The Guidos in Ecuador

Merry CHRISTmas!

2010-12-26T21:51:00.000-05:00

We pray you have all enjoyed the blessings of being with family and loved ones during the holidays!

We give thanks to Jesus for coming to Earth so we could know Him and His love and peace.

We give thanks to Jesus for blessing us with all our family and friends- especially those who have supported us over the years, allowing us to be here in Ecuador! We love you and appreciate you!

La Esperanza Picnic, VBS, and our first baptism!

2010-12-26T19:28:00.002-05:00

As time goes on, we are more and more blessed with this ministry. As each new child has come and integrated into the house, we have seen them go from frightened and wary to being an integral part of the laughing pack of kids. We are blessed for the support of our church family, who give time and money to take care of these little ones, and take them on outings and provide them with special memories. We are blessed with the staff that carries out the day to day work of feeding and helping with homework and all the normal daily stuff, with joy and commitment. We are blessed that we find favor with the government, and they are seeking our help to open another home. We are blessed by each of these kids who trust us and are thankful for what we can do for them, physically and spiritually. We are blessed by the support and prayers of those of you who help us with this ministry from far away. Mostly we are blessed that our Lord has allowed this opportunity to serve in His Kingdom, and get to know these precious little ones one on one.

Our first baptism- Daniela,Carla, Rocio, Olga, Franklin, Veronica, and Cristina

VBS with a team from Glorious Presence Church- we had about 25 kids from the neighborhood join us!

John gets to rough house a little with the kids.

Jesica and Jordy blowing bubbles

John explains the rules of a game

Priscila and Nancy tumbling

WOW- WHAT A YEAR!

2010-12-24T20:40:00.003-05:00

2010 has turned out to be one of the busiest years ever! In the 10 weeks that followed our arrival after our last post, we had 4 medical teams and a church team from Atlanta down. Enjoy a few photos from them. You can get an idea of what a short-term medical mission looks like!

While I was busy with all of the above, John was hosting visiting preachers and traveling with them from Cuenca to Quito, to Machala, to Manta, to Bogota, and to Loja. We were packing and unpacking suitcases, sometimes saying hello and good-bye at the door!

I sincerely hope we can keep up with the news better this coming year! I am sorry to have missed the opportunity to keep you posted when the news is fresh. We love and appreciate all those who are supporting us!

Recap of 2009 ... ok, this is the last one :-)

2010-01-06T03:19:00.000-05:00

We've been hosting students from Taylor University through various programs for the past 8 years. In 2005, when Dr. Gene Habecker became president of Taylor University, he incorporated global engagement as part of the university's vision for student development with the hope of opening ten Global Engagement Centers around the world, and formed the Spencer Centre for Global Engagement and Leadership in 2006. Our ministry in Cuenca has become one of the most developed sites to date. We host students from the Lighthouse program, students who are studying abroad for a semester, and students who are Spanish majors during the summer months. They are housed in the homes of church members, study in our language institute, and with local universities.

On September 27, John was installed as a member of Taylor's Council for the Spencer Centre for Global Engagement and Leadership. We thanks God for the honor and privilege to serve with these distinguished men and women from all around the world.

Recap 2009 continued ...

2010-01-05T04:34:00.001-05:00

We bought our church property eleven years ago. We chose the site because it fronted a 3 acre city park. About 4 years ago the city re-zoned the area, divided it into home lots, and and turned them over to individuals whom the city had to indemnify due to road building in other areas. This was an illegal act, and would have a major negative impact on our church infrastructure. Even though we were told we could never win, we decided to sue the city. In late October, after going to the Supreme court in Quito, we won our lawsuit, and and now our park is once again a park. Three new homes were built on the park property. The city has said they would be willing to turn them over to us for ministries involving social welfare!Another door that the Lord has opened!

John attended the Verbo International Council meeting for the first time this past fsummer, which was held in Guatemala city. It was an honor to be with the men who lead Verbo Ministries from Canada to Brazil, and it was an encouraging, inspiring time. John, Bob Capaldi, and Diego Espinoza were able to visit the famous Mayan ruins of Tikal while they were there.

I think you are all aware that we started a home for children at risk. http://jnmguido.blogspot.com/search/label/orphanage

It has been a tremendous undertaking, but one that has been more rewarding than we ever dreamed or imagined! That's the kind of God we serve!

http://laesperanzacuencaecuador.blogspot.com/

Recap of 2009

2010-01-04T03:51:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd start with some more recent news and work our way backwards this year!

As most of you know, John has been the senior pastor in Cuenca for the past 7 years. During that time we've planted 6 new congregations and several important extra-local ministries have developed.

After almost 2 years of preparation, Gustavo Cabrera was installed as the senior pastor of the main congregation in Cuenca on November 22. Terry King, from Alliance International Ministries joined us for the celebration.

Gustavo is 37 years old, and has been in full time ministry in the church for 7 years. He is married to a wonderful Norwegian MK (missionary kid), Maria, who was raised in Ecuador, and has a 2 year old daughter, Elisa. We are delighted to be able to work with them and call them our friends.

We are eager to see all that the Lord has planned for our lives and ministry in the years to come!

Most everyone who heard about John 'passing the baton' has asked, "So, what will you be doing now?"

Here is a list of what he's been doing, and will continue to be responsible for --

The 6 churches we have planted are:

2 in Cuenca with ~ 1,900 members

Azogues- about 35 minutes north of Cuenca, and ~ 50 members

El Guabo- about 2 hrs. west and ~ 600 members

Manta- 5 hrs to the NW and ~ 100 members

Gualaquiza- 5 hrs to the SE and ~ 100 members

4 additional churches John supervises:

3 in the province of El Oro- Machala, Pasaje & Las Nieves- 2 hours west and ~ 600 members

Loja- 3 hrs south and ~ 700 members

We also have 3 other church plants in progress:

Santa Isabel- 1 hr west and ~50 members

Vilcabamba- 4 hrs south and ~ 50 members

Santa Rosa- 3 hrs west and ~ 25 members

The extra-local ministries John supervises are:

La Esperanza children's home - 22 children

The Verbo Christian School - 220 students

2 Compassion International after school programs - 350 children

FM Radio station

Christian Hospital

Medical Outreaches - 5-8 per year

Taylor University's Student Exchange program

Language Institute

Addiction Recovery Ministry

Looks like he'll have plenty to do! Thanks to our Lord Jesus for guiding us, and giving us His strength each day.

Merry belated Christmas!

2010-01-03T19:11:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!!!

May we all be more aware how close our Lord Jesus is to each of us! Wishing you all the timeless treasures of Christmas, the warmth of home, the love of family and the company of good friends!!!

Hope your holidays were blessed !!!

Youth on Fire!

2010-01-03T18:21:00.002-05:00

This past summer a sister in our church shared some verses from 2 Samuel on Sunday morning with a word for the youth of our church. She shared that the youth would inherit our city and country, but that they needed to prepare now in prayer- they would be leaders with integrity and principles, who would prepare the paths for their generation, and they would go out to their schools and work places and share God's truths and bring blessings.

Afterward, John felt that it was a moment that needed to be taken advantage of, and called all the young people in the service forward so that we could pray for them; blessing their lives, as they dedicated themselves to seek the Lord's will for each one of them. It has proved to be a momentous time in our church body that has been sustained through today! Over 250 came forward that morning. The following Sunday we asked all those who had come forward the week before to come to a special time during the Sunday service, where we prayed with them again, and gave them some pointers on how to move forward in their 'new' walk with God.

Shortly afterward we held a "camp" that focused on service and leadership training. The kids all stayed in a house together and each morning went to our children's home, La Esperanza, and organized different activities, performing dramas and focusing on different themes for the children. In the afternoons different leaders went to the house to teach them and lead them in times of ministry. It was a powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and these young people came away transformed. They have continued to walk in this new move. We don't want this to die off as so often happens when young people are touched in a camp or retreat, and when they go back to class and life, it slowly fades away.

We've held several times of refreshing. After our normal Friday night prayer time, they've met for teaching and ministry, spending the night together in prayer, and having more teaching in the morning combined with some special activities.

What a blessing to see the next generation taking hold of their heritage in the Lord!

La Esperanza Update

2009-07-09T16:38:00.011-05:00

La Esperanza now has full government approval and is doing great, with 16 kids and a new staff member, Beatriz (Bachita). She and her daughter Ruby moved to Cuenca from Loja to work with us. Both of them are a great help. Chio, the mother of the first 8 kids has been amazing. She has the mom anointing and treats each of the 16 like her own. Tia (auntie) Paola is doing a fantastic job administrating and taking care of the kids, with the help of Bachita and Ruby she’ll be able to dedicate more time to planning, fund raising, communications, and general administration. We’re all sad to see Rachel leaving for the summer, she’s been a wonderful help. She moved into the children’s home for the last month and is the official big sister the kids are really going to miss her. The kids were so upset when she said goodbye on her way to the bus station, they all had to have a cup of chamomile tea!(Please come back baby Rach.)

We’re all one big happy family. On father’s day I got 16 gifts that the kids made in Sunday School! Last Saturday we celebrated Daniela’s Quinceañera (15th birthday - coming of age - party). I was honored to be the dad giving a toast and having the first dance with Daniela.

A couple of weeks ago Rachel, Ricky and I decided to take the kids to Baños (the hot springs just outside Cuenca). I was wondering how much it was all going to cost me when I happened to bump into Silvana, the publicity manager from our radio station, and she arranged for us to get free transportation in a brand new tour bus, free passes to Baños and a snack at KFC. The Lord is good. Many thanks to Silvana and Family Radio. The kids had a great time. Being dunked, thrown in the air, taught how to swim and being saved from drowning was a wonderful bonding experience.

Each one of these kids has a heart breaking story. Many of them were abandoned, left to live on the streets, most were physically abused and all of the girls 12 and over have suffered sexual abuse. What a blessing it is to see them responding to the love and care; participating in devotions, singing and serving in the church. Some of the kids have been through other facilities and couldn’t adapt; they’re doing great with us and the authorities have taken notice. There are lots more kids out there who need our help. We want to reach out to as many as we possibly can. Our current facility has been approved for 20 children; we might be able to extend it to 25. Right now the limiting factor is $$$. Would you please join with us? We need and appreciate your prayers and support.

Joel and Karyn's wedding!

2009-04-15T16:52:00.009-05:00

It was a lot of work for all involved, but we had a wonderful time, and are so happy to have a new daughter! Enjoy some pictures- we wish you could have all been there. Thanks so much to those who sent their wishes and prayers along to our kiddos.

Joel and Karyn have moved their belongings to Chicago, and will be starting school in June. Karyn at Midwestern University, and Joel at Lewis University. They left their car parked in front of our friends, the Herndons - thanks Karyn and Eric! and are here in Ecuador with us. It's wonderful to have the house full for a little while.

Mission Visits

2009-04-15T16:51:00.014-05:00

Whatever I have,
wherever I am,
I can make it through anything
in the One
who makes me who I am.

Phil 4:12b-13 the Message

John enjoying the crowd in El Guabo

Before we left for the States we made a visit to each of the churches that we have planted around the country- and those John covers as part of the national council of Verbo. We were able to visit Gualaquiza, Loja, Vilcabamba, the 3 churches in the province of El Oro; El Guabo, Pasaje and Machala, and Manta. That's a lot of miles the highway!

In Manta we had a special time- John shared about the importance of blessing your children. Above are Cinthia and Darwin, one of the young couples who work with Fabian and Clara, praying for their kids.

We had a series of meetings with the church in Loja (above and below) - seminars for leaders in the mornings, and meetings for the congregation in the evenings. It was wonderful to see the response from the leadership all the way through the congregation.

- - -

The church in Vilcabamba is growing steadily, thanks to the dedication of Alfredo Erizalde, (that's him in the lower right corner in the photo of the Loja congregation) who is going down every week to meet and disciple these young Christians. Above, Mauricio Alvarez, the pastor from Loja, is praying for the group in the small room they rent for their meetings. Below, some of the church members waiting for the January medical team in the municipal building in downtown Vilcabamba.

The greatest blessing for us was to spend time with each of these leaders, individually and as teams, sharing our hearts and concerns for them. They all reassured us that in spite of the normal difficulties of learning to relate as teams and with their congregations, they were convinced that God had them where they were, and they were passionate about pursuing His will for their lives! Just amazing.

Mr. & Mrs. Joel !!!!

2009-02-26T21:51:00.009-05:00

Well, this is long over due, but in September Joel talked to Karyn's parents about his interest in marrying her, and asked me to see if I could get an engagement ring made. (There are a lot of people in our church who are in the jewelry business.) He had a crumpled picture taken out of a magazine that Karyn's best friend sent to him up in Alaska, where he worked last summer fishing for salmon. He carried it around in his pocket, and on a clandestine usage of his bosses' computer took a photo- holding the wrinkled scrap in front of the computer's camera. It was quite interesting, but I printed it and took it to a friend.

John and I went to the States for a couple of conferences, and we mailed him the ring. The future mother-in-law is so relieved that the future daughter-in-law liked it! The wedding will be March 19, in Oregon.We are so happy for our baby boy. Karyn is an amazing young woman who came to know Jesus when she was 18 years old. Joel met her when he was attending Corban College in Salem. She was the co-captain of the women's soccer team, and in her bio stated that her goal was to become a missionary jungle nurse. She speaks Spanish well. She has graduated from Corban, and been accepted at Midwestern University in their Physician Assistant program. Joel has applied to nursing schools in the Chicago area, and they will be moving there when Joel finishes up this semester of school in Salem.
We are looking forward to the day when they can come down here and join us - the Lord knows there is plenty to do, and we welcome the opportunity to have our children closer to us. In the mean time, keep them in your prayers. They are a wonderful couple, and we feel so blessed to welcome Karyn into our family.

More on the Christmas parade

2009-01-21T23:07:00.012-05:00

This is where the 'traveling Child' stays when he isn't in a parade or in a special service.

Well, as you can see, the 95% Catholic population has a big influence on the Ecuadorean culture. Aside from enjoying the colorful presentations, it is troubling to see the great lengths people will go to, spending a small fortune to deck out their 'float' or horse, or even baby stroller so they can 'win' a blessing for their home and family. Sometimes they can't get together the cash for a few weeks after Christmas, so these parades go on in a smaller form every weekend until Carnival- which is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Many people compare this level of devotion to a statue to what we in the States have experienced. "they don't really pray to the statue, it's just a symbol to help direct our thoughts to God." But in 20 years we have had many conversations, and because of the level of syncretism here, the truth is that many really are praying to one particular statue or image . . . of a saint, or the virgin Mary, or a baby Jesus, or a crucified Jesus. A college student once told us how he and fellow students would have long arguments over which statue, located in different cities in Ecuador, had more power.

It is sad to recognize that in spite of their devotion, they just don't know that Jesus isn't a little baby, or a crucified man- He is the Son of God! He came and died for our sins, so that we can share in His heavenly Kingdom, and we can never do enough good works to 'win' His favor or Salvation. We are so blessed every week seeing the number of new people who come into the church. We pray that He will continue to allow us to serve here and enjoy this great harvest. He is a mighty God who is alive and drawing us all to Himself. Oh, that we can be sensitive to hear and respond.
In I Thessalonians 1:9b-10 Paul is telling the church: "They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead -- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath."

El pase del Niño Viajero

2009-01-09T00:05:00.007-05:00

I'm starting a new category . . . 'culture' After living here for 20 years, we were finally able to run downtown for a little while to catch the annual parade which takes place on December 24th.

I'm going to translate parts of a couple of articles I found to explain a little of the history.

The parade of the traveling child is a procession with the "Child King" which is more developed in Cuenca than in any other city in Ecuador. It starts before dawn on December 24th and continues until sunset. Multitudes of people participate, representing the important moments that took place surrounding the birth of Jesus, generally riding on distinctly decorated floats made up of various sizes of cars and trucks. (We saw from little homemade cars for one child, being pushed the entire route by an adult family member to huge diesel trucks that could have pulled a double trailer.)

The story begins with a small statue of the baby Jesus which was carved in the year 1823. In 1961 it was owned by the Vicar of the Archdiocese of Cuenca, Miguel Cordero, who carried it with him as he traveled to the Holy Lands, and the statue was blessed by Pope John XXIII at that time. Upon his return to Cuenca, he organized the first procession on the 24th of December with some parishioners who walked with the statue from the church of San Sebastian to the cathedral in the center of Cuenca. Another article stated that the Vicar would carry it around to different churches, and when he entered the people would shout, "Here comes the traveling Child!"

Today thousands of different families, neighbors and other groups join together to walk the route, which now extends well beyond the borders of downtown Cuenca. Some say over 20,000 people participate. The idea is to show their veneration of the baby Jesus, and carry their personal (family) statue so that it will receive a blessing for the rest of the year. Represented in the various groupings are the angel who appeared with the star in Bethlehem, the wise men, the shepherds, the holy family, all sizes of floats and people and children on horseback, groups of dancers from different parts of the country accompanied by a band to play while they dance. Many of the cars and horses are festooned with all kinds of candy, liquors and other drinks, and foods which are then eaten as a picnic after their long walk.

There are lots of pictures here - after all it's a 12 hour event!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T17:14:00.010-05:00

We thank you, O God!
We give thanks because you are near.
People everywhere tell of your mighty miracles.

Psalm 75:1
We pray this finds all of our friends and family
enjoying their holidays with a sense of peace and love
that comes through the grace of knowing our Lord Jesus.
We celebrate with you, all He is and all He means to us.

This has been our first Christmas with an empty nest. It has been fun to do all of the traditional things we've always done, but in miniature . . . compared to the typical Italian excess we enjoy when our kids and extended family are around! I put up a little tree, and we cooked all the traditional foods- but two pieces of fish, six shrimp, a four inch casserole of stuffed squid, you can get the idea. John and I have enjoyed a wonderfully peaceful time together this year.

