A Cup of Tea with Joy

the Shabby Shoppe Blog

2012-02-29T18:48:00.001-05:00

I enjoy digital scrap booking and I came across this blog. It has some really nice free kits. Just seems like a really nice resource. Thought you might enjoy it if you enjoy this hobby with me. :-)

Blessings,

Joy

the Shabby Shoppe Blog:

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Here comes March!!!

2012-02-29T18:44:00.000-05:00

I know I'm getting older, because I remember when time just moved along like a snail across the sidewalk and now it seems to just fly by! Can you believe that tomorrow is already March 1st?

Things are going pretty well in the Anzalone house these days. Teddy, Carla and Matthew are doing well in school and most days we are happy to see progress as this family learns to gel together. This past month started out with a bang, and pretty much just kept on going! LOL!!

Have you ever gone through those times, when you just can't seem to turn around and catch your breath? Well, that is kind of how this month has seemed. But things are starting to settle back down into our normal routine, and that is good. The kids have all battled colds and Tony is starting to get one, so I guess that means I'll probably be next. :-/

Things at the church are going well. We are in the process of setting up a new visitation program. Tomorrow evening, Tony will also be starting a 4 week discipleship training seminar. The ladies are in the process of planning a wedding shower for one of our sweet young ladies. That will be Sunday afternoon, March 18th, and we will have our VBS at the end of March, right before the kids start back to school in April. (Our kids are probably the only ones that are in school right now in Manta! ;-) Of course they will be happy about that this summer when we have groups visiting from the US!

Thank you for your prayers for our family the ministry here in Manta!
Blessings,
Joy

Can I trust God to guard my heart?

2012-02-21T19:21:00.001-05:00

About a year ago, I was approached by a friend and asked to participate along with many other ladies to write a couple devotionals for a book for the ladies of her church. It was a surprise Christmas gift for the ladies. Here is the first one. I hope it is a blessing to you.

Philippians 4:4-7

How many times have I read those verses? Hundreds? Thousands? Yet this night they jumped off the page at me. What made this time, August 31, 2002, any different from all the other times? God was speaking to my heart!

Tony and I had made the decision to adopt a baby here in Ecuador. We were in the middle of all the paperwork, and jumping through the hoops to become approved as adoptive parents. At the same time all of this was happening, a very good friend of ours had started a foundation for abandoned babies. I was going several times a week to volunteer my time. There was a little baby boy, just 3 months old, that I fell in love with. I was so afraid of stepping up and letting myself become involved with him, though, because I was afraid of it not working out and having my heart broken. So this night, as I couldn't sleep because I was wrestling with all of these thoughts, I got up and took my Bible and began reading. When I came to these very familiar verses, I stopped…reread them, then read them again. It was almost as if God had spoken out loud to my heart! What did he say? "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

God was telling me, to step out, to trust my heart to him! I remember reading the verses a few more times, and then praying and just turning the whole situation over to the Lord. I closed my Bible and went back to bed, at complete peace, that God was at work in this situation, and no matter what happened, I could trust my heart to him.

God didn't allow us to adopt baby James. But he did use that experience to prepare my heart to be ready to accept the baby he had for us. You see, I had set my heart on adopting a little baby. But God had a toddler in mind for our family. So in his grace and mercy, he allowed me to experience all the special baby times, with Baby James. I was there when he ate his first cereal, I was there, and found his first tooth. I was there, when he took his first steps. By the time we knew that James wasn't the baby God had for us, we were more than ready and emotionally prepared to accept the precious little 14 month old baby God did have for us!

Are you trusting God with your heart?

"Dear Father, as we go through this day, help each one of us to trust you completely. To take our concerns and worry to your feet and leave them there with you. May we trust you to fill us with your peace that passes all understanding and guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Fake-It Frugal: Fake Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes

2012-02-21T16:56:00.000-05:00

Came across this today, and wanted to share...some of you might enjoy doing this to save some money and have the convenience of a mix. I love the idea since we hardly ever find "mixes" here and if we do they are usually at least double what you would pay for them!!

Fake-It Frugal: Fake Betty Crocker Cookie Mixes: Ever have one of those "Ah-ha!" moments? I happened to me yesterday when I was lamenting the price of those very convenient Betty Crocker C...

Ministry Update...

2012-02-19T22:30:00.002-05:00

This week-end is Carnival Vacation here in Ecuador. That means that Manta is FULL of people visiting from around the country. It also means that you need to watch out when you go out as you might be splashed with water...buckets, hoses, water guns, or water balloons. :-) Our kids are looking forward to our big family water fight Tuesday afternoon.

