Happy Thanksgiving!!!

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!" Psalm 119:9

THE CENSUS
Tt is Sunday, and all of Ecuador is quiet…the only traffic heard is the police routinely patrolling the area for delinquents. Everyone was asked to stay in their homes in order to participate in the national census. We received our visitor, a jolly high school boy, at about 9 am. He asked us all kinds of questions about the house, our work, etc. We were grateful for a day of rest and peace, without any visitors. We napped, put the house in order, made phone calls for our meeting Monday, and even watched a movie!! It was an especially welcome break since Noele and I have been a bit sick to the stomach the last couple of days.

LA CONFERENCIA
The conference went well, despite the fact that we only had a fraction of the folks from Cuenca, which was one of our main purposes – to share with them what it takes to run a camp. We had to let God do what He had in mind, which was to invite the entire youth group which was meeting at the same time, to listen to the teachings. It was a refreshing time of fellowship with our friends from Guayaquil, and a good time of connection for all the team members who were present. Everyone left on Sunday afternoon, and we were exhausted. We went to a friend’s birthday party, and spent Monday resting and readying ourselves for another busy week.

FELIZ DIA DE ACCION GRACIAS
We had been planning on spending Thanksgiving with our friends in Guayaquil, who have an annual gathering. We had thought that it was going to be on Thursday or Friday, which would have given us plenty of time to get back for the worship practice on Saturday, and the Census. Well, plans changed somewhere along the line, and our friends decided to have their Thanksgiving on Saturday. So, stayed put and had our own on Thursday. We invited a few families and friends that we thought deserved to be especially spoiled, bought an enormous (and expensive!!) turkey, and made all the trimmings. This was the first time I had ever put together Thanksgiving on my own (of course, I had my lovely assistant, Noele, with me to chop, dice, set the table, and offer moral support!), and, though there were a few extra hoops to jump through, due to different products and such, it came together in the end, everyone enjoyed it, and was thankful for the good (though different!) food.

Noele and I are missing our families a lot during this time, but are excited about the upcoming visit of her sisters. We have many things on our calendar these next few weeks, and ask that you please keep us in your prayers.
PRAY
Tomorrow, Monday, we meet with the head honcho of Samaritan’s Purse, we have a meeting to practice dramas, puppets, songs, and such for our programs on the 1, 5, and 8 of December. Please pray that we have people who will come to volunteer these days, because they have been a bit sparse at the meetings lately. Also, continue to be in prayer for the situation with Flor and the other children at the orphanage in Guayaquil. I am waiting to receive her paperwork so that I can present it to the director to ensure that she can get a space in the new facility here in Cuenca.
THANKS AND BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL!!!!

The Next Chapter...

"Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" Psalm 27:14

I am really sorry to all of you who have been anxiously chewing on your fingernails waiting to hear if there is good news or bad. Please forgive me. My only excuse for not writing in a while is that we have been so busy!!! God has been faithfully answering our prayers and we are running to keep up with Him!

I am excited to tell you all that things have been going on and ask that you please keep us in your prayers!!

It is early Saturday morning as I write this, and it is a bit difficult to focus because, in a few short hours, we will begin our first annual Cristo Vive conference! We have 8 people coming from Guayaquil and Quito, and I am hoping for at least 10 from Cuenca. Noele and I are the official hostesses, which is part of the reason we have been so busy lately. It will be a good time of fellowship and bonding between our teams, and I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord will accomplish.

You have read about Flor and my burden for her. Well, a few weeks ago, the Lord surprised me with a message from one of my friends in Guayaquil saying that they had been seriously discussing moving her to a facility in Cuenca, where she would be better taken care of, and close to ME! You can imagine my joy! The orphanage where she is right now is being taken over by the government in January, and there is talk of all of the kids that have family being forced to go back to them, therefore it is going to be necessary to move her because she has no one, and needs advanced care. We have come in contact with a place which just so happens to be opening a new facility for children with severe disabilities…in January! Flor has made it onto their list as number 27 of the 30 they will possibly be taking in. Of course, nothing is a sure thing yet, but on Monday, I will be taking a folder with all of her information to the director of institution, which is called Mensejeros de La Paz (Messengers of Peace), and they will assess the situation from there. PLEASE PRAY!!! Obviously the Lord has already shown us that He is listening, and that He is holding Flor in His hands, He being the only one who really knows what she needs!

