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. 

September Newsletter

March 2014 Newsletter

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.

Calen's Class Christmas Party

PC120026, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

The parents in Calen's class decided to throw a party so we went to one of the families homes to have a bbq and to let the kids play. We had a great time watching the kids interact, getting to know the parents and celebrating Christmas by hitting ollas encantadas. That is like a pinata but a little clay pot filled with candies that they hit till the break and each child gets to take home they pots candy. It was lots of fun!

Women's Christmas Party

PC080004, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

At Christmas we celebrated as the women of the church by having a party. We enjoyed playing a few games, having a devotional and eating some good food. Of course nothing would complete a party better then a white elephant exchange. I was excited to win a potted plant and it was fun to see which gifts became the ones that everyone wanted.

Jorge Gets Baptized!

IMG_20121202_112044, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

We had a group from the Saskatoon Church of Christ in Canada come down to see us and help us in our work. It was great having them here and showing them the sights as well as having them share in our work. Thanks for coming Ian, Ruth, Lynn and Mike, we really appreciate your work here. One of the things that they were able to do was Ian, one of the elders of the church baptized a man that has been going to the church in Azogues. We are so glad to see the church there in Azogues growing and to watch a young man dedicate his life to God. Please pray for Jorge and his new walk with Christ.

New Home

IMG_20121110_155007, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

After the purchase of a home fell through and we had to move out of our temporary apartment, Travis and I took to the streets near the school to look for a place to rent. We found a few options by the school that we looked into and found this one, a block from the school. We are glad to have a great place to live. It's on a corner of a dead end street, right beside a park with green space and has lots of space inside. It even has a good place for Pipoca, our dog outside. I don't particularly like moving everything but we have been blessed to find this home for our family. We are also meeting many of our neighbors, a few with kids that go the the kids school and even just today I meet a neighbor who has a golden retriever like us, same age, is a christian and her name is also Alicia. Talk about a coincidence. So we are also tahnkful for the relationships we are making around our new home as well. We have plenty of space so please know you are always welcome to come visit us anytime.

New Car

IMG_4569, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

We are very blessed to have purchased a new vehicle. We can fit 12 people (or more) into our new van. We bought it at a great time as we were planning on hosting a team of four from Saskatoon Church of Christ and needed a better way of transporting us all around the city. It has already been a great blessing to us and to many of the people, teens and friends that have needed to get around the city. So now for those of you who want to come visit, we've got plenty of space to show you around our city. Thanks to all who made buying this van possible.

School Work Bee

IMG_4532, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

At the kids school, we were asked to go one Saturday to help with a school work bee. We planted plants, made special tables and chairs for the kids using tires and fun activities using tires as well. It was a great time, the kids got to play while the adults worked and got to know each other better. This day also was considered a school day so we could have a bit longer of a Christmas holiday. Now the playground looks great with all the colorful tires and recycled materials and we know some of the parents much better because of this work bee.

Youth Conference

IMG_4542, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

While I was away at the International women's conference, Travis stayed home with the kids and participated in the youth conference that our church hosted. Youth from all over Ecuador came to enjoy this time together, playing games, doing dramas, singing and sharing in God's word. Travis taught a class for them and the youth evangelists also taught. It was a great turnout and Travis was very impressed with the drama that the youth in Azogues did. Ceara afterwards told me all about the dramas, so I know that they must have been great if she remembered them all.

English Halloween Party

IMG_4539, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

This year we had a halloween party for our English students. It's just one way to get together not just to study English but to do fun things as well as spend time getting to know each other. This year they played a game decorating a mummy, finding the bug in the brain and a few other fun activities. Many of the students came dressed up in costumes and everyone had a great time. We are thankful for all the people that we have contact with because of our English classes and we continue to pray for more opportunities to share God with them.

School Sport Day

PB240685, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

One of the things that the schools here do is have a sports day. It's not really what it sounds like. The classes all get dressed up the same acccording to a theme. This year's theme was animals, so Ceara's class dressed as tigers. You can see in this picture that Ceara is not dressed as a tiger. It was because she was chosen as the princess of her class as she was the best student. So all the girls chosen for their classes dress up in pretty dresses to represent their class. Calen's class were bunnies this year. At the sports day, the classes do a parade in their costumes and then the school directors choose a class that has the best costumes. Ceara's class won this year! Then the directors chose a princess of the class, they all win in the end but it's fun to see all the best girl students and best boy students dressed up. And it's a great way for the parents to get to know each other better as well.

Potato Chip Factory

PB090666, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

We had been looking for a vehicle to buy here in Cuenca when we found one we liked. The family that owned it also owned a potato chip factory and as part of the tour of his vehicle, he also wanted to show us his factory. It was fun to see just how they make potato chips and a few other things there. In the end we didn't buy his car but we still enjoyed our personal tour of their factory and the few bags of chips he gave us as a partial incentive to buy his car.

Women's International Latin Conference.

Untitled, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

In November, I participated in the Women's International Conference that was held just outside of Cuenca by the other church of christ in the city. Women from all over Latin America came to enjoy a time of fellowship and spiritual growth. There were people from Colombia, Peru, Honduras, the States and so many more places. I ended up sitting with a group from Colombia, they really wanted me to go there to visit sometime. I said I'd love to but would have to see how possible it was. It was fun getting to know them and it was fun to listen to them talk. Even as they spoke Spanish it was fun to hear their accent. It's like someone who speaks English from Jamaica, just Spanish and from Colombia. They laughed at how I talked too, not a surprise there. I also met an older women from the States that has lived in Ecuador for over 25 years in a city called Riobamba. She moved here with her mother after her husband died and taught English. Her mother has also past away but she remained here even though the rest of her family lives in the States. She must be about 85 or so and is still very active in the church in Riobamba as well as still teaching English from her home. We enjoyed our visits and she let me in on some secrets to living her, to her struggles and her joys of working in a foreign country. I hope that we will get to visit her someday soon and be able to see the work and the church there in Riobamba.

Ceara Turns SIx!

PA26054, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

Six, can you believe it? Hard for me to imagine that it's been six years ago since our family changed so much when this little girl showed up. So thankful for her, her love, her joy and her abilities. She loves all things girly, dressed, barbies, babies and drawing. She's outgoing, has a bubbly personality and loves to the fullest. This year between all the things we had going on, we weren't able to have a great big party for her so we celebrated on her birthday at school. Her other friend on the left, Allison also was turning 6 on the 30th so we had a joint birthday with her. Here Ceara is with the only other two girls in her class and her best friends, Allison and Luciana. It was lots of fun and then in December we had a sleepover with a few of her close friends here at our place. That was pretty crazy but Ceara loved it.

Women's Retreat

PA200537, originally uploaded by A Family On A Mission.

The ladies at church had another weekend retreat for the ladies. This time I didn't have to plan anything so I invited Sandra to come along and join in the fun. It was great for her to meet the ladies from church and they welcomed her in. She enjoyed the games we played and even won with her team. Hopefully, this will be just the beginning for her to feel a part of something more. Her family is all catholic so I think it will take her a bit to open up to more of what God has in store for her but I pray for her friendship, her marriage and for her faith. It is fun to watch her grow and learn outside of just what she knows through her catholic upbringing. Please pray for her and for the work that the women in our church do to edify and grow in spirit and friendship.