God’s Promises-A Reflection from Kim

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Joel & Kim

The rainbow on our way to Papallacta

 

 

It’s hard to know where to begin when starting to get the word out about our last week.  As I’m sure you all remember, we had a Vision Team from the States come made up of our board of directors for our future non-profit organization.  It was such a great week.  I’m sure both Joel and I will share a lot of stories about it, but I wanted to start with this one…

The week had gone really well.  We were able to see a lot of places and experience a lot of things in the North district and Quechua district on Wednesday (Sept 12) and Thursday (Sept 13).  We were planning to debrief each evening about what we had experienced, but we had church services both evenings that lasted late into the night.  We decided those evenings that sleep was more important.  However, after getting a good night’s sleep on Friday evening, we met up on Saturday morning and planned to leave for Papallacta to enjoy time together at the hot springs.  However, we thought it would be good to do a ‘brief’ debriefing which ended up being from about 9AM to 1 or 1:30.  It was so worth it though!  We enjoyed a wonderful time of brainstorming and dreaming together about what the future may look like for all of us in Ecuador, ways to partner with already existing ministries…etc…  We will talk more about that later.

After a morning of excitement, dreaming and having a lot of things just ‘come together’ like a puzzle, we headed out to Papallacta.  On the way there, we saw a rainbow.  Some of you may have read Joel’s previous post about God’s promises through a rainbow.  If not, you can read it here

I had never seen the end of a rainbow until this one.  It kind of followed us for about 10 or 15 minutes, or maybe we followed it, I’m not sure.  But it was such a reminder to me of God’s promises.  After our meeting, I think we all felt very energized to finally see and talk about future possibilities for the center for at-risk children and medical clinic.  This was such a wonderful reminder to me that God is in control and He is faithful to keep His promises, no matter how big or small.

More to come later…

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Vision Teams/Board of Directors/Friends Coming…YEAH!

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Joel & Kim

The sign entering Otavalo close to where the future center and clinic will be

The majority of the Rocha family and Joel's family during our visit to the camp in June

 

We have a busy few days coming up, but we are super, SUPER excited about it.  Today (Friday) and tomorrow the whole Rocha family from our camp in Santo Domingo will be coming to visit and staying with us.  Joel and Ruben will be working to try and find a truck for the family to use at the camp since they are currently using their personal vehicle for all the work and travel for the camp.  We are excited that they are coming here and staying with us.  We hope we can make them feel as welcome here as they always make us feel at the camp!

On Sunday evening, the first members of our Vision team of our board of directors will be coming down to visit.  If you remember, after the decision was made by the Covenant Church of Ecuador where the future center for at-risk children and medical clinic would be, we wanted members and friends of our board of directors to come down and visit.  The team will be here from September 9-16.  It will be a week of dreaming and visioning together and listening to the Holy Spirit’s leading for the future.  This is also a great chance for the board members to see what role they will play in the future ministry here in Ecuador.  As most of you know, this dream has been with us for over 10 years now so to be at this point is really exciting for us!

As partners in prayer with us, will you commit to praying during this next week?  Please pray for each individual coming. If you want to pray for them by name, here are their names.

Pastor Paul Thompson (our pastor from our home church, Northwest Covenant)

Jeff Lundblad (friend from Northwest, works in IT at North Park University)

Kristi Lundblad (friend from Northwest, Pediatrician in the Chicagoland area)

Janae Stevens (friend from Coshocton, OH, mommy extraordinaire, passionate about helping kids )

Zach Stevens (friend from Coshocton, OH, contractor, passionate about helping kids)

Tim Eberhard (friend from Coshocton, OH, contractor

Angie Eberhard (friend from Coshocton, OH, money specialist, mommy extraordinaire, passionate about kids)

Joel, Kim and Simeon Delp

This is just a little glimpse of them and we will share more about them at a later time.  Please pray that we will be lead by the Holy Spirit and what he has for us in relation to helping kids in Ecuador.

Please pray also for safety in travel, safety experiencing Ecuador, and safety from getting sick.  We have already experienced spiritual warfare which means we are moving in the right direction, right?!

We covet your prayers and we can’t tell you how excited we are!

Blessings and love from Ecuador!

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Learning Lessons from Simeon…

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Joel & Kim

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, after Simeon had gotten dirty after playing, I was washing his feet in the sink and all of the sudden was humbled at the sight I saw.  I was washing his little feet in the sink with soap and water and I couldn’t help but be reminded of Jesus washing His disciples feet and what that signified.  In true Jesus form He was showing, very evidently His servant heart.  I was humbled in the fact that I’m not sure I have ever viewed in this significant way the servant-like heart I should have, just like Jesus had with his disciples with my son.  Of course I ‘serve’ him in many ways, getting him meals, playing together, teaching him, putting him to bed, etc.  But I started thinking am I really “SERVING” him as Jesus was a servant to his disciples.  Let me clarify, I don’t think I should be his maid, give him everything he wants, etc…Jesus didn’t do that with his disciples either, but the significance of the statement Jesus made by washing his disciples’ feet was something set aside for a literal servant in this time.  It was something a King like Jesus would do.  I guess I am saying, when we think of the mundane things we do each day for our kids, maybe taking a different view on it is what we need.

