This morning I opened a letter from Britney. Her letter started with this quote....
"God´s prevailing power is released through prayer. That power may come in the form of wisdom- an idea you desperately need and can´t come up with yourself. It may come in the form of courage greater than you could ever muster. It may come in the form of confidence or perseverance, uncommon staying power, a changed attitude,... changed circumstances, maybe even outright miracles. However it comes, God´s prevailing power is released in the lives of people who pray." (Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels)
This past weekend we have experienced God´s prevailing power through changed circumstances. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, things have not worked out like we hoped in the home of our host family. Yesterday we moved to a hosteria (like a hotel) here in Tabacundo. We are happy and safe there. We rejoice that God is all-knowing from the beginning of time because a team was scheduled to join us this Wednesday and will be staying in the same hosteria. We also thank the Lord for such a wonderful team of missionaries who are so full of love for us as well as love for our Lord and seeing His will done.
We are over half way through our time here in Tabacundo/Tupigachi. We have 11 days of ministry left. Like I said on Wednesday, the first two people of the team arrive (Pastor Donnie & Kenny), as well as Uncle Fletcher and a translator. Fletcher will be out here with us and the team until Friday, then Rick Martinez will return on Saturday. We will hike Volcano Cayambe!!! (Don´t worry it´s not active...it´s snow-capped) Then the rest of the team will join us on Sunday. Rick will spend that week here with us and the team. The NEXT Saturday morning (June 20th) we return to Quito and have our big reunion with the missionaries and the other three summer m´s that have been in the other community! We are excited about that reunion because after just one week spent with those girls, we all feel as if we´ve known each other for years!!! It will be exciting to hear and share stories of what the Lord has done in and through us, as we prepare for the week in the Jungle.
God is answering our prayers about interacting with adults more. Though children are very important and often our door in, if a simple church or bible study is going to be started it is going to be with adults. Today as we walked through Santa Monica, after a great day of Bible storying with the children in the school (which by the way are carrying these stories back across the mountain throughout the families in Santa Monica!!!!), we talked to 4 different women and 3 of the time were able to share some of the gospel with them. We told them all why we are here and left tracks with them all. God even allowed us to make plans with one lady, Maria, to have a Bible study in her house this Friday!!!!
I am so thankful for what God is doing here. I read today in Life as a Vapor by John Piper that "looking back is looking on the past providence of God: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20.) And looking forward is looking on the future providence of God: "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps" (Proverbs 16:9.)...Every moment will be a point of gratitude toward the past and faith toward the future....Just think what kind of people we would be in the next year for the cause of Christ if we were continually humbled by our backward look of gratitude and continually emboldened by our forward look of faith!" This brings me back to the prevailing power and now providence of God in our lives, especially of those who maintain a spirit of prayer. I see God´s prevailing power as we walk up and down rocky, mountain roads, as He puts women into our paths who already know we are there by their children and are ready to study God´s word. I see God´s prevailing power through difficult and challenging circumstances which changes suddenly before us. And I see God´s prevailing power as I reflect that HE HAS ALREADY WON THE VICTORY, despite the sin infected world which we are working and in which we all live, both at home and here in Ecuador.
The realization of this stronghold which sin so easily entangles these people (and could easily entangle each of us as believers as well) is not a new reality! In fact Philippians 3 says, "For many, as I have often told you even now with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown Stand FIRM thus in the Lord, my beloved." I have always known of sin in the world but now I realize even with tears, as Paul said here, how ruthlessly unsatisfying this destruction is. SO many walk as enemies of the cross. BUT we have hope! We can not get discouraged or back off from telling everyone! This realization only makes the need all the more urgent!!! "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful...we are not those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls" (Hebrews 10:23, 39.)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Friday Praises & Request
Today on our way out to a daycare to work with the children (which went great...from telling the Bible story to washing dishes after their lunch!), I talked to a lady at the bus stop for about 20 or 30 minutes. I shared the gospel with her (the best I could with God´s provision) and she shared somethings about her life. Though I did not understand alot of what she was pouring out, I sensed her desperation and that she is going through a hard time with a relationship as well as with work. Her name is Laurdes. She is moving in a few weeks from Cayambe to another part of Ecuador because she is not getting paid properly for her work. I prayed with her. We walked through town together a bit to (while finding our transportation). Before we left, I gave her a couple of tracks to further explain what we had talked about. As we said goodbye, she hugged me and cried. She asked if there was anything else I could give her to remember me. I told her just keep reading the tracks and we would be praying for her. A lady who is lost spiritually, and seemingly lost in the world. She was hungry for truth! I will most likely never lay eyes on her again, yet I don´t think I will ever forget her face. Pray for Laurdes to find the loving relationship with our Savior who, as I told her, loves her more than any other type of love in this world. Pray that someone else will enter her life and take her one more step closer to knowing the Lord.
The children´s program with the Baptist church in Tabacundo went very well this afternoon. We had 45 kids attend. We did the evangelcube, taught them some songs, told a Bible story, played games with them in the park. Then we went to the church for a video. They showed a very old fashion, spanish-dubbed version of the story of Joseph. They were given a snack and they left. Then we prayed with the 5 church members there for the children and their families as the truth enters their homes tonight through the children. Continue to pray for the baptist church here to continue the work here.