We had a great service this morning, even though many of our regulars were traveling, we still had a great attendance of 130! Also had a lady accept Christ at the end of the worship service!!

We enjoyed a nice family time for Valentines Day. 31 years ago, I celebrated my first Valentines Day with my Sweetie, and 21 years ago, we spent our first Valentines day in Ecuador. God has blessed us so much and we are so thankful for all that he has done for us!

We are staying busy. Appreciate your prayers as our church starts a new visitation ministry. The ladies will be hosting a Bridal Shower for one of our newly married couples. Also will be planning VBS, which will be in March. The schools in Manta are on "Summer Break" right now. (except for the Anzalone's school! ;-)

Appreciate your prayers as we continue to minister here. Tony and I both are involved in Discipleship lessons with people. Also working with the leaders and their wives. Tony continues with the Bible Institute classes on Thursday night.

Blessings to you this week!
Joy

Do my attitudes reflect Christ?

2012-02-16T21:32:00.001-05:00

Been thinking a lot lately about our attitudes and how they affect others. Did you ever think that how you respond to circumstances that come your way, may make the difference in someone coming to know Christ or not? So often it seems that I forget that I may very well be the only Jesus someone will encounter. They may base their whole idea of Christianity on what they see in my life! WOW!! I am to be growing each day to be more like Christ. The whole goal is that my life become a mirror of Jesus. So that got me to thinking...

When Jesus stepped from the portals of heaven into a manger in Bethlehem, do you think there were any complaints lodged with the innkeeper about the lack of a good heating or air ventilation system in the barn? What about when they wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the manger, do you think the innkeeper heard about the musty odor and smell of hay or the roughness of the clothes? What about later as he ministered, do you think he complained about the rolls and fish not being cooked the way his mother cooked them back home? Do you think he ever griped because the coffee wasn't as hot as he preferred it? Have you ever been out with someone at a restaurant and they griped and complained about everything and basically just gave the waitress total grief and then as you were getting ready to leave, along with the less than normal amount of tip, they laid a tract down with their church's name on it? OUCH!! I have thought to myself, if I was that waitress, I would want to run as far away from that church as I could get! Yet, I know that I am guilty of the same kind of things. How often have I thought to myself, "well I have rights! I'm not letting them walk all over me! I paid good money for that!"

Look at what Jesus said in Luke 22:24-27, And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am among you as he that serveth.

Here is the King of Glory, worthy of all praise and honor, washing the dirty feet of his disciples! He wasn't complaining because none of them had offered to wash his feet. He wasn't saying how awful the place was because they didn't even supply help to make sure everyone had clean feet before they came to recline at dinner. I mean you would have thought it was the least that they could have done, knowing that Jesus was using their upper room! What was the matter with them, anyway? What was wrong with the disciples that they were sitting there with the Master, but more concerned about their place and honor than whether or not he was comfortable?

Can you imagine how the disciples must of felt when Jesus got up and took off his outer robe, and put on a towel like a humble servant and began to wash their feet? Peter's response can give you a good clue...But, Jesus didn't berate them for not serving him. He simply used the time to teach by example.

You know when we gripe and complain about the service or actions of others, we are not giving God the glory...We are dulling the mirror, so that it can't reflect to others the King of Kings!

Paul wrote in Colossians 4:4-6, That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. Let your speech be always with grace (my note here...that means let my speech be gracious, a result of the divine influence on my heart and its reflection in my life; Let it be a benefit or gift to others; Let it be pleasurable and thanks worthy!) seasoned with salt, that you may know how ye ought to answer every man.

Then Peter writes in 1 Peter 3:8-11, Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful(tenderhearted), be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

Paul wrote in Titus 3:1-2, Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

Oh that I would have that "meek(mild, gentle, humble) and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."(1Peter 3:4) I've been called to share Christ through my life. Not just my words. Oh, I believe that it is important to be ready at every opportunity the Lord presents to share with my words, the blessed gospel, but that isn't enough!! My life must reflect what he has done. Peter tells us that an unsaved husband can be brought to Christ through the conduct of a believing wife, without her ever speaking a word! (1 Peter 3:1-2) I believe that is also the case not just for unbelieving husbands but for anyone. My life, my reactions to all circumstances should be a reflection of my Savior. I should be filled with the Peace of God that goes way beyond any earthly understanding, that it points people to my Savior! When I interact with others, they should immediately be able to tell that I have something different...something that they are missing and want to have! Peter says in 1 Peter 3:15, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (humbleness and respect). I get the idea from this verse that they are going to ask me! Of course if I'm not living out my testimony, they won't be drawn to ask me anything, because they won't be able to see Christ through the dingy smudged mirror of my life.

