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Serving Christ in Ecuador |
We just put together our latest newsletter. Please click the following to download it:
FYI: The newsletter is fairly large and may take a few minutes to download, so it’s not your computer but rather the download that is taking a little while. Sorry!
We are heading back to the States but our support needs continue. Please read all about it in our newsletter.
Bendiciones,
Joel, Kim and Simeon
It seems like a long time ago now since our friends and fellow visionaries left Ecuador. Especially in blog life since we are usually pretty timely in getting our posts up regarding what is going on in our lives. Some of it may be that so much happened during our time and then so much is happening for us right now in transitioning back to the U.S. that we really haven’t had good time to process our experience together enough to do justice to what happened during our time.
Group picture in Ibarra. From left to right-Marcela tapia, Jeff and Kristi Lundblad, Zach and Janae Stevens, Tim and Angie Eberhard, Joel, Kim and Simeon and Paul Thomspon
Most of you know that we have had a dream of starting a center for at-risk children and a medical clinic for over ten years now. Many things have developed in contributing to the growth of this dream over our last two years in Ecuador. However, in mid-September, we literally had dreams coming true when we had a Vision Team from the States come to visit. As you probably remember, IPEE (the Covenant Church of Ecuador) made a decision about the location for the center and medical clinic to be in a ministry of two districts of churches and specifically in the area of Otavalo.
The Vision Team that came was made up of people that are interested in supporting our future ministry in Ecuador by serving on the Board of Directors of the U.S. based non-profit organization. This Vision Team did not include all of those on the Board of Directors, but the majority were able to come. We had a great time from the beginning where the team got to know Ecuador, its customs and nuances and just experience the beauty of the country. Towards the end of the week, we made a trip to the North of Ecuador and the team was able to see and get to know ministries and pastors in the two Covenant conferences that are close to Otavalo. As well we visited two orphanages in the Quito area. After all of these visits, we were able to debrief a little bit and really started dreaming and brainstorming about possibilities God may be giving us for the future. This was a very exciting time. Hopefully, now that we have had their visit we can begin to work with IPEE and FACE (the social outreach branch of IPEE) to figure out the exact details of how things will look. Please pray for the Board of Directors and the future of this ministry.
Enjoy some pictures from our trip…
Joel laughing with kids in 4 lote
The Lundblad's
Pastor paul, Simeon and Joel looking at some land close to Karabuela
Janae, Kim and Kristi at a church visit in Ibarra
Kristi visiting an orphanage in Quito
Angie and Jane in 4 Lote
We had to put an IV in Zach close in Karabuela...but more on this in another post...
Tim and Zach discussing things
Tomorrow we leave on what is our last trip to Santo Domingo. This will be a tough trip as it will be our first round of saying goodbyes and it will be some of our toughest. The Rocha family have become very close friends of ours and we will miss them greatly while we are in the States. Please pray for all of us as this will be a tough trip for us but a good one because it will give us the opportunity to say goodbye and have closure to our time hear all the while knowing that we are planning on coming back and it is only a matter of time before we see them again.
La Familia Rocha
We just want to thank you for your prayers for the campgrounds! We have been able to purchase a truck for the camp’s ministry use. This has been a long time prayer request and concern for the camp. Basically since the time that we began serving the camp in January 2011 this has been a need. Since this time, the camp administrator, Ruben, has been using his personal vehicle for conducting the ministry of the camp. Well, there is a lot to be done for the camp and over this time period his personal vehicle broken around 5 times. This has been a great concern for us because Ruben shouldn’t have to use his personal vehicle for the ministry of the campgrounds.
Praise the Lord that we have finally achieved the goal of acquiring a pick-up truck for the campgrounds. Take a look. Thank you so much for your prayers for the campgrounds!
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…
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
The Santiago Partnership