The children´s program with the Baptist church in Tabacundo went very well this afternoon. We had 45 kids attend. We did the evangelcube, taught them some songs, told a Bible story, played games with them in the park. Then we went to the church for a video. They showed a very old fashion, spanish-dubbed version of the story of Joseph. They were given a snack and they left. Then we prayed with the 5 church members there for the children and their families as the truth enters their homes tonight through the children. Continue to pray for the baptist church here to continue the work here.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
A Changed Heart Ready to Obey
I just realized that I have not updated you all since Sunday! So let me try to select the highlights and give you the readers digest version...
God has done a great work in my life in the last week. He has transitioned me FROM merely surviving and feeling as if I am floating through this trip in a cloud watching what God is doing rather than actually experiencing it and soaking it all in TO experiencing the work that God is doing here and growing in my walk with Him each day. Sunday night, I told the Lord that I was done praying survival prayers and would not on being praying for growth! The past 4 days have been drastically different. Praise the Lord!
Praise- Monday we had a great day at the school in Santa Monica. The children really seemed to GET IT! Today, while Rick and the Jessicas (two journeyman) were out visiting us and going with us to do our work and take pictures for the website of some of us working in some of our regular places, we saw some the the children from that school and today- 4 days later- they were repeating the story! We got them into a group and they could completely retell the Bible story!!!! So encouraging! They also said they had told their families like we had told them!
Keep praying- We were unable to meet with Cristina yet this week to study the Bible. However we do have plans to meet with her on Sunday morning at 11am (12pm NC time).
New opportunity- Tomorrow (Friday @ 2pm - 3pm NC time) we will be evangelizing/talking to kids in the park here in Tabacundo with the local baptist church. After an hour & half or so we will invite all the kids to come down the street to the church for a Bible Story Movie that the church is going to show! This is the product of us talking to the pastor after church sunday night. He is very thankful that the missionaries want to join in the with local church to do the Lords work rather than just come in and do our own thing. Pray that the church will catch the fire of the desire to see their town come to know Christ and continue the work on their own. Also opportunities have opened up in our home with our host family. The father, Papi Luis, has been a believer for 1 year and has a huge heart that is broken with the desire to see his sons, brothers, sisters, and parents come to know the Lord as well. His consuming desire, more than any I´ve ever seen is to KNOW the scriptures well enough to teach it and explain it to his Catholic, lost family. God supplied ABUNDANTLY the spanish words on Monday after dinner for us to help him with some questions. PRAISE GOD! I experienced just want many of your promised before I left, that even in spanish God would give me the words to say. HE DID! I could not even believe what was coming out of my mouth! An Acts 2 experience for sure! Something I will NEVER forget! Please pray for Papi Luis as he studies and for courage to share the truth with his family even if he does not have all the answers! And also for us to be used in his life to help him grow and be examples to him. Also pray for Carlito, their 19yr old son who is not a believer and for our influence on his life.
Today after visiting with Rick and the Jessicas, I feel as though God is about to require more of me! With them today we walked around and talked to and witnessed to everyone we saw, or Rick did. I WANT TO...NEED to do that! Both now and when I return home. I want that to be the uncontrollable desire of my heart. I want to pray to fight off the evil ones holds in their lives and hold nothing back! So please pray for me as I try to finish the race (at least this last 16days in this area) here running much stronger than I have been up to this point. Pray for me as I try to read my Bible in Spanish daily, study the message of the gospel in Spanish, and study the difficult subjects such as praying to the virgin Mary and idolatry! This task once again seems overwhelming...HUGE! But as we have seen thus far, God is able to do far more than we could ever ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20,21)!
The days are busy here now pray for endurance and an extra dose of provision for opportunities! I know that we will leave here with much more work to be done but I want to be confident that I have done ALL that God has set before me, not letting a single opportunity slip by!
Hear the words of this song that has so spoken to my heart on Sunday night as God built a monument in my spiritual walk with Him...
I need you like a hurricane,
thunder-crashing, wind & rain
to tear my walls down
I am only yours now.
I need you like burning flame.
wild-fire untamed
to burn these walls down
I´m only YOURS now!
If destruction is what I need. I´ll receive it from Thee!
Though the first week was so hard here, I would not trade it! Praise God for what He taught me and for what he is currently teaching me...
I know I said this would be the readers digest version but really...It´s Katie! Is that actually possible?!?! So before I close let me share with you what God is currently teaching me...If you want to sign off now...that's all the updates for now! Keep praying....