Have you ever tried to witness to someone to have them throw up some other Christian who wasn't living for God! I know that is the devil and that he is trying to side track them from their need of a Savior by having them focus on the "Christian" with the bad testimony...but it also makes me so sad, I wonder if they will ever realize this side of glory the damage they have done to the cause of Christ by their actions. How many times have I been that stumbling block?

Oh Father, that you would cleanse me and create a clean heart within me! Fill me with your peace and joy. May I be known for that meek and quiet spirit, that brings pleasure to you! Father, when I open my mouth, may my speech by gracious, pleasing and honoring to you. My desire above all others is that my life would be a clear reflection of You. Father, speak with my mouth, love with my heart, see with my eyes, touch with hands, and go with my feet! In Jesus Name, Amen.

--
Joy Anzalone
Manta, Ecuador

What's cooking...

2012-02-15T15:34:00.000-05:00

For Valentines, instead of trying to get a babysitter and go out for dinner. Tony and I decided to have a special dinner here at home after we put the kids to bed...so I found a place to set up the card table and set it with a Valentine's Theme, and then try some new recipes. We enjoyed A Spinach Salad, with strawberries, and Roasted Pecans, Chicken Cordon Bleu Roll-ups and Crash Hot Potatoes. It all came out really good. It was a lot of fun to dress-up too, and just do something completely different. When I went up to tuck Carla into bed, she said, "Mommy you look beautiful! Are you going somewhere?" :-) Here are a few links for the recipes I used and some pictures to go along with them.

Table for two.

Spinach Salad - I used a Celery Seed Dressing.
http://www.theyummylife.com/blog/2011/07/211/Spinach+Strawberry+Salad+with+Candied+Pecans%2C+Feta%2C+%26+Raspberry+Poppyseed+Dressing#EmbedRecipe_150

Main course
http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/2012/01/chicken-cordon-bleu-roll-ups.html

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

Me and My Valentine, this made 31 Valentines we have spent together! :-)

Valentine's Day with the Kids...

2012-02-15T14:55:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite "school memories" as a kid was of our class Valentine Parties. I always loved making Valentines for the kids in my class, and making our "mailboxes", to hold all our loot! It was always fun to read all the valentines and of course the candy was great, too! :-)

As a homeschool Mom living in a foreign country, where I don't have access to "co-ops" or even know other homeschooling families in my area, I am always trying to figure out fun ways, to let my kids experience just a little of those social events that, they might have the opportunity to enjoy in a different setting.

This week, we are taking a break from our normal school routine for a Unit Study. I have these scheduled into our year once every term, so that while it's not actually a vacation, we do a lot of fun things and just change up the routine a little bit. Our study this week is on Valentine's Day. So far we learned a little bit of the history behind the holiday and some of the different symbols of the day.

Yesterday the kids spent some time making Valentines for each other and Tony and I. We enjoyed a fun Valentine lunch, with homemade heart shaped pizzas, fruit and some great Valentine treats for dessert. I also made a "goodie bag" for each of the kids with lots of "Valentines". It was a lot of fun and totally worth the effort, when Carla walked into the dining room, and said, "Oh Mommy, it is sooo beautiful!!!" :-)

Here are some pictures from our special Valentine's Day. :-)

Some of the kid's "Valentines".

Table is set and the bags are filled. We're ready for our special lunch!

Carla

Matthew

Teddy

Homemade pizza with fresh fruit salad.

Valentine Treats...Red Velvet Cup cake, strawberry "rice-crispy treat", chocolate peanut cluster, and cherry jello jiggler.

10 Valentine's Day Ideas for the Kiddos

2012-02-10T14:03:00.000-05:00

Here are some fun Valentine ideas to do with your kids. :-)

10 Valentine's Day Ideas for the Kiddos:

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CBH Ministries > For Kids > Keys for Kids > Read & Listen

2012-02-09T09:23:00.000-05:00

This is a great resource for Children's Ministries...Kid's devotions, etc. They allow you to choose KJV/NKJV/NIV for the scripture reading. You can either just read the story, listen to it, or if audio doesn't want to play right, you can download it.

We have made this a part of our morning Bible Class. Kids love it!

Blessings,

Joy

CBH Ministries > For Kids > Keys for Kids > Read & Listen:

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Weekly Update...

2012-02-07T22:30:00.002-05:00

Today our friends from Battlefield Baptist Church, returned to the US. We had a very hectic and busy week, but we also had many blessings!

Thursday morning at a local park, the team, along with people from our church invited people to a local park to watch a puppet "show". After some songs, a puppet skit and Tony giving a brief gospel message, 8 precious children prayed to ask Jesus to come into their heart!