We were invited to celebrate New Year's Eve with our friends- Eddy Lopez, the medical director of our clinic, and his wife Rebekah. They had us and 5 other families over. They have this big beehive wood oven and they have perfected roasting chickens in it. Here is Eddy carving so we can eat. It was a great time of fellowship . . . .

singing, praying, eating, and as always in Ecuador, everyone gets into fire in a big way to celebrate New Year's . Their house is on a hill on the edge of town, and here are some fireworks that we saw going off over Cuenca. It was amazing to see how the sky filled with smoke over about 10 minutes. Soon we'll talk about burning the old man.

Hope you all have an amazing year, that the Lord's sweet care and blessings are evident to each of you every day. He is near! And people everywhere tell of His wonderful miracles.

First Service in Verbo Rio

2008-12-03T17:53:00.006-05:00

On September 7th we were blessed to attend the first service at our new extension church in Cuenca. We chose a location on the other side of the airport, where we currently have 10 functioning home churches. Everyone in the neighborhood received an invitation to come, enjoy the service, and share a meal together. Here are some pictures- enjoy!

Ordaining Elders

2008-10-13T13:42:00.013-05:00

On August 29, we had the national council of Verbo in Cuenca for their meeting, and took advantage to ordain some elders from the churches in the southern region of Ecuador. There are pros and cons to every situation- we have known most of these couples since they came into the church, and have been blessed to see their commitment and growth spiritually; so it's doubly rewarding to participate in the recognition of their years of service. On the other hand, Man! We've been around a long time!

From the Cuenca church, we ordained Gustavo Cabrera and Daniel Quiroz. Gustavo has been in the church serving on the worship team for around 12 years. He is in charge of the worship team, and the radio station. In addition he has been a home group leader for years, involved in discipling many young couples in one to one relationships. We have watched him fall in love with Maria, marry, and have their first baby.

You might remember from a few posts back, that we sent Daniel and his family to Gualaquiza in April of 2007. They have been faithfully sowing in the community there- the church is growing, and they have opened a small branch of the Family Health Foundation's clinic and have a couple of doctors and a dentist giving some time to help out those with low incomes. We have sent them a basic range of medications from our “brigade” store room so they have something to offer the poor. Daniel also led home groups while in Cuenca and worked the 5:00 to 9:00 am shift at the radio station, as well as man the sound booth during church services.

The presiding elder from each church presented each of the new elders to the congregation. Mauricio introduced Bruno from Loja, and Gregorio introduced Alfonso and Fabricio from El Guabo. Gregorio is helping out in Machala and has been covering the small group in Naranjal for some time now, so Alfonso and Fabrizio have taken the baton for the El Guabo church. We also ordained two deacons from Loja and Pasaje.

It was a wonderful to see God raising up new laborers- He is so awesome!

Opening a new church body in Cuenca

2008-09-07T18:12:00.015-05:00

Rene and Graciela (Chela) Osorio

Throughout the month of August we announced the upcoming opening of a new church body on the other side of Cuenca. Our newest elder had stepped up to the challenge of recruiting leaders and members of various ministries to help in establishing a new congregation on the other side of Cuenca. Our church building is located on the south west side of town.

We have felt the need to open something toward the north east- on the other side of the airport, for a very long time, and have spent many months looking for a suitable location. As always, when the Lord was ready, it all fell into place.

Rene sharing on Sunday morning.

On their last Sunday in the 'home' church, the ministry team came forward for a prayer led by Bob Capaldi, our national leader of Verbo, and a member of the international council.

In all, there were close to 30 ready to go and serve in the new work. We are so happy to see how the body has been so open to heed the Lord's call on their lives, and challenged to encourage others to rise up to replace them!

Some Birthday Fun

2008-09-07T17:22:00.008-05:00

This was fun- Sunday after church our dear friends Raul & Patty came to Cuenca after their church service in Azogues and invited us to celebrate their son Sebastian's 4th birthday with them. He picked Pizza Hut - so that's where we met them.

They are working hard in the new church in Azogues- we are hoping to bring our next medical teams there to give them a little more exposure in the community. Patty has opened a small Christian bookstore in Azogues, and it is going well, and bringing in a little extra income for them. Raul is going to begin working as the spiritual counselor in the Verbo School this year.

Enjoying his birthday brownie!

Anniversary

2008-07-16T13:49:00.020-05:00

My goodness- I was looking forward to July 9 for months now thinking about what John & I could do to celebrate . . . but as happens so often, the tasks of the day move us on and before we know it the "special" day has past.
So, 20 years ago, John and I and the 3 kids, (Lisa-10, Jonathan- 7, and Joel- 15 months) got off a plane in Guayaquil, Ecuador, amazed at all the noise and confusion, got ourselves out of customs, and met our old friend Rick LaBouef, who drove us 8,366 ft. straight up to our new home, Cuenca, Ecuador. So many things have happened since then, I hesitate to even begin to talk about it for fear of this entry turning into a book!
Cuenca is more beautiful than ever in some ways, and more terrible in others. We have several grocery stores now, and most of the roads are paved, the downtown area was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, and is in a constant state of upgrading. When we got here, looking for a taxi after 9:00 pm was a lost cause- everyone went to bed! We walked home after a night meeting, many, many times. The spiritual atmosphere was very traditional and closed to any new ideas.

On the other hand, the culture has become much more open to influences that are not in sync with former family values. Teenagers line some of the main roads drinking from early afternoon into the night any day of the week. Spouses are less likely to put up with their mates philandering, so the divorce rate is up. However, these negative influences have broken open the closed spiritual doors, and we are convinced that we are in the middle of a revival here. Recently someone told me they were talking to a missionary who worked in Latin America many years ago. When revival was happening in other Latin American countries, the situation in Ecuador remained closed- now it is time for Ecuadorians to seek God for all He has for them, and His Holy Spirit is being poured out like never before.

We count it all as God's grace and mercy- he has put a love for Ecuador and it's people in our hearts, and we rejoice to see the fruit He has allowed to come forth as we worked for His kingdom here. Each day we see new areas of need, and He shows us how we can minister. It has been an awesome 20 years, and we look forward to many more years of walking with our Savior, and rejoicing in the marvelous ways He works.

Spring 2008

2008-06-23T18:35:00.014-05:00

Action packed, only begins to describe our spring in Cuenca. The last week in March, a Taylor University freshman, here on a short mission trip, tried to impress his classmates with his “Survivor” savvy and was lost for a day and a night at a 13,000 foot elevation in the Cajas National Park above Cuenca. After an grueling search and rescue effort, the young man was located and brought to safety.

