10-31T06:49:00.000-07:00

Miss Minnie is a dear older woman at our church. "Dear" seems like such an understatement. She is such a central part of our family. Adoptive grandmother, lipstick print leaver, perfumed hug giver- she is the one who always puts her hand on my shoulder (after leaving a big red print on my face), and says to whoever will listen, "This is MY girl. This is MY Becka." She makes me feel special, and then she turns around and does the same to every single church family member that is present.

We belong together- Miss Minnie and Garden Heights Church. More than Peanut butter and Chocolate. More than Paul and Barnabas. She belongs to us, and she has made it very clear that we do, indeed belong to her.

Therefore, when Miss Minnie hurts, we all hurt. And that hurt has been great over the years. Her pain is written on her face, despite the deep smile wrinkles, despite the tinkling laughs. You can feel it as she holds tightly to your hand, or leans heavily on you when she hugs you. Miss Minnie's burden has been great in this life. She has lost two children- one as a young child in a car accident. Her husband strayed from her and eventually disappeared from her life, leaving her with a struggling business and sullen teenagers.

Tragedy would strike more than her fair share, and Miss Minnie held on to Jesus. But, she had one pain that was just to deep to bare. The pain of a child who would have nothing to do with the Christ she loved so much. Johnny, who is old enough to be my father, has been in mine and Dustan's prayers for over five years now. He was not simply apathetic to God. He was full of hate and bitterness. He took that hate and bitterness out on his mother- and on himself.

Miss Minnie would call me on the phone, tears in her voice, and tell me of her struggles. I would pray with her. Dustan visited with Johnny. He shared his faith, was condescended to and mocked. For Minnie's sake, we kept praying.

Then Johnny became ill with cancer. His disease pulled him further from God and further into a life of self-destruction.

Minnie's hand-holds became tighter and more desperate.

It was an accidental oversight that had Johnny's name removed from our weekly prayer list, and Minnie's hurt was palpable. "Please don't ever stop praying for my son." she said. "Please don't give up on him."

And it made me wonder- the prayer list omission was accidental- but HAD we given up? Had we been praying with faith that God could still change this hard-hearted man?

Garden Heights began to pray, that night, with passion and commitment. We owed it to the to woman who loved us so much.

And, God heard our prayers.

Johnny hit bottom, and came up for air, holding his life out to the only one who could heal his soul. A man bent towards hate and destruction turned it all over.

Our church is leaping for joy for the woman named Minnie who never stopped believing. We are joyous for ourselves- to witness again the miracle that we preach, but sometimes forget. We are filled with joy unbelievable for Johnny. We owe him a lot of deep hugs and lipstick kisses. I hope he is ready.

Here is another link:

2009-10-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is another link you might find interesting. This was not written by a missionary- nor even a Christian that I am aware of, but it contains some interesting (and sometimes humorous) information about Ecuador.

A first hand view of Ecuador

Please be respectful of blogs you may visit that I link from here. Many of them will not be Christian but will contain things I think would interest you. I will not post offensive material, I just request that you be respectful of those to whom I link.

Also, I am still under the weather and praying that I will have the strength to help Dustan as he speaks in Delevan tomorrow night. Continue to pray for me- and for him, because this is the longest slot of time we have ever been given.

Some interesting links for you:

2009-10-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

Dustan and I are doing research for a missions presentation we will be doing this Friday evening in Delevan, IL. I thought I would share some of our informative links with you over the next several days. Here are some that share what the food in Ecuador is like:

A recipe that would be simple to make right here in the US
Some basic information
Some staple foods as well as some interesting cultural descriptions

Please pray for us as we help the Christians in Delevan "Experience Missions". Please pray that God will touch there hearts, that they will feel connected with Ecuador, with El Sendero, and that as a congregation, they will help send us to Loja.

I thought you would all enjoy this-

2009-10-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

We are offically at 57%.

2009-10-01T09:39:00.000-07:00

Irons are still in the fire (see previous post), please continue to pray for us.