 

An additional thing I thought about during this experience was that Simeon is a vessel for me to learn through.    For those of you who have kids, you probably understand this.  Simeon teaches me lessons all the time, not knowingly, but he certainly does and he will continue to.  I need to make sure I am open to LEARNING from Simeon, not just teaching him.  I certainly don’t get it right all the time, but being open to it, I am learning is very important.  I also see him all the time just being who he is, but influencing those around him.  He opens so many doors for conversation wherever we go just by being SIMEON!  What a great lesson!

 

 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

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On the road again…

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Joel & Kim

We are off again traveling.  We’ll be heading to Santo Domingo first to the camp to spend time with the Rochas and the employees of the camp.  After this we’re going to be heading to Montecristi to visit a children’s home that is there to gain what we can from their experience.  We are taking off today, the 31st, and will be returning Tuesday, September 4th.  During this time we won’t have good internet connection, nor can we be reached at our U.S. phone number.  Your prayers for safety in travel are greatly appreciated!

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THANKS for Praying…Licensing Update

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Joel & Kim

All People That on Earth Do Dwell

First, we just want to say thank you for your continued prayers regarding Kim’s licensing here in Ecuador.  We just have to say, GOD IS SO GOOD!  After a bit of a hectic week and three visits to the Medical Federation here in Ecuador, we were able to talk with the president of the Federation today!  He was about ready to stand up and give a presentation, but Olga worked her magic and a lady asked us what we needed (we must have looked a little out of place).  This lady ended up going up to the front of the auditorium and asking him to come talk with us.  He talked with us and then brought another friend in who spoke English very well to talk with us too.  Olga told him the situation and also that I am a missionary and working with the Evangelical Covenant Church of Ecuador (IPEE).  We talked a little about being a nurse practitioner and he stressed the NURSE part which made me explain that I was more than a nurse, especially a nurse defined here in Ecuador.  He quickly brought the conversation back around, asking how long I had been in school etc.  (I think I surprised him when I said 8-9 years!)

He then said that after completing the “rural medicine” requirement that all doctor’s do here in Ecuador, he thought I would be able to be certified.  He said up until the completion of this, I will be considered a nurse; there is no question in that.  However, after I complete the rural requirement, I can be licensed to practice (as a doctor) here by the Ministerio de Salud (the Ministry of Health)!  Praise the Lord!!!

I almost started crying!  I can’t believe all of this is coming together.  He gave me his personal cell phone number and email address and told us to keep in contact with him about this.  It is not a guarantee that I will be able to do the rural medicine time in Otavalo or Cayambe, but he said they can work on getting me there.  Basically, you are assigned a place to go.  Joel was talking with me and said, “remember how difficult your time at Rush was and remember when you said, why do I have to go through this?’  Well, had I not had the diploma from Rush, things just may not have worked out because it is the fact that Rush is such a well known university that it is recognized as a certified medical university here in Ecuador.

This is such exciting news and we really want to thank you all for your prayers.  When we were leaving I told Olga that so many people had been praying for this, and it showed because the way it happened was such a God thing!

Hallelujah!  Thanks be to God!

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Please Pray…More Licensing Updates!

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Joel & Kim

In typical Joel fashion, he has worked tirelessly and has exhausted EVERY avenue of trying to get my Rush Diploma notarized or apostilled here in Ecuador.  We both have called the U.S. Embassy here in Ecuador multiple times.  There is no way they say they can help us here in Ecuador.  The embassy does not apostille, nor do they notarize diplomas and the only way to get my diploma notarized at a regular notary here in Ecuador is to have an apostille from the States.  No one can apostille a diploma here in Ecuador from the States because it has to be apostilled in the state it was issued. SO…back to square one with that.  We will just wait and do this when we come back after being in the States.

On a slightly different topic, our friend Olga talked to her neighbor who is a physician here to see what to do after you register your title or diploma with the government.  She said to be able to practice here, you take your certifications to a medical college to get registered and evaluated.  SO, this is what we are going to do tomorrow.  PLEASE PRAY that this process works or that we find out exactly what I need to do to practice here as a Nurse Practitioner.  It may be more classes or other things, but we are really, REALLY praying that something can be done for me to practice.  If I am unable to practice, that really puts a kink in our thinking and planning.  Will you please pray with us?  We are planning on going sometime tomorrow (Tuesday August 28).  Thanks so much!  We will keep you updated.

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Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart…

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Joel & Kim

When I graduated in 2009 from grad school, I thought that I was finally done writing papers and taking classes.  That has all changed this summer.  I have taken 2 more graduate classes, but they were theology classes, nothing to do with nursing, medicine, etc…Talk about being out of my comfort zone-YIKES!

I am currently writing my consecration paper.  This is basically a paper where I explain my call to missions, my character, my thoughts on Covenant Theology, thoughts on Evangelism, etc…This is a step in the process for me in becoming a long-term missionary with the Evangelical Covenant Church.  I am nervous for sure about writing this paper, but not necessarily because of the content, more of how I portray the content.  I don’t just want to answer the questions, but I want to give a picture of who I am in Christ when answering them.  The verse that keeps coming back to me as I write is:

Psalm 19:14

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer”

Please pray for me as I write this paper.  That I may write was is pleasing to my Lord.

 

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Kim’s Licensing Update…The Story Continues…

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Joel & Kim

You all may be wondering what is happening with my licensing stuff here in Ecuador.  Well, yesterday (Tuesday) after getting my diplomas ‘officially’ translated into Spanish, getting things notarized etc…we (Olga and I) went back to the office thinking that things would probably go pretty smoothly since we did everything that was asked of us.  That is not exactly what happened…

The person we saw was different this time.  Because North Park University is not on the ‘list’ of schools that automatically are accepted here, we had to do a little more with this.  The first thing she asked for was my actual diploma (which we were told I didn’t need, just a copy).  Things pretty much stopped there because I didn’t have my actual diploma.

We then moved on to the Rush Diploma.  I had my actual diploma and Rush IS approved here as a school they accept diplomas from.  HOWEVER, they said it was not apostilled (internationally notarized) correctly.  It is supposed to be on the actual diploma.  We tried to explain that this is not typically done in the State because diplomas are official and I believe legal once they have the seal on them.  I had the apostille, just not on the actual diploma.  She then sent us to the notary to get some additional things done, but the notary wouldn’t notarize my diploma because it wasn’t apostilled the way I just explained.  UGGGG!

We thought that we might be able to get this completed through the U.S. embassy here in Ecuador.  I called them this morning and they told me that this official apostille has to be completed in the U.S. in the state here the diploma was obtained.  UGGG again!  SO, the process won’t be completed before we leave Ecuador.  It’s not that it HAD to be done, we just wanted to get one thing off the list so it would be one less thing to do when we come back.  God apparently has other plans…and that is OK!  The good thing is, this special apostille they are talking all about is an agreement between Ecuador and the U.S. to make diplomas and titles official here or in the U.S. I think in the long run, this will be a good thing in regards to my practice here in Ecuador.

Thanks for your prayers!  We appreciate them greatly!

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Joel’s Knee Update

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Joel & Kim

We just realized that we haven’t posted an update on how Joel is doing post-knee surgery.  He still has quite a bit of pain and discomfort but with all things considered he is doing quite well.  He is about 3 weeks post-surgery and is off his crutches and is getting around with a limp.  His knee still gets quite sore after being on it for a while but that is still to be expected at this point.  He is now off all of his medications and so his life is back to normal in terms of that.  It can still be a little bit difficult with sleep with the pain but that is getting better each night.  He has physical therapy every day which can be a lot of work and fairly painful but he thinks it is worth it because he can see a little bit of progress each day.  He is going to try to get back to work/ministry with going into the IPEE offices and making some small trips.  We appreciate all of your prayers and support through the surgery and the recovery.

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Upcoming Calendar

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Joel & Kim

Here is our Upcoming Schedule

August 21st — Joel Meeting at IPEE with FACE & Kim & Olguita working on Kim’s Medical Licensing in Ecuador

August 22nd & 23rd — Pre-Vision Trip Planning in the Quechua and North Districts

August 26th — Church at Santiago

August 27th – 28th — Finishing Pre-Vision Trip Planning and Visiting Current Orphanages in the Quito area

August 29th – 30th — The Search and Purchase of a New Vehicle for the Campgrounds

August 31st & September 1st — Camp Committee Meeting at the Campgrounds in Santo Domingo

September 2nd – 4th — Trip to Manta to visit a Foster Home

September 5th – 7th — Finishing the Pre-Vision Trip Planning and Orphanage Visits

September 8th — 16th — Vision Team Visit

September 18th — Joel’s Knee Surgery Follow-Up Doctor Visit

September 20th – 25th — Visit from Dave and Wendy Mark, Regional Coordinators

October 9th — Fly to Chicago for the beginning of Home Assignment

October 12th — Interviews with the World Mission Committee of the Executive Board

October 14th — At Northwest Covenant Church in Mt. Prospect, IL (our Home Church)

October 15th — Midwest Ministries Ministry Assessment in Chicago

October 16th — Interviews with the World Mission Committee on Ministerial Standing

October 17th – 18th — Continuation of Midwest Ministries Ministry Assessment in Chicago

October 28th — Church Visit at Evergreen Covenant Church in Sanford, ME

October 28th – 31st — Attending the Annual Conference Pastor’s Retreat of the East Coast Conference

November 4th — Church Visit at Emmanuel Covenant Church in Nashua, NH

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