In keeping with their heritage of excellence, Dr. Skip Trudeau, dean of students and Dr. Chris Bennett, associate provost and dean of international programs at Taylor University, abandoned their busy schedules and flew to Ecuador to offer apologies to the mayor, the city officials, the search and rescue leaders and to our church family. This gesture of humility, once again, solidified our confidence in Taylor’s high standards of academic integrity, one of North America’s finest higher educational institutions.

On the heels of this event we received a 32 member graduating team from the Bethel Church School of Ministry, from Redding California. This group, who moved in the true Spirit of Jesus, ministered in Riobamba, Cuenca and Guayaquil. The above photo shows a ministry time in Cuenca- below, some team members doing some prophetic art during worship time. The pastor of the Riobamba church confirmed that a woman in his fellowship was healed of leukemia in response to prayer from the Bethel students. PTL!

In early April, while the Redding team was still here, we received a GHO gynecology team led by Dr. Ross Rumph and Mary, his lovely wife. Ross stayed on a second week and spearheaded the efforts of the 1st Women in Medicine & Dentistry team from Global Health Outreach.

Simultaneously, we were also enjoying the company of Rachel and Ricky Guido, our niece and nephew from North Carolina, who were translating for the various medical and ministry teams and visiting their friends in Cuenca. They did a fantastic job, and we love having them in our empty nest.

A New Ministry

2008-06-23T16:25:00.019-05:00

In mid April we decided to investigate the need or an orphanage in Cuenca. In spite of being told for years that there was no pressing need for children at risk in Cuenca and southern Ecuador, what we discovered was startling and sad. Every facility we visited in Cuenca, was under-staffed, over-worked and under-funded. In 2007,only 31 children in all of Ecuador were adopted in spite of the 230,000 'orphans' who live here!

Paola Hermoza's entire family followed Marilyn and I here from Lima, Peru 11 years ago. A young woman with a burden for orphans and abused children, Paola set out interviewing orphanage directors, social service administrators, doctors, lawyers, social workers and even interviewed the director of the women’s prison here in Azuay province. To a person, everyone she interviewed pleaded for assistance and concurred that, because of the strength of the Family Health Foundation and the decades of stability of the Verbo church, a children’s home founded by us could rescue many precious lives of children at risk. We also believe that this thrust toward mercy and social justice could impact our entire city and province with the gospel in action. (Mt.25:40)
We presented a proposal to the executive board of the foundation. Our orphanage proposal was enthusiastically received and unanimously approved. Preliminary government approval came rapidly, due both to the solid history of the Family Health Foundation and the diligent efforts of Paola. We then presented the vision to the church and six couples immediately volunteered to work as house parents or assist in any way they could. The time table we projected had us receiving our first children in September, but it seems God had another idea!
On June 1, the Lord dropped 8 children on our door step. Suffering unmentionable abuse at the hands of their demonized father, these eight siblings were filled with fear and anxiety. Their mother fled in terror, when their father repeatedly raped one of the children in front of the others, and then threatened to sell them into child prostitution.

So now, our well articulated plan could not wait for our carefully scheduled timetable. We kicked it into high gear, believing God for provision. The Verbo church family rallied with clothing and temporary housing. Family Health Foundation, treated the two youngest for pneumonia, provided medicine to treat all 8 children for lice and scabies and pregnancy tested one of the older siblings.

Temporary housing was found to meet the immediate need, but we needed a home closer to town where our psychologist, social worker, and other care givers could begin the long-term healing we had originally envisioned. In the beginning of this quest, we made a commitment to Jesus to care for these children as HE wanted them cared for.

Paola’s contacts quickly found us a couple who were willing to rent their large house for $800 per month. That amount seemed beyond our reach, but in faith we looked at the house and offered them $500, the amount we had originally budgeted for our first home. Raul and his wife, Etelvina, who attends a Verbo women’s bible study, were moved by our heart for orphans, and agreed to rent to us for our $500 budget amount. On July 1 we are the new tenants of a beautiful house in Cuenca, near the church building and a big market - God is faithful!
After we interviewed the potential house parents on Saturday, June 14, we found the perfect couple to care for these 8 precious children. Yuri and Maria del Carmen have a two year old daughter, Rebekah, and because of a health condition will not have other children of their own. Yuri has always wanted lots of children and Maria feels called by God to be a mother of many.I had the privilege of leading Maria del Carmen to the Lord a number of years ago. Since that time, this couple has been an integral part of the Verbo church family. Maria del Carmen has helped Marilyn with the medical brigades, and then went on to work in the Physical Therapy department at our clinic. We are confident this couple can help foster the wholeness and healing these battered siblings need and deserve.

On Sunday, June 15, Maria del Carmen brought all the children to church, and the oldest sister, Daniela, gave her heart to the Lord. We know this is the first fruits of our obedience to the Lord’s command to care for the orphans and fatherless. (James 1:27)

-Please pray for God’s provision of furniture, bedding, appliances, dishes and the plethora of items we will need to make this house a home.
-Pray the authorities will take the father’s crimes seriously and detain him accordingly.
-If God moves you to participate financially please send your tax deductible checks to AIM- and note "for the orphanage", the address is at the bottom of the page. Or you can give by clicking on the donate button on this page as well. By all means, if you would like to help us in a hands on way, we would appreciate your help on a short term mission.

On mission with you - John

Micah Daniel

2008-06-23T01:20:00.008-05:00

Our new little boy is here! He was born after a longish 9 hour labor on June 4th - we were all expecting a quick one like the last time, but Lisa hung in there, working hard and he weighed in at 8 lbs 10 ozs and is a little sweetheart. He loves to sleep and eat and hasn't been fussy at all. This is lovely, but not much need for Grandma to walk and cuddle. However, we do have the big sisters who need to eat, go to the playground, and snack and swim. So, never fear- I have been busy. God has blessed us and we are very thankful.

We are always interested in learning the names of our grandchildren. Our son-in-law firmly believes that information should be shared on a need to know basis, and nobody needs to know the name of the child until the child is born. :o) So, his name is the same as our third son, Joel's two middle names. That was a pleasant surprise- we have loved those names for 21 years now!

Here he is looking like a little peanut, sleeping like a baby.

Internet Issues

2008-06-23T00:39:00.006-05:00

Well, this has been crazy- I notified Google about an issue with Google reader, and they canceled my account . . . which meant I couldn't get into our blog- so that meant days trying to figure out how to get that fixed. Thankfully, I found a "forum" that someone in the empire of Google pays attention to! So, we're back. YAY !!

2008 !!!

2008-06-10T02:05:00.008-05:00

Well, doing this little review of last year really brings home how bad I am at carrying around my camera and rarely taking a picture! I have been waiting for people to help me out with some pictures of events, and have decided, boring as it may be without a picture, it is time to move on before I lose even more time.

I think I'll update categories for the time being, because this has started out as one of our busiest years ever. Up to April 26 we had 5 different medical teams down from the US- those 4 months were a whirlwind of organizing, emailing, and working long hours. After we arrived from our Christmas with the kids, we received our first team within the week. We started with a small group of pre-med students from Taylor University students accompanied by two orthopedic surgeons and ended with the first ever Women in Medicine and Dentistry team from GHO. We were honored to be selected as the site to host this team, and were so blessed to get to know and work along side these wonderful people.

2007 Summary - Part Four

2008-04-02T22:20:00.006-05:00

OCTOBER - The Manta church with 50 in attendance outgrew it’s small building and moves to a beautiful theater in an excellent location now there’s room for over 300.

Paul Berube from and Allan Ross a pastor from Scotland visit for a time of ministry to the congregation and to set up a student exchange program between our churches.

NOVEMBER - Dr. Luis Rojas, a board member from our church, travels to Uruguay, South America to minister in a Christian Leadership Conference for medical professionals. We are blessed to see our leaders sent out by the Lord and ministering to other nations.

Boris Ordonez and Raul Bonifaz are sent out to plant a new church in Azogues, Ecuador. There are currently 70 members in attendance in the work there.

Two couples from our church the Osorios and the Rodriguezes travel to Nicaragua, Central America to minister to the Verbo leadership from all over the country. Once again we are honored to have members of our leadership team sent out to serve other countries. There was a mighty move of God and the leadership was greatly blessed.

DECEMBER - Terry King with Bill and Craig Davidson, from Alliance International Ministries, visit and minister to the Leadership and congregation. Bill and Craig also minister in Guayaquil and Riobamba and do a scouting trip for the Service Corp. It was a wonderful, inspiring time for all. We were refreshed and challenged by what the Lord ministered through these trusted men of God.

March in Downtown Cuenca protesting the Ecuadorian’s Presidents failure to approve laws dedicated to improving highway safety. The march was organized by the Parents of the students who lost their lives in the bus accident in conjunction with the Church. Over 500 individuals from all walks of life participated. The press was there and we are already seeing some progress. By the Lord’s strength we plan to stay in the fight.

2007 Summary - Part Three

2008-03-24T22:25:00.012-05:00

JULY

Mom Guido passed away on July 5. It was the first day in ten years with us that she didn’t get out of bed. She hadn’t been eating well for about 2 weeks so we were expecting it. We shared 10 years together with her in our home. She was a very easy person to care for and brought a special joy to our home. We were blessed to have her and miss her greatly.

John was able to attend the Haggai Leadership Seminar in Singapore. It was a great opportunity to meet Christian leaders from all over the world and receive some first class teaching on leadership. Here the group from Latin America receive the first prize for the group presentation they prepared.

During the Haggai Seminar John suffered his first ever attack of sciatica. It was the most painful experience of his life and continues to be a bit of a problem although he is finally feeling 95% better during the last month. This is his friend Sheriff, from Calcutta, India. It looks like he is enjoying ministering to his new brother.

Paul and Diana Hermoza with their son Matias were sent out to join Fabian and Clara Molina and their 3 girls in the work Manta, Ecuador.

His Glorious Presence Church, from Maryland sends youth a youth outreach team to Manta, Ecuador. The Church and the city receive a great blessing and the US team leaves inspired and encouraged by a job well done.

AUGUST

Our church community suffered the most traumatic event of its 20 year history when 4 members of our church are killed in a bus accident. They were on their way back from a youth outreach to the Ark orphanage and were side swiped by an oncoming bus. Andres Vallejo, Pedro Vintimilla and Santiago Carrion lost their lives while serving the Lord Jesus. His grace has mightily poured out on their parents, relatives and friends and on the congregation.

SEPTEMBER - Our daughter Lisa and her husband Christoph, announce Lisa’s pregnancy with our third grandchild. The ultrasound says it’s a boy. Not in this view of a cute profile, of course. The due date is June 3, her father’s birthday. Marilyn will be there at that time for a month to help with the girls and with the new arrival. We are all very excited to welcome another member to the family, and we hope his name is Guido Neumann. :o)

2007 Summary - Part Two

2008-03-24T14:56:00.012-05:00

APRIL – Our dear friend, Curtis Leins, visits to minister to the congregation. The Lord used Curtis mightily to minister to us, our leadership, the congregation and the Verbo leadership in Quito.

Daniel and Marta Quiroz with their son Alejandro were sent to Gualaquiza, Ecuador a small town in the jungle, where they are currently pastoring a new church plant with 70 in attendance. They have had many opportunities to have radio and television time, locally. They are having a big impact on the whole area. There is a family who is riding a bus 6 hours each way, to get to church each week!

Medical Doctors associated with Taylor University work one week at our clinic in a Medical Outreach.

MAY – Taylor University President, Gene Habecker, and his wife, Marylou, visit Ecuador to see what all the hubbub is about from the teams and faculty who have come down in the past. His vision is to have ten Global Engagement Centers where Taylor students can study and have a healthy exposure to the culture and the expression of the Christian church in other countries. He also presented a Leadership Seminar in Quito and Cuenca.

Construction project begins on our Sunday school and fellowship area.

JUNE - On the third of this month John turns 53 years of age.

Summing up 2007

2008-01-21T21:21:00.009-05:00

We hope that many of you might be interested in seeing a summary of some of the major events of our lives and ministry for 2007. Thanks so much to all of you who contributed through your prayers, gifts and participation in successes and blessings of the year. May the Lord richly bless you and encourage you through 2008. I'm going to do it in quarters, so it will be easier for me to manage.

JANUARY – Leadership mentoring program reorganized. The year began with our traditional week of prayer and fasting. We closed down our home groups for 1½ months and meet together corporately. Then we met with every couple in the leadership and had a time of prayer and evaluation to see if they should continue in the ministry or take a time of rest and restoration. All but two of our leaders continued, and we had an opportunity for wonderful times of ministry and were able to help couples work out some important difficulties they had been facing. Then we asked them to pick an elder with whom they wanted to work with in a mentoring program. Marilyn and I are currently working closely with 7 wonderful couples and one on-fire young man.

On the 7^th Marilyn celebrates her birthday. Here she with Tammy making plans for an upcoming medical team.

The Taylor University Lighthouse team came with 15 students who worked with various children’s ministries throughout the city.

FEBRUARY - The City Park in front of our church is re-zoned as a residential area. We are currently in a law suit with the city de- manding that our park be restored. They plowed up the volleyball court that was used by local citizen's every weekend in the top photo, and put up a barbed wire fence in an area we used as a parking lot.

MARCH - Taylor University sends 8 Students who stay 4 months studying Biology and Spanish at the local University of Azuay and in our newly formed Language Institute.

What we did for our Christmas Vacation

2008-01-06T20:12:00.003-05:00

We really hadn't planned on going to the States to see the kids for Christmas this past year, but when a friend called saying we could buy tickets to New York City for $259 without any blackout dates we made a quick decision. How could we pass up a chance to see our quickly growing grand girls!

Jonathan was able to fly up from LA for 5 days, and Joel was off- he's a manager in the school cafeteria, so . . . no school, no work. Lisa juggled her schedule and only had to work one evening during 3 weeks. Christoph is working at Hewlett-Packard, and they have a policy that you have to take the week between Christmas and New Year's off to be with your family. It was great.
In spite of a thankfully only 24 hour flu, which went from one to the other every three days, we had lots of fun time to be together. Lisa and I took Emily to see the Nutcracker in Portland, while Grandpa, Joel and Daddy babysat Katrina. When Jonathan flew up we went to the Portland Zoo for Zoolights. They put a crazy amount of lights all over the zoo and you walk around in the (really cold) night. We fulfilled our obligation to our Italian heritage eating lots of special food.

Katrina stays warm with her daddy.

Emily says hi to Rudolph at the zoo. Since most of the real animals are sleeping they supplement them with humans dressed as animals!

Katrina takes anything to do with food very seriously, especially blessing it. But she just might be fooling around with her Uncle Jonathan.

We were so blessed to enjoy this time together- it is always fun to see our kids relate to each other as friends, and have our son-in-law right in the mix. Praise God!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-06T19:02:00.001-05:00

Since we spent New Year's Eve trying to rest up for the 3 day ordeal of getting back to Ecuador, here are a couple of nice firework pictures taken by my niece, Rachel on the 4th of July!

We pray that each of you has a blessed and fulfilling 2008. Every year we have a corporate fast for the church body, open to those who would like to participate during the first week of January. We open the church building at 6:00 am and at 7:00 pm for times of prayer as well. This morning we read these verses in Isaiah 58:

...vs.8, 9 NLT... "If you do these things your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. Then when you call, the Lord will answer. "Yes, I am here," he will quickly reply."

We pray that your steps this year will be led by your godliness and that you sense the glory of the Lord protecting you from behind. We look forward to many new adventures together . . . with our precious Lord Jesus, our wonderful brothers and sisters in Ecuador, and you, our faithful team and family in the States and the rest of the world. God bless you!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-26T02:23:00.001-05:00

Now we can get to the task at hand! We want to thank all of our friends and supporters for being with us on this journey. We pray that this Christmas was spent near family and loved ones, and was a time of blessing and joy, bringing you rest and encouragement.

God has given us these times of joy. Psalm 81:4 TLB

This tree is in Rockefeller Center in New York City, btw . . . we had a 12 hour layover on our way to Oregon to spend the holidays with our kids and grandkids. There will be more on this later. Bless you all.

Marcha Blanca

2007-12-26T01:37:00.001-05:00

Well, it's been a busy few weeks, but we haven't disappeared. I wanted to follow up the last entry with this news about the "white march" that was held on December 8th. As we mentioned before, the families of the boys who died in the accident want to make changes on the national level. They have been researching and found a national group with the same goals, and we are hoping this connection will enable us to have the numbers needed to impact the lawmakers. At this point, the president has dismantled the congress, and has a national assembly in place who are re-writing the constitution of Ecuador, so no law writing will be taking place until they are done.

After holding a press conference, and appearing on several radio and television interviews, around 1,000 people assembled in downtown Cuenca. The participants were supposed to wear white clothing, and the purpose of the march was to bring attention to what is happening on the highways of our country in a positive way.

There were many groups- students who went to school with the victims, as well as their families and many groups representing other people who were unrelated to our church. This banner says: "We support justice on the highways,it is everyone's obligation to respect the laws, and everyone should be obligated to respect the laws."

After the march we gathered in the central park of Cuenca, and we held a minute of silence, followed by a prayer for our country, and several hundred white balloons were released into the air. The parents from our church expressed their thanks to the crowd, and we met in city hall with representatives from the city government to present a declaration and a petition. This will be sent to the national assembly as well. It was a bittersweet moment.

A Great Grief

2007-12-11T08:30:00.002-05:00

In case some of you missed the last newsletter, I wanted to put this article here so that it would be easy to reference, as we hope there will be ongoing results, and permanent changes in the Ecuadorian laws as a result of this terrible tragedy.

On Sunday, August 26^th 4 members of our church were killed in a bus accident near Chunchi, Ecuador.

For the past two summers, we have sent teams of youth to minister at the Ark Orphanage in Riobamba. They each paid to go and help out the 50+ orphans with vacation Bible school type activities, as well doing daily chores, painting, etc. Thirteen members of our youth group, who made up the last of three teams that went this year, had finished their week ministering to the children and working with the staff. As they ministered, prayed and worshiped together their love for the Lord and their burden for the orphans had grown. They had been calling home telling their families and friends what a wonderful time they were having and how their lives had been changed.