Obedience is difficult. Sometimes obedience means suffering. I look for a life of comfort and ease but that is not the obedience that God has called us to as believers. Hebrews 5:8 says that Jesus learned obedience through his sufferings. Jesus cried out in a loud voice and tears to be saved from death. He WAS heard but still he was obedient and thus he suffered. So does that mean that it is God´s will for us to suffer? If that's what it takes for us to obediently fulfill His will. To me, to be lonely and away from my family is suffering. I struggle with what God is going to call me to do after graduation. Then I go back to the responce of a friend when asked what would he do with a christian studies degree. He confidently responded, "I´m going to be obedient." And in that I will also find my hope and peace! Pray for me to delight myself solely in the Lord so that as promised in Psalm 37:4 my desires will become whatever His desires are for my life. Whatever he calls me to, I want to be obedient, even if that means suffering. For we can find our hope in knowing that even my whole life is small in comparison to eternity which God has prepared for us and invited us to share it! Please pray that this will become the solid foundational beliefs of my heart so that I can come through with obedience WHATEVER He calls me to do!
Okay, if someone could talk the ears off of a group from 5000 miles away it would be me! Thank you all for your love and support. I am indescribably gratefully for you all going through this journey with me!
God has done a great work in my life in the last week. He has transitioned me FROM merely surviving and feeling as if I am floating through this trip in a cloud watching what God is doing rather than actually experiencing it and soaking it all in TO experiencing the work that God is doing here and growing in my walk with Him each day. Sunday night, I told the Lord that I was done praying survival prayers and would not on being praying for growth! The past 4 days have been drastically different. Praise the Lord!
Praise- Monday we had a great day at the school in Santa Monica. The children really seemed to GET IT! Today, while Rick and the Jessicas (two journeyman) were out visiting us and going with us to do our work and take pictures for the website of some of us working in some of our regular places, we saw some the the children from that school and today- 4 days later- they were repeating the story! We got them into a group and they could completely retell the Bible story!!!! So encouraging! They also said they had told their families like we had told them!
Keep praying- We were unable to meet with Cristina yet this week to study the Bible. However we do have plans to meet with her on Sunday morning at 11am (12pm NC time).
New opportunity- Tomorrow (Friday @ 2pm - 3pm NC time) we will be evangelizing/talking to kids in the park here in Tabacundo with the local baptist church. After an hour & half or so we will invite all the kids to come down the street to the church for a Bible Story Movie that the church is going to show! This is the product of us talking to the pastor after church sunday night. He is very thankful that the missionaries want to join in the with local church to do the Lords work rather than just come in and do our own thing. Pray that the church will catch the fire of the desire to see their town come to know Christ and continue the work on their own. Also opportunities have opened up in our home with our host family. The father, Papi Luis, has been a believer for 1 year and has a huge heart that is broken with the desire to see his sons, brothers, sisters, and parents come to know the Lord as well. His consuming desire, more than any I´ve ever seen is to KNOW the scriptures well enough to teach it and explain it to his Catholic, lost family. God supplied ABUNDANTLY the spanish words on Monday after dinner for us to help him with some questions. PRAISE GOD! I experienced just want many of your promised before I left, that even in spanish God would give me the words to say. HE DID! I could not even believe what was coming out of my mouth! An Acts 2 experience for sure! Something I will NEVER forget! Please pray for Papi Luis as he studies and for courage to share the truth with his family even if he does not have all the answers! And also for us to be used in his life to help him grow and be examples to him. Also pray for Carlito, their 19yr old son who is not a believer and for our influence on his life.
Today after visiting with Rick and the Jessicas, I feel as though God is about to require more of me! With them today we walked around and talked to and witnessed to everyone we saw, or Rick did. I WANT TO...NEED to do that! Both now and when I return home. I want that to be the uncontrollable desire of my heart. I want to pray to fight off the evil ones holds in their lives and hold nothing back! So please pray for me as I try to finish the race (at least this last 16days in this area) here running much stronger than I have been up to this point. Pray for me as I try to read my Bible in Spanish daily, study the message of the gospel in Spanish, and study the difficult subjects such as praying to the virgin Mary and idolatry! This task once again seems overwhelming...HUGE! But as we have seen thus far, God is able to do far more than we could ever ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20,21)!
The days are busy here now pray for endurance and an extra dose of provision for opportunities! I know that we will leave here with much more work to be done but I want to be confident that I have done ALL that God has set before me, not letting a single opportunity slip by!
Hear the words of this song that has so spoken to my heart on Sunday night as God built a monument in my spiritual walk with Him...
I need you like a hurricane,
thunder-crashing, wind & rain
to tear my walls down
I am only yours now.
I need you like burning flame.
wild-fire untamed
to burn these walls down
I´m only YOURS now!
If destruction is what I need. I´ll receive it from Thee!
Though the first week was so hard here, I would not trade it! Praise God for what He taught me and for what he is currently teaching me...
I know I said this would be the readers digest version but really...It´s Katie! Is that actually possible?!?! So before I close let me share with you what God is currently teaching me...If you want to sign off now...that's all the updates for now! Keep praying....
