Serving in Cuenca, Ecuador

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

September Bi-Monthly Update:
One of those things that you “love” when you live in a foreign country is sometimes your ability to communicate with the world and home you left behind gets cut off. That is what happened to us this past week. And even after going to get help to fix the problem with our internet, it still took them till yesterday afternoon to finally fix the problem. It makes you feel disconnected with people back home, especially with your families. So we are glad to be back online and to be able to send you all a little update on us and our work.
Small Group: We have started up our small group again after the summer vacation and are continued to be amazed who comes and what God is doing in our group. We are also hoping to have a night for just the teens as we have quite a few that have been coming and wanting to get together to get to know each other better. So please continue to be in prayer for our group, for those who continue to come and those who are searching. As well pray for our teens and the possibility to share more of God with them.
New Baptism: The last little while we have had a family visiting both the Turi and Azogues churches searching for something missing from their last church family. They have three sons and a married daughter. One of their teenage sons has been searching and desiring to follow God so Travis met with him about two weeks ago and last Sunday he was baptized just outside of Azogues. The great thing is that all the people from Azogues as well as Turi all went to celebrate this special dedication of his life to serving God. Please be in prayer for Oscar as he continues on his Spiritual walk with God.
Graduation: With help from many people in Canada our friend Nuvia was able to graduate from two years of Beauty school. We are proud of her accomplishment and that she was able to complete it even though she had a baby in the middle of her time studying. It just shows her dedication and desire to be able to provide more for her family. We look forward to having her slowly build up clients and have another career to support her four children. Benjamin, her new baby is almost four months old now and is a joy to their family. Please keep Nuvia and her kids in your prayers as they head into another phase of life. Especially be in prayer for Hannah as she continues to grow very slowly for her age and that the doctors can find her a treatment that will help her.

Family News: We are still waiting for our new baby to make its arrival in October. Of course Ceara wants a girl and Calen wants a boy, so we will all be happy when we can finally know and announce its birth. Alicia is doing well, though has already had quite a few false contractions so this baby could come sooner than later. Please keep her and the baby in your prayers as she will be having a C-section to deliver the baby. Pray for safety of birth for our new child and for Alicia’s recovery as well for the doctors who will be there during the delivery. Please also pray for our family as we adjust to being a family of five and for our other two kids as they adjust to being big brother and big sister. 

Friday, January 11, 2013

Food Hampers and Toys


PC240163, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

Every year since we have been on the mission field, we have been blessed by many of you who donate money to buy food for the poor in Brazil and now in Ecuador. This year was the same as we got to buy for for poor families. As well this year we were able to buy toys for the kids who would most likely not gotten anything for Christmas. It was great to see all their smiles and know that we made a little difference in their lives. Please pray for these families as they struggle daily with little to eat. Also thanks to all those who gave money to help these families and kids.

Saraguro


PC220153, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

Just before Christmas our family along with some of the youth from the church went to visit a small church in a neighborhood outside of the city of Saraguro. It's basically a small farming community that has deep indian roots. Most of the men there have long hair and the women dress in the indian dresses. While we were there the youth did a puppet theater and we have a few talks and Travis did the preaching on the Sunday. We handed out bags of candies to the kids and as well the church members here in Cuenca collected clothing and toys for the people in the community that we passed out. It was a great time and very peaceful. It was great meeting some of the church members there and helping them reach out to their neighbors.

Kids Christmas Program


PC210109, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

The kids school had a Christmas program and it was fun to watch the kids come out, sing songs and dance. Calen's class dressed as Christmas bells and Ceara's class dressed as snowmen. It was a great day and at the end Santa came to give them gifts and the classes had mini parties. Another great chance to get to know the parents and the students better.

English Christmas Party


PC200069, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

We held a Christmas party for our English students and enjoyed sharing time with them. We had a white elephant exchange, played a few games, and the classes sang Christmas songs. It was a great to spend time together and enjoy each others company as well as sharing in the reason why we celebrate Christmas with them. Please continue to pray for the relationships we have with these people.