Saturday afternoon, we had over 50 ladies gather for a special Ladies Matinee. We had 4 first time visitors. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and teaching. While the ladies were having their special time together, 15 men met with Tony, Pastor Skinner and the men from the group and they had a question and answer time.

Sunday morning we had record attendances both in Sunday School, 140 and the Church service of 204. 4 people made public professions of faith! It was a great morning. That evening we had over 210 at our Anniversary Dinner. What a blessing to see God working and moving in hearts. Many of our church people worked hard preparing and serving the dinner and just making it all a very special time.

Thank you all for your prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta! God is doing great things in this place.

Blessings,
Joy

Happy Anniversary Iglesia Biblica Bautista de Manta!!

2012-02-05T08:06:00.001-05:00

Today we will be celebrating the 7th Anniversary of the church here in Manta! It is pretty hard to believe that 7 years has gone by. In many ways it seems like it was only last week, that we excited prepared for the first service.

God has blessed us so much. It is so exciting to look back at the photos of where we were and where he has brought us to. To view the lives that he has transformed and the souls that he has saved. What a joy to know that he used us to be a part of this!!

Yesterday afternoon, we had 50 ladies join us for a special "Matinee de Damas" (Ladies Matinee). It was such a blessing and we know that 4 ladies that haven't accepted Christ as their Savior were there, and that they heard the gospel message. God is working in their hearts.

This morning we will be having a special prayer of dedication for Darwin and Jessica as they start their ministry at the church as the Associate Pastor. Darwin's parents have committed to attend this morning. He has worked on getting them to church for years now, and they have never come. Please join us in praying that today would be the day, and that they would receive Christ as their Savior!

God is doing great things! He is faithful and all the glory and honor belong to Him!

Blessings to you and yours on this Lord's Day!
Joy

Shhh! Currclick has a secret!!!!! (and they want to share it!!!)

2012-02-03T16:13:00.001-05:00

--
Joy Anzalone
Manta, Ecuador

Bear with one another, Be thankful!

2012-02-02T23:16:00.001-05:00

God has gifted each of us in such incredible ways! It is a joy to see the diversity with which he has created us. He has equipped each of us with the gifts that we need to do his work in the place where he has put us.

Col. 3:12-15

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering;

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

As God's chosen ones, we are to strive to be holy, merciful, full of kindness, meekness. To be humble and patient with each other, bearing with one another and forgiving, just as Christ forgave us! Then, on top of all that, we are to put on love which binds everything together. Oh! and by the way, be thankful!

I think those verses are so cool. I was reading them in my devotion time this morning. I love the idea of love binding everything together. You know when you bake and mix eggs in a batter, you do it to bind the ingredients together...Love is what holds it all together. Because of God's love for us, and our love for Him and one another, we can be merciful, kind, humble, choosing to put others ahead of ourselves. We can be long-suffering, and patient with one another...Bear with one another, forgive one another. It's all possible because of love.

Then after we've put these into practice, we are also to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. You would think that would be the easiest, but I recognize that oftentimes I don't let the peace of God rule in my heart. How often I get "stressed" by all the things on my "to do list". Would I snap at my children or husband, if the peace of God was ruling in my heart?

To close it all off...on top of all of that, Be thankful!! You know I find when I am filled with a heart of gratitude, the little things don't bother me. It's all covered. The focus isn't on me. It's all about Him and all that He is doing and has done! The attitude of gratitude will change your life!

Blessings!

Joy

What's for Dinner?

2012-02-02T21:23:00.000-05:00

This week we have a group visiting us from Battlefield Baptist Church. I have enjoyed getting to know them all better, and I have enjoyed cooking for them some. Yesterday for dessert, I made them one of my family's all time favorites. So I thought I would share the recipe with you. I got this recipe from a friend, years ago in Quito.

Frozen Mocha Cheesecake

24 Oreos, crushed
1/4 cup margarine, melted
combine and press into a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish. Chill

1 cup of whipping (heavy) cream, whipped and sat aside

8 oz of cream cheese, softened
14 oz of sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup chocolate syrup
2 tablespoons of instant coffee
1 teaspoon of hot water
In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy, add milk and chocolate syrup.
In small bowl, dissolve coffee in water, (will be thick).
Add to cheese mixture. Mix well.
Fold in whipped cream. Pour into prepared pan. Cover and freeze 6 hours or overnight.

Garnish with additional cookie crumbs and/or chocolate syrup.

What's for dinner?

