We thank God for His provision and guidance! Since our last post, both of our jobs have kept us quite busy. I (Matt) was able to coordinate campus improvement projects with the Point Loma Nazarene University LoveWorks team. We also had a day of child evangelism and community improvement in the La Gasca neighborhood of Quito, which is still recovering from a massive landslide that occurred January 31st. I was also able to plan some touring time to take the team to three of Quito’s main tourist attractions in one day!
Andréa has also been working with the Stoner family, who are missionaries with One Mission Society. The family is studying Spanish here at NILI as a part of their preparation for missions service in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Apart from Andréa’s administrative responsibilities for NILI she has been a great help to the professor in preparing class materials and other tasks. She was even able to help out by substitute teaching a couple of times. It has also been a great pleasure for us to get to know the Stoner family and help them adjust to life in Ecuador. We visited a tourist site or two with them and have plans for more in the future!
Matt, along with the other members of the North Andean Field Work and Witness leadership team has a goal to build a temporary chapel for a new church plant in Macas, Ecuador in the Amazon region southeast of Quito. At the time of this writing we have been working on this chapel for about two months, and have hopes to deliver the chapel soon. There have been many challenges and opportunities to learn, but we hope and pray that this chapel adds to the Kingdom of God through salvation and sanctification.
Along with our missionary team, we attended a Gallup StrengthsFinder workshop on the seminary campus. We are so grateful to have been able to learn about our abilities and gifts and how we work best as a team. Please pray that God allows our strengths to enrich our ministry teams as we continue to cultivate ideas and make an impact for the Kingdom of God in Ecuador!
Recently, there has been political unrest in Ecuador. For the past 10 days, roads have been closed and it has been difficult for people in Quito and other major cities to receive vital supplies. Natural gas, food and even airports have been affected. Our famous Christian radio station here, HCJB has asked Christians in Ecuador to pray for God’s peace. In times like this, we are reminded that the laws of mankind are not perfect, but a placeholder for the laws of God. Please join us in prayer that the love of Jesus Christ reign and that peace and unity are found!
We would also love to hear from you how we can join in prayer for your church, your family, or anyway else we can pray for you!
Praying for your work in Ecuador and for peace to come to the region. Enjoyed your blog.
Gloria a Dios por el trabajo que hacen muchachos. Me encantan sus blogs, que El Señor todo poderoso siga bendiciendo su trabajo.