November 2019

Another home retreat

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As our home is big and has a large back yard with a shelter, we are grateful to God that it is used for ministry. We're at the point where either the house gets used for ministry or we sell it and move to a smaller place. This weekend twelve couples came for workshops and fellowship. We participated some, but the couple themselves did most of the work. We enjoyed the food!


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Using our House for Ministry

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We held a weekend retreat at our home in El-Tingo for members of the congregation from Capulispungo who have migrated to Quito over the years. We rejoice that our house has different areas for just such an activity. As well as the backyard, which serves for sports and "swimming," we have four rooms with beds, a dining room, and a carpeted "attic." Faby and I have a separate apartment on the second floor. We have a couple more retreats planned here for next month.

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Working with Youth in Riobamba

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God leads us in ministry. We have been trying to meet with students in Riobamba who are from the communities. Both our schedule and theirs are irregular, so it's a challenge to organize a meeting. Plus their needs are different. Here are three examples: On Faby's left sits Danilo, from "Shobol Llin Llin." He's in his third semester of Electronics. He needs a bicycle to get from his home to the university. With God's help, I found a used bicycle for him here in Quito. On his left is Jefferson from "Cachisagua" who is also studying Electronics, but is only in his first semester. For him, we have found a sponsor who is going to help pay his rent in Riobamba every month. Then on his left is Cesar, who is finishing his university studies. He wants us to help him start a Sunday School program in his church in Riobamba. So we are planning some workshops for his team. God continues to lead. We follow.

Slow, but steady

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It seems like every time I visit "Cachisagua" they have something special going on. So the FLET bible study program got put on hold for months. But they still want to continue. Finally, this Sunday we got six of the fourteen students to meet and continue their studies. I'm finding that, in the communities, things don't move fast, but they don't die either. The most important factor is the relationship. We continue to be part of the family. In fact, the girl sitting on the second bench is paralyzed from the waist down. Her name in Amanda. When I first began in Cachisagua teaching music, she was one of the students learning to play charango. Later she was in a car accident. Amazingly she is still bright and cheerful. Her family gives her full support. She has regained some feeling in her legs, and continues in physical therapy three times a week. We pray she will be able to walk someday. In the meantime, we're trying to help them get internet installed in her home so that she can begin to work on a university degree by extension. God has His perfect plans!


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The Final(?) Exam

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This is it! The final exam, not just for this clase, but for the whole course. In "Capulispungo" we have finished Level 2 of the Bible FLET program! Now what? I took a look at Level 3, and decided it would require much more effort than Level 2. So I began to tell the students that they would have difficulty in the next level. In true Quichua style, we held a meeting after the exam to discuss future plans. Each person had their turn to speak and give their opinion. To my surprise, in spite of the difficulties, they want to continue! They want to learn. We're going to have to change the format some, so that they will have more time to study and absorb the material. I'm praying for guidance on how to guide them in the next stage.

(Previous blog click here.)


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