Just a quick post to let you know that we will be in the northern city of Ibarra until July 8th with a Mission Team from our home church, Northwest Covenant, in Mt. Prospect, IL. We’ll hopefully be able to provide pictures while we are there but aren’t sure of our internet access.
In Ibarra
Categories: Prayer Requests, Travel, Updates
Tags: Ecuador, Northwest Covenant Church, Travel, Trips, Updates
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June Newsletter Available for Download
Newsletter_June_2011
Our June newsletter is available for download (Just click the link above!). You can see what all has been happening with us since our last official update in March. Also, please note the address for Covenant World Mission has changed. If you are sending checks, please send them to:
Covenant World Mission
Joel & Kim Delp STM Support
8303 W. Higgins Rd.
Chicago, IL 60631-2941
Categories: Family Fun, Language Study, Ministry, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Santo Domingo, Simeon, Tena, Travel
Tags: Answered prayers, Blog, Churches, Ecuador, Ecuador Info, FACE, Family Fun, IPEE, Language Study, Northwest Covenant Church, Prayer Requests, Santo Domingo, Simeon, Spanish Lessons, Tena, Travel, Trips, Updates
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Mucho Travel this Week
We have a couple of different trips setup for this week. Joel’s meeting at the Camp in Santo Domingo didn’t end up happening last Friday even though we were out there. It has been rescheduled for this Friday so he will be heading back to Santo Domingo Thursday morning through Saturday morning. He will probably be taking a bus to save on money since we’ve been having a lot of transportation expenses. Please pray for his safety in travel.
We are excited that Kim will be taking her first trip to Tena with Simeon, of course. She’ll be heading to Tena Wednesday and Thursday to help pass out promotional information for their upcoming disabilities training. Just pray for her in this situation in everything as the travel, need to depend on her Spanish and unfamiliarity with Tena all very new to her.
Categories: Family Fun, Ministry, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Santo Domingo, Simeon, Travel, Updates
Tags: Ecuador, FACE, Prayer Requests, Santo Domingo, Simeon, Travel, Trips, Updates
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Chapter 4 – When Helping Hurts
Sorry it has been a little while since we have posted an update on our book that we are reading. We had read this chapter a little while ago but just have been so busy with travel and all that it just hasn’t been possible to do an update.
Chapter 4 picks up where Chapter 3 left off in providing excellent teaching, understanding and suggestions for how to see poverty and how best to help. I am left with the overall feeling after reading this chapter that every church or at least every church’s mission team/board should read this book when looking at their ministries to the poor and seeking to make them more effective and well thought out.
One of the main concepts that I learned from this chapter is that there are three methods to responding to poverty: relief, rehabilitation and development. Each situation in which poverty is evident requires its own unique method for aid. “Relief” is the urgent and temporary provision of emergency aid to help victims of a natural or man-made disaster. The crisis that recently unfolded in Japan is a good example of when “relief” was needed. “Rehabilitation” is what happens immediately after the “relief” is done. It seeks to help people be restored to the positive elements of their precrisis conditions. “Development” is one step further. It seeks to help people better fulfill their calling to glorify God by working and supporting themselves and their families through the fruits of that work. Development is not done to people or for people but with people.
Here’s the key lesson from this chapter: one of the biggest mistakes that North American churches make – by far – is in applying relief in situations in which rehabilitation or development is the appropriate intervention.
Just think of what typically happens in a North American church when a poor person comes to that church seeking help, the response is usually to do nothing or to give them some sort of handout. Pretty much always, that person seeking help is not in a “relief” type crisis situation so why do we respond with “relief” type aid. Unfortunately, I believe because it is the easy way out. It takes time and energy to respond in a “rehabilitation” or “development” type way. It’s hard to take time to get to know the person, figure out what their situation is exactly and take the time that is needed to walk with that person in the personal problems and come to a good solution together in which the person being helped is proactively involved. It’s hard and it takes time and energy but that really is what is needed in this type situation.
Categories: Books we are reading, Devotions, Ministry
Tags: Blog, Books we Recommend
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Travel to Santo Domingo
We leave this morning, Wednesday, June 15th, for Santo Domingo and will be there through this following Saturday, June 18th. We’ll be heading there for ministry, of course, as well as Joel has a Camp Committee meeting on Friday. Your prayers are appreciated for safe travel as well as for the meeting on Friday as they will be discussing Joel’s report that he had presented.
For a quick update on Ruthie, not much has changed since her last post. She has not regained her swallowing yet. Though she does feel a bit better each day, she is still experiencing quite a bit of discomfort. Your continued prayers are very much appreciated.
God bless!
Joel, Kim and Simeon
Categories: Ministry, Prayer Requests, Santo Domingo, Travel, Updates
Tags: Prayer Requests, Santo Domingo, Travel, Trips, Updates
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Back Home in Quito
We arrived safely back home in Quito around 10 p.m. on Thursday evening. The trip was fairly uneventful with no delays. It is good to be back! It seems as though we have been gone quite a while even though it has really only been a little bit over two weeks. We’ve already got Spanish lessons setup for next week as we feel really out of it not speaking Spanish for a couple of weeks. We should have got more Mexican food while we were in the States!
To give one more update on Ruthie, she still cannot swallow and it’s looking like it is going to be a little while. She still has a lot of swelling in her neck. The main treatment to regain her ability to swallow is providing small amounts of electrical current to her throat muscles, but before they can begin this treatment, swelling must go down. She has an appointment with the doctor on the 28th of this month and hopefully he will clear her then to begin this treatment. We don’t know how long after she begins this treatment that it will hopefully start working and she will regain her ability to swallow.
