We just wanted to let everyone know of a prayer request so you can be praying. Tomorrow, September 8th, at 9:00 a.m. (CST) we will be having an important meeting over the “Fresh Water” project in Santo Domingo, so your prayers are definitely cherished. We will actually be meeting with a large organization here in Quito. There is a small team of people coming from the community next to the Camp in Santo Domingo that will be traveling to Quito early in the morning. I (Joel) will be going with them and Santiago from FACE to meet with this large organization here in Quito to try to get permission to do the water project on our own. At this point, the community can’t wait any longer for the government to act; they want to act on their own, which is fantastic. It’s only that they need permission before proceeding. We are hoping to receive this permission tomorrow. Again, your prayers are greatly, greatly appreciated!!!
Agua Potable Prayer Request
Evergreen Covenant Vision Team
We just finished hosting the Vision Team from Evergreen Covenant Church in Sanford, ME. We had a great time with them. In the end we visited 7 different possible locations that they could partner with for future ministry. Six of the seven locations were indigenous churches who held their services in their native tongue (Quichua) as well as in Spanish. The good thing was that all of the churches were located near or around the Volcano Cayambe, so the traveling wasn’t too, too extensive. The team, Joel and Henry Burbano were treated very well by all of the churches we visited. The team even got the opportunity to really experience culture when they were fed Cuy (Guinea pig) a couple of times. They probably won’t be cooking it up when they get home.
This was a bit of stepping out of my comfort zone (Joel). I was the translator for the team so while we were out and about I was the one responsible for translating in both directions. It was definitely good that most everyone spoke Spanish in addition to their native Quichua. In the end, everything went just fine. My translations were not always perfect but the main point was always understood.
Now, that they have headed back. They are going to take all of the information that they have collected and share it with their congregation. Then from there, as a church body, they are going to pray about the Lord’s leading in which direction to go to form a partnership. It will be pretty difficult in that so many of the locations were filled with such wonderful people and vision for future ministry.
We finished up our time with them by taking them to historic sites in Quito as well as to the Equator. We had a great time with a lot of laughs. One of our highlights is pictured below when one of the churches we visited took us on a horse ride up to the top of a mountain. It was a pretty cool!
Vision Team from Maine
Starting today, August 22nd, we’ll be hosting a Vision Team from Evergreen Covenant Church from Sanford, ME including the pastor and three members of the congregation. What is a Vision Team you ask? Well, a vision team is a group of people who desire to come to a country where there are Covenant Ministries and learn more about those ministries with the end that they can begin a relationship for future partnership in ministry. We are excited that Evergreen Covenant Church chose Ecuador to visit!
We have been happy to set up a trip for them that will last about a week and will include meetings with national church officials, visits to 7 different ministry locations, and, of course, visiting some of the fun/historical sites in Ecuador. Joel will be traveling with them to many of the different sites but we’ll both hosting them while they are here in Quito. We are excited to get to meet them later on tonight when they arrive and are really excited to see how the week turns out and what ideas come about. Please pray that their visit is fruitful and much can be accomplished.
Update on Ruth and Earl
Ruth and Earl holding Simeon as a newborn.
We were just talking about it and realized that we hadn’t given you all an update on Ruth and Earl (Joel’s parents) and their medical situations as of late. As you probably know, Earl had a successful hip replacement back in the beginning of July. The surgery went well and his recovery has gone extremely well! All of the reports are fantastic!!! He is basically back to life as normal with walking, riding a bike, driving the car and gardening. He is only waiting the approval to begin playing sports again and then he’ll be out on the tennis court in no time!
For Ruthie, things have not gone quite as smoothly. She has had a few more ups and downs lately. As you remember, she had a large tumor removed from the back of neck back in May. From that point, she has been wearing a large neck brace to protect her spinal cord and has had to use a feeding tube as her ability to swallow did not return after the surgery. Well, the good thing to report is that she has been able to get her neck brace off and she is enjoying the comfort of a bed and normal life with no huge neck brace. And she has made progress with her swallowing. In July, they started an electric stimulus treatment that retrains her throat muscles to begin working again. This treatment has been successful in that she has been progressing, though slowly, in her ability to swallow.
The main prayer request is for the length of time it is taking for her to fully regain this ability. You can only imagine how difficult it would be to not be able to swallow and to have to receive nourishment through a feeding tube. It is very discouraging at times. We pray with Ruthie that God will fully heal her neck and that one day she will be able to swallow fully again.
Meeting in Santo Domingo
The family and I (Joel) just got back from a successful trip to Santo Domingo and the Covenant Church campgrounds there. I had a meeting on Saturday which lasted around 5 hours and things seemingly went very well. We were able to make a number of decisions that will greatly help and enhance the camp; many things that have been needing to be done for years. In the end, a lot of these decisions will mean more work for me, but I am ok with that because it means the camp will improve in the end and we will make progress and in the end God will be glorified!
Off to Santo Domingo
Well, we are off to Santo Domingo again tomorrow, Thursday, August 17th and will be there through Sunday, August 21st. We’ll, as always, have limited internet access and communication in general. Your prayers for safe travel are always appreciated.
Tragedy Hits Ecuador Mission Field
On Thursday, August 4th, a tragedy struck the Ecuadorian Mission Field. A young man, by the name of Joshua Kim, of 21 years of age who was here visiting the Amazon region of Ecuador with his Presbyterian church from Orlando, FL, was swept away by a river that he and the team were swimming in to cool off from a hard day’s work. The place where they were swimming was a very popular among locals as there were people swimming there before and after they were.
Though I (Joel) wasn’t a part of the team in the Amazon, I knew I really wanted to help. So, I left early on the morning of August 5th to go over to the Amazon region of the country to be there with the team. The team ended up needing to return to Quito to fly out the next day though the pastor of the group stayed to continue the search for their lost friend. In addition to this, Joshua’s father and brother (who had been to Ecuador twice himself) and the senior pastor of the church flew in later that night. I took this group (the father, brother and both pastors) back to the Amazon region to continue the search for Joshua. Unfortunately, after five days of searching they left Ecuador without finding him. The good news is that on Friday, August 12th, Joshua’s body was found and is currently being delivered back to Quito so that he can be sent home to Florida.
Never in my life when I decided to be a missionary did I think that I would be involved in something like this. What I can attest is this: Jesus Christ is alive and at work here in Ecuador! I have never meet a group quite like the four I met from Orlando, FL. It is obvious to me that the Holy Spirit has been guiding them and has been with them every step of the way. Their response to this tragedy was inspiring! They were touched by those Ecuadorian officials, church members and missionaries that were helping them search for Joshua. His brother, Joseph, testified that when he first learned the news of what had happened that he was shocked, horrified and sad about it, but that as he has been here in Ecuador, he has only been encouraged to continue the ministry that his brother had started. He had a whole new respect for his older brother and wanted others to know about him and his life through the blessings of ministry. Joshua’s father, Mr. Kim, amazingly testified very similarly. He said that he felt that his son passed away so that he would come to see Ecuador and the ministry that both of his sons had started there. He felt that it was taking so long to find Joshua because God wanted him to see more of Ecuador and the ministry that his sons had been involved in. He thought God was encouraging him to continue on the ministry and do more ministry in Ecuador, not just their family but the whole church.
Joshua Tico Kim will be remember for his dedication to ministry in the church and his love for others. He was always giving of himself. In addition to this, he was a talented musician, singer and composer. He was soon going to be moving to Boston, MA to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music. From everything that I have learned about Joshua I wish I had had the opportunity to meet and to get to know him.
Though the story of the family and close friends is inspiring for us all, I know there will be difficult days ahead with the reality of no longer having Joshua present with them. Please pray for them that God can provide that comfort that is needed in their loss.
Renewal of Vows Service
Yesterday, I (Joel) had the opportunity to lead a Renewal of Vows service at our friends’ (Olguita and Henry) church in south Quito. They have been hold the Marriage Course (similar to the Alpha Course) at their church and whenever they complete a course, they have a Renewal of Vows service for their graduates. Well, this time, their pastors, Henry and Olguita, wanted to have their vows renewed also, so they asked me to lead the service as a licensed pastor.
I actually ended up being really nervous because it was my first time leading something in Spanish only. Now, it’s true that I had everything written out a head of time but I was still really nervous. But, thanks to God, everything seemed to go very well. It was a blessed day and service and I was very happy to be a part. Here are some pictures from the event.
The two couples that were having their vows renewed.
Henry and Olguita renewing their vows.
Simeon and his partner in crime, Caleb, driving home.
Simeon and the Wave!
We have had a pretty crazy schedule lately, basically since the middle of January. We had the opportunity with a couple of days off so we were able to take a 3 day vacation to Same beach which is close to Esmeraldas and Atacamas. We are very thankful for it and it was nice to have some family time together. Simeon found out that he liked the ocean more than he thought. Don’t worry, Simeon is fine after his encounter with the big wave!
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Mission Team from Willmar, MN
We had the privilege of meeting and getting to know a group from Willmar, MN who were working at the Covenant Camp in Santo Domingo. They are a group that have been here in Ecuador before and we considered it a true blessing to meet them and get to know them. They are passionate about on-going ministry with the already existing Covenant ministries in Santo Domingo. This is really exciting for us and we can’t wait to see what God is going to do! We were able to help out some with the team. A little bit of translation as well as helping out around the camp. Joel helped out the Rocha’s as much as he could and Kim helped out in the kitchen. In addition to the group from Willmar, the camp also had an adolescent retreat with almost 300 kids! Needless to say, everyone was busy, but it was a good busy and I think a lot of Ecuadorian adolescents had a great time and saw Jesus in action through worship, prayer and fellowship!
May this be a reminder to continue to pray for short-term mission teams and their experiences here in Ecuador and around the world. Here is a picture of the team! Thanks for coming friends!
Mission Team from Willmar and Dawson, MN
The Santiago Partnership