While you all were celebrating with family, friends and turkeys last week, we went off to Santa Rosa, Ecuador to be at Hechos 29, which means Acts 29. It is a bible school and cultural exchange as students from Sweden and Ecuador come together to study God’s word and look into ministry. Joel had the privilege of being one of the teachers in the school’s last week of classes. He taught on the topic of “Called and Sent” as the students were preparing themselves to be sent from their school back to the homes. It was a powerful time as many of the students will be future leaders in the church. We had the opportunity to get to know and counsel Karin (pictured below) who is actually from Chili and is discerning her call to Youth Prison ministry. It was a wonderful time to see and be a part of a great ministry that they have here in Ecuador.
Hechos 29
Happy Thanksgiving and Off to Santa Rosa
We just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. We hope you all have a fun, food-filled Thanksgiving with many laughs and good times with family and friends!!!
We are off to Santa Rosa (close to El Chaco on the Ecuador map) for Hechos 29. Hechos 29 means “Acts 29” in English. Basically, it is a young-adult interchange with students from Ecuador and Sweden. Its purposes is for biblical/theological instruction for young adults interested in missions or ministry of some sorts. Joel will be speaking on the topic “Called and Sent” which is very fitting for us. We will be leaving this morning (November 21st) and returning Saturday, November 26th. Your prayers for safe travels and clarity in thought and word are very much appreciated.
News from this Weekend
We just wanted to write a quick note and thank you for your prayers for the events of this past weekend. Our Heavenly Father heard your requests and answered them. First off, the sermon seemed to be a big hit on Sunday. Though I was worried about being understood with my bad Spanish, it seems as though that wasn’t even a problem as numerous people came up to me to tell me about all of the things they learned and received from my message. Very cool!
Also, things went very well with the Consejo (“Advisory Council”) of IPEE meeting on Saturday. Basically, they approved that we continue investigating about the project and visit locations that have ministries to children. We’ll be revealing more information about this in coming weeks but just a note to let you all know that things went very well. Everyone was very positive and encouraging about partnering for ministry in the future.
Prayer Requests
This weekend we’ve got a couple of big things that you all can be in prayer for. We have a meeting with the Consejos (the Advisory Councils) on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. We’ll be meeting with them to discuss our long term plans and what we would like to do. It will be a pretty open ended meeting so we are really looking forward to exploring the possibilities of future ministry together.
Also, Joel will be preaching at our church El Salvador this Sunday. Your prayers are also appreciated for that.
Thanksgiving Day Reflection on the Problem of Hunger in the World
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Our First Ecuadorian Wedding
This past weekend we traveled to Santo Domingo for our first Ecuadorian wedding. Flor (whose name translates “flower”), who works in the snack shop at the campgrounds, was getting married and had invited us. It was a wonderful experience as it was a beautiful wedding and a great cultural experience. There are many similarities with weddings here as compared to the States but there are also many differences. It was also neat to see many of our good friends all dressed up as a lot of the Rocha family were involved in the wedding. Here are some pictures so you can get a glimpse:

After we got there, we found out that for the wedding we'd be using our car to deliver the bride to the end of the aisle. Here's Joel helping her out.
Update on Ruthie
We just wanted to let you all know of some big news on a topic that you all have been praying for. Today, Ruthie (Joel’s mom) was able to get her feeding tube out. Praise the Lord! This is a huge blessing for her (and for us!) because it has been such a bear dealing with it and receiving nutrients through it. Though she is not swallowing anywhere near perfect yet, she is swallowing enough at this point that the doctors allowed her to remove it. Now, she is not even close to being out of the water yet (she is only able to swallow non-thick liquids and some soft foods with the help of a liquid) but she is able to give herself enough nutrients on a daily basis by way of her mouth that the doctors agreed to let her take out the feeding tube. This obviously helps bring some sense of normalcy to her life even though her eating habits are not yet any where near normal. We just asked for you continued prayers that she will keep making progress on her swallowing and get back to her normal fully food-enjoying self.
Also, just to let you all know, Earl (Joel’s dad) has FULLY recovered from his hip replacement. He is back to doing all of the activities that he loves and is even playing tennis at 100%. With a newly renovated heart (triple bypass surgery in January) and a new hip, he feels like a new man! With all these good things, they both give thanks and praise to the Lord for the extension of their lives and their ability to recover. Praise the Lord!
Big News!
Last week the Covenant Campgrounds here in Ecuador (in Santo Domingo) found out that we have been selected to be presented to the Covenant Camps of the ECC (U.S. and Canada) as the 2012 Camp Project donation. This means that if the Camps decide to go with our campgrounds as the project for 2012 then we can receive a very large donation that will go towards the projects that are included in the Super Camp plan that was earlier approved. For example, the money can be used to construct the pool, renovate the kitchen and begin the process of constructing the family cabins. All of this will, of course, be a huge support for the camp. We’ll keep you updated once we receive word from the camps in the U.S. and Canada and their decision.
Pictures from the Pastor’s Retreat in Santo Domingo
Happy Halloween from Ecuador!

Kim and Simeon celebrating the Ecuadorian version of Halloween, El Dia de Difuntos ("The Day of the Dead") with Kim's Spanish teacher (Janina), our babysitter (Valeria), and our babysitter's daughter (Kelli). They are drinking the traditional holiday drink Colada Morada, which Simeon enjoyed thoroughly.