Obedience is difficult. Sometimes obedience means suffering. I look for a life of comfort and ease but that is not the obedience that God has called us to as believers. Hebrews 5:8 says that Jesus learned obedience through his sufferings. Jesus cried out in a loud voice and tears to be saved from death. He WAS heard but still he was obedient and thus he suffered. So does that mean that it is God´s will for us to suffer? If that's what it takes for us to obediently fulfill His will. To me, to be lonely and away from my family is suffering. I struggle with what God is going to call me to do after graduation. Then I go back to the responce of a friend when asked what would he do with a christian studies degree. He confidently responded, "I´m going to be obedient." And in that I will also find my hope and peace! Pray for me to delight myself solely in the Lord so that as promised in Psalm 37:4 my desires will become whatever His desires are for my life. Whatever he calls me to, I want to be obedient, even if that means suffering. For we can find our hope in knowing that even my whole life is small in comparison to eternity which God has prepared for us and invited us to share it! Please pray that this will become the solid foundational beliefs of my heart so that I can come through with obedience WHATEVER He calls me to do!
Okay, if someone could talk the ears off of a group from 5000 miles away it would be me! Thank you all for your love and support. I am indescribably gratefully for you all going through this journey with me!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Abundant Opportunities!
May 28th
Today God exploded our schedules with opportunities! Today at the elementary school in El Cento I had the opportunity to share the gospel and my testimony (the best I could) to some teachers. One of which was very interested in English so I asked her if she wanted to practice english with us and study the Bible. She DID! So much that she invited us to her house today! We studied English and John 3! I do not even remember the word I said. I thank God for providing words and I pray that Cristina will dwell on the truth which she heard today and be completely unsatisfied with anything but the truth of the Word of God. Also the little girl Denise that we visited with her mommy and her on Tuesday told us at school today that she and her mommy wanted to study the Bible with us. So we went by there this afternoon and asked about it. At first the Mom (Carmen) didn´t seem to have said that but invited us in none the less. We read from Denise´s childrens bible with 6 kids (cousins included) and 2 adults too (Carmen and her brother in law). They invited us back. So we will be there on Tuesday afternoons after Cristina´s. We have probably walked 12 miles (at least) in the last 2 and half days. Yesterday we went to Santa Monica (extremely mountianous) to meet director of school. Turns out we meet people working at the daycare too! We talked to, sang with, played with, etc. the kids there. And even More opportunities opened up!
So far...
Mondays- Elementary school and Daycare in Santa Monica
Tuesdays- Elementary school in El Cento (of Tupigachi), Study with Cristina, Study with the kids (and hopefully adults) in GranNobles (Carmen & Denise and family)
Wednesdays- no plans YET!
Thursdays- Elementary school in El Cento (of Tupigachi), Study with Cristina, Probably the daycare in GranNobles
Fridays- we don´t know yet but TOMORROW Kelly Martinez & Jessica Franks are coming from Quito to visit and encourage us! We are sooooo excited!
Saturdays- Don´t know yet but this saturday going to visit a pastor of an evangelical church in San Pablito and hope to meet his 20 yr old daughter who speaks some english.
Sundays- For now, evangelical church here in Tabacundo with our host family
Join us in Praising the LORD!
Please pray for our team because our sleep has been a challenge this week and we are getting very tired but know we only have 3 weeks and 1 day left here with much to do!
Also...I want to be honest so that I can ask for your prayers...I am really missing my family the past couple days. Pray for me to be focused and for GODS DESIRES and what He offers as ALL-SATISFYING to fill me rather than my own desires to be with my family.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Today God exploded our schedules with opportunities! Today at the elementary school in El Cento I had the opportunity to share the gospel and my testimony (the best I could) to some teachers. One of which was very interested in English so I asked her if she wanted to practice english with us and study the Bible. She DID! So much that she invited us to her house today! We studied English and John 3! I do not even remember the word I said. I thank God for providing words and I pray that Cristina will dwell on the truth which she heard today and be completely unsatisfied with anything but the truth of the Word of God. Also the little girl Denise that we visited with her mommy and her on Tuesday told us at school today that she and her mommy wanted to study the Bible with us. So we went by there this afternoon and asked about it. At first the Mom (Carmen) didn´t seem to have said that but invited us in none the less. We read from Denise´s childrens bible with 6 kids (cousins included) and 2 adults too (Carmen and her brother in law). They invited us back. So we will be there on Tuesday afternoons after Cristina´s. We have probably walked 12 miles (at least) in the last 2 and half days. Yesterday we went to Santa Monica (extremely mountianous) to meet director of school. Turns out we meet people working at the daycare too! We talked to, sang with, played with, etc. the kids there. And even More opportunities opened up!
So far...
Mondays- Elementary school and Daycare in Santa Monica
Tuesdays- Elementary school in El Cento (of Tupigachi), Study with Cristina, Study with the kids (and hopefully adults) in GranNobles (Carmen & Denise and family)
Wednesdays- no plans YET!
Thursdays- Elementary school in El Cento (of Tupigachi), Study with Cristina, Probably the daycare in GranNobles
Fridays- we don´t know yet but TOMORROW Kelly Martinez & Jessica Franks are coming from Quito to visit and encourage us! We are sooooo excited!
Saturdays- Don´t know yet but this saturday going to visit a pastor of an evangelical church in San Pablito and hope to meet his 20 yr old daughter who speaks some english.
