My First Graduate

Yesterday I had the privilege of officially finishing the second study book with a student. Her name is Grecia and I "inherited" the study when she and her two boys moved from the jungle to Cuenca. It was a bittersweet closure. On one hand I will miss my weekly visits, but on the other hand it has been a complete joy and blessing to see this shy, troubled woman transform into a happy servant of Jehovah.

When I first began visiting Grecia she was so shy that she wouldn't even look up from her book. To get her to express herself was like trying to pull teeth. Some of the shyness and quiet manner could be attributed to the fact that she had difficulty in understanding my foreign accent. We both had our hurdles to overcome and I certainly needed to learn patience. I would go home after the study frustrated and discouraged thinking that nothing was seeping in. However, little by little she began to open up. She got used to my accent and way of butchering the Spanish language and I learned how to draw her out. Both attributable to Jehovah's mercy and holy spirit.

Today, you can hardly recognize Grecia. She is a dedicated servant of Jehovah, happy and I am confident will have Jehovah's continued blessings. AH! Graduation Day!

National Census

Sunday was a national census. Everyone had to stay home from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. that is everyone except those taking the census. Something isn't quite right when all adults are ordered to stay indoors and only Highschool Juniors and Seniors are allowed out to take the census. Ha...

We were visited by 3 high school boys and some of the questions were rather humorous. You see we live in a condominium, rather modern and they were asking question such as "do you have an indoor toilet or do you share with the community?" "how many light bulbs are you using?" and on a personal note..."how do you consider yourself: as indigenous, mestizo, black or white?" (does human being count?) and "what are the conditions of your walls?" Hello! Look at my walls...anyway we thought it was cute and they were just doing their jobs. In fact these high school kids worked extremely hard from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. without the possibility to eat lunch. We gave our guys something to eat and they really appreciated the gesture.

Monica y Dayana

There are days when you feel like you are not accomplishing much. We preach, conduct studies, some progressive, some not, but you still wonder if you are really making a difference. I was feeling this way and down in the dumps when I got a phone call from someone in our past. Her name is Dayana and we met her 13 years ago when we just arrived in the country and she was only 3 years old. She is the daughter of a sister named Monica I was assigned to finish the second book and later work with in the "Pioneer Assist" program. This assignment was a bit daunting since I couldn't speak Spanish very well, but Monica progressed and despite my limitations we became very close. Eventually, Monica and Dayana moved to the jungle to serve where there is greater need. Dayana called to inform her "spiritual parents" that she has been appointed as a regular pioneer. It was wonderful news and really cheered me up. I don't think Dayana realized how precious her gift is.

My Orchid is in Bloom

I am a lover of orchids. I can't help it they are just fascinating. So you can appreciate my delight to find out that Ecuador has over 4000 varieties including an orchid so tiny you have to look at it under a magnifying glass. It is amazing to see something so small and yet so perfectly formed.

No I don't have near as many as 4000, but the few I have are beginning to bloom and it gives me great pleasure for the 4 to 6 weeks they are in bloom to sit and look at their unique beauty. The one shown here is particularly pretty and I thought I would share its beauty with you.

CO Visit

This is Mark and I with Marco and Mayra Sigue. They are substituting in the circuit while our regular CO is recuperating. While we missed our regular CO, we had a wonderful time with Marco and Mayra and enjoyed getting to know them. They are a young couple only married for 9 months. Marco graduated from MTS and is a very capable brother at such a young age. He was also one of our instructors at the Pioneer School we attended in August. Mayra is delightful and very enthusiastic in the ministry.

We had a wonderful week with them. Really impressive was our Pioneer Meeting. There are 23 Regular Pioneers in our congregation and they represent 123 years of full time service. If you count the CO and wife it represents 155 years. Very encouraging.

All's Well

Thank you for your prayers during these last few days. Things are now pretty much back to normal. The incident has opened the way for great conversations in the ministry though. Many feel that it was just political band standing on the part of the President. I'm so happy that we don't get involved in these matters and we have a righteous and just ruler. But, it does make you feel pity for the people that have to suffer under man's domination while waiting for Christ'a rulership to take action.

Ecuador Crisis

To all our friends and family that may be hearing the news about the coup d'etat attempt on the president of Ecuador, please know that we are okay.

The police are striking because they are unhappy about a new law that is going to pass that takes away their bonuses and promotions will be every 7 years instead of 5 years. A lack of police presence has caused looting and violence, mostly in the larger cities. Cuenca pretty much closed down yesterday, schools, banks and small stores. The Feria Libre (large open market) and the bus terminal both reported assaults and other businesses were robbed. But, there is less turmoil here. The president called for a 5 day state emergency and the military at the moment is in control.

This is nothing new for us. We have seen this type of unrest many times before. But, we do ask that you please keep us in your prayers.

I will post updates as soon as I know something new.