Street Kids
05/08/26 09:57
Faby is a natural for evangelism. Here in our park, we talk with many of the alcoholics. But our health limits us. Faby spends a lot of time resting. So while I accompany her, I've taken on reading some books about street kids:
"When Invisible Children Sing" by Dr. Chi Huang. He was a medical student at Harvard and traveled to La Paz, Bolivia to work in an orphanage. But at nights he would hit the streets and work with street kids into the wee hours of the morning.
"Nobody Don't Love Nobody" by Stacy Bess. She landed her first job as a teacher in Salt Lake City in a shelter for the homeless and taught all six elementary grades at once in very limited conditions.
"Breaking Night" by Liz Murray. While the first two books described working with street children, this author details her life as one of those kids, growing up in Bronx, New York. Her parents were drugs addicts and could barely, if at all, care for her.
These books give me a better understanding of the life of street kids. I don't know if we'll ever be able to work with such, but the few alcoholics in our park have some similarities. My application is to listen to their stories to better understand their situation. In most cases, the recovery period is a long process.
More good times past!
29/07/26 15:32
We worked with Luis for several years, giving workshops, Bible courses, and preaching in his church. At that time he was single, but, now married, he serves as the pastor in the community of "Sablog." He came to visit his relatives in Quito, and just had to swing out to our valley for a visit. It's the first time he's been to our home in El Tingo. I haven't seen him for a while. Eight years ago I presented his newborn son in the church. Since then they have built a new church.
Good times past!
23/07/26 11:46
Got a call from New York. Segundo Puculpala calling for help to find a Bible study on discipline in the church. He's from a community deep in the Andes Mountains here in Ecuador: "Santa Julia" but migrated to the US four years ago. We began to remember our times together in his and the neighboring communities. Good times past! He told me he's studying online at a University In California, and when he finishes in two years he's coming back to Ecuador. I hope so!
The Next Generation
15/07/26 11:15
Carlos and Priscila visited us Sunday with their sons Jon-Carlos and Kevin. They attended our church over twenty years ago. Jon-Carlos and Kevin were only children. Now Kevin is an Mechanical Engineer and Jon-Carlos is in seminary. He wants to be a pastor. It's a joy to see a youth with desires to serve the Lord full-time. Our labor is not in vain. As I reach retirement, I think about the next generation. These are the folk we need to nurture. I have three more on my prayer list:
Valeria Vallejo grew up in our church. She is now in Texas doing a medical residence to maintain her US certification. We sent here to Uganda for a summer years ago, and she still has her heart set on Africa.
Danilo Zarate is about to finish his college degree in Electrical Engineering. He's a dedicated Christian, a faithful member of his community church, and a big support for his single mother. His present focus is on graduation, but I trust he'll set his eyes on serving the Lord in some capacity.
Jefferson Tenelema comes from a small community in the mountains. He came to Quito to work with his uncle and learn auto-mechanics. He married last year and recently told me he wants to go to seminary. He also leads a youth group among the indigenous communities.
Time to pass the batan to these youth of the next generation! Pray.
Two Years Later
10/07/26 15:27
Two years to the date since my heart attack. Yesterday I did my ergometry (exercise stress test) with the cardiologist to see how my heart is holding up. Praise God I reached a METS score of 12.1! In the scientific world, they estimate that I have 0.6% chance of another heart attack for the coming year. In the doctor's words, "You can do whatever physical exercise you want." So far, I walk one hour every morning. The rest of the day is taking care of Faby, doing housework, and getting out when we can.