2012-01-31T23:16:00.000-05:00

This is the 2nd time I've made this and it was really good! The marinade is amazing at tenderizing the meat.

beef with broccoli

Free Lapbooks at Homeschool Share

2012-01-30T09:24:00.000-05:00

This is one of my very favorite sites! Great stuff! Hope you enjoy it. :-)

Free Lapbooks at Homeschool Share:

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Ingles360: February task cards

2012-01-30T09:04:00.000-05:00

Many neat resources here for pre-school and kindergarten! Lots of freebies and everything else is very economically priced.

Ingles360: February task cards: From now on, I will be offering a free set of monthly resources such as poems, decoration for the classroom, word wall cards, task cards, c...

Home School Adventures

2012-01-30T00:40:00.001-05:00

I started my home school adventure with Teddy, 6 years ago! I had so much fun teaching him. I started with pre-school and I used Sing, Spell, Read and Write. It was amazing how fast he learned all the letter sounds. For Kindergarten we started using Sonlight Curriculum. I had taught school for many years and probably could have handled kindergarten on my own, but wanted to have a curriculum that was planned out, so that I would be sure not to miss any of the important things. The first few years I was definitely what one would call a "box checker". I had to do EVERYTHING and check it all off.

Last year we added 2 precious children to our family. They both have their own needs, and finally after about a semester, I was able to figure out where they were and start working with them on their level. We figured out that basically they are 2 years behind "normal", but then that is the great side of home schooling. You can meet your children exactly where they are and go from there. Still learning to juggle 3 children at 3 different levels was a huge change from just teaching 1. Carla worked through Sing, Spell, Read and Write Kindergarten level and also started Rosetta Stone US English. We use Singapore Math, and she worked through the Early Bird K level books. Matthew, wasn't ready for the Kindergarten level work, so I pulled out files from my years of teaching K-4, and we also used a beginner English Program by Britanica. Teddy worked in Sonlight's 3rd grade program which was the first of a 2 year study in US History. He also added Rosetta Stone's Spanish program and continued with Piano.

I will admit that for most of last year, I felt like I was just barely swimming with my head above water. ;-) Toward the end of the year I started hearing more about the "workbox" method. I started searching blogs and eventually bought the ebook that explained it thoroughly. We actually tried it for a few weeks at the end of school, because I wanted to know if it was something that I thought would work for us.

This year we started out using the system, as it was described in the book. I couldn't find "boxes" so I bought baskets...and did a combination of baskets and folders. After a 6 week term of trying to make this work for everyone, I came to the conclusion that it wasn't really working for us. I didn't want to scrap the whole idea, as I thought it had some really good points. I decided, that I would put in the kids folders, all of their "independent work". While 2 of them work on their folders, I'm working with the other one, and then we just switch off. It has worked out really well, and we have just finished our 3 term, so are now half way through our school year. :-)

I will look forward to "chatting" with you about our home school experiences. Would love to hear any ideas or thoughts you might have.

Blessings,

Joy

--
Joy Anzalone
Manta, Ecuador

What's for dinner?

2012-01-29T21:59:00.000-05:00

Friends on Face Book have been asking for recipes when I mention what we had for dinner, so I decided, I would just start posting them on here. I doubt that I will post everything I cook...after all that could get really boring! :-) This first one, is simple and plain, but my family enjoys it.

Creamed Tuna and Vegetables
This recipe is from "The Wycliffe International Cookbook"

Drain and combine, reserving all liquids:
1 cup tuna or any cooked fish
1 1/2 cups cooked, diced carrots
1 1/2 cups cooked, diced potatoes
1 cup cooked peas
3 tablespoons chopped onion
(I just cook 2 1/2 to 3 cups of frozen mixed veggies for the carrots and peas.)
Combine separately in skillet and cook until bubbly:
1/4 cup cooking oil or shortening, (I used margarine)
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper to taste
Add slowly, stirring until it thickens:
2 cups liquid, reserved liquids and milk
Combine vegetables with sauce and put in a greased baking pan. Cover with pie crust or buttered crumbs. Bake at 350 F for 20 to 30 minutes.

Topical Fruit "Ice Cream"

Ok, this really isn't Ice Cream... but my kids didn't know the difference. It was very yummy and a yummy way to get the kids to eat more fruit! :-) I got the idea from the "Jamie Oliver 30 minute Meals".

I added 2 frozen peeled bananas to my food processor, along with frozen papaya, and some frozen strawberries. I started processing them, and added between 1/2 cup and 1 cup of vanilla yogurt. (Our yogurt here is more like a drink than what you get in the US, so you may need to add more) You just want to get it the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Then I added about a tablespoon of honey and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. At this point it tasted pretty good, but my family has a sweet tooