Hosting
Papa Wilson (El Maestro) working on the guest room floor.
As I write, we are in the process of helping a fellow missionary named Grace. She is originally from the jungle, and her sister, Ruth, needs a safe place to stay while she starts her college journey. With their budget being only $130 per month, you could imagine that most places within that range are sketchy at best, and dangerous at worst. Our landlord allowed us to use an extra room for storage (Freedom’s woodworking man cave), so we are now working with the family (Ruth’s dad, Wilson) to turn it into a usable bedroom. What a blessing to provide a room for a college student. We know firsthand how it feels to be looking for something good and affordable for our adult sons, and we are eager to serve this way.
Although we are taking a small break this month, we have still been very busy hosting a missionary couple from the jungle for a couple of days, and an intern from the Quito House of Prayer for a month. I remember us offering our space to the Lord and I think that is a prayer He loves to answer.
Beach Retreat: The theme was Holy.
Our team: The Yellow-Spotted Lizards, from the book/movie Holes.
This past weekend, Freedom and I spent 4 days with homeschooled teens at the coast, about 6 hours away. It was an amazing time! We connected with the teens, and some of them dedicated their hearts to Christ, and our relationship with them deepened. Freedom and I were co-leaders for our team of 10 kids (there were 40 kids in total, each team had two leaders). A few of us on our team ended the time in tears because of the love we felt from each other. I know that not all of them truly comprehend yet what their relationship with God is supposed to be, but they surely felt agape love within the group. I would call this time with the homeschoolers a very joyful time in ministry, a sort of mountaintop experience, sharing with them something so precious. We read over the story of the Prodigal Son. When he returned to the Father, he found that he was still a son. His position and what his father called him had not changed. We prayed fervently that the kids would understand what it means to abide, truly abide with Christ. One of the girls who was on my team last year was baptized on the beach and she read her testimony to us. I had no idea that she was in an intense spiritual battle in last year’s retreat. I only felt the battle through extreme anxiety, trials, and emotional ups and downs, and eventually, a couple of us joined in intense prayer over this situation. It turns out that she wanted to kill herself during that retreat. But Jesus… Instead, she died to herself and made Christ her Lord and came back this year to publicly declare that she is a Christian. She credits her team’s extreme love and the patience of the leaders who finally broke through her walls and gave her a reason to desire Christ.
Please pray for Samantha’s walk with Jesus.
Samantha was baptized at the beach.
Ministry Site News
Entrance mural at Carmen Bajo “Regalo de Dios.”
As this is the season for short-term teams, we have been able to help out with some visiting teams at one of our sites. Freedom designed a mural that we accomplished within 5 hours at the Carmen Bajo Center. The Pastor, Fabian, was thankful because he realized that it makes a difference when you have beauty all around you.
Miller working on structure.
We were also invited to join in a home visit that was so sweet, and yet broke our hearts. It was the house (it was just a room, really) of Miller and his mom, plus 3 siblings. We hadn’t seen Miller in several months but did learn that his father had left them to fend for themselves. To survive, the mom told us how she is now a recycler. As she nursed her baby, she said that the kids have to come to work with her. They take turns holding the baby and finding recyclables, and 9-year-old Miller simply must go to work before going to school each day. Miller is a very intelligent boy, who loved coming to art class and church. Last year Miller was using his hands to build a toothpick structure and this year he is picking through trash. The most they can look forward to making on a good day is $10. All we could do was pray and tell him to do his best, that we love him, and that we pray for him by name.
Please pray for Miller and his family.
Jeremiah and Freedom arm wrestling.
There have been many sad things happening as well since January. There have been a couple of robberies in our neighborhood recently and we continue to ask for prayers for safety. Thankfully, most people come and go without a problem. One of the dear ladies from one of our sites was looking for an opportunity to further her studies. She found herself in a bad part of town and was robbed and assaulted. In our furthest site, Gualsaqui, the pastor’s son, lost his girlfriend to a bus accident. And finally, one of the longtime missionaries that we work with, Ron Borman, lost his brother, Randy, to cancer. Randy Borman believed so strongly in the rights of the Cofan tribe and served for decades with them. He even became one of the chiefs when he started his own Cofan community. He is well known for his TED talk about the Cofan people and culture. Pray for his family and especially for his adopted son, a Cofan teen named Jeremiah, who is in a rebellious stage and grieving the loss of his dad. Freedom had a chance to challenge Jeremiah’s jungle strength in an arm wrestling match that he barely won and also spent some time with him.
