Mission Visits

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.

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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.

2007 Summary - Part Four

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.

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2007 Summary - Part Three

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)