Sundays- For now, evangelical church here in Tabacundo with our host family
Join us in Praising the LORD!
Please pray for our team because our sleep has been a challenge this week and we are getting very tired but know we only have 3 weeks and 1 day left here with much to do!
Also...I want to be honest so that I can ask for your prayers...I am really missing my family the past couple days. Pray for me to be focused and for GODS DESIRES and what He offers as ALL-SATISFYING to fill me rather than my own desires to be with my family.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Reports of first 10 days in Ecuador
May 25th
Thank you for your prayers! God is answering. You may be wondering why I am praying God that I am weak. Well let me explain...since I have been here in Tabacundo I have felt completely inadequate and very lonely. I know that God has given me a heart for the nations but now that I am here it has been so difficult to impliment my hearts passions into the reality of the circumstances surrounding me. Serving God here is so challenging and comfort seems very low on God´s priority list for us. But through all my weaknesses, fears, inadequacies, homesickness, and times when I know my lack of faith and trust disappoints my Lord, God is bigger than all that!!! I am only a weak vessel which God has chosen to give me the privileged of being used by Him- despite me! 2 Corinthians 11:30 says, "If I must boast, I will boast of the things which show my weakness." So let me just tell you...I AM WEAK...and I´ve already told you how! But the reason I rejoice in that is that when God works here, now its all on HIM! He gets all the glory for it because if it was based on me, nothing would get done, I´d probably be back in Quito if not Henderson by now, & if I stayed people would only see a pathetic, weak Gringa (white girl)! So tonight...praise God with me for my weakness!!! "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Today, Brittany, Joy, & I went out to Tupigachi Centro. We prayerwalked and talked to a few people. We had a good icebreaker because the first thing that we did was help pick up trash in the communities outdoor sports facilities after the towns weekend of parties. Then we visited the elementary school and talked with the director. We have set up to go teach bible stories, a little bit of English, and help with their new computer every Tuesday & Thursday from 9-12! Pray that God will open doors into the rest of this strongly Roman Catholic community through the children & teachers. So tomorrow is our first day!
D.L. Moody presented the gospel individually to over 750,000 people on streets, in stores, on trains or anywhere God would open the door. He saw souls rather than towns and people. My prayer is that I will always do that! Today as we traveled by bus I talked to a teenage girl. First about her school & family. I told her about myself and why we were here.Then read a track with her and asked her what I could pray about for her. She did not answer my question but asked me if it was more common for people to pray in the US. Before I could answer I was at our stop and had to go. I told her that we would be praying for her. Please pray for Joanna to be curious & that God´s word will speak truth into her life. Pray that she will know that she can pray to God on her own without a priest. Pray that God will send someone else into her life to take her one step further toward the truth.
Last night we went to church here in Tabagundo. It is the only Baptist church in both Tabagundo & Tupigachi. (There is one other evangelical church in a little community in Tupigachi.) It was so wonderful to meet other brothers and sisters in Christ in a place that is so dark and in bondage to the insecurities of Catholism rather than assurance in Jesus Christ, alone. The people were very welcoming. Please pray that the Lord will burden their hearts for this community and surrounding communities and that they will partner with us in the ministry here so that they can continue the work when we are gone.
Thank you all so much for your love and encouragement and prayers during this time. I am excited now! Though this task is much bigger and more difficult than I ever imagined, God is so much bigger than all of this! There is nothing outside of His control or His plan!
May God bless you all and also keep you challenged in the places where you are at this time. I pray that you allow Him to use you & stretch you! It´s all worth it because HE is worth is all!
"I will lift my eyes unto the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and earth." .......good thing Ecuador has lots of hills! I need all the reminding I can get!
May 24th
We are here in Tabacundo. We arrived yesterday, Ruby & Fletcher showed us around our area and then left for Quito about 5:30. The area is so big. It is mountains upon mountains and hills upon hils with houses scattered throughout it all. Our adopted area is actually 15 communities, rather than the one that we thought it would be. The task seems so huge right now, but we will be taking it one day at the time, probably one hour at the time. Brittany, Joy, and I are living with a Spanish couple and their son. They rented 2 rooms out to us as they normally do to people in the Peace Corps. Please pray for us as we begin our ministry tomorrow. We slept until 9 today and then spent the day in prayer and preparation and planning. Tomorrow morning we will go out to Tupigachi to begin prayer walking and looking for open doors of opportunity. Please pray hard right now because right now the task seems so overwhelming and being out here by ourselves feels very lonely to me. Today God is reminding me to not worry or overthink this but to let Him lead and then me follow in simple obedience. I just keep praying and telling myself keep on keeping on, just as Hebrews teaches. 2 Timothy has also been a huge blessing to me the last 3 or 4 days. God is teaching me so much through that. Pray for our spanish abilities and to always be prepared to give an answer to why we are here and to God´s truth. Pray for us to be a light in the midst of darkness. Pray for our transportation to and from the small communities which we will be ministering. Thank you all.
May 22nd
Hey Everybody!
I can not thank you enough for your e-mails and the cards sent from my church family! They have so greatly lifted my spirits. It is hard to believe that I have been in the country for one week tonight. This past week has been spent in training with the rest of the REAP Ecuador missionaries. (If you want to know more about REAP then check out- reapecuador.org and I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get back.) I have already learned so much. Yesterday, we learned about evangelism. I have never viewed evangelism in the way we were taught yesterday. It is a concept called "X + 1." Our goal is find out where a person is at spiritually, in their life, or beliefs and then to take that person just one step closer to knowing the truth. We are not looking for mass decisions but for individual lives changed, one step at a time, one person at a time. It is Relational Evangelism. Its about simple obedience and teaching the people a lifestyle of obedience. It is more than just to pray a prayer because in South America the people would do that just because we are white and because they think we are rich and that they owe that to us. Here is is crucial to teach the truth of Jesus Christ and a life changed followed with obedience. We also learned about simple church (which is like house church). Our ultimate hope would be to establish such a church. It would be a time of Bible Study that could be continued after we left. We are simply covering a month in between visits when the southern baptist church from the states that serves as missionaries to this community.
Tomorrow we leave for the villages where we will spend the next 4 weeks. The six summer missionaries have been divided into two teams. My team will be serving in Tupagachi and living in Tabacundo (10 minutes away from the community which we will be serving). The other girls on my team names are Brittany Gieselman (from FL) & Joy Doriety (from AL). The community has been adopted by Brittany's church in FL. Through REAP Ecuador, that church are the missionaries to this community. They come 4 times a year. They will be coming our last week there.
When we arrive there tomorrow we will be living in a house with a family who usually rents out two rooms to the Peace Corps. We will spend our first couple days prayerwalking and going to offices and schools to meet government officials, police officers, teachers, and directors in the town. Then we will begin to go make connections and build relationships as the Lord leads and gives open doors. As I mentioned in the last e-mail with prayer requests, to pray for a person of peace- someone willing to open their home for a Bible study. They may not be a Christian but it is someone more than just friendly and desiring conversation with us.
We have been told this week that we are serving as church planters to an unreached people group! This has been a huge thought to soak in. God is so big and all of our (us six summer missionaries) concerns have been so heavy. Then it dawned on me that all I am is a privileged vessel chosen by God. He does not need me! This is not about me! I am so incredibly blessed to be here a part of God's work! I have been reading about missionaries who have done the same and now I GET TO DO IT TOO! As we prayer walked (pretty much just for practice after they taught us what exactly prayerwalking was) my eyes were opened to the great lostness and spiritual darkness among the Catholic people here. They live in such poverty, but that is not the greatest need. My heart was broken and initially overwhelmed with the great lostness in such a small town in such a small country on just one continent in such a huge world. Then God reminded me of how GREAT He is & that despite the hugeness of the world He sees each person I passed and each person I come in contact with as an individual who he ordained their life and wrote their story just like He did mine and yours before we were even born.
I'm sorry this e-mail is so long. This is my last night in Quito (& my last night with the six incredible summer missionary girls that I have gained a great love for already) so I wanted to update you all on as much as I possibly could. I will have access (but likely very slow) to send updates during the next four weeks.
Keep praying! Keep e-mailing! Keep praying for my family too- Mommy with recovery from surgery. Daddy with business at church and loving care for Mommy. Britney- clinical rotations at ER with 12 hrs shifts plus 3hrs round trip driving. Meredith- at Snowbird (camp).
Thanks to you all!!!
May 22nd
I am limited on time right now, but I want to ask that you please pray for these specific things:
* Unity among the three girls that will be in each village because we are the representitives of the body of Christ among these people.
* That God will provide a person of peace (Luke 10) for each team to open their homes for bible studies.
* That the Holy Spirit will go before us and prepare the hearts of the Quichua people.
* Our personal growth in quiet times with the Lord, that we will be receptive to his direction and be obedient.
* That our Spanish abilities will increase to a level that allows us to effectively communicate with the people of the village.
* Sharing the Gospel and building relationships.
* That in times of weakness, tiredness, loneliness, and discouragement, that we will know that our steadfast hope is found only in the Lord.
* A spirit of peace as we settle into the villages which will be our homes for the next four weeks.
Thank you so much for your prayers and for your messages of encouragement. They couldn't have had better timing. Keep them coming! :-) Sorry that I do not have more time to update in detail, but please know that your prayers are being felt here in Ecuador. I can't wait until I can share everything with all of you!
May 18th
Just wanted to give a little bit of news. I am here and things are going great! The training is going good. We are staying at the Nazarene Seminary. The 6 Summer Missionary girls are getting along very well. The missionaries here are wonderful and have been spoiling us. We leave on Saturday to go to our villages. We will know on Thursday where we are going and which girls will be on which team. Its so much info in our sessions this week. It's exciting and kind of intimidating too but how cool is it that we are going to be church planters! The ministry strategy is up to us (our team of 3 Summer Ms). God is reminding me that He has been preparing me for the last semester, especially the last month. Through the Hebrews class, prayer nights, certain chapel services, and especially my time with strong, missions minded friends. He has also been reminding me that it is simple obedience that God is requiring of me. He has reminded me that its not about me, despite all my concerns, but really I am just a privileged vessel that God has chosen to use at this time. I thank God for your love and prayers. I will be in touch with more details soon.