On the way home, about 2 hrs. north of Cuenca, an oncoming bus swerved into their lane and smashed into the side of their bus. Three of the youth, Pedro Vintimilla, 17, Sebastian Carrion, 19, and Andres Vallejo 20, were killed instantly. The other youth on the bus sustained only minor injuries. Angel Sanchez, 45, another member of our church, was also killed in the accident, leaving behind his wife and child. Angel was not part of the ministry team and just happened to be on the bus returning to Cuenca from Quito.

We were in the middle of our Sunday morning service when the sad news began to trickle in. Some reports said that the bus was being robbed others said that it had rolled over. Immediately, several parents and two of our elders who are medical doctors, Marlo Palacios and Rene Cabrera left for the scene of the accident.

On Monday, we had a memorial service for the three boys. With the coffins of the three boys at the front of the church over 1200 people came out. Many of whom had never heard the gospel message before. The abundant and powerful grace of God was evident to all. It’s been a trying time, but the parents of these boys have been an awesome testimony to all. God has been faithful to comfort and strengthen them and the church has pulled together to minister to the parents, family, friends and youth. Pray for us that as the weeks go by, we all will continue to seek God for His gracious help in coping with this terrible tragedy.

Visit to Loja and Gualaquiza

2007-12-02T21:05:00.001-05:00

Last week we took a trip down south to visit two of the churches that we cover. We broke it up a little, since John is trying to take care of his back. He hurt it in July, and has had sciatica ever since. So, first we drove to Vilcabamba, a little south of Loja. We have a medical team that goes there to work every January, and because of that outreach, there is a small group of believers who regularly meet with one of the leaders from Loja. We are praying that it will grow to be an official church plant soon. Above is a view of the central park. John and Bob Capaldi had meetings with the leaders on Thanksgiving day, and Lauren and I enjoyed a Mexican food lunch and watched our men at work. It was a nice break, strolling around town when it wasn't raining.

After that we headed east and north to Gualaquiza. The "highway" passes so many beautiful waterfalls. We especially enjoyed the sign placed in the middle of this waterfall- it says "enjoy nature- don't deface it" hmmm.

Here is a nice looking bridge. Kind of the opposite of a suspension bridge. I wonder what it would be called! (I doubt the engineers would name it a sagging bridge!) At least there are no potholes!

Our church in Cuenca sent Daniel Quiroz and his wife Martha to Gualaquiza to plant a church about 6 months ago. It wasn't an easy start for them but they rented a new building a month ago, and are seeing great fruit. We were there for their very first youth group meeting. (above photo) Very fun to see a new group excited about all that the Lord is doing in and through them. On Sunday, John shared and then they prepared a meal for everyone who attended. There were about 10 first time visitors among the 112 who attended!

John Has a Meeting with the Mayor

2007-11-29T23:08:00.001-05:00

Last week we started a new program in conjunction with the city of Cuenca. They are going to donate $500 a month to help feed the children who are enrolled in our Compassion International program, five days a week. It will be operating as an official "Nutrition Center", as well as the normal activities, which include help with their homework Bible studies, and regular health care.

Above: the mayor of Cuenca, Marcelo Cabrera, Dr. Marlo Palacios, Rene Osorio, John Guido making it all official.

We have been working with Compassion for 14 years, since we worked in Riobamba. Our program in Cuenca has 140 children enrolled. We have student who has who has passed through his entire school career and now is in college. Daniel is continuing his higher education with the help of Compassion. It's a wonderful way to help underprivileged children successfully get their education while experiencing the practical expression of the love of Jesus.

The audience was made up of city officials, leaders of the Verbo church, interested members of the community and the church and parents of the children. You can see the official police band behind the crowd, on hand to perform during the ceremony.

First Sunday Meeting in Azogues

2007-11-12T22:10:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was an exciting day for our church. We have been working with a group from the nearby town of Azogues for over a year now- they have had an active home church, and when it grew to around 40 people we began looking for a location to start Sunday services. As you can see in this slide show, there is an enthusiastic core group who worked very hard to prepare the building, and they were rewarded with lots of new visitors! There were over 100 in attendance, and we are looking forward to seeing much growth. Boris Ordoñez and Raúl Bonifaz will lead the new church.

Once more, God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Making the News

2007-11-09T22:18:00.001-05:00

Yesterday the families of the three boys who were killed in a bus accident on August 26, along with friends and supporters had a march in downtown Cuenca, protesting the president of Ecuador's veto of a bill before the congress that would have reformed public transportation laws. It was covered in both of the local papers, El Mercurio, and El Tiempo.

We have been working closely with the families, who want to use their loss to actually make a change in the laws and the Ecuadorian government. This was the first public manifestation. They are planning a large press conference, and are hoping to involve people from all over the country who have suffered because of this type of accident. That should just about include everybody! It certainly makes you think every time you are on the road . . .

In lieu of a "newsletter"

2007-11-08T22:30:00.001-05:00

Hi there! Well, after having some trouble with our old newsletter format . . . can't get the website to open! We decided to try this out. Seems we can jot a quick note and keep you up to date and perhaps improve our recently abysmal communications.

It has been a busy fall. We had a visit from our dear daughter, and our two grand babies, here are Emily and Katrina playing in a fountain in Guayaquil. That was followed by a visit from the leaders of the Verbo church in Nicaragua; followed by a surgery team to Gualaquiza, where we have a young church plant; followed by a visit by a couple of great pastors from New Hampshire and Scotland; followed by a two week medical team to Manta and Cuenca; followed by a visit from the leaders of the Verbo church in Loja . . . are you getting the idea?

Right now John is in Machala for some meetings with the leaderhip in that province. He'll be joined tomorrow by some of the leaders from Cuenca, and present a seminar on Leadership with alumni from the Haggai Institute. We have several men who have studied a month either in Hawaii, or Singapore at the Haggai Institute, and they are excited to share what they learned. He'll be bringing home 5 house guests on Saturday- all members of the leadership council in our church plant in El Guabo.