Just a quick update here...the above pictures are from the house church we do every other week in a small community outside of the town of Nabón, called Ayaloma. We had been doing this regularly since the beginning of this year but were unable to continue over the summer. Recently we started again and have had many more children coming because it's now scheduled for Friday nights. So far we've had 15-20 kids attending. Please pray for the kids that come as well as the adults that have their separate Bible study. I'm pretty sure there's more information about this family in some older posts. The good news is that a church from the States recently decided to adopt the community of Nabón, where there is only one small and struggling traditional church. Both the traditional church and the house church will benefit greatly from this partnership.
Also, the Wellford, SC team will be returning this Sunday. We will be spending about four days with the two communities they have adopted, Zhud and Gonsol. In Zhud we anticipate working with the kids as well as making house visits. In Gonsol, the principal of the schools has allowed us to spend as much time as we want so we anticipate teaching some English lessons and possibly a Bible study with the teachers. We will also visit the kindergarten and donate much-needed supplies and work with the younger children there. Please pray for this team and these communities. Ministry days will be from Sunday 17th - Thursday 23rd.
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone for your prayers during the political unrest here and give a brief summary and update for those who didn't know or understand what exactly went on. On the morning of Thursday, Sept 30 the civil police force initiated protests due to the passing of a new law which would cut bonuses and promotions. The police managed to occupy the Congressional building as well as occupy and shut down the Quito airport. In the meantime, the lack of any type of civil authority in major cities such as Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca led to rampant robbery and looting. The president, Rafael Correa, went down to the police barracks to speak to the protesters. He was assaulted with thrown objects as well as tear gas. In his escape from the scene he was mildly injured due to a recent knee surgery and taken to a nearby hospital. The police quickly reached, surrounded, and occupied the hospital. Although negotiations initially took place between the president and the police, they quickly fell apart and the president became a hostage by the afternoon. That night the military assaulted the hospital and despite suffering casualties was able to extricate the president and everything seems to have calmed down now. That may seem straightforward enough but the political situation here is quite complicated. The president is on the Chavez-Iran-anyone-hostile-to-the-U.S. axis and has been progressively moving the country down a socialist and less democratic path. Several years ago he rewrote the constitution so that, amongst many other fine print changes, it now allows him at the approval of the courts to disband Congress and rule by decree anytime he chooses. He has yet to do this but he threatened on the day of the protest/coup attempt and continues to hold the threat over the head of legislators in case they decide to disagree with him and block his pet projects. He has progressively gained control over all major media outlets as well as major natural resources such as oil, water, and mining. Therefore, it is very difficult to know what is really happening in the country. The news can only print/televise stories that are gov't-approved. During the protests there was and still is widespread confusion about what really happened and who initiated it and to what end. The current consensus is that whoever actually initiated the protests and for whatever purpose, the president will now use it as an excuse to politically hang any and all opposition within the gov't, military, police, etc. The most surprising aspect of all this is that the military has, for the first time in a long history of coups in this country, sided with the president. No president in the past three decades until Correa has ever made it to a second term due in large part to military coups. This means Correa may be able to turn Ecuador further towards the Venezuela/Chavez model. Martial law was declared for five days on the day of the protests and then extended for several more. Since then it has been extended indefinitely in Quito but lifted everywhere else int he country. Although all is calm for now please continue to pray as everyone knows this isn't finished. Pray that when conflict surfaces again it will be as in the past with a minimum of interruption for the people of Ecuador...and hopefully with Correa on a plane headed to exile in Panama with the rest of the ex-presidents of Ecuador. Most of all, pray for stability in this country as endemic instability has plagued this country and robbed ordinary people of many opportunities.