This, of course, is discouraging as she must remain eating through the feeding tube in her stomach until she can regain the ability to swallow. In addition to this, she has a very large brace on her neck (you can see it of the picture of her on the blog) which she must wear until the bone graft, which was done on her third vertebrae, heals completely. They want her to wear the brace for four months to ensure it is fully healed. As you can imagine, one cannot lay down wearing a brace like this so sleep remains difficult.
We just wanted to share a little bit more because we know that you all have been praying for Ruthie and this helps to know exactly how to pray. As we have already shared before, Ruthie has mentioned so often how she feels that it’s been the prayers of others and God’s response to those prayers and the overall support of everyone that has gotten her through this whole ordeal. So, on behalf of Ruthie, thank you so very, very much!!!
Mom and dad were so thankful that we came. We were able to help a great deal. Probably, the biggest support for them was helping them get over the hump of getting everything figured out once Ruthie was released from the hospital. There was definitely a lot medications and processes to work out with taking care of her and so it was good to get a system in place. As you could imagine, Kim was very, very helpful in this regard. Mom and dad were so thankful she was there. And Simeon also provided a good reason to smile amidst all the difficulties.
Categories: Language Study, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Travel, Updates
Tags: Answered prayers, Language Study, Prayer Requests, Spanish Lessons, Travel, Updates
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Heading Back to Quito
We fly out tomorrow for Quito out of O’Hare at 12:45 p.m. Your prayers for safe travel are very much appreciated!
Update and Travel Plans
Ruthie, Kim and Simeon outside in the garden area at the hospital
We thank God for a successful minor surgery yesterday for Ruthie of having a feeding tube inserted into her stomach. The surgery was quick and fairly easy and over within 45 minutes or so. She has had some pain and exhaustion after the surgery but seems to be recovering well.
She needed to have the feeding tube to her stomach placed because she still is not able to swallow at all and, unfortunately, the doctors and nurses aren’t able to tell her when that will start again. The swelling has gone down significantly in her neck but there still is quite a bit. In addition to this, her muscles in her neck will need to be retrained as how to swallow. They are saying that it can be weeks or even months.
The nasal feeding tube that she has been using (as you can see in the picture) is not a good long term solution as it is uncomfortable, does not help with the neck swelling, and would make it difficult for Ruthie to go out. If she were able to start swallowing in a week, then she would just keep it it in but since they don’t know when she will be able to swallow again, it’s better to go with the stomach feeding tube.
The complication of not swallowing has caused additional tests and time in the hospital and so her release has been delayed. She is now hoping to get out by Friday or Saturday. Because of this and because one of the primary reasons for coming back from Ecuador was to help with Ruthie’s transition home from the hospital, we have moved our return trip back four more days until June 2nd. This way we will have enough time to help with the transition.
We just want to thank you all so very, very much for your prayers!!! Ruthie has mentioned just about once every day that it has been the prayers from everyone (and God’s response to the those prayers of course!) that has been getting her through all of this. She has had some discouraging days but she has been very strong and resilient through this whole process.
Categories: Prayer, Prayer Requests, Travel, Updates
Tags: Answered prayers, Prayer Requests, Travel, Updates
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Update on Ruthie and Immediate Prayer Request
Grandma Delp and Simeon
We ask for your prayers again for Ruthie. Today they did a Barium swallow test (using dye and an x-ray) and determined that she is not swallowing at all and it may be a very long time until she is able to. They have decided to give her a gastric feeding tube that goes directly into her stomach from her side and she can then have the NG feeding tube that is going in her nose removed. The surgery is supposed to be sometime tomorrow (Wednesday) and then she hopes to come home possibly as early as Friday.
She was pretty upset when first learning this news which is easily understood. As the day went along, her attitude seemed to pick up a little. I’m sure this won’t be the last time that she is down about this recent development.
Your prayers for strength, comfort, peace and hope are very much appreciated!
Update and Prayer Requests for Ruthie
Sorry for delays in posting since we arrived in Indiana. We have been pretty busy, although that is not an excuse.
Yesterday (Friday), Ruthie was moved to the rehab unit at Elkhart hospital. Here she will be receiving intense therapy with physical, occupational and speech. The primary therapy that she needs is SPEECH therapy. This therapy will teach her muscles in her throat how to swallow. The speech therapists will help with this. At this point, she is swallowing minimally and continues to have the feeding tube in her nose where she receives continuous feeding.
She seems in better spirits these last 2 days. Of course she wishes and wants so bad to be home. However, she knows she has to work hard to help her get home. Today (Saturday), Joel, Simeon and myself were able to take her outside to enjoy a beautiful day. We were out for about 20 minutes. I think this helped some since she LOVES outside so much. I (Kim), have been able to try and keep up with feeding her bluebirds here at her house as well as checking all of the nests to see if there are baby birds in them. Of course I am updating her which she loves! I have been enjoying Spring in Indiana with the lilacs and lilies of the valley as well as all kinds of nesting birds around the Delp house. It is has been a blessing. Simeon has enjoyed getting to know his cousins better! He is having a lot of fun with them!
Please continue to pray for rapid healing. Pray that the bone graft that they did to her spinal cord will “take” so there is no residual damage. Also please pray for rehab starting Monday. That she will not be discouraged, but will continue to press on. She is scared that not being able to swallow well is permanent. There is not evidence of this, but please continue to pray for healing of her swallowing.
The Santiago Partnership