We are so lucky to be able to go home and be with family for Christmas. Most of our students don’t have that opportunity. They are spending Christmas away from family and in a new country. To help ease the discomfort of this, the Vasquez family (other professors here) began a tradition several years ago to help the students bind together as a family.
We celebrated with the married students and their children. A sweet couple from the church opened up their home and cooked a delicious meal for us all. The children all had so much fun running and giggling while the adults played lots of silly games. At the end all the children received Christmas presents that were sponsored by a staff or church member. Most of these kids will get very little for Christmas as their parents are sacrificing financially to be able to study. They all seemed to love their gifts.
Enjoy these photos:
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:
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:
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!
PRAY for our ministry
