Cultural Anthropology Class

Bobby just finished teaching his first class completely in Spanish, without a translator! (Praise the Lord!) The class was cultural anthropology and he found a lot of interactive ways to teach how culture affects our view of religion and how we as missionaries have to work carefully to share the Gospel while being sensitive to cultural issues.

Here are some fun photos of the field trips:

Thanksgiving

We had a fun Thanksgiving dinner with several of the people who have really helped us to adjust this year. Even though they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Ecuador, we had the traditional Turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie … it was really nice.

Our guests included the

• Munguia family (president of SEMISUD)
• Donata & Nestor (professors here and we worked with Donata way back in Richmond Oaks, Atlanta)
• The Vasquez family (professors here and they have kids about the same age as ours)
• Jaciel (a student from Mexico who has helped us find our way often because he speaks English… plus he can cook some AWESOME Mexican food!)

Here are a few photos of the fun:

Families without a Bible

This past weekend I was reminded of the desperate poverty strangling the remote villages of the Andean mountains. Grandmothers digging potatoes with their hands in the fields. Mud huts offering little to no protection from the rain and cold. Young girls with matted hair and dirt stained faces working with a baby strapped on their back. These are the harsh realities that face these Quichua Indians – the descendants of the once proud Incas civilization.

But in the midst of suffering and pain, God is doing a great work within these villages. The Gospel is alive and spreading through the seeds of missionaries and the cultivation of the local churches we have planted.

The work in the communities is not finished, rather it is just beginning. This Christmas season, we will be focusing on the community of La Merced. We were surprised to discover that only a handful of families here even own a Bible. Beyond that, most of the parents barely know how to read. Our dream this season is to buy an illustrated Children’s Bible as a Christmas gift for these 150 families.

For every $50 you donate, we will be able to buy a colorful Bible in Spanish or Quichua, hand deliver it and personally train the family how to use it for family devotions. This past weekend we shared our vision with many of the families and needless to say they were very excited.

So I ask you, what better gift to give this Christmas season than the Bread of Life to a family starving for the love and hope of God. Please consider how you can partner with us and God in strengthening the stronghold He is establishing within the poor and oppressed community of La Merced today.

To purchase Bibles, you may mail your donation or pay online. Please make a note that the contribution is for Bibles. Thank You!

Student Pizza Party

We had a fun night of pizza, gifts and singing at the seminary. The group of ladies who are here on a mission trip treated the students and faculty to this light-hearted evening.

There was plenty of pizza and gifts for everyone. But the greatest part was enjoying the fellowship together. There was an impromptu talent show of sorts so we enjoyed many of the students’ performances. It was a great night!

Here are some photos:

Jonathan & Jordan couldn’t resist joining the talent show. Here are videos of their “magic act”. You can hear how well the students LOVED them!

Trip to Alausi

We spent the weekend ministering in several mountain communities about 5 hours away from Quito. We traveled with the Susong family (another missionary family here) who have been working in this community for several years. There were also a group of 4 ladies (2 from US and 2 from Canada) who are here on a mission trip.

On Saturday, we visited 3 communities where our team lead a kids’ ministry service while the Susong’s team held training classes for the adults in the community. In each of these communities, the poverty is overwhelming. These communities redefine the term “rural” with many mud huts and primitive living conditions. But as always, the people are HUNGRY to learn about God.

We were able to use our new sound equipment which made it much easier to teach 100 kids or more at once. We were also able to show a Veggie Tales movie in Spanish (a rare treat). Also exciting news … we taught on our OWN IN SPANISH … without translation!!! (praise the Lord!)

No trip deep into the mountains is complete without getting STUCK IN THE MUD! This trip was no exception. We all had to push and push and ended the day covered in mud.

On Sunday, we held a training seminar for one of the churches who are trying to learn to teach Sunday school classes. The church was packed! We taught them some creative teaching methods and then had them bring in the children and try out the newly learned techniques. It was BEAUTIFUL!!

Bobby talked to the adults about the need for family devotion times. We were shocked to find out that most of them do not own Bibles. As we talked about getting them Bibles so they could read together with their children, we were saddened to learn that most of them can barely read.

All in all, the weekend was rewarding, humbling and such a blessing to us. Here are a few photos: