Our fmaily had the opportunity to be a present at a “going away” party for a mission team from Denver who was heading back. It was a fun time. One of the coolest parts was when some ladies from the church provided everyone with a wonderful representation of a prayer for the harvest dance that the natives of Ecuador perform in the morning, usually for corn. Here you can get a taste for it.
Willling to be Used by God
We will start transitioning this blog from being just an “updates and pictures website” to also be a blog. We know that updates and pictures are what a lot of you will be coming here for but we also want to be able to provide an opportunity for learning along with us. We have a long road of learning and ministry ahead of us, which we are excited about, and we want to provide the opportunity for those who are interested to learn along with us.
On that note, I just wanted to share a word from the Word in my devotions this morning. In reading from Luke 1, we see how Mary is called by God to be a servant of His use. This message, of course, comes via the angel Gabriel.
The announcement in Nazareth shows that Mary came from humble, agrarian roots. Galilee was not a respected region. It was hardly the expected locale for one sent from God. Gabriel, the same angel who spoke to Zechariah, brings the divine message. Mary reflects the person whom God unexpectedly chooses to use. She brings no outstanding credentials to the task and lives on the edge of the nation. She brings nothing on her résumé other than her availability and willingness to serve. But those characteristics are the most basic ones anyone can offer God. So he puts her to use in his plan, taking her through a process for which she has had no training or preparation. He simply promises to be with her in the journey, and she responds by being willing to go on the ride. The angel, faithful in his task, wants Mary to know just how favored she is. With God’s grace behind her, Mary knows that she can do what God asks. The text’s description of her as a virgin reveals that she had grown up with a sense of personal responsibility and integrity.
The humble setting of Jesus’ birth not only reveals the nature of God’s plan, it also reveals the character of God’s heart. God loves those who are humble in spirit. Even his Son, as the King of Israel, the Promised One of all time, is born of a humble, country maiden. This example of God’s unpretentiousness is an attitude that we as his children should possess. We might expect great things from God and anticipate that he will work through the great in society. But God shows his greatness by working with anyone on the street who is willing to be used by him.
This text and understanding of the text speaks volumes to me (Joel) this morning. In the process of my call, I definitely did not have an angel Gabriel type moment, but surely had God has spoken to me and my wife about our lives. What’s interesting to me is my response to my call compared to that of Mary. My response was “let’s do it God! but first, let’s go to school for 8 years!!!” Now, I do feel strongly that God brought us to Chicago for schooling and to bring us into the Covenant and to Northwest Covenant Church. But I am amazed at Mary simple and perfect response, “
I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”
How often do we not feel qualified to serve? How often does inadequacy and insecurity step in? Mary had no reason to feel adequate to her task at hand. But she embraced it. She responded simply and perfectly with her servant like heart, which is why God chose her.
Do you feel God calling you to be used by Him? I think you do or your not listening or asking. God is always speaking to us and calling to us to respond to Him. Don’t let your feelings of inadequacy step in the way. Let your response be as simple and beautiful as Mary’s.
Bock, Darrell L. “Original Meaning” In NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Luke. By Darrell L. Bock, 57. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 1996.
Meeting with IPEE
We met with the Executive Board of IPEE on Saturday. IPEE is the Covenant National Chuch of Ecuador. It was basically a meet and greet where we had the oportunity to introduce ourselves to everyone and tell them about ourselves. They were very open and warm to meeting us and prayed for us at the end our time.
The conclusion from the meeting is that they would like us to get back with them with our resumes and what we would like to do while in Ecuador, as well as our start date since we are in language training right now.
This meeting was a huge answer to prayer for us. We felt like it couldn’t have gone any better. We are thrilled to be partnering with IPEE in helping out however we can over the next couple of years. We are feeling very encouraged right now. Thank you so much for your prayers!
1st Trip to the Amazon!!!!
We just got back from the Amazon! Pretty cool, eh? We actually didn’t go in the deep just yet. Mainly just on the edge.
We had the wonderful opportunity to go with our Spanish teacher, Olgita Burbano and her husband Henry and their family to Henry’s mother’s place in El Chaco, Ecuador. His mother owns a restaurant there so we were spoiled with many wonderful meals. We also were able to visit a Covenant Church in Lumbaqui, which is fairly close to the Colombian border. There will be a mission team headed there soon. Enjoy the pictures.
100% Supported!!!!
We have been busy and haven’t been able to post recently. But we wanted to write a quick note and let you know that after being here for a few days we found out that we are 100% funded financially. God is good!!! Thank you so much for your continued support of us and our ministry. We know finances are just a small part of the many things you do to support us but it is a very practical one and for many your donations were not easily made, so we thank you so much! May God bless you in your giving.
Also, please note that we have also reached our goal of having 150 people/families willing to pray for us on our regual basis. We are actually at 159! Praise the Lord!!!
First Week in Quito
Our first week is coming to a close, but it has been very full. We jumped right in Monday morning with Spanish classes from 8-noon. I (Kim) started in level 1 while Joel started in level 3. We both feel we have learned a lot so far and are looking forward to the day we can communicate well. Praise the Lord for our fantastic teacher, Olgita! She is so patient with us, but also pushes us to do better. Her son Caleb has been to visit with Simeon this week as her brother, Ricardo is babysitting Simeon during our classes! It has worked out well for all of us and we have enjoyed getting to know them all better.
This has certainly been a week of adjustments. Simeon went from sleeping through the night before we left to waking up 4-5 times when we got here. I think a lot of it is the noise of the city (sirens and alarms all night), but I’m sure he also knows he is in a new place. Pray for his adjustment. Last night he only woke up once…YEAH!
We have experienced many new things this week, including being surrounded by mountains and volcanos. It’s beautiful!
Although things are going well overall, we (especially me, Kim) have had a lot of homesick moments. We knew this would happen, but it is a lot harder than I thought. We miss family and friends, as well as our pups Hireq and Patah. We have been able to Skype with both parents already which has eased the homesickness a little. I just keep telling myself that I know God brought us here and that we are right where He wants us. He is with us and He is guiding us. We pray God surrounds us with friends to interact with. We already have a date night scheduled on Tuesday with Olgita and her husband Henry as well as the other missionaries in Quito, Jenny and Chris. We are excited!
Thank you for your continued love and prayers for us. We covet them daily as we face new challenges and adventures. Love from Quito!
Our view from the kitchen, Cotopaxi
Going away dinner for Yonchu and Ola
Our babysitter, Ricardo
First rain storm
Simeon is SPENT!
Change of plans…
As most things in life go, 9 times out of 10, they don’t turn out how you think they will. As we write this, you may think we are sitting in our apartment in Ecuador…well, you would be wrong. We are actually in a hotel room in Miami! Yes, MIAMI! We had the unique opportunity today to get “bumped” off of our flight to Ecuador. In exchange for this, we received 2 vouchers for $800, lodging and meals overnight. It was hard to pass up because the 2 vouchers will be accessible to us to use to fly back to the States if we need to. Although it was a bit ANTI-climactic today only flying to Miami, we felt God’s hand in many ways.
First of all, we had 12 bags to check in to go to Ecuador. We were quite the site in the airport to say the least! We were able to check 5 and then dispersed the rest to willing participants from the mission team from our church. A couple of the bags were overweight and they are being very strict so we were prepared for the worst. Luckily we got a very nice American Airlines attendant that helped us and was very generous in getting ALL of our bags checked. Hopefully they will get there tomorrow with us! What a great answer to prayer as I (Kim) had many bad dreams about how the flight would go. Thanks be to God!
A way that we saw that God cares about EVERY detail was Friday night as we were packing up our LAST couple of bags, I realized I had forgotten the power cord that hooks to the breatpump. I know it seems like a very small detail, but this was a HUGE detail and something that would be been very missed if not taken. It just so happened as Joel was looking through items at our house NOT sold at the garage sale last week, he found the EXACT cord that fit the pump! WOW! What an amazing God we serve!
So, we are being treated tonight in a very nice room in a very nice city. Looking forward to a good night’s sleep and our first day in Ecuador tomorrow!
Blessings to all and may His peace be near to you as it is to us in this night.
The Santiago Partnership