We are in desperate need for small groups to speak at. Don't be surprised if Dustan and I contact you personally to host a small coffee time in your home with several of your Christian friends. Please pray that the people we ask will say yes. We need a chance to share our hearts- God's heart- for the people of Ecuador. We are so close to our goal- but we have to keep up the work until the finish line.

Many of you have promised support but have not yet sent us an amount- please do so! We need to know how much support we will have so that we can have an accurate account of what support will be sent in once we are on the field. Your promises may help us get to that 60% by the end of this weekend. Those of you who have already promised your support- please pray that we will reach this goal!

The family is working on our Spanish- using Rosetta Stone. We have already been told the kids would pick it up faster than we would- how true. They put Dustan and me to shame. We are hoping to get some basic knowledge and greetings to at least get us through the airport. pray for us. Pray we don't get scared out of our wits (more than we already are).

We love you all and are grateful for your prayers.

To support us: Please just send me an email at givepraygo@gmail.com and let me know what amount you promise to support us at while we are on the field in Ecuador. All support is tax deductible.

Update with a few prayer requests:

2009-09-22T13:57:00.000-07:00

We are still without internet, and I am hoping to be able to publish this without to much trouble. I guess it is training for Loja! praise God for free training- right?

We just returned from visiting a church in Elizabethtown, KY. We had a wonderful visit and gained several prayer supporters, and prayerfully, a few monthly financial supporters as well. Hello friends from Bridge Community Church!

Now for some big news that comes with a MAJOR prayer request. We have some irons in the fire that if all goes well, will mean that we are just a few hundred dollars from being at the 90% we need in order to apply for our visa. So, will you pray that those irons stay hot? Please pray that the churches that are working out a plan to support us will be able to do it. Poor economic times have not ignored our churches, and many of them are willing to make sacrifices in order for us to reach the mission field.

And, of course, we still need about 700.00 each month to be fully supported. If you have thought about supporting us before- the time is NOW! We are so very close, we can almost feel the crisp air of Loja. Please contact me and let me know if you can promise your support. SIM can not keep track of promises, so those need to come through us. Just shoot us an email at:
givepraygo@gmail.com that says, "Yo, Kings- I want to be a part of the work of El Sendero, in Loja. I would like to support you at onebajilion dollars a month."

Of course, those of you who are more formal, need not use the greeting of "Yo" and gifts of far less than onebajillion are also greatly appreciated.

Other prayer requests:
The stress of change has bitten our children big time. Things have been rough here for the past several days, and we would appreciate having your prayers to give our children strength to weather these stresses, and for Dustan and I as we try to meet their needs.

I (Becka) have had some health issues crop up recently that may need to be addressed fully before we can leave for Ecuador. Please pray that God will direct us as we try to make decisions about what to do.

We are in the full swing of school, and though God has blessed us with a wonderful homeschool curriculum, and a great outside math program to jump us through some obstacles, I would love to have you pray for us- that God will be with us as we search for His knowledge. Also, we are trying to gain some educational ground as we know that once we arrive in Ecuador- things might be a tad bit hectic.

We love you all and are grateful for your prayers, encouragement, and your support.

Wednesday Update

2009-09-09T09:09:00.001-07:00

Again, I must say, thank you so much for your prayers. We had a lovely time on Sunday doing mission related work. Sunday morning Dustan spoke at our church- which he will be doing for the next few weeks.
Our church is taking a new approach to missions that is very exciting for Dustan and I to see. Just you wait- Garden Heights will be sending out more missionaries very soon!
That evening we spoke at Eastview Baptist in Belleville. We gained both financial support and prayer support, but I have to say that more than that, Eastview sent us home with bucket loads of encouragement! That church has a beautifully soft heart when it comes to missions, and we are excited to partner with them as we prepare for Ecuador.
Eastview, we love you guys and can’t wait to visit you again right before we leave!

Our new home has been blessing us. The private time has allowed us to re-focus as a family- to pray together, to grow together, and to re-excite ourselves for what God has called us to do.

Please continue to pray for us. Pray specifically for the following two things:

That God will send a massive amount of financial support our way. We need to raise about 2000/mo in promises. God can do it- please pray.
That Dustan and I will be able to do all those last minute things that need to be done. Books need to be read, reports need to be read, vaccinations need to be gotten, visas, plane tickets, etc. There is a lot to do.

We love you all and covet your support, prayers, and encouragement.

An Update:

2009-09-03T16:45:00.000-07:00

September is here, and I think it's time to update our supporters.

WE HAVE REACHED 50%!!!! God be praised. I think we thought it might never happen.

Dustan and I spoke at our church last Sunday and I said I felt a little like Gideon, who kept having his army stripped away from him right before battle. We have one more month to reach our 90% in order to arrive in Ecuador by November.

Another Praise: Garden Heights Baptist Church (our sending church) held a yard sale fundraiser which raised 1500 dollars! Wow, that is a lot of junk-to-treasure being sold, and donations being made on our behalf. What a blessing to see so many of our church family show up to support us. Many of them worked the entire day and had quite a sunburn to show for it. Thank GHBC! We love you!

This Sunday we will be speaking at during their Sunday evening service. Eastview is one of our first supporters and we can't wait to fellowship with them and update them on our journey.

We have a few other speaking engagements coming up but we still have plenty of space for more churches. If your church would like to have a missionary family come and visit- please just let me know.

NOW FOR SOME OTHER BIG NEWS: It has been a year since the King family has had a home to themselves. First we hosted my cousin Lindsey as she readied herself for her marriage and then, for the last six months we have been living with some very dear, very generous, VERY patient friends. Tara, Shawn, Margeaux, James, Macarius, and Christianna have been so giving... and forgiving. They will never know quite how much of a blessing they have been to our family.

But, we are very excited to say that we found a lovely duplex in O'Fallon that has accepted a short-term lease. This will allow us to have some time as a family and re-cooperate from the recent craziness.

Hard work

2009-08-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Our gigantic list of to-do's is getting smaller. It is amazing how much work the preparations are for the mission field. We began this process two years ago, and that To-Do list is still so overwhelmingly long.

The last of our vaccinations have been scheduled, and we will be mailing off our must read books, as well as our book reports next week. Our passports will also be on their way to SIM so that our visa work can get started.

Tomorrow, most of our worldly possessions will be sold to the community at large, with all of the proceeds going to our mission fund. We are currently 80 dollars a month shy of being at 50%.

Will we arrive in November? I can't say- but I do know that with each passing day, the goal becomes more visible.

Please continue to pray for us, that God will grant us strength and endurance, as well as a healthy dose of patience. We need it! And, if you can, please leave a comment to let us know you are praying for us. It is really encouraging to us when we have confirmation of your prayers.

Some leftover thoughts from Sunday:

2009-08-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen that show called "Clean Sweep"? The show is about a group of people who enter homes that are completey covered in clutter and help the owners overcome. I have seen this show and been amazed at what people can choose to live with. How stressful to live like that!

These people live with mountains of clutter- so much clutter that they can no longer get to places to clean them. At some point in their lives, the clutter delves into filth. Eventually, they become overwhelmed with the filth, and they shut down. They don't change because they switch themselves into "off" mode. They shut their eyes and no longer see what is right in front of their faces. By shutting their eyes to the problem, they are able to ignore the mounting danger of ceiling high stacks of books, scattered obstacles covering every inch of floor, and the growing issue of mold and germs.

How easy it is for me to watch this show and think- "These people are crazy. Who would want to live like that? Why don't they just get started, clean it up, and get it over with. Why don't they JUST THROW THAT TRASH OUT!!!!!!"

Okay, so now we have a basis for my Sunday afternoon thoughts. Sometimes, my brain looks like those houses. I have stacks of negative thoughts, moldy bits of bitterness growing in the recesses, and strewn about all over the place so that they can't help but trip me up, are pieces of trashy lies that I have told myself, and continue to believe.

