Even though I'm a day late, Happy Father's Day to all you daddies out there. We pray that you all had a wonderful day and received the honor you so deserve! I enjoyed spending the day with my dad, and was reminded, once again, just how blessed I am to have my parents here with me in Ecuador.
We have had a whirlwind couple of weeks, and things are not going to slow down anytime soon. We so enjoyed having the Tankersleys here and the opportunity that we had to travel with them as they said good-bye to the pastors and congregations that they have served so lovingly over the last four years. We are going to miss them as co-workers here in Ecuador, but are excited for the opportunity that God has put before them for the next three years, and we are thrilled to be taking over their ministry as liaisons in the Central District.
Having said that, even though we are not scheduled to start that ministry officially until September, we have had the opportunity to travel with Antonio Zabala, the district superintendent over the last couple of weeks, and it has been an absolute joy to get to know him better as well as the pastors we will be serving.
We also had the privilege of traveling with my parents to a church service in their honor in Milagro. The church we visited was the first church that my dad helped plant when we arrived, and it was the church we attended when we lived in Guayaquil. It was so touching to see how much the church has grown and what wonderful ministries they are involved in presently. I have added a picture of the church today. It is quite a bit different from the tiny garage we met in before. God is so good!
Tomorrow we have a small group that will be arriving to do a scouting mission for future partnership opportunities in our district. They arrive tomorrow evening and we take off early Wednesday morning. Here is our schedule so that you know how to pray:
Wednesday: Travel to Ibarra to meet with the pastor and the leadership team. Church service that night.
Thursday: Travel to Latacunga to meet with the pastor. Travel to Sucre for an evening service.
Friday: Meeting with the pastor and leadership team in Pillaro. Meeting with pastor and leadership team in Puyo. Evening service in Puyo.
Saturday: Meeting with FLET students in Salcedo in the morning. Travel to Ambato for a meeting with the pastor. Evening service in Yatchil. Travel back to Ambato that night to sleep.
Sunday: Morning service (10:00) in Riobamba. Meet with pastor and leadership team after service. Return to Quito in the afternoon.
Monday: Day of tourism in Quito and a debriefing meeting with Antonio and the team.
Tuesday: Team returns to Indiana.
As you can see, we need a LOT of prayer for travel safety. I know that you have no idea where these towns are located, but all of them are in the Andes Mountains and the roads are quite curvy. The team will also be eating most of their meals in local restaurants, so please pray for their health while they are here as well. Pray also that as the team meets with the different pastors, they will be sensitive to the Lord's guidance as to future ministry in this district. The team members are Alan Landes, and Bill and Spring Brown.
On June 29th, I will be flying to Cuenca for a meeting with the AIEE (our partner association) to look at the future of our partnership. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will be noticeably present as we look at how we can work together in the future. The last time we had a joint meeting, it was not very pleasant, and we want to avoid another meeting like that. Pray for the association president Alfredo Gonzales, who seems to have some bad feelings toward the mission. Pray that we will be an example of Christ's love to him and to each member of the association that will be present. Pray for our field leader, Tom Stiles, as well, for wisdom as he directs the meeting.
We have much more coming up in July, but I will close for now. Thank each of you for your prayer coverage. It is evident to us each day and we are so grateful. May God richly bless each one of you this week!
Building God's Kingdom in Ecuador,
Kelly, for the Chambers