Conference with Pastor Ray from Carlisle

We just finished a wonderful three-part conference with Pastor Ray and a group from the church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The first phase was in Guayaquil, the second phase was in Baños, and the third phase was in Quito. Some attended one phase, others two, and still others were able to attend all three. We had visitors from Peru as well as our visitors from the states. We had delightful times of evangelism, teaching, fellowship with one another, and just had a lot of fun whatever we did. Women's meeting in Quito.

Pastor Ray teaching and Eduardo translating in Quito.

Sue teaching at women's meeting with Silvia Albuja translating. What a team!

A group that took the teleferico up Mt. Pichincha. We were blessed with a clear day and had a wonderful time of prayer for the city of Quito.

P. Mike preaching with Eduardo translating...well...I had them get closer together so I could take a quick shot.

P. Mike and Justin Shaller heading out for some fun in Banos.

In the bus on the way to Banos.

P. Ray and P. Mike - committed teachers of God's words and friends.

Sue and Shannon doing the object lesson for the kids in Guayaquil. Just one question: Why aren't the kids facing the object lesson??

P. Mike and Sue - photo op in Guayaquil. :-)

Group from Guayaquil: P. Ray, Alice, Donna, Becky, Shannon, and Sue

Evangelizing in Guayaquil

Church Anniversary, Valentine's Day, and a Visit from Los Francos

Myriam and Maria - great chefs and organizers!

What a great weekend we just had! Saturday was Valentine's Day and Sunday was the second anniversary of being in our own church building. Pastor Juan Franco came down from Quito with his wife, daughter, and two of the youth from the church and preached. Mike arranged for the music teacher at my school to play gospel tunes, Ecuadorian songs, and a wee bit of Elvis. We had a big time. We had a big church dinner after service organized by Maria Burbano. Twas great! Beef, potato roll salad (a new one for me - this was a regular garden salad rolled up in mashed potatoes), and rice.

Youth group is behind our honored guests from Quito.

Ministry of the Month - in the Drug Rehab Center

Eduardo, Mike, Enrique, and Raphael go every Thursday morning to a drug rehab center where they have a song service led by Rafi and then short, rotating Bible Studies. The teachers rotate from one group of students to another, so by the end of the morning they've received a full banquet. Recently the center asked us to begin a ministry to the women at the center and without knowing about it one of the women in our church approached P. Mike about wanting to get involved there if they had women clients.

Olimpia's December Newsletter

Celebrating Christmas at 90 degrees Fahrenheit was really a new perspective for me, but praise the Lord that the blessing has nothing to do with the temperature or everyday details. This month of December was full of events, but I’ll just share with you some of them that really blessed me.

The night of the Bible Club presentation for parents the youth performed a drama which was written and directed by one of the teens. After that the youth had their Christmas party which ended with a sleep over at my apartment. I’ve been teaching the youth about rejecting projections and thinking with God. It blesses me so much to see them touched by what the Lord is doing.

Our Bible Club children had their Christmas presentation , and after that they all received gifts. I am so blessed that these children come faithfully every Saturday morning, especially since most of them are not from Christian families. They invited their parents, their parents came, and many received Christ.

On Sunday after service we had the traditional Christmas dinner at the church. As you can see, these people really know how to celebrate the birth of Christ.

The last, but not the least, event that happened this month was handing out the certificates to those who completed Bible Institute classes.

I really have great expectations for 2009; let us enlarge our tents (Isaiah 54:2), for the blessing is coming.

In Christ, Olimpia

Bible Institute Fall Semester

Olimpia Dragu (left) taught an English class. Receiving certificates are Emanuel, Stephanie, Gloria, and Jessica. Not pictured: Abigail, Adrian, and Noemi.

Eduardo Valle (left) taught a class on 1st, 2nd, 3rd John and Revelation. Students present to receive certificates were Osiris, Gloria, Stephanie, Olimpia, and Alfredo. P. Mike is on the right. Not pictured: Carlos and Abigail.

P. Mike (right) taught a Foundations class. The following students were present to receive their certificates: Lucy, Olimpia, Enrique, Gloria, Stephanie, and Rafael. Not pictured: Carlos and Gladys.

Congratulations to all - especially to Gloria and Stephanie who completed the trifecta!

Object Lessons

We include object lessons for the kids as a regular part of the church service. They range from the spectacular (exploding volcanos...swinging hammers...flying eggs) to the dramatic to the occasional flop. Here's Sue, presenting a drama about someone who came to church wanting everyone to notice that she was there, but who settled in for a nice nap after hearing the topic of the message. God urged her to not only listen, open her Bible, and take notes, but to APPLY the message right then and there.

Tuesday Morning Evangelism in the Park

The photos speak for themselves.