How do I live like that? Why don't I JUST THROW THAT TRASH OUT??????

Well... I just shut my eyes, and turn "off". I get so overwhelmed with emotional brain clutter that I put myself in ignore mode just to be able to cope.

My room is decluttered, my life is fairly simplified, but let me tell you- my brain... WOAH NELLY- someone needs to clean up in there.

So, like the people on that popular television show, I need to make some hard choices. What goes? What stays? What do I allow in? What do I stop before it even knocks on the door of my grey matter?

How do I even begin?

On clean sweep, they set apart two areas, one for "keeps", one for "get-rid-ofs"

I think that is a grand idea. And- to make it easy on me, my loving Father God gave me a set of rules on what gets to stay, and what has to GO-GET GONE- SEE YA LATER- BUH BYE!

Philippians 4:8
Finally Brethren, whatever things are
TRUE
NOBLE
JUST
PURE
LOVELY
OF GOOD REPORT
VIRTUOUS
PRAISEWORTHY
thing on these things

So, does anyone want to go on a declutter project with me? Pull out two mental boxes; one for your keeps, and one for you "toss them in the trash and burn them up" thoughts.

Let's "Clean Sweep" the things that are cluttering our thoughts and keeping us from functioning in the way God means for us to live.

Just a little update:

2009-08-11T05:04:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let everyone know we are still alive, and still working our way towards the goal!

We sent out a recent newsletter, if you did not receive one, please let me know.

Here are some upcoming dates that you can pray for:

Aug 16- We will be speaking at Crosshaven church in Belleville, IL

Aug 22- we will be having a fundraiser garage sale at Garden Heights Baptist Church in Belleville. We are accepting donations as well as volunteers!

I recently had the opportunity to drive my grandparents to Springfield, Mo. During the trp, I was able to make several contacts. Please pray that God will see those contacts through.

We still have quite a bit of traveling left and would love to have you praying for our safety during these times.

Many of you have asked where we are living now that the house is sold. We have some dear friends who have offered to house us until November. Please pray for the Crane family, that God will bless their generosity and that this situation will not be any more stressful than necessary.

Also, we need continued prayer that we will raise the needed support by Oct. We have not been able to find affordable temporary housing in our area and because we hop to be gone soon, we do not want to sign a year lease.

Prayer Requests Wednesday:

2009-07-22T10:06:00.001-07:00

We are very quickly approaching Friday. Everything is a go, our last obstacle was the home appraisal, and the house appraised out which means that Friday is a go for our closing. Thank you so much for all your prayers.

At this point we have two main prayer requests.

The first is for our vehicle situation. Neither of our vehicles are reliable, and the one that fits all of us, and was dependable on the interstate (meaning Dustan could drive it to work) is now broken. It looks at this point to be a water pump and we are waiting to hear whether it can be fixed and what the cost would be. Since our prayer is that we will be leaving in just a few months, we can not purchase another vehicle even if we could afford it. Please pray that our van can be fixed for a reasonable amount of money, or that God would provide us with alternate transportation.

Our second request continues to be that we can raise our support by October. Now that we are houseless and almost carless, we are really hoping to be able to leave in November.

Thank you for your prayers.

Thirty-seven percent and a side of conversation with the King kids...

2009-07-10T09:55:00.001-07:00

It's amazing how much numbers have taken over my life.

I calculated this morning and we are at 37%. Please, can you consider helping us get to 40% by the end of the day? In order to do this, we will need to raise additional promises totaling 150 dollars- by midnight.

Please pray about helping us reach this goal by the end of the day.

We love you all and are grateful for your prayers.

We have had a stressful week here. The kids are feeling the massive amounts of changes and the strict restraints of our new budget are effecting them personally now. I think, like us, they are beginning to wonder if the chaos that has become our lives is the new "normal".

In an effort to see where their thoughts were, I asked them is they still wanted to go to Ecuador, and why?

Here are their answers:

Marcus: Yes. Because it's what God has told us to do.
Weston: Yes. Because we are missionaries and missionaries need a place to go. Ecuador is a good place.
Esther: I wish I could bring all my toys.

Will you please pray for our children? This is a big task, even for adults, but God has not only called Dustan and myself. He has also called our children. Marcus and Weston are anxious to share their faith with Ecuadorian children.

Will you pray for Esther? She is still trying to figure out what all this means. She is not a believer yet, and so, she does not have the understanding of the peace that comes with being in God's will. She is excited for the adventure- but her mommy and daddy are prayerful that this big adventure will lead her to Christ.

Closing date!

2009-07-06T07:25:00.001-07:00

Yes, you read that correctly. Our home has a contract on it! We have spent the last week praising God. And this week will be spent packing.

Here are some upcoming dates that you can pray with us about, and if you are local to us, we can even use some manpower! (and womanpower)

July 7th- Inspection Day- please pray that this goes well.

July 10-11- we are holding the world's biggest single family garage sale. This will be held at the home that we are selling, and we will be selling almost all of our possessions. THe money that we raise will help us as we get through the next couple of months. Our savings account will be drained from the closing (we lost money on the house). We are accepting donations of things to sell as well.

If you would like to help with the garage sale, have items to donate, or just want to come shop; email me for the address: givepraygo@gmail.com

July 17th- MOVING DAY: This brings up another praise. our church has been without a pastor for over a year, and last Sunday we accepted the call of Pastor Jason and his wife Marta. We are beyond excited to have them, however, their moving date is the same as ours, which means that many of the people we hoped would help us move will be helping them move. SO, if you are local to us and can help us out on Friday and Sat morning, please shoot me an email for the address and details:
givepraygo@gmail.com

July 24th- Closing

July 26th- fellowship with our supporters at Northview Baptist Church

August 2- We will be in Little Rock at R Street Church. Their Street kids will be supporting the King kids, and we are taking a trip so they can all meet each other!

Thank you for all your prayers, continue to pray for the selling of the house, as well as our need to raise the support we need.

Hit your knees!

2009-06-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

We would appreciate your fervent prayers- we are in negotiations on the house!

God can do this- I know He can. Please comment and let me know you are praying for us. It would mean so much.

How about an update?

2009-06-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

Things are still moving slowly here. We have received some recent news that you might be interested in.

I received an email this morning from the personal director in Loja. Sheryl wrote to tell me that the team needs us to arrive by November 1st. In order for this to happen, we need to have 90% of our support raised by October.

Can we do it?

No.

But do we serve a God who can?

Of course we do!

Will He use you to help us? I guess that only you can answer that question. Can you help us? Will you please be one of the 200 people we need to support us at 20.00 each month? Our support does not need to come in until we arrive on the field, but we must have the promises totaling our needs by October. Many of my readers have expressed interest in our ministry and have said that they would like to support us.

Now is the time! Let's pull together and get the King family on a plane to Ecuador!

our missions email is:
givepraygo@gmail.com

Please send us a note letting us know the amount that you can support us at. We love all of you and continue to covet your prayers.

Prayer Requests Wednesday:

2009-05-27T06:22:00.000-07:00

I am beyond sorry for letting our prayer requests posts lag for such a long time. It just began to seem so very repetitive.

Anyhow, my mother informed me I needed to stay on top of things, and because I am a dutiful daughter, here I am. Please continue to check back often, I promise to continue to update you. If you haven't already heard about blog readers, I highly suggest signing up for bloglines.com. I keep up with over 100 blogs and I read (browse) them all through bloglines. It is a super easy way to keep up with the blogs that you follow.

Ok, here goes the big prayer request for this week:

We are STILL struggling with poison ivy. It's a huge issue with our family and everyone except me seems to be highly allergic. Last Sunday we took Weston to the Urgi-care because the stuff went straight for his eyes. They put him on a course of prednisone and we took our last hefty dose of that yesterday. The problem is- he is not better. In fact, he is far worse, and seems to have developed a rash that is not poison ivy on top of what clearly looks like poison ivy.

This is highly confusing to me because we are having the kids shower every night with tech-nu (for posion ivy), they change there clothes daily, and I am washing their sheets and pajamas every day. They aren't even allowed to reuse their towels. On top of that, I have not allowed them to play outside.

Yesterday I took them to the Walgreens clinic (which I highly recommend over urgi-care) and the NP was as stumped as I was. It looks like poison ivy, but he should not have poison ivy. And then there is the additional mystery rash.

Esther has poison ivy as well and the two of them are as miserable as they can possibly be.

We have another dr appt. this afternoon in a grand effort to rid ourselves of the stuff, but I admit that I am afraid of them even being outside.

Okay, that was a very long explanation of our biggest prayer need right this moment. Thank you for all your support and prayers for us.

No FAQ today:

2009-04-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

God has placed something different on my heart.

Disappointment leads to discouragement. Discouragement leads to anxiety. Anxiety leads to fear.

I know this to be true and I also know it as oppositional to what God wants for our lives.

Here is what God wants:
Romans 5:3-5 (HCS)

And not only that, but we also rejoice in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope does not disappoint,

And so, as disappointment gets thrown in our faces, we hold tight not to what we feel, but to what we know to be truth.

Satan means for us to be bogged down by fear.

God means for us to be wrapped in hope.

I choose hope over fear. I choose patience over discouragement. I choose endurance over disappointment.

I praise God in all things. Even for those I can not understand.

God sent this to my email this morning. I wanted to share it with you, to show you that God knows where we are. He knows what we need, and even at our weakest moments, BECAUSE of our weakest moments, He is working in our lives.

This devotional touched my life today.

HOPE. Because of discouragement and fear- I have HOPE. Guess what is great about HOPE? IT DOESN'T DISAPPOINT!!!!!!

It's April

2009-04-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

Those who have been with us- along for this journey for a while will know that we had a target date of April for us to be leaving the states, and for us to be serving God in Ecuador.

We had not picked this goal willy-nilly. We didn't just pull it out of a hat.

We prayed about it.
We considered what would be good for our family.
We considered what would be good for our field.

And holding onto the knowledge that the ministry at El Sendero would be needing workers in the Spring, and that Amanda who had been home for a 6 mo visit would also be leaving in April, and that being able to travel with her would make things easier on us. I mean, she would be an extra set of arms to help with the kids, she knows the language, and all those unknown things that roll around in our heads- she has already experienced them. How nice would it have been to have her holding our hands?

But.

It's April. We visited Amanda for one last weekend and saw her suitcases piled up and we longed to have our suitcases piled beside hers.

It's Spring, and as I read THIS POST OF JAMIE'S, I could not help but to long to be in Ecuador.

And so, as April passes us by, and as we readjust our goals to hope for late "summer, or maybe Fall, and please don't let us have to hold out until next year..." we are learning to deal with disappointment.

Our home has not sold.
Our basement is leaking, we need a new roof, the concrete patio needs to be replaced.
Our van is coughing. I think she has TB.
The car can no longer be driven on the interstate.
Promising contacts have failed to come through.
Speaking engagements have canceled.
Our friends from SIMCO (missionary orientation are arriving on their fields.

It's tempting to pile up our troubles and disappointments into a big steamy heap and roll around in it. It's only natural.

And so, today, in my quiet time, I went in search of hope.

Philippians 1:6
"I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion in Christ Jesus."

I can not hold onto disappointment when I have the option to hold on to this confidence: God, who has called us to a task He set before us, will see both, us and the task to completion.

As an update on where we stand: We have about 20% of our monthly needs met and over 50% of our one time needs in hand. Will you please consider joining our support team? There is a button in the right hand column that will take you to SIM's website.

Wednesday Prayer Requests

2009-04-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for your prayers for us.

We are adjusting to living away from our house, and with friends, but the kids (especially Weston) seem to having a difficult couple of days. Weston is having some rough social interactions with the children we are living with and is weepy and distraught. He feels left out and unliked (which he is not). Please pray that God will bless him with the wisdom that he needs to see these interactions in their true light.
Please pray that God will bless him with JOY.

We are grateful for good health, but as we enter allergy season, we could use some prayers for continued health. Esther especially is susceptible to poor health during the early Spring. Her allergies have a tendency to turn towards pneumonia.

Our home is showing today. Please pray that this family is the family that God is sending our way. Please pray that today will be the day we receive the answer to the prayer we have been praying for. The showing is at 3:00. Pray that God will grant this family the eyes to see what a beautiful home this house can be.

Please continue to pray for our support to come in. Last week God blessed us with the growth of our prayer support team, pray that our financial support team will grow as well. Please pray for Cornerstone church in Shiloh and Christ Methodist Church in Belleville as they prayerfully consider adding to our support.

We love all of you and would like to pray for you as well. Leave a comment with your prayer needs.

Thursday Thoughts:

2009-04-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

As our church , and churches around the globe collect our annual Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, I am reminded of a woman whose story and life changed the course of missions.

Annie Armstrong was dedicated. She had a one track mind. She knew that she was saved for a purpose, and Annie lived out that purpose.

Will you live out yours?

Give MORE. Pray MORE. Go MORE.

Wednesday Prayer Requests

2009-04-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

We are back in IL after speaking at two churches in Ohio. God blessed us greatly by adding to our prayer support team as well as some interest in financial support.

Please continue to pray that our house sells. We had a second showing last week and it is our prayer that an offer is made soon. The kids and I are still living here and there, and though we are incredibly grateful for the hospitality of family and friends, it will be nice to have our own place again.

Also, we are looking to possibly rent a small RV to live in while the house is on the market. If you know of anyone who has one that they would like to rent put them in contact with us.

Our health is good, and though the work load has been tremendous, God has given us the strength to complete it.

We are full of praise today for the encouragement that God has given us the past few weeks.

FAQ Friday:

2009-03-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

How far are you in your support raising, and how can I or my church help?
First part first:
We are 50% along in our one time financial support raising and we have about 20% of our monthly support needs being met, or promised.

We have less than 1% of our prayer support team raised.

Now for the second part:
You can help in several ways:
Join our financial support team. Just follow this link:
Support the King Family

You will need our names- Dustan and Rebecka King as well as our missionary account number which is 28088

You can choose to support us with one time gifts, or monthly support (or yearly support).

You can join our prayer support team. Just send us an email at givepraygo@gmail.com to let us know that you will be praying for us.

You can join our mailing list, which is done by email. Every few months we send out a newsletter that is full of news, and will soon be full of mission reports from the field. We also have a special newsletter for children. Again, just shoot me an email and let me know you want to receive our newsletters.

Lastly, we love to share our story and our calling with any group that will hear us. If your church is looking for missionary speakers, please put us in contact with them. We live in central IL and have family throughout IL, in AR, and in OH.

Oh wait, I have another lastly- (if you knew me well, you would know I probably have three or four...) Lastly- BE a missionary. You are surrounded by people who need to know God loves them and offers salvation through Christ Jesus. It is selfish to keep that information to yourself. SHARE IT!!!!

PS. (because I thought of something else) The blog here has been getting about 5 hits a day, if you have a blog, please feel free to link me. I appreciate the traffic because the more people who read about what we are trying to do, the more people who might pray for us- even in passing.

Some thoughts on a Tuesday:

2009-03-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

As I have begun to pack my bags for what seems the umpteenth time in just a matter of weeks, I have begun to consider what it means to be prepared.

You know, at this time of year, as we border on winter/spring I have to shove two seasons of clothes into a suitcase. I don't know what the weather will be from one day to the next, and in order to be prepared, I have to be prepared for whatever might come my way.

I also have to make room in my overcrowded brain for lists of things imperative to remember to bring. Medicines, School books, favorite toys, underclothes, toothbrushes, pajamas... and the list goes on.

I don't just have to be ready for the unknown- I must be prepared for what I know I need.

I have to admit, as I shove left-out little boy pajama tops, and forgotten hot wheel cars into every hidden crevice of my suitcase, that these preparations feel overwhelming. I have done it often enough that it should be second nature, but it never is.

Just as I think I have everything taken care of, I remember the daily meds left in the medicine cabinet or the fact that my favorite jeans are in the washer.

Just as I take my first exit, I remember that I had pulled our toothbrushes out of the travel bag for one last cleaning and forgot to put them back.

It happens so often that I call those my "UGH moments".

And so, I think about what it means to be prepared for this ridiculously HUGE journey that my family is called to take. I think about that ridiculously long list of "things-that-must-be-done" that is floating around in my head.

Call this pastor
Find the number for that church
email supporters
write a newsletter
post an updated prayer list
sell the house
store our belongings
figure out what to take and what to leave behind
find a home for our beloved family pet
pray for Ecuador, and for El Sendero. Pray for our future co-workers
get the last of our vaccinations
take care of the visa

And, so the list goes. And just like preparations for a small trip, these preparations can easily become overwhelming. What do I do first? What can be done now, and what can be done tomorrow? Have I forgotten anything?

And in the midst of it all- I am reminded that the God I serve is not one iota overwhelmed by the task He has given us. Not only is this mission worthy of the work and preparation, but God has given us everything we need to accomplish it.

What I have to remember is:
No matter what suitcase I am pulling out, no matter what set of clothes I need to pack, no matter what items I have left behind...

My God can take care of it. The known stuff, and the unknown. He knows what is going to happen, and I don't need to prepare for this trip alone.

Wednesday Prayer Request

2009-03-18T07:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, things have flown by at a million miles an hour. The King household has worked like crazy to get the house on the market, and it is! It looks incredible, and so far, all our feedback has been positive. We praise God for all the hard work of our friends and family that really helped us to get the work done.

We are also incredibly grateful for all the work our realtor (Jane Andria) and our stager (Sharon) put into the house.

Right now the kids and I are in Ohio visiting my family, while Dustan stays at the house and continues on in his job. It is hard to be separated, but it is necessary right now.

Please pray for Becka and the kids as they are away. Pray for the children as they adjust to being moved around so much. We have told them that we are having a "long good-bye", which brings in a whole new set of emotions. Please keep us in your prayers.

This coming Sunday morning, Becka will be speaking to three Sunday School classes at Northview Baptist Church in Hillsboro. Pray that God can provide both financial and prayer support from the presentation.

Next Wednesday, Becka will travel to Dayton to speak at a large church there. Her presentation will be made to a large youth group. She is neither young nor hip. Pray that God will give her a message that the youth will be able to relate to and that will turn their minds towards thinking about sharing the gospel.

On Thursday, Dustan will also travel to Dayton where he will speak to a college and career aged group. We would really like to connect this group with El Sendero and the ministry there. Pray that God will use Dustan to help these young people think beyond their own community. Pray that God will be calling them to serve Him on the mission field.

Sunday morning we are hoping to set up a table in the church's lobby and are praying that God will send us a few people who feel led to be a part of our team.

Sunday night we will travel back to Hillsboro to speak during the evening worship service.

As you can see- we have a lot of traveling. Please pray for our safety. Pray for our patience as we deal with moving from one place to another.

Please, PLEASE, please pray that God will show Himself in a mighty and miraculous way when it comes to both the selling of our house and the raising of our support.

As a side note, we have had a mis-communication with SIM. If you have sent them a letter of promise to support us monthly or yearly once we are on the field, please send me an email with that promise and the amount promised.

SIM is no longer able to keep track of those promises for us, and we have no record of promises that you have made (unless you are currently supporting us. We have records of any monies that have been sent in).