Our team here in Cuenca has been busy as well, raising funds for our activities in December. We have had two successful hot dog sales, a rummage sale, and even offered to paint nails to raise some money! We have huge bags of candy and animal crackers sitting in our living room, waiting to be made into gift bags for 250+ children. On November 29, Noele and I will go to a meeting with a representative of Samaritan’s Purse and present a request for 250 Shoeboxes.
The dates to remember in your prayers are December 1st (two foundations), 5th (an open-air program in the center of a small town called Paute, in conjunction with their school for Special needs kids, and the 8th (another school in Cuenca).

On a more personal note, I have decided to join the worship team here at Calvary Chapel, the church we now call ‘ours’. It has been a challenge because of the language and the need to learn all of the songs from scratch, so it has been a slow process, but I so enjoy being a part of the team and the ministry that I don’t care if I ever sing in one of the services. This also presents yet another item to consider as we plan out our schedule. And what does the Lord continually remind me: to rest, to guard my time with Him, and to put everything in His hands so as not to end up an overwhelmed, frazzled, exhausted mess!
Noele and I, along with the help of some of our friends, have managed to get this house looking a feeling much homier just in time for the conference. We have cemented holes and cracks, laminated old, ugly countertops, caulked, painted, cleaned and moved furniture. PHEW!
My ankle is finally feeling mostly normal. I would love to get out there and run again soon, but I am trying to take my time and be wise about it…I really don’t want to reinjure it!

Thank you all once again for your continued, faithful prayer and support!

My God, the God of ALL Comfort!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. (2 Corinthians 1:3-11 ESV)

I am so pleased to report that the Lord is blessing our labor!! We had a really encouraging meeting Sunday with about 14 people in attendance. We are excited because we are planning on hosting a conference here in Cuenca for all of the Cristo Vive folks in Ecuador, the third weekend in November. This will be a first, and virtually all of the responsibility falls on Noele’s and my shoulders. Also, we have lined up at least three foundations with a total of about 230 children with special needs to do Christmas activities. We are in process of raising funds and planning out those events! We have also been discussing plans for the April camp in Guayaquil, as we have a special job to do -- build a wheelchair accessible ramp so that we don’t have to carry the campers and their chairs up a flight of stairs to the cabins. Anyone interested in coming along to help, or sending extra funding for this project would be greatly appreciated!! Now is the time to start planning! We will need to raise approximately $3,000 for materials and such to complete the task. These last few days Noele and I have been beside ourselves because everything is falling into place right under our noses!

There is so much going on here, it is hard to put it into words. Unfortunately, not all is positive. Our friends here have been battling big time. I know it is because they are working hard to be a light in this dark place. We recently learned that Cuenca has the highest concentration of Satanic churches of anywhere in Ecuador (about 80 total). That said, of course we are in the middle of a war! We are dealing with depression, manipulation, lying, insecurity, suicidal thoughts, marital problems, doubt, fear, persecution, and the list continues. From the beginning I had decided not to get too heavily involved with this one church because we wanted to be open to working with many churches without difficulty. The problem is, that this body is becoming like family, and, as they encourage and lift us up, what can we do but offer the same to them. We have decided to invite all of the leadership of the church over for a time of prayer. We are here as missionaries, to bring in new believers, and to encourage those that are here. This may not be directly part of our calling, but we willing to allow Him to use us. Wherever we are, God puts us there to bear one another’s burdens in love.

