Traveling to the States

This summer we will have our first summer "furlough" since we arrived here in Ecuador.  A furlough is when missionaries take an extended time to head back to the states to rest and connect with churches, family and friends. 
My heart is torn as we are excited to head back but feeling overwhelmed with the many challenges that traveling has for us.  As we mentioned before Ethan doesn't do well with change and it throws him in a tizzy making him very anxious and stressed.  Pray that even now God would prepare his little heart and body. Pray that we would have some time for our little family to reconnect and relax. Pray as we plan our itinerary for how long to stay in the states, one that fits our budget and doesn't have us flying for 20hrs in one day.  We are very thankful for the opportunity to head back since we know that this is a luxury not every missionary has!

I changed my blog address

In our last newsletter we shared that I started a new blog well I recently changed the address to http://www.amomnotapro.blogspot.com/ check it out! 

Jesus loves all the little children

One thing that brings me to tears is seeing little children worship our Lord with their little voices and excited little bodies as they clap and fidget.  But one thing that not only brings me to tears and makes my heart and chest literally hurt is seeing these dirty little faces light up as they praise our Lord all out of tune but with such zeal.  Doing our bible club out in the projects of Quito has been such a blessing and challenge.  Pray for us as we end our time there this coming month of May and as we prepare for the Ladies Mckinney Mission team to come and minister to these sweet children. 

May 10th

This day is very special to our family because we will celebrate 7yrs of marriage.  The Lord has been wonderful in bringing us together!  As I mentioned before in past news updates that making time for our marriage has been difficult as we are constantly busy and we appreciate your prayers as we have tried being more intentional with our time.  But as all of you who are married know that this intentionality is a constant thing, not a phase, not a short term goal but a life long commitment.  So continue to keep us in your prayers so that we would continue to be intentional in our communication and time as a couple.

Ladies Tea

In efforts to bridge gaps between cultures, ages and jobs between the staff at our school we tried another fun activity for all the ladies at Alliance: a Ladies Tea.  It was a successful event that was well attended!  It was so nice to look out and see tables mixed with young women, older women, Ecuadorians and foreigners all laughing and having a good time. It made all the hard work worth it!!

Eggs and Bunnies

Once again we are spreading the tradition of Easter Egg hunts here in Ecuador.  I was delighted this year to discover that there is a Christian meaning to eggs on Easter.  We invited all of Ethans kindergarten class to join our family for an Easter Egg hunt.  We were delighted to have so many parents join us.  Usually, what happens when we invite his friends over the parents don't come.  We were able to fellowship with a lot of the parents and talk about the Christian meaning of Easter eggs.  You can't buy Easter Eggs in Ecuador but thankfully we had some friends and family send us some and the children loved this little tradition and it gave us a simple conversation starter about our Lord.  Who would of known that we needed to stock up on plastic Easter Eggs before we headed to Ecuador. 

Easter done differently

This year we had a very traditional Ecuadorian Easter.  We attended the Easter procession that is held in the historic area of Quito.  It was fascinating to watch the 100's of men reenacting Jesus walking the street to Golgotha; carrying the cross. Also the Klu Klux clan looking men called Cucuruchos were interesting and stirred lots of questions in Ethan our 6yr old. 
We were delighted to be invited to an Ecuadorian families home for Easter brunch.  We have heard that Quito people don't invite people into their homes unless they know them really well.  So this was a huge compliment to us not just to be invited but during one of their holidays.   We enjoyed a traditional Fanesca meal (dried fish & grains soup). 
I must admit I did miss Mckinney Memorial Churchs' Good Friday service.

Apologetics Course

This month the school has been teaching a month long apologetics course that's in Spanish and English for parents.  The course has had a tremendous response with over 100 people attending weekly.  It has been so encouraging to see that so many of our the parents at our school are seeking for answers.  Our school is made up of the majority being Ecuadorians both secular and Christian and a small percentage of Missionary kids who are also both secular and Christian.  We pray that seeds are planted and many would continue to seek His Truth and not just knowledge.

Seminars and more Seminars

Please pray for me as this month is full of Seminars that I will be leading:

• Keeping your children safe from Predators
• Personality Analysis for High School students
• Beauty is Deep! for 6th grade girls
• Masculinity and Homosexuality for high school boys

I am very nervous about the first one and last one so pray as I do my research, gather my thoughts so that I may listen to our Lords leading in these topics. 

Womens Summer Missions Team

We are currently in the process of solidifying our summer teams plans.  Please pray that the Lord will establish the work of our hands.  Our strategy is threefold for the Mckinney Memorial Bible Church Ladies in Ft. Worth:

• Community Outreach- have the ladies reach out to a impoverished community in Quito and do VBS.
• Missionary Outreach- Have the ladies do a project that will bless the missionary community for years to come.
• Street kids Outreach-Come along one of our ministry project Operation Brown Bag and get out lunches out to the street kids.