25

Two weeks in Pedernales

Pedernales!

We are back from two weeks in Pedernales! A city on the coast and last year’s epicenter for the earthquake.

 

 

We were there partnering with Deer Grove Covenant Church from Palatine, IL and Iglesia Maná from Pedernales.

 

While there, we were able to help with the construction of the Maná Covenant church, as the previous church was partially destroyed from the earthquake. Wow did we sweat and did we sweat! It was a lot of digging through brick and clay, and cement-mixing. But wow, what an encouraging group of people to work alongside! That week, I really learned the power of encouragement and care. How important it really is to encourage one another daily!

 

 

 

Along with the construction we partnered with a sport’s camp and VBS. We’d load up a pickup truck each day with around 60 children and adults and head to the field to learn, play soccer, and sweat some more. 🙂

 

 

One of the really powerful things that happened during our last meal together with the church leadership was hearing the story of God’s faithfulness in providing new land for the church to be reconstructed on. A week before the team was going to arrive, they had no land to build on, but through the support of IPEE and the Swedish Covenant church they acquired the land days before the group arrived. We had a powerful “laying the first stone” moment and were able to join the pastor and leadership in prayer; blessing the new site, the church body, and the community.

 

 

As we were driving one day, we passed a building with this sentence spray-painted across it in bold letters:


“Pedernales, we will stay, we will rise again”

 

After spending two, intense weeks there, that was exactly the hope we felt, especially through the connections that were made and the many stories that were heard. God is alive and working and we had the beautiful privilege of joining him for those two weeks and seeing firsthand the power of his hope, solidarity, and his kingdom here on earth.

 

Love,

Richard and Liz

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01

Hello Mejia!

Back from the coast!

And back from an incredible week in Mejia!

We spent 10 days in the community of Mejia which is a couple hours from the coast. We were there with a team from my home state, Minnesota!!!! which made it an extra special week, especially since some of the team members are dear friends of ours!

The team was from New London Covenant church from New London, MN and partnered with the church, Jesus La Vid Verdadera in the small town of Mejia.

Mejia is another town that was greatly effected by the earthquake in April 2016. Many homes were destroyed, including the pastor’s house.

One of the beautiful ministries the church started there was helping rebuild some of the homes in the community of Mejia that were completely destroyed by the earthquake. The really cool thing is that it wasn’t just the church community in Mejia that was involved but a church community in Cayambe (over 7 hours away) that came down many times in partnership with the church in Mejia to help rebuild homes. We LOVE this!

It’s so beautiful when two local churches, whether in the United States, in Ecuador, or anywhere, partner together in bringing God’s kingdom here on earth in tangible ways. So beautiful!

And the really neat thing is that, two of the families, who’s homes were destroyed and were rebuilt, thanks to the local church in Mejia and Cayambe, were able to host members of the team from Minnesota that came down (as we all stayed in host homes).

I was able to talk with one of the families and they said it was truly a gift from God to be able to host someone in their home when, after the earthquake, they thought they would never be able to again.

Along with staying and connecting in host homes, we helped rebuild the pastor’s home. Because of a really rainy season, many streets and homes in Mejia were flooded, especially the pastor’s home because of a really low foundation (along with it just being unsafe to live in because of earthquake damage).

We also visited different surrounding communities, helping out with a children’s program, participating in two youth nights and the women’s ministry night, and at the end of the week, we rented two big buses and went with our host families to the beach!

I am not sure if it was because the team was from Minnesota or because Richard and I have really connected with the Mejia church community (both, actually) but there was such a unity and joy that week! (well, and let’s be honest, Jesus has everything to do with that!) We so, so enjoyed each and every person from the Minnesota team and the Mejia team.

We ate lots of fish, lots of plantain…we laughed A LOT (literally tears from laughing so hard), shared different cultural games with each other, made rice crispies together, we cried together, prayed together, worshiped together, sweat together, shared our stories, had a couple hospital runs at 2am (everybody is fine!), and were able to create such deep, great relationships that there were many tears when the time came to say goodbye (but just a goodbye for now!).

Truly, a restful, joy-filled, unifying week. 

 

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01

One month and Riverside.

Wow, so, so much has happened since our last blog post! In fact, it has been almost one month since we’ve been back here in Ecuador!

