We had the joy of hosting a team of 18 people who came to Ecuador to build a church and do various other ministry activities. This MWOA team, led by Rich Tonti, included people from the ages of 13 to 82! Most people came from California, but members also represented Illinois, Michigan & Tennessee.
The main construction project was to break ground on a new church building for a congregation in South Quito. This church has been meeting for several years in a tiny shack in the corner of a big piece of land they purchased with the dream of expanding. After just one week of work from the MWOA team, this church now has a foundation, floor, support columns & walls!!! They were so inspired and motivated by the work accomplished and the realization that their dream is now possible. We can’t wait to hear about all the exciting things yet to happen in their community as they finish and FILL this building with people hungry for God.
While some were slinging concrete, other members of the MWOA team were involved in a mixture of ministry and helping at various other sites. We were able to hold devotions and have some fun time with the kids at FACES which is an outreach to kids who work in the streets. Also at FACES, we painted some walls, cleaned some floors and peeled a LOT of potatoes!
Our times of ministry also included a “sidewalk Sunday school” and mini-carnival with the children who live around the seminary (SEMISUD). We also visited a nearby orphanage and delivered many hygiene supplies. We had an amazingly fun time sharing and playing with these precious children.
On our last work day, all members of our team worked together at the Church of God Feeding Center in Atacucho. Many members of our team participated in the first construction on this project years ago. Now, they were able to see the center in full action, offering food and assistance to over 80 children that day. During this day of ministry, we were able to paint walls and hold devotion and craft time for the kids. It was great to see many of the “concrete slingers” have a chance to receive lots of hugs from the kids along with a few stabs with balloon swords.
Throughout the week, some of the team performed a drama to the song “Everything” by Lifehouse everywhere they could. One included an impromptu service in the largest park of downtown Quito. Here, the people circled around to see the drama and afterward, 21 people came forward to pray for salvation!
The days of this trip flew by so fast, but were so filled with blessings for the Ecuadorians as well as for all of us involved in the trip. Ecuador will never be the same and never will we.
We were blessed to be able to share about missions and minister at the Southern California Kidfest, held at Living Waters Christian Fellowship. We had such an awesome time as hundreds of kids were transformed!
Here are some videos:
Spike & Sparkle Band – everyone who bought an Ecuador instrument got to march in the parade and play their instruments.
We had the honor to be a “face” for missions at the Kidfest event held in Texas. There were around 800 kids in attendance. Spike & Sparkle performed each day and we had the honor to talk to the kids about life as a missionary. Kudos to Tony Lane & the folks who organized this event and their heart for exposing kids to the importance of reaching the world! We were honored to be a part.
Here are the links to the videos we were unable to show today as well as Bobby’s theology paper he mentioned if you want to go more in-depth with his study of this passage in Romans 7.
Blessings to all of you guys for your love & warmth!
~Tamitha
Here is the greeting video from Pastor Adalberto & Lucia:
Here is our “intro” video that shows more about our ministry in Ecuador:
And if you want to read a good, Exegetical Theology paper about Romans 7, here’s that PDF:
I am a planner by nature. I love to make spreadsheets and calendars and organized plans.But God seems to have a way of making His own plans and He doesn’t always send a memo in advance. My mom says that God keeps us on a need-to-know basis. Obviously, we have a choice to follow His plan or stick with our own. It is often hard to let go and trust, but oh how sweet is the reward when we do.
Last week I had to let go and trust some our friends in Ecuador to pack up all of our belongings and move us OUT of our rental house while we were still in the U.S. I know it seems silly, but maybe at least the women can relate … it was really a struggle for me to know that someone else was going through my cabinets and I had no control or knowledge over how things were packed. How many times do we try to keep “control” of our lives instead of truly giving that up to God?
This move was an unexpected change in our “plan” (there’s that word again). We had expected to be returning to Ecuador right now, not spending 5 more months in California!!! But when we truly let go and trust the Father, He will take us on some amazing journeys.
Our journey has led us to meet some amazing brothers and sisters in the Kingdom who are passionate about the work in Ecuador and are helping us to find sponsors for planting churches. Bobby has been challenged in his studies at Fuller and has been encouraged by his professors to take more courses now. He is a top candidate for receiving a study grant for working with the Quichua Indians in Ecuador. And just yesterday, Bobby was asked to work on the church planting initiative for ALL Latin American countries (not just Ecuador)! These are all really amazing stops along the journey that we never planned for.
Many people think that trusting God completely should be easy for us – after all we’ve done the whole “sell your belongings and become missionaries thing”. But submission is something that every Christian must work on daily with diligence. I challenge you (and myself) to try a radical step of Faith this year an do something that requires relying on the Father. You will be stretched and will grow in Him.
Psalm 73:24-26 (New International Version)
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
Psalm 25:4-5 (New International Version)
4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Presently we are serving as full-time missionaries in Quito, Ecuador. We primarily work with the Church of God Seminary here to assist and train local ministers who are on the front lines of a vast mission field. We are passionately following His call on our lives as we dedicate our lives in service to Him.
Presently we are serving as full-time missionaries in Quito, Ecuador. We primarily work with the Church of God Seminary here to assist and train local ministers who are on the front lines of a vast mission field. We are passionately following His call on our lives as we dedicate our lives in service to Him.
PRAY for our ministry
