Spring 2008

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.