Thank you for your prayers! God is answering. You may be wondering why I am praying God that I am weak. Well let me explain...since I have been here in Tabacundo I have felt completely inadequate and very lonely. I know that God has given me a heart for the nations but now that I am here it has been so difficult to impliment my hearts passions into the reality of the circumstances surrounding me. Serving God here is so challenging and comfort seems very low on God´s priority list for us. But through all my weaknesses, fears, inadequacies, homesickness, and times when I know my lack of faith and trust disappoints my Lord, God is bigger than all that!!! I am only a weak vessel which God has chosen to give me the privileged of being used by Him- despite me! 2 Corinthians 11:30 says, "If I must boast, I will boast of the things which show my weakness." So let me just tell you...I AM WEAK...and I´ve already told you how! But the reason I rejoice in that is that when God works here, now its all on HIM! He gets all the glory for it because if it was based on me, nothing would get done, I´d probably be back in Quito if not Henderson by now, & if I stayed people would only see a pathetic, weak Gringa (white girl)! So tonight...praise God with me for my weakness!!! "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9
Today, Brittany, Joy, & I went out to Tupigachi Centro. We prayerwalked and talked to a few people. We had a good icebreaker because the first thing that we did was help pick up trash in the communities outdoor sports facilities after the towns weekend of parties. Then we visited the elementary school and talked with the director. We have set up to go teach bible stories, a little bit of English, and help with their new computer every Tuesday & Thursday from 9-12! Pray that God will open doors into the rest of this strongly Roman Catholic community through the children & teachers. So tomorrow is our first day!
D.L. Moody presented the gospel individually to over 750,000 people on streets, in stores, on trains or anywhere God would open the door. He saw souls rather than towns and people. My prayer is that I will always do that! Today as we traveled by bus I talked to a teenage girl. First about her school & family. I told her about myself and why we were here.Then read a track with her and asked her what I could pray about for her. She did not answer my question but asked me if it was more common for people to pray in the US. Before I could answer I was at our stop and had to go. I told her that we would be praying for her. Please pray for Joanna to be curious & that God´s word will speak truth into her life. Pray that she will know that she can pray to God on her own without a priest. Pray that God will send someone else into her life to take her one step further toward the truth.
Last night we went to church here in Tabagundo. It is the only Baptist church in both Tabagundo & Tupigachi. (There is one other evangelical church in a little community in Tupigachi.) It was so wonderful to meet other brothers and sisters in Christ in a place that is so dark and in bondage to the insecurities of Catholism rather than assurance in Jesus Christ, alone. The people were very welcoming. Please pray that the Lord will burden their hearts for this community and surrounding communities and that they will partner with us in the ministry here so that they can continue the work when we are gone.
Thank you all so much for your love and encouragement and prayers during this time. I am excited now! Though this task is much bigger and more difficult than I ever imagined, God is so much bigger than all of this! There is nothing outside of His control or His plan!
May God bless you all and also keep you challenged in the places where you are at this time. I pray that you allow Him to use you & stretch you! It´s all worth it because HE is worth is all!
"I will lift my eyes unto the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and earth." .......good thing Ecuador has lots of hills! I need all the reminding I can get!
May 24th
We are here in Tabacundo. We arrived yesterday, Ruby & Fletcher showed us around our area and then left for Quito about 5:30. The area is so big. It is mountains upon mountains and hills upon hils with houses scattered throughout it all. Our adopted area is actually 15 communities, rather than the one that we thought it would be. The task seems so huge right now, but we will be taking it one day at the time, probably one hour at the time. Brittany, Joy, and I are living with a Spanish couple and their son. They rented 2 rooms out to us as they normally do to people in the Peace Corps. Please pray for us as we begin our ministry tomorrow. We slept until 9 today and then spent the day in prayer and preparation and planning. Tomorrow morning we will go out to Tupigachi to begin prayer walking and looking for open doors of opportunity. Please pray hard right now because right now the task seems so overwhelming and being out here by ourselves feels very lonely to me. Today God is reminding me to not worry or overthink this but to let Him lead and then me follow in simple obedience. I just keep praying and telling myself keep on keeping on, just as Hebrews teaches. 2 Timothy has also been a huge blessing to me the last 3 or 4 days. God is teaching me so much through that. Pray for our spanish abilities and to always be prepared to give an answer to why we are here and to God´s truth. Pray for us to be a light in the midst of darkness. Pray for our transportation to and from the small communities which we will be ministering. Thank you all.
May 22nd
Hey Everybody!
I can not thank you enough for your e-mails and the cards sent from my church family! They have so greatly lifted my spirits. It is hard to believe that I have been in the country for one week tonight. This past week has been spent in training with the rest of the REAP Ecuador missionaries. (If you want to know more about REAP then check out- reapecuador.org and I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get back.) I have already learned so much. Yesterday, we learned about evangelism. I have never viewed evangelism in the way we were taught yesterday. It is a concept called "X + 1." Our goal is find out where a person is at spiritually, in their life, or beliefs and then to take that person just one step closer to knowing the truth. We are not looking for mass decisions but for individual lives changed, one step at a time, one person at a time. It is Relational Evangelism. Its about simple obedience and teaching the people a lifestyle of obedience. It is more than just to pray a prayer because in South America the people would do that just because we are white and because they think we are rich and that they owe that to us. Here is is crucial to teach the truth of Jesus Christ and a life changed followed with obedience. We also learned about simple church (which is like house church). Our ultimate hope would be to establish such a church. It would be a time of Bible Study that could be continued after we left. We are simply covering a month in between visits when the southern baptist church from the states that serves as missionaries to this community.
Tomorrow we leave for the villages where we will spend the next 4 weeks. The six summer missionaries have been divided into two teams. My team will be serving in Tupagachi and living in Tabacundo (10 minutes away from the community which we will be serving). The other girls on my team names are Brittany Gieselman (from FL) & Joy Doriety (from AL). The community has been adopted by Brittany's church in FL. Through REAP Ecuador, that church are the missionaries to this community. They come 4 times a year. They will be coming our last week there.
When we arrive there tomorrow we will be living in a house with a family who usually rents out two rooms to the Peace Corps. We will spend our first couple days prayerwalking and going to offices and schools to meet government officials, police officers, teachers, and directors in the town. Then we will begin to go make connections and build relationships as the Lord leads and gives open doors. As I mentioned in the last e-mail with prayer requests, to pray for a person of peace- someone willing to open their home for a Bible study. They may not be a Christian but it is someone more than just friendly and desiring conversation with us.
We have been told this week that we are serving as church planters to an unreached people group! This has been a huge thought to soak in. God is so big and all of our (us six summer missionaries) concerns have been so heavy. Then it dawned on me that all I am is a privileged vessel chosen by God. He does not need me! This is not about me! I am so incredibly blessed to be here a part of God's work! I have been reading about missionaries who have done the same and now I GET TO DO IT TOO! As we prayer walked (pretty much just for practice after they taught us what exactly prayerwalking was) my eyes were opened to the great lostness and spiritual darkness among the Catholic people here. They live in such poverty, but that is not the greatest need. My heart was broken and initially overwhelmed with the great lostness in such a small town in such a small country on just one continent in such a huge world. Then God reminded me of how GREAT He is & that despite the hugeness of the world He sees each person I passed and each person I come in contact with as an individual who he ordained their life and wrote their story just like He did mine and yours before we were even born.
I'm sorry this e-mail is so long. This is my last night in Quito (& my last night with the six incredible summer missionary girls that I have gained a great love for already) so I wanted to update you all on as much as I possibly could. I will have access (but likely very slow) to send updates during the next four weeks.
Keep praying! Keep e-mailing! Keep praying for my family too- Mommy with recovery from surgery. Daddy with business at church and loving care for Mommy. Britney- clinical rotations at ER with 12 hrs shifts plus 3hrs round trip driving. Meredith- at Snowbird (camp).
Thanks to you all!!!
May 22nd
I am limited on time right now, but I want to ask that you please pray for these specific things:
* Unity among the three girls that will be in each village because we are the representitives of the body of Christ among these people.
* That God will provide a person of peace (Luke 10) for each team to open their homes for bible studies.
* That the Holy Spirit will go before us and prepare the hearts of the Quichua people.
* Our personal growth in quiet times with the Lord, that we will be receptive to his direction and be obedient.
* That our Spanish abilities will increase to a level that allows us to effectively communicate with the people of the village.
* Sharing the Gospel and building relationships.
* That in times of weakness, tiredness, loneliness, and discouragement, that we will know that our steadfast hope is found only in the Lord.
* A spirit of peace as we settle into the villages which will be our homes for the next four weeks.
Thank you so much for your prayers and for your messages of encouragement. They couldn't have had better timing. Keep them coming! :-) Sorry that I do not have more time to update in detail, but please know that your prayers are being felt here in Ecuador. I can't wait until I can share everything with all of you!
May 18th
Just wanted to give a little bit of news. I am here and things are going great! The training is going good. We are staying at the Nazarene Seminary. The 6 Summer Missionary girls are getting along very well. The missionaries here are wonderful and have been spoiling us. We leave on Saturday to go to our villages. We will know on Thursday where we are going and which girls will be on which team. Its so much info in our sessions this week. It's exciting and kind of intimidating too but how cool is it that we are going to be church planters! The ministry strategy is up to us (our team of 3 Summer Ms). God is reminding me that He has been preparing me for the last semester, especially the last month. Through the Hebrews class, prayer nights, certain chapel services, and especially my time with strong, missions minded friends. He has also been reminding me that it is simple obedience that God is requiring of me. He has reminded me that its not about me, despite all my concerns, but really I am just a privileged vessel that God has chosen to use at this time. I thank God for your love and prayers. I will be in touch with more details soon.
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