Update 2011

I'm back again after a great Christmas at home in Greenville. It was so good to see many of you again after so long. I'm now on the last leg of my term with only 6 months left until I come back to stay. In the meantime, here's some things you can be in prayer for this next week. Tomorrow a team from Alabama will be coming into Cuenca to work with us. They will be working in the community of Nabon. If you recall, it is just outside of this community, in the much smaller community of Ayaloma, where we have irregularly held house church with a family for over a year now. In recent months we have made contact with other believers all over the area and have begun working with them closely. This is the first time we have brought a team to work in this community exclusively and our first time working with this team. There will be a lot of unknowns since we have never tried this before. Our plan is to work primarily in and around the schools in the mornings and with kids doing VBS in the afternoons. We hope this will generate plenty of opportunities for the local believers to take advantage of after the team leaves. Pray that the team would be flexible in the face of ever changing plans and that the schools would allow us in. Pray for the kids the team will work with over the week and their parents especially. Pray for safety as we will be driving the team an hour and a half to and from Nabon each day. Thank you very much for your prayers and I will update again after the team is gone!

Update 11/9/10

Time for another update and probably the last one before the new year. First, the results of the Wellford team last month. The trip, while a good one, veered very far off from our plans (as God often does). The first community of the trip was Zhud. We were told that most of our plans for this community would have to be altered due to the wake and funeral of a 2 yr old boy who had drowned. In Quichua culture the entire community is involved in a funeral. We went to the wake and worked with the kids so the adults could have the service uninterrupted. We also went to the burial the next day. Between the wake/funeral and some bad weather we weren't able to work with the kids in the community as we had on previous occasions. However we were able to make some house visits instead. Overall, I think our mere presence at the wake/funeral showed God's love in a very trying time before many unbelievers. In the community of Gonsol our plans were changed as well. We had been invited into the school for two days to teach English and whatever else we wanted to do. However, this week happened to be the week that the government was taking the census of the country and so school was not in session. Instead we were able to teach to a small group of kids that the director was able to round up on short notice. We also worked with the kindergarten and donated some supplies and made house visits where several people made decisions to follow Christ. Continue to pray for both of these communities as the next trip will probably be around February of the coming year. Pray that these repeated visits would continue to allow the local believers to make the most of open doors. There has been a very noticeable difference in each of these communities over the past year. This will probably be the last post before the new year. With Thanksgiving holidays coming soon I will only have a few weeks before heading back to SC for a few this Christmas. Thanks once again for your many prayers!

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.

The trip to the jungle several weeks ago went very well. It was short but I feel that some important beginning steps were taken. I left Cuenca on a Sunday and drove the 6 hrs down to Zamora where the the missionary couple and my Journeyman friend live. We stayed with them that night and then we all headed out for the jungle the next morning. We traveled about 2 1/2 hrs until we reached the cabins where we would be staying that night. We then had to either cross the Nangaritza river in the truck on a barge or leave the truck and go upriver by boat. That day we chose to continue in the truck because the river was quite low and we had a long ways to go before reaching the communities (we planned to visit two). Just to explain the situation a little...in order to reach these communities by boat we would be going upriver...meaning fighting against the current for several hours. Add to that the fact that the river was low and we would have to get out and push many times when the water was too low to use the motor. And so once we crossed the river on the barge we kept driving several hours until the road ended. At this point we crossed in a canoe to reach the first community we were visiting, called Neuvo Paraiso (New Paradise in english).





Our way into the communities were pictures of the kids that had been taken when a medical team was there several months ago. They were now printed and framed to be given back. So we gave back the pictures and spent time with the kids and then moved on by foot to the second community, called Yayuh (which I'm sure means something in the Shuar language which I don't speak). It took 45 mins of walking and wading across the river up to our waists to make it. On the way we met a man who recognized the missionaries from when the medical team had been to his community. We gave him a Bible and my Journeyman friend spent some time talking to him. We discovered that he lived in Nuevo Paraiso and was open to my friend living with him for several weeks and teaching his kids about the Bible. Once we reached Yayuh we also passed out pictures of the kids and then went to see a foot bridge they used for river crossing at the edge of the village. One of the Ecuadorians we brought along was a friend of mine and an architect. As this village was already wanting to construct a better and safer bridge, he took measurements to aid them with this in the future. Finally we started the long trip back to the cabins. The next day we made a trip to one community in the morning. Because this community, Shaimi, was only about 1 1/2 hr upriver, we went by boat.