God is putting us through the fire and bringing to the surface all of our impurities. He is bringing to light the things that we want to keep hidden from the rest of humanity, in order to give us new minds and new lives, entrenched in Truth, integrity, and love. Do we really and truly put our trust in Him as we say we do?? When push comes to shove, are we going to make the right decisions, to do what is right, pure, and holy?? Or, will we succumb to the pressure, take matters into our own hands and try to manipulate God’s perfect will and timing. His gifts are beyond our imagination, and He longs for us to ask for them, to wait for them, to believe that He is going to give us the desires of our hearts, but first our desires need to be righteous. We are all capable of doing so much good, and SO much harm. And the second we let our guard down, thinking we are strong, that we’ve got everything under control, we fall flat on our faces, having to scrape our pride off the pavement, and start over from square one. I long to see us living lives of victory, showing the world just what it means to live life to the fullest. We need to take captive every thought, every moment…and give our all for the glory of the Father, and then watch and be amazed at the extraordinary things He wants to do with us ordinary people!!!

IF MY PEOPLE...would only pray!

"...praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints..." Ephesians 6:18

SO much has happened since I last wrote in, and I apologize for not updating you all!!

Thursday, Sept 30, the day after my last post, chaos erupted all over Ecuador, and we were not sure what to make of it. All of our friends kept telling us it was not safe to leave home, that the cops were all ticked off and on strike, were not doing their jobs, and worse yet, were capable of killing anyone walking in the streets.
There was an order given the following day for everyone to stay in their homes, and we read a report from the US Embassy warning all foreign citizens to refrain from any involvement with the protests. We watched a live news broadcast which showed the military trying for hours, and finally succeeding, to rescue the president from the hospital where the police were holding him hostage. There were bullets flying, people screaming and running, and even the camera man got hit, though thankfully for him it was a rubber bullet and he would be fine. We did see one of the presidents policeman/bodyguards get shot with a real bullet and watched him lay there for at least a half an hour before anyone was able to get close enough to check on him – we heard the next day that he died, and that he had a wife and small daughter. From what I can gather, after everything has calmed down, the policemen reacted to a decision the president had made to keep government costs down and maintain free education. They thought he was cutting their already high salaries and bonuses, when in fact he was planning on raising their salaries and cutting the jobs of transit officers (which are basically rent-a-cops that patrol highways and toll-ways). All of this madness was created by an emotional reaction to a misunderstanding. The scary part was how powerful emotions, multiplied by the mob mentality, could actually be, sweeping across the nation like a wildfire, and then dying as quickly as if it had been doused by an immense downpour.
My personal reflections based on this situation are: always seek the TRUTH and make decisions based on it, making sure that I know as much of the whole story as possible. Also, it reminded me of how delicate this, and many more, governments truly are, and how powerful and evil those who were meant to protect it can become, when they feel their “rights” are being violated. Also, within the Christian community, we often jump to conclusions about one another, or about situations occurring within the Church, and cause damage instead of growth thinking that we are doing the right thing. We need to be careful with our judgments, for only God knows the Truth in its entirety.

On a more personal note, for those of you that haven't heard, on Saturday morning, I went out for my usual run along the river. It was an especially beautiful morning and I ran with vigor, anticipating the pancake breakfast which I had promised to Noele and a few friends. I was just about to cross the street with only about a block left to return to the house. Looking back to make sure that there were no cars, I didn’t see the gaping hole in front of me, which seemed to grab my foot and wrench it in ways I didn’t think humanly possible. I fell, of course, and struggled to my feet as quickly as possible, beginning the seemingly endless limp home. When I arrived at the house, one of the breakfasteers had arrived early (Ecuadorians are rarely early!?), and flew to my side firing questions at me and saying we are going to a doctor immediately. Thus commenced my Saturday. I ended up riding in a car, being carried up a flight of steps, and meeting a woman who could have been 110 if she was 70. We were at her house; she wasn’t a doctor, but my friends convinced me that she would make my ankle feel better. She poked and prodded and massaged some sort a cream into it, moved my foot this way and that, during which I thought I might faint from the pain. She commented that my ankle must have been injured years before…which it had…about 9 years ago, when I sprained it playing basketball with friends at YWAM, Minneapolis. Well, long and painful story short, she did wonders for my ankle (for 5 bucks!!), and, although it is frustrating to have to rest, ask everyone to do my running around, and NOT run myself, I am once again reminded of the necessity to trust in the Lord’s strength and not my own, to give myself permission to take it easy and to spend time listening to the voice of the Lord. It is healing up nicely, and hopefully in another week or two, I will be able to begin running again – taking extra precaution for holes of course!

