Our friend from Pineview, Whitney visited us for her spring break from Auburn. It was a short trip, but we tried to pack in as much of Ecuador as we could in a few days.
One special highlight of the trip was our visit to Shell which is the town where Nate Saint was based in the 50’s. (Remember he is one of the 5 missionaries who were killed by the Indian tribe here resulting in the village being drastically impacted for Christ after the martyred men’s family members went to live with the tribe.) We went into Nate’s house and visited the airstrip which is still a thriving aviation ministry.
We also got to meet another missionary family who we’ve communicated with online. They are working with an orphanage in Shell that currently has 45 children. It was heartbreaking to hear the stories of how these children end up there for various reasons. The common custom among tribes here is that if a child is born with a defect of some sort, they must kill her/him or leave the baby in the jungle for the animals. Many of these children have been rescued from that plight by this orphanage. Others are there as a result of abuse or simply not being desired by their families. It was SO encouraging to see the love of these people for these children.
We have been putting our noses to the grindstone with Spanish lessons but it is really paying off. We can have good conversations, understand a good portion of the sermons and the kids are talking with other kids REALLY WELL. We did take one day off to visit a nearby town where they make all the handcrafted items. It was good to get out of the city for a short time.
Here are a few photos of some of the fun things we’ve been up to:
We have spent a lot of time looking for a vehicle. Unfortunately used cars are very expensive here … more than we planned for. It is really odd because new cars do not lose their value quickly the way they do in the US. For example, you can purchase a NEW double cab pickup truck for $20,000 but one that is 5-7 years old still costs around $17,000. Also, used vehicles are difficult to find and are frequently stolen vehicles being sold so you have to be really careful. We are learning a LOT about the market here!We are so thankful for God’s continued blessings on our family. We are all still healthy and are eating more local foods. The kids are very content with life here and never seem to be homesick. We make many new friends each week and are learning our way around well. We thank God for all these “little” blessings each day.
Bobby has begun working in the seminary a little as time away from Spanish lessons will allow. He is primarily working with students in the Transcultural Studies program (Missions). This group of 15 students all have a passion and calling to be missionaries in various parts of the world such as Turkey, Malasia, India, etc. Right now, Bobby is helping them to articulate their passion for the place to which they are called and put that into the form of a flyer to share with others. Many of them will finish the academic portion of their studies this semester and will be going off to various countries to begin their ministries.
We have visited most of the indigenous churches in Quito. They all have such overwhelming needs. These churches are the poorest, yet they are so full of the joy and hope of our Lord. They all have primitive settings but they give all they have to serve God. We learn so much from them.One great need they all share is for deeper discipleship of their children. Most of the teachers spend their time with the children singing. That is wonderful, but they all recognize the need for deeper teaching of the children, yet they don’t have confidence in their selves to find a solution.
Here are some photos and video of one Sunday school:
In all the churches, the children always sing a “solo” at the end of service:
Here they are singing “I’m in the Lord’s Army” & “God’s Not Dead”:
The overseer of the indigenous churches has asked me to conduct a children’s ministry training seminar for all the churches in Quito. This will be sometime in March. I am very excited to share everything that I have learned in my years of ministry and to encourage those who work with children here that they CAN lead the children to that deeper level of knowledge that they all desire.
Please remember us in prayer as we prepare for this with the meager supplies we were able to bring. Those of you in Children’s ministry… please send me any suggestions you may have. It is my desire to put together a basic curriculum outline that they can use (in SPANISH!… yikes!). But I know that with a little encouragement and the help of a simple guideline, these people can turn their passion for God into a marvelous ministry that will make a lasting impact on these children.
One of the churches we have visited the most is in a neighborhood of Quito called San Roque. San Roque is pretty much the “hood” of Quito. When we tell others we are going there, they give us that concerned look just like people in Atlanta used to give us about our working at City of Refuge. But the church people there are so precious! They are very hard-working, simple people with a fierce devotion to God and their church.
Last Sunday, the church installed their new pastor who is a seminary student from Cuba. We have become good friends with Orelvis (the new pastor) in part because he speaks English! He has a real passion for this church and a huge vision. We attended this celebration which was very elaborate.
The people of the church prepared a huge feast with 70 Cuy (guinea pig – the highest delicacy among the indigenous people). We had all been anticipating this event – the eating of Cuy. Jonathan was SO excited but the rest of us we pretty nervous. Jonathan LOVED it and the rest of us survived. There was lots of traditional dancing and many other special activities. Traditionally, they give a Llama to the new pastor. However, since this pastor lives in an apartment, they gave him a stuffed one as a symbol.
Here are some photos & video of the event:
Quichua Singers:
Traditional dances:
That’s enough of an update for now. Thank you again for your prayers and support. We are thankful each day for the opportunity to be here and to share what we have with those around us.
Love,Bobby, Tamitha, Jonathan & Jordan
This has been another amazing and wonderful week here. God has blessed us with continued strength, health and one good day after another. A couple of us have been a little bit sick as we get used to the new foods and try to avoid the water. But it has not been very bad at all.
Most of our days are still filled with Spanish classes in the city. That takes up about 6-7 hours counting travel time. For 2 more weeks we will do that for 5 days per week. Then we will cut back to 2 or 3 days per week. We are communicating more and more which is really fun.
On Sunday, the 20th, Bobby preached at a Church of God in a neighboring small town (Amaguana). He had an interpreter of course. This church has been going for 35 years and is very strong. They have a preschool program and are hoping to open up to older grades soon. The pastor of this church has endured a lot of persecution over the years. When he first began the church, a mob of 500 people took him and tried to burn him alive but miraculously his life was spared. Since then, God has used him in mighty ways to impact this community.
They serve lunch after church. Today we had pigskin soup!
Remember this church in your prayers. A local businessman has donated a piece of property for their expansion. However, this property is currently used as a prostitution center and the mafia is pressuring the church to leave it alone.
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Our first few days have been very busy. We found a place to live, bought furniture and groceries and even began daily Spanish lessons. It has been a very fruitful time of getting things in place so we can get to work.
We have no car yet, so we take many bus and taxi rides each day. We have become pros at figuring out the bus routes and communicating with taxistas (taxi drivers). Here we are on our first bus ride (note: we don’t usually have to stand):
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Our journey to Ecuador was lots of fun as Brock drove us to Miami. Here are a couple photos to laugh at:
We arrived at the airport at 11 AM and were met by Dan & Teresa Susong who are missionaries from Tennessee. They greeted us with roses! All our bags were safe and we made it through customs with no problems.
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PRAY for our ministry