In the community of Shaimi prayerwalked for about 30 mins and then returned to the cabins to pack up. Although the trip was short I feel like a lot was accomplished. This was only intended as a vision trip anyway. We made some important connections with people in all the communities and showed them that we are serious about returning. Most importantly, we found my friend a home and family which he can stay with to start building relationships in these very closed communities. Please continue to pray for him (his name is Corey) and the couple (Rocky and Dorothy). It is a very difficult area to work in as it is very remote and very difficult to earn the respect of the people who live there. Please also pray as I try to find ways to get Ecuadorians from here in Cuenca involved with ministry in Zamora. I am currently praying about and working to get the youth group from First Baptist of Cuenca involved. I anticipate them doing a VBS for several days in some of these communities. Pray as I try to move into actual planning such as dates and the details of setting up the trip. Thanks again for your prayers...as you can see they make a difference!

This is a beautiful view of the Nangaritza river at sunset. Everything as far as the eye can see is jungle.

Update 8/9/10

1. It's been a few weeks now since the VBS I spoke of in my last update. Thank you so much for the prayers as it went very well. We started the first day with about 60 kids but had around 100 every day after that. The kids come mainly for a 4 block radius around the church and look forward to this every year. Some of them have been coming for 2 or 3 years now. Thanks again for the prayers as I know this week meant so much to these kids.

2. Next week I will be taking a few days for a trip down to the jungle. There is a missionary couple and a journeyman that I'm good friends with who work with the Shuar people that live in this area. The Shuar, like the Quichua that I work with, are an indigenous group. However, unlike the Quichua, the Shuar are not nearly as integrated into mainstream society and are still very cold and closed towards strangers. There are no more than 15-20 believers in this area and no churches. I am bringing down 3 Ecuadorians (2 of which are Quichua) for this trip. Two are pastors/missionaries that will share testimony and hopefully open doors to the Shuar. The other is a young man who is an architect and is going to design a bridge for the Shuar in an area that needs it badly. Our goal in bringing Quichua with us on this trip is that the Shuar might see that the message the white people are preaching comes not just from foreigners but from their own people. We hope this effort, along with the goodwill of designing the bridge, will open doors for future ministry. Please remember us in prayer starting Sunday the 15th and the the next several days. Also pray for good weather as rain is very frequent in the jungle and the roads are quite bad.

Thanks everyone for the prayers!

Update

1. It's been two weeks since the team from Wellford was here and a lot was accomplished. Over the course of 3 days we stopped in 4 communities. The focus has been on working in the schools by bringing materials and supplies. In the community of Zhud, where previously the school had been open to us, it was now unwilling to allow us in. Instead, we played sports and games with the kids of the community. However, in Gonzol we were welcomed more enthusiastically than ever and the director of the school invited us to spend several days there the next time the team comes through. God is certainly opening doors there. In Huigra we were able to do activities with the children from the church there. This community is one of the poorest in the area. The pastor, Francisco, has no home or land and relies solely on the provision of God through his congregation and on teams that we bring through. Please pray for each of these communities that the local churches would take advantage of the doors that have been opened and be faithful to follow up on that.

2. Today, tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday (July 14-17) a youth retreat is being held outside of Cuenca. An estimated 40 youth will be attending from all around the Azuay province. The topic is "Breaking the chains". Please pray that the speakers and topic would be relevant to the lives of these youth and that they would be ready to hear what God has to say to them.

3. Next week (July, Mon 19- Fri 23, 2pm-5pm) the church I work with in Cuenca (C.A.S.A. Ministries) is holding a VBS. The neighborhood where the church is located is very rough and most of the kids will be children of prostitutes, alcoholics, drug addicts/dealers, etc. Please pray for those of that that will be involved and for the church that they would follow up on this opportunity appropriately.

Thanks so much for the prayers!

Update

Tomorrow morning a volunteer team from Wellford, SC will be arriving here in Cuenca. They have adopted two communities, Zhud and Gonsol. Sunday morning we will be driving out to work in these communities and a few others on the way to driving up to Quito. We will be spending the night in a few places along the way and finish Thursday by driving the rest of the 5-6 hours up to Quito. Pray for open doors and hearts so that God's work would be done in these communities. Pray that after the team leaves, these communties would be open to more evangelistic work being done there in the future. Pray for safety as I will be driving every day. I will provide another update after the team leaves and thanks for the prayers!