It was one of my goals to write a blog post, at least, once a week. 

Well, that did NOT happen but now that we are a little more settled with the Merge trips and planning and I am reviving my goals! So here we go! (although for these next two weeks I can’t promise much since we might not have internet where we are going).

Well, we arrived to Ecuador and two days later we received our first team of the Merge summer: Riverside Covenant Church from Indiana.

We spent the week partnering with dear friends from the church, Buen Pastor and the community in Cangahua (which is a town high up in the mountains in Ecuador, near the city of Cayambe).

Some of us stayed in host families, had s’mores with the local youth group, did some construction, helped out with the churches annual VBS, and taught English classes in the local elementary school. It was so wonderful, but two activities/ministries that really stuck out to me were the community road-side clean up and the field days.

We were able to go with some members of the church and the team and go around the community and pick up trash. Now this might not seem like a lot, and maybe not so sustainable, but it was.

Because a lot of Kichwa communities are mostly Catholic, and a lot of them require their community members to participate in different community events, which includes the celebration and worship of Saints, a lot of Evangelical Christians living in these communities feel a lot of strain and tension, not wanting to encourage nor worship the saints, but wanting to be apart of their communities. There is a real tension that exists.

We have had many conversations with our dear brothers and sisters who live in Kichwa Catholic communities and have tears in their eyes as they tell us of the persecution (water supply being cut off, extra taxes, and in extreme cases, their homes being burnt) for not wanting to participate in the festivals but of the ache in their heart to reach out to their communities and show them that they care.

That was why the road side clean up day was, although small, a tangible way to show the community that they care. It was the pastor’s idea and I think it was a really lovely way to continue to open up doors of reconciliation in the community. We are hoping to go back and continue these conversations.

Another really sweet time was when, each night, we would split up into three groups and visit three different families and their farms. Again, this was the church leadership’s idea as they really wanted to show us their livelihoods. So we’d all put on our boots (or for those that did not have boots, bags around our shoes…which made us look super stylish! 🙂 hop in the back of a truck and head up the mountains to our dear brother or sister’s homes.

We were able to see their livestock, help with cow milking time, help harvest potatoes and onions (the town of Cangahua is known for their onions), and other crops. Then, later on at night, we’d share a meal together in their home and share our stories, laugh, and prayer together. We all left feeling more connected and with a greater appreciation for their lives and culture.

It was a beautiful week with such beautiful people. We absolutely LOVE the Riverside church Community as well as the Cangahua church community; both are filled with such beautiful, strong, spirit-filled, and incredible people. It is always such a privilege for us to partner with these groups. And we are looking forward to next year already!

 

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01

A new Citizen!

One month!

It has been one month of Minnesota livin’!

 

 

As I am typing, I literally just swatted at a mosquito and am smelling freshly cut grass which has been a staple since arriving.

Oh Minnesota!

Along with the mosquitos, cut grass, long, beautiful days, cool, frog-chirping nights, we’ve also been having our share of cold, air-conditioned government centers, loooong lines, lots of waiting, the beeping of security check points, ink on paper, signature, signature, “I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth”, and more waiting.

 

Life is so dichotomous.

 

After arriving to Minnesota we had Richard’s interview (Civic’s Test for Naturalization) and thought that we were going to be able to be back in Ecuador by the end of May. Well, during the test, the interviewer thought that we had spent too much time outside of the United States and, although Richard passed his civic’s test, we were told that he could not be approved for citizenship based on more info being needed.

Well, we were definitely not expecting that! We were not given any more info and told to wait until we received more information in the mail.

Let’s just say that was the most nerve-racking week we had had in a long time. If Richard wasn’t going to be able to get his citizenship, we were pretty much stuck in the USA until we could reapply for citizenship which could take up to another 6 months.

Thankfully that was not the case and a week later we received a letter saying that Richard was approved for citizenship and was suppose to attend the naturalization ceremony which was two days ago.

 

Richard is now an official citizen of the United States of America!!!

 

 

It was such a powerful ceremony. There were 829 new citizens that day who represented 92 countries.

I really enjoyed sitting next to these sweet ladies as we talked about the journey to this day, the need for change in the immigration systems, and how today, all of us, from different religions, cultures, backgrounds, and beliefs, were all here for one purpose and we were all here to celebrate together, differences aside. And that is what we did. After the oath was taken, and the 829 become official citizens, you could see Guatemalans hugging Canadians, Syrians congratulating Cubanos, People from India shaking hands with people from Somalia, and so on and so forth. It was so beautiful!

 

 

I am so proud of him!!!!

 

 

So now in the meantime while we wait to receive Richard’s passport we are working part-time, getting documents translated and apostilled for Ecuador, planning end-of-summer adventures, and finishing up details for Merge trips this summer.

 

We are not exactly sure when we will be back in Ecuador but we are hoping it will be within the first week of June! (which is any day now!)

 

Thanks again, for all of your support, your words of encouragement, and your journeying with us!

 

We are so thankful for each and everyone of you!

 

Love,

Richard and Liz

 

 

 

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04

lilacs, sunsets, and back in minnesota!

Hello from beautiful, springy Minnesota!

 

 

If you didn’t get our last newsletter, then I’m sure some of you are wondering, “What’s going on? Why are they back in Minnesota?”

Well, wonder no more!

We are back in Minnesota because….Richard has a date for his interview to become a citizen!

We are so excited! This was something we were definitely not expecting to come so soon, we were thinking more like September, but a week after we landed in Ecuador we received the news!

 

   

 

Since Richard not only has his interview, but also a swearing-in ceremony, AND a USA passport to get, we are not exactly sure how long we will be in Minnesota for, but we are hoping to be back in Ecuador the last week of May.

We also want to say a HUGE “thank you!” Thank you for praying for us, asking questions, and encouraging us! I said in our newsletter that I feel like this is as much of your journey as it is ours, and we are so thankful to be walking this together!

So in the meantime, while Richard catches up on US history, politics, and economy, we will be soaking up and in this absolutely beautiful Minnesota spring, hanging out with as many family and friends as we can, going on as many bike rides as we can, and taking advantage of these extended rays of sun (sunset: 8:30pm…hallelujah!)

 

 

We will keep you updated!

 

Love,

Richard + Elizabeth

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28

one month

one month.

 

We’ve been here for almost one month.

And we’ve been running since we’ve hit the groundSince we’ve arrived we’ve been full on with activities and Merge partnership teams.

We’ve hosted two teams this April, a multi-generational group from Berlin, CT and a group of pastors from the Covenant Church of Canada.

Both groups were able to partner in different ways. With the Berlin, CT group we were able to partner with a Covenant church in Sangolqui as well as in Quevedo. Actually, one of our dreams and goals as trip facilitators here in Ecuador is to connect a partnership team coming from North America to another team/church from Ecuador that is already visiting or supporting another church in Ecuador, in that way, both groups can go together to support and connect in an already established and healthy way. And that way, when the team from North America leaves, the other team will still be visiting the church/ministry and supporting them.

And that is exactly what happened with the group from Berlin, CT. We were able to come alongside the church in Sangolqui and join them on their weekly trip to Quevedo where they are planting another church.

 

It was so beautiful to see not only the two teams partnering together with the church in Quevedo, but also to have the Delps, Annalea, and Meghan (our fellow missionaries here in Ecuador) come along to lead a medical caravan. It was a beautiful week of supporting, encouraging, and learning from one another and bringing His kingdom here on earth. We were also super grateful for our awesome team of interpreters (and dear friends) who were also able to partner with us.

 

The other group that came in April was another step towards some dreams we have. The group from Canada consisted of four pastors who represented part of the Covenant church in Canada and who are, as a conference, committed to the Kichwa district here in Ecuador. Because of that, we were able to visit almost all the Covenant churches here in the Kichwa district which was a HUGE encouragement to the pastors and a learning experience for both. The pastors also participated in a church planting and church revitalization workshop. It was so great to see the dialogue happening and questions being asked and brought up and the listening and learning.

 

Other than preparing and hosting partnership teams, we’ve been connecting and reconnecting with other pastors and leaders here in Ecuador as well as planning for other Merge trips coming up this summer.

 

We’ve also been doing all the other “fun” stuff that comes with moving to a new country: registering our information in government systems, applying for visas (Elizabeth), fixing mission cars, house hunting, being stuck in the middle of a strike, and setting up accounts and keeping track of our budget, etc., etc.

 

Although it has been busy and go, go, go since we’ve got here, we have been really careful about prioritizing and making time to be with family and our friends here. We were so glad we were able to spend time with our family in Guayaquil for Easter as well as to connect with our fellow missionary, Denise, while we were there.

 

 

We are also learning and being diligent in making time for ourselves as a married unit and individually; to rest, have fun, explore and learn more about this beautiful country, culture, and people we live and do life with.

 

So with that, we are off to possibly sign a contract to rent a house and have a physical place to call, “home”.

Peace,

 

Liz and Richard

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07

exploding coffee

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30

I am reminded again and again how this walk of life with Christ is not about following a set of rules. How it is not about striving, trying to be perfect, trying to cover all our grounds, trying to know all this and learn all that, doing what we ought to do because we ought to do it…. It’s so much deeper, yet so simple. It is liturgical and yet so spontaneous, it is within an institution and yet not able to be confined, it is heartache and suffering yet joy and hope, it is valleys and mountains, and all the while, it is, it truly is, walking with him, through everything, in everything. It is knowing he walks with us.

 

 

“And more important than whether something is old or new, winsome or classic is whether it is real…whether it moves us closer to God and to our suffering neighbor. Whether it has fruit outside of our own good feelings” S. Claiborne.

 

I think so often I lose sight of what his yoke really is. What walking with him is really like…do I even walk with him? Or am I trying to find my own ground in the rush and busyness of life that I forget that he would so love for me to slow down a little and learn his unforced rhythms of grace.

 

A couple days ago I was worrying about all that encompasses this life we are living right now: a lack of routine, constantly moving and traveling, no jobs, no financial security, unknown month, no house, etc. As I was in this downward pattern of thought (because worrying truly only takes me down), while heating up my coffee in the microwave of the church kitchen with the mumbling of voices fellowshipping in the background, I had a thought, a voice saying something to me…”get away with me and I’ll show you how to take a real rest, walk with me and work with me, watch how I do it, come learn the unforced rhythms of grace”. And then my coffee exploded in the microwave and I dismissed the pleasant words and said, “screw coffee today” and went to find a seat in the sanctuary.

 

But a little while later, while voices were mumbling and trying to sing the new song the worship team was playing, I again started worrying about how we were going to afford this and do that, and how we were going out to eat with friends to meet and celebrate the birth of their one-month-old son and how we had twenty dollars cash that we could use but we really should be spending it on something other than eating out, etc. and again I had a thought, like a quiet voice saying, “get away with me, walk with me, trust me” So I decided to listen. And I half-heartily, and almost unwillingly decided to respond when I felt like I was suppose to give ten of the twenty dollars away, but again, I heard, “walk with me, trust me”. So we headed to the restaurant with ten dollars and met our friends and ten seconds after I sit down, a friend that I haven’t seen in years came up and gave me twenty dollars that she said she owed me.

 

I am not equating following his unforced rhythms of grace with getting money or everything that we want. Rather, I am learning, or re-learning to get away and follow his unforced rhythms, of how he does things, not how I would like to do them. I am learning that he will provide, although it may not come how or when I think it will.

 

I don’t believe that living freely and light means I won’t walk through hard times or trials…I have had my fair share of those and I know I will walk through more, but when I “get away” with him and talk with him, he is really good at putting perspective on circumstances, and…honestly, sometimes he doesn’t, but although I may not understand, I know he will not leave me and I know the more I get away with him, the more I’ll learn, both intrinsically and experientially, about how truly loving, trustworthy, and faithful he really is. I will learn how to live freely and light in the midst of trials and joys, in the midst of unknowns and knowns, in the midst of routine or no routine, in the midst of coffee and my whole world exploding and his steady voice guiding me to the unforced rhythms of his grace.

 

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peace,

E

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09

our “in-depth” update…

Hello!

When we sent out our last newsletter, we said that we’d write an “in-depth” blog about what we were currently up to, what are our future plans, etc.

So, without further ado….

 

February: 

We are leaving in five…no, four days to head off to Ecuador.

The reason why we are going to Ecuador in four days is because we are going to host a Merge Partnership team in the Ibarra/Zuleta area. 

While in Ecuador, we will also be:

  • planning for other Merge trips coming this Spring/Summer
  • looking for a house to buy/rent
  • visitng friends and family

 

March: 

In March we will again, be back in Minnesota. Now some of you might be asking, “why are you coming back to Minnesota when you have already reached over 80% of your funds?”

Well, my friends….two words:

 

THE INTERVIEW

 

That’s right, we are still waiting for Richard’s citizenship interview. This is a very dicey situation because if Richard is outside of the United States for over a certain number of days, he will be lose his permanent residence status and we will have to start over again, but on the other hand, we have teams coming so we have to be there to host them, thus, we have a tricky situation and a lot of comings and goings and counting. We are just praying that the interview would be soon so we don’t have to worry about any of this anymore!

In March we will also be doing some Merge trainings for teams in Indiana, Chicago, and Minnesota, so we are very excited for the chance to get to meet our partnership teams and do a little exploring!

 

April: 

By April, or before April, we need to be in Ecuador because of more teams coming. We are hoping that Richard will have had his interview by then and are freely and happily living in Ecuador! But, if he has not had his interview, we will head to Ecuador anyway and start the count of, “days spent outside of the United States” or wait until we hear from immigration services that he has an interview date to come back to the US for that.

So, my friends, that is what our life looks like right now; a lot of uncertainty, a lot of prayers for speed and efficiency at our immigration office, and patience….lots and lots of patience.

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Love,

Richard + Elizabeth

 

 

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16

finding joy :: 5

starting a fire in and enjoying the warmth of wood-burning stoves

winter sunrises

visits from friends….Evelina from Argentina!

baking (it’s been a while)

lighting candles in the morning

christmas traditions

my sweet students and staff

blasting this song in the car while MOVING 

also listening to christmas music

creating music (more on this soon!)

and what the snow does to the trees (truly a winter wonderland!)

 

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peace,

E

 

 

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08

there and back again…

We are back!

We are back from sunny, warm Mexico and are here again in sunny, cold Minnesota!

Wow, what a week!

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Just to recap, we went to a week-long Merge Annual meeting/training in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

It was a week full of learning:

We had multiple speakers/trainers including, Alex Velasco, Dale Lusk, Reid Olson, Al Tizon, Mark Seversen, Nate Severson, and a local CPR/First aid instructor.

Al Tizon (executive minister of Serve Globally) and Mark Seversen (director of missional congregations) are a part of Serve Globally which is a mission priority of the Evangelical Covenant Church.

It was incredibly helpful and encouraging to have both of these representatives from the ECC come and share with us not only their hearts, hopes, and vision, but to have a willing ear to listen to us and share with us missional theology, and help us constructively figure out ways of bettering our partnerships with country-specific, national Covenant churches, other Covenant missionaries, and local churches and leaders. It was also just great to get to know them better.

We had a great time of devotions, enneagram, deepening our missiology and theology, deepening our relationships between other Mergies, laughing, eating WAY too many tacos, washing each other’s feet, CPR and first aid training, going over what we did well and what we need more work on, getting to know each other better through group activities, late night conversations about church, multi-ethnic missions, culturally contextualized faith, etc.

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It truly was a beautiful, FULL, week of learning, growing, and deepening.

One of my highlights, though, was just getting to know my other Mergies better. I mean, we literally are expanding and come from all over the world. At the meeting we had Mergies representing: India, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Sweden, Argentina, Nicaragua, Chile, United States, Brazil, and Ecuador.

As well as those that were not present or that do not have a representative yet but we still go to: Panama, Spain, France, Uruguay, Taiwan, Honduras, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Equatorial Guinea, Japan, Germany, Africa, and Guatemala.

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I mean, it is incredible! And I am so honored and my life is so enriched by my brothers and sisters from these countries and from spending the week eating, learning, laughing, and growing with them together!

Now, we are back in Minnesota, embracing the winter cold, the ever expanding list of “lasts before moving to Ecuador”, and marking our calendar up with all things festive, Christmas, and family.

We are still hoping to move to Ecuador sometime in January 2017 but it really all depends on Richard’s citizenship interview (read more about here). Please join us in prayer for that! We already have the first of the two appointments scheduled so we are thankful for that!

With that, peace to you in this season of Advent, in this time of active waiting, of having confidence that what is going to happen is going to change and transform things and to be eager and alert to be a part of it, to be present to it as we create space to allow Jesus in more fully and more deeply.

love,

R + E

 

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