Our First Sunday in Ecuador was a day to remember. We got up early...still a little weary from our journey on Thursday, and our bodies are still aclamating to the high altitude of Quito at 9500 feet (yes, that is nearly TWO miles in the AIR). We made our way down the mountain where we are living in two taxis; then, all of us met up again, and rode the electric trolley for about an hour to the southern part of Quito. We found two more taxis and had our directions to the church in hand, but neither of our taxis knew where we were going. Half of our family got there-- the other half had a nice scenic view of the southern part of Quito! Jeff, Bethany and Amanda all made it to Sunday School. Ximenia Vasconez, the Pastor's wife, was the girl's Sunday school teacher. She was teaching on having difficulties in your spiritual life. She wanted to make it practical to her new students. She applied it to their lives.... You will have difficulties as you adjust to your new life here in Ecuador...... like learning a new language, and losing your mother!

Well, Jeff had instructed us that if our taxis did not get us to the church-- we were to return to the trolley station where we began; we were so glad to have a back-up plan. Jeff arrived with two men from the church. We were all in attendance for service together! It was such a joy to worship the Lord as a family in Ecuador with fellow believers at the Iglesia de Bautista Calavario en Quito. Dios es bueno.

Following the service, we had lunch with Pastor David, Ximenia and their six children. It was a great time together. We praise the Lord for what He has done to bring us to this place. We know how wonderful it is to be a part of the FAMILY of GOD.

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will REJOICE and BE GLAD in it"

We are praising the Lord for all He has done to bring us to this moment. I was struck by symbolism as I was walking up the stairway at the airport. The stairway was divided into 3 different landings. I was reminded of our “first level” of prefield ministry, our second level of language training in Costa Rica and now we have arrived here in Quito at the third level. Just like each of the previous landings, there are many unknowns as we trust the Lord in this next phase. We know God is already here working in the hearts of people, preparing the way. We have been overwhelmed by His power to bring all the details together. We thank you for your love, prayer, support, and encouragement along the way.

The last few weeks in the USA have been filled with ministry, details, and a little family time. We were privileged to report in six different churches including a lovely send-off service at our home and sending church Latham Bible Baptist. We repacked repack all of our boxes for Ecuador, list each individual item, and translate that list to Spanish. Jeff and the boys and Papa Roy took our belongings to NYC for shipping. As always, God had done before us. The Ecuadorian Embassy in NYC was not accustomed handling Missionary visas. This necessitated an overnight in NYC and a second attempt at another office for final approval. When we arrive there the 2^nd day, God went before and the Consulate was working on our case before Jeff even arrived that morning. God is so good!

As we begin our new ministry, we ask you to pray for our families whom we left in the USA. They are such a great encouragement to us as they whole-heartedly "send-us", but as a very close family it is still difficult to part. We ask you to pray for wisdom for many upcoming decisions transitions.

Thank you for your partnership!

From the Center of the World to the End of the Earth!

Jeff and Deanne and Team Ecuador

God's Magnifying Glass

Deanne and I arrived home from school today to Lukas' sad announcement. “The fire would not light.” For this we were thankful! He loves to explore & try new things. He was trying a science experiment. He learned you can make fire using direct sunlight focused through a magnifying glass. He said he could not complete his goal because he had to stand completely still and wait for the sun to do it’s job. Standing still...almost impossible for a 12 year old boy!

We find ourselves in a similar situation as we wait on God’s timing to complete the details and paperwork for beginning church planting ministry in Ecuador. We are waiting on the Son and sometimes not much more patiently than our 12 year old Lukas waiting for the sun to work. Thank you for praying with us through this process of establishing the work in Ecuador. This uncharted territory is teaching us much as we wait on the magnifying glass of God’s perfect timing. During this time of waiting (and finishing our language instruction) we are learning much more about the people and country God has prepared for us. We are thankful to know He has all of the details already under control.

Visa update: We are waiting for approval for ABWE to be invited to begin work in Ecuador. Once approved, we must secure the proper paperwork to complete the visa process. If God should allow this process to be completed in the next 31 days, we will seek to secure our visas while still in Costa Rica which will save time and money. Thank you for your prayer and concern. We look forward to informing you all the details are complete!

Prayer Requests:

1. Visa paperwork to be secured and completed
2. Our kids are working at Word of Life Camp in Costa Rica from July 6-18
3. Our Spanish Bible studies are progress. One family asked if they could invite a friend this week. Please pray for Freddie & China & for Cali & Sirley.
4. We leave for the USA on 8/8/09 and enter Ecuador 9/10/09.
5. Pray for our team mates, the Maynard family as they serve in pre-field ministry. We have a potential teammate attending ABWE Candidate Seminar this week. We look forward to introducing her to you in our next prayer letter. Teamwork is vital to the establishment of this ministry!

I'm Giving Spiritual Bunnies!
A bunny is a conejo.
Counsel is consejo.
A crab is a cangrejo.

I am acustomed to getting strange stares, but this was over the top. While orally reviewing my homework with my teacher I was telling her I was able to give spiritual counsel (consejo espiritual) this week to a family in need. She looked at me very puzzled and asked me to repeat what I had just said. As always, when someone does not understand your language, I spoke louder and slower. I told her I was able to give spiritual counsel this week to a family in need. She asked if this was common in the my country and I replied with gusto that it is quite normal. She asked if we do this all year or only at Easter? I was completely puzzled. I needed to pray that God would send more missionaries to Costa Rica if a Christian teacher not aware of giving spiritual counsel to those in need. Then it dawned on me...I told her I was giving out spiritual rabbits (conejos) instead of spiritual counsel (consejo).

40 Days and 40 Nights!

Felicidades Bethania!

Congratulations Bethany!

Lukas 6th Grade Graduation - We are so proud of him!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Great Song I heard and made a video.