Praise

In the past several posts I've been giving updates about the house church we have here in our apartment building every Monday that started with Douglas. This week Douglas celebrated two big events with us: his 22nd birthday and his baptism. He was very excited about both and we baptized him in the bathtub.

You can also be praying for me as I begin to organize a ESL class that I want to teach once a week. There are enough people here who have asked me about this that I think it would be beneficial. I intend to ask all the Christians who participate to bring a non-Christian friend whenever possible. I already know of one couple who aren't believers that are interested. Please pray that the logistics of it all would work out so the right people will come and we can use this as an opportunity to connect them to a house church. Please also pray for me as I learn how to teach English, as at this point, ironically, I am much better at teaching Spanish.

Thank you everyone for your prayers!

More updates

Please pray for the youth from the church in Cuenca in the above picture. Last weekend I had about a dozen of them over to my apartment for a BBQ. My goal with them is to get them to move beyond one hour a week Bible studies and social events to real ministry. One option I'm praying about and close to implementing is ESL lessons. Many people in the church we work with in Cuenca, including the youth, have not yet grasped that lost people must be reached and loved from outside of the church. They must take ministry and love to the places where lost people are, which is generally not in a church building or even a house church on Sunday morning. I would like to use ESL lessons one day a week as an opportunity for the youth to bring their lost friends to someplace where they can hear about the Bible and Christ in a very open and inviting way. Pray that if this is something God truly wants to happen that the scheduling would work out and the youth would commit to their involvement.

Continue to pray for the house church we have here every Monday. Douglas and Diana are still very consistent and passionate in following the Lord. However, Washington, Diana's cousin and also friend and co-worker of Douglas, has fallen away and back into some of his old habits. He knows he is living in sin and needs help so pray that love and faithful friendship on the part of Douglas and Diana will bring him back around.

Pray for the community of Guangra. I mentioned this previously as a community we were planning to hike to so that we could make arrangements for a medical team in November. Several times our plans have been cancelled but we recently made progress. A few weeks ago we met the villagers from Guangra at a small town in the mountains that they hike to once a week for supplies at the market. We gave them the letters they need to fill out so we can have a approval from the government and they will also be presenting our request to the entire community. In the meantime we are going to be in contact with them so that we can arrange a date to meet again. They will bring horses and we'll ride in with them and have a look at the community and be introduced. Pray that all these arrangements work out and that we would experience good weather when the time comes to go in as we are in the middle of the rainy season now. I will update when I know for sure when we'll make that trip.

Finally, pray for our efforts in pastoral and leadership training/discipleship in the area of Chunchi. I previously mentioned that there are about 5 communities sending their pastors/leaders to train with us for 3 hours once a month. This is going well but it is evident that many of the people in attendance have great need of growth in their lives. Pray for the community of Tolte as their leaders and pastors are experiencing a very trying time. The teenage daughter of a respected church leader (who attends our training) had premarital sex with another young man in the church and the consequences of that to everyone are being felt. The father, despite being one of the church leaders, handled the situation very poorly and we can now see just how fractured the relationships of that church are beneath pious talk. Pray for healing and conviction on all sides and wisdom for us and the pastor as we try to deal with this tense situation as God desires.

Thanks so much for your prayers! I know updates are sometimes a long time coming but I try to update when there's real news about definite needs. And I really do thank you for your prayers! They mean so much to me!

This week

I have a few quick updates regarding prayer requests for this week. First is that, as tomorrow is Monday, we will be having house church with Douglas and his friends in the morning. It is going well as he and Diana come consistently and he regularly invites some new people each week. We are taking them through a long process of discipleship that we began two weeks ago. One great thing is that Diana got baptized in a river today as she had never gone through with that step after being saved.

There is a small village by the name of Huangra that we are planning on taking a medical team to in November. However, in order to do that we must go there first to take care of some paperwork that the government now requires for medical teams. Huangra is about a 6 hour hike from where we will leave the truck so we will need prayer for that trip. Our plan is to hike in on Thursday, spend the night, and return on Friday. Pray for positive contact with the people of Huangra as we have been invited in but have never actually made the trip before. Pray for good weather as rain could make the trip difficult or force it to be postponed yet again.