Noele and I had the privilege of attending a meeting of pastors this last Monday. We have been planning on doing this since we arrived, however something always happens which causes us to have to reschedule, so we were a bit surprised when we actually arrived and were able to share the ministry. Many of them were very excited about our ministry and invited us to come to speak to their churches, saying that a ministry such as this is of great need here in Cuenca. It was a great time of fellowship and encouraged us to keep on moving forward and visit these churches.

I would like to ask a special prayer request: one of our friends here is going through a lot and we are concerned about him. His father left them when they were very young and has a wife and other children in the States. A lot of responsibility falls on his shoulders, to provide for his mother and two sisters. He has been making some poor decisions which are affecting his family, friends, church, work, and ministry. We long to see redemption at the end of this story, so please pray with us!!

The following is our Prayer points for this month, and I ask that if you can join us for a time of prayer on Monday evening from 6p.m until 8:30 pm, or whatever works for your schedule, please do!!

“Looking to the hope we have through Jesus, we request once again that you join us in our monthly prayer and fasting for our friends and ministry. Monday night is the time we have set aside to make this a corporate event so if you are can join us during that time: 6:00-8:30 PM, please do so, however if that is not a workable time, please join us anytime that works for you in your home or whatever location you can commit to the time of prayer. As you take the time to pray, we ask that you fast the normal scheduled meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner until after the time of prayer and fasting is complete. Thanks so much for joining us; these fasting and prayer times are making a huge difference.
I am reminded of the call to fast that Queen Esther gave when the decree was given to kill all the Jews of her day. (Esther 4:16) As she held the confidence that she could hear from God and gain insight on what to do to gain the king’s favor to do something that could change the edict, she didn’t hesitate and Mordecai took that as well and committed the Jews to join in the fast. The outcome was swift and effective. She received the wisdom and the king responded. Isn’t it awesome that when we humble ourselves before God, He listens to our hearts, shares His Spirit with us and we can do what needs to be done to accomplish what we know to be right. So, yes as we fast this prayer time we are confident that God will speak, we will listen, and then take action to do what it is God charges us to do and He will make the end of that time to produce His perfect will.
P.R.A.Y. Praise Repentance Ask Yield
Jesus Himself taught us how to pray in Luke 11. He gives us an example of the way we should structure our prayers: giving praise to our Father and worshipping Him, bringing petitions before Him while acknowledging our trust in His provision, identifying our sins and asking for forgiveness, and then giving everything up to Him in reverence of His faithfulness. Remember this as you begin your time of prayer this week. It may be beneficial to pray the Lord’s prayer together as well. (Matthew 6:9-13)

PRAISE: Please begin by praising the Lord and asking His Holy Spirit to come and be with us and guide us as we pray. Please spend 20-30 minutes focusing on God’s majesty and worshipping the Lord through music, whether by listening to CD or singing together. (Exodus 15:11-13)

REPENT: Take time to repent and search your hearts, asking God what things in your life might be keeping you from the throne of God. Also, ask the Lord to help you forgive those who have hurt you, so that you are not harboring bitterness. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

ASK: We would like to remind everyone to continuously be praying for our campers. Praying for them when we are with them is great, but it is not enough. We have seen proof of the spiritual battles they encounter; we have seen how they weep when we pray for them in the camps. They are susceptible to so many different types of evil forces and most are not able to battle with Satan by themselves. This is our responsibility. The Lord has put them in our lives and given us glimpses into their struggles. They need to be covered with our prayers for protection, for healing, for anointing, and for strength. We all know that prayer moves the heart of Our Father. We do not need to be present with them for our prayers to be efficient.
Being an ever increasingly vigilant force is a worthy goal. As we pray we are breaking through the spiritual barriers to salvation, joy, health, prosperity, and living a valued life so we encourage you to openly ask God through your time in prayer to intervene on behalf of these campers and their families. We are seeing tremendous evidence of God’s intervention in families as their children have encountered Jesus during camp. Just recently we received a report from our team in Guayaquil, Ecuador that a camper, Mayte, died on October 1. One of the team members received a call from Mayte’s mom asking for prayer. This mom realized the effectiveness of our people praying and thought enough about it to call and commit the team to prayer. It is a joy and a powerful right guard of defense for others as we pray. Let’s take our place this prayer session and be there for our friends. (James 5:16)
Let’s take time to pray for our campers. Some names we would like you to remember this month are Flor, Jorge, Erwin, Christina, Nila, and Luis, Karlita, Neiser from Guayaquil; Mayte, Gisella, Rosita, Fernando, David, and Alex from Quito; Rachel, Raessa, Nick, Vickie, Hana, Damien, Josh, Courage, and Kieven from Osceola; Ron, James, Kathy, and Sarah from Idaho; Natasha, Ivan, and Nicoli from Ukraine, Bodji, Jacki, and Biagala from Mongolia. Specifically lift up the names of campers that you know and that the Lord has put on your heart. (2 Corinthians 4:1-8) Please pray for the freedom of Christ to be revealed in their lives. (Galatians 5:1)

YIELD: We were recently encouraged and reminded that the Lord has sent us out with a purpose, and that He has given us His blessing as well a promise that He will provide for us. Our work is not in vain and we are learning to rely on Him for helping us to further His kingdom and share His love. (Mark 6:7-13, Acts 13:2, 3)

As you draw to the end of your time in prayer and fasting, please take some time and share with each other what you hear the Lord has said. It may be helpful to spend some time quietly listening to the Spirit, with the ears of our hearts open and ready to receive, as prayer is a two-way conversation. Share praises, words of encouragement, Scriptures, etc. It may also be nice to close with a song or two. Have great time with your brothers and sisters in the presence of our Papa!”

Additional and Supportive Scripture Verses to pray and ponder through this event:
Psalm 107
Isaiah 40:28-31
John 14: 6, 15-21
Psalm 46

“May the God of Grace be to you this month with great awesome power, lifting up your head to see His Glory as He fills the whole earth, may you see His mighty wonders and majestic splendor as you travel your path each day and see He is for you and not against you. May you experience a huge amount of His overextending love and joy to give you strength!”

"Strength and dignity are her clothing..." Proverbs 31:25

Well, time is whizzing by…I am amazed at how fast a week flies by!! I found myself translating for two days at a Medical outreach organized by a local Christian radio station and a group of Counselors. A team of nurse’s from the States took blood pressures, weights, blood glucose levels…they needed translators to help educate the people of Cuenca about nutrition, dental hygiene, women’s health. Yours truly is now a professional at explaining breast self-exams in Spanish. (Sorry if that is inappropriate for the general public, but I sure learned a lot of new words!) At the end, they had counselors waiting to talk and pray with each person. Noele helped to entertain the kids while their parents waited. They had puppet shows, face painting, music and candy…Noele is a natural clown!! Needless to say, we were completely exhausted, and took a much needed day off on Friday. It was an especially indulgent day because it was raining, and I read a whole book just for fun!

We had a great Sunday, beginning with the final of a series of messages on the book of Ruth, and ending with a Cristo Vive gathering. As I digest what I learned through the last two sermons, I am perplexed. Ruth was, to be sure, a woman of great conviction, courage, integrity, obedience, and confidence. Sadly, I think we could all admit that women like these seem rather rare these days. I was upset when someone here said: "there are NO women like Ruth these days…she was PERFECT!"
This is not true for several reasons, one, and the most obvious: she was NOT perfect!!! She was no more perfect than I am! Secondly, there are women like her. I know several whose stories simply aren’t written yet! What about all the women out there who are truly striving to become women after God’s heart? In this house, there are three women of various ages and situations, fighting against who the world would like us to become, in order to let the Lord have His way. Because we are close, we know the struggles each other is facing and that we are working at shaping our characters to look something like hers. Ruth truly is a beautiful example.

We do not often hear of a young woman, recently widowed, staying with her mother-in-law, and taking orders from her. Ruth’s fidelity and love for Naomi speaks volumes. Ruth left her comfort zone, home, and family to follow Naomi, and more importantly, Naomi’s God. I have often read Ruth and wondered at her boldness when it came to Boaz, but in truth, her boldness came from her faith and trust in Naomi, whose faith was in the Lord, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe; and when viewed in those terms, it is not so surprising that she confidently made herself known to Boaz, and that he, in turn, did what was right in the sight of the Lord. What would have happened if Boaz had rejected Ruth? Do you think she would have moped around, believing that she was worthless? Would she have begged Boaz to reconsider? Would she have sent her friends to talk to him, trying to manipulate the situation in order to get what she wanted? Many things could have happened, but if Ruth truly was a woman of virtue and steadfastness, she would have praised the Lord, no matter what the outcome. Among Ruth’s godly characteristics are: sacrificial love, hard work, submission to authority and to wise counsel, and confidence in God that all would work itself out, according to His will.

So ladies, here’s to showing the world that Godly women of virtue truly exist! Take on your challenges and let the Lord create in you a beautiful heart! Men, take note, the Lord may use a woman to impart valuable lessons in boldness, obedience, and integrity. Don’t forget your role as a leader in this world, and take care to encourage the women in your lives to stand up for what is true, noble, and just!

He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. Ruth 3:9-11 ESV

Joy in the Morning!

“Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…”
Psalm 37:4-7

We have been here before, have we not?? By this I mean, on our knees before the Lord one minute, and the next minute marveling at what He is already doing to answer our petitions.
Monday (the 13th) evening marked the 2nd of the monthly Cristo Vive corporate prayer and fasting events.
Noele and I ended up being the only two in Cuenca praying together, but we didn’t mind. We sang songs, took turns reading Scriptures and interceding our campers, families, friends, and for Ecuador and the rest of the world where Cristo Vive has or will minister.
As you all know, Flor has been heavy on my heart and mind, and I have been wondering just what my responsibility is in this situation. We specifically asked the Lord to open doors and provide people with information as to how to handle this very complex and delicate situation.
The very next day, while talking with a few friends, they told me they know of several orphanages and foundations in Cuenca, Quito and the surrounding areas which are run by Christians, and have plenty of resources to be able to meet the needs of children such as Flor. On Wednesday, we headed to one of these orphanages and I was able to talk with a woman with a wealth of knowledge about the ins and outs of the system, which is very different than the States. She gave me several contacts which should help in solving some of the issues, not only for Flor, but for all of the children in that orphanage and others in Guayaquil. She also told me that the government is considering beginning a Foster Care Program.
Noele and I are amazed at the Lord’s quick responses. The lesson learned once again is that prayer moves the heart of God, and prayer with fasting moves Him into immediate action! He is protecting us every day, giving us good gifts, and meeting needs that we didn’t even know we had.
We are so excited to be a part of His work, but He is once again reiterating the all-important aspect of spending time seeking His face versus running around like crazy people trying to make things happen on our own.

On a more personal note, I finally feel like I am waking up after the last few months of being on auto-pilot. He is healing my body, mind and Spirit, and I am enjoying this adventure. Gene and Jordana commented recently that I am more like myself…which they attributed to my having Noele’s companionship. DO you think I am a ‘people person’? Now, the challenge is to make sure we give each other enough space! I tell Noele that honesty is best, and that this is good training for the future!

We are not planning on traveling for at least two months, so we are settling into Cuenca, getting to know the people, diving into our work, and making the house feel like a home. We have been scrubbing, moving furniture, and picking out colors for curtains and paint! The freezer is already stocked with leftover chili and pesto, as I have been cooking up a storm...we have been missing casseroles lately (who knew that would ever happen??), so I may have to try my hand at an Ecuadorian version of a Wisconsin staple. Noele thinks we should make a cookbook of all that we make here, since much is improvised due to the different ingredients. I think Pastor Freddy, who lives next door, can smell when we are cooking, because he has eaten 4 meals with us in the last 3 days. The poor guy is lonely and can’t cook, so we take pity on him. Our house is often filled with people, and we like entertaining -- most of the time. Last night, Henry, the guy I am training to be the leader in Cuenca, and his new wife, came for dinner, and we discussed plans to have a Cristo Vive Conference here in Cuenca.
I am about to cut our housemate’s (Lorena) hair, so, Chao for now. Thanks for reading!!

P.S. Please pray for Mercedes...she is flying to New York today, and will be in the States for 5 weeks.

From Noele's Perspective...

Noele wrote this on Monday, September 13, and I just had to share it with you all! Enjoy.

"For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." 2 Corinthians 4: 5,6

A great big "Hola!" and abrazo from Ecuador!!

This morning my dear friend Kristin and I once again loaded our belongings onto a bus to travel to another of our homes here in Ecuador. We left Guayaquil (on the coast) around 9:30 and arrived here in Cuenca (in the mountains-ish) around noon. The bus ride through the mountains was INCREDIBLE. The past couple times we traveled at night, but this morning we got to look out the window at the clouds floating by. As always, every time we travel it's an adventure. We made it to our bus on time and got our suitcases loaded up. We found our seats and Kristin says, "I have to go to the bathroom." Now, in our travels together, I have learned that Kristin needs the bathroom often and when she needs it, she NEEDS it. So she trotted off to find the nearest bathroom which was not so near, and also stopped at the bank in the bus terminal. Meanwhile I am gazing out the window, and both buses on either side of us start pulling out. Odd, I mused. Then I realized that WE were moving. Our bus was pulling out and Kristin was still somewhere in the terminal. A million thoughts raced through my head, what do I do? What if we leave without her? I have no phone, no idea how to get where we're going! She will need another bus, maybe I should get off and wait! So I run to the front of the bus and yell "MI AMIGA ESTA EN EL BANO!" The driver and his assistant fella kinda look at me funny but they pull over and the side-kick runs back to find her. Thankfully, she made it on time and I didn't have to spend five hours on the bus in panic. I think I might need a cell phone...

The Lord is ever-present in our lives here. The reason we had gone to Guayaquil was because the CVI team was having a one-day discipleship activity there for the kids. It was a really great time, as always, to see our kids and spend time with them for Bible reading, arts and crafts, and prayer. The prayers of the team down here are POWERful. It really keeps me accountable to my own prayer life and how much of myself I am putting into my prayers. One of our campers, Flor, who is an orphan and is very near to our hearts, reacted to something (we're not really sure what set her off) but I mean she threw herself on the ground from her wheelchair and was just screaming and trying to hit anyone who came near. Kristin keeps saying, this is NOT the Flor we know. And it's true. There is some sort of spiritual battle going on within her and we don't know if someone has been mistreating her or what. It was a good reminder for us that God has placed these individuals in our lives for a reason, and we are responsible for praying for the young and innocent and asking for protection against the attacks of evil.

Kristin and I both had some health problems while we were in Guayaquil. One of our friends eventually told us that we had to go to this doctor friend of his, who told us we have bronchitis and sinusitis. Or at least, we DID have but now we are equipped with cough medicine (something like Ecuadorian Robitussin) and antibiotics. Whereas Kristin had a bad reaction to the medicine and experienced side effects, I am feeling quite healthy and happy once again.

There is a worship song here that I have been hearing a lot and it has been really powerful for me. The words translated into English say, "You loved me when no one loved me, You saw me before anyone saw me. You gave me a name, I am Your daughter. The daughter of Your eyes. Because You loved me, I love you more than my life." I just love these words.

I have been missing my family and friends up there a lot, I wish I could talk to you guys more! I hope you all are enjoying the beautiful Fall season, someone should take a picture of the leaves when they start changing colors so I can see them, ok?? I can relate to the weather changing to colder temperatures because here in Cuenca, I am wearing monkey slippers and two sweaters and huddling against my laptop to keep warm. The nights feel like Wisconsin nights, but during the day it warms up a lot. If anyone is interested in seeing pictures, Kristin has been posting a lot on her facebook and I can send you a link maybe, but I do not have my camera here so I dont have any pictures on my computer yet.

LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU ALL! Thanks for your prayers, you are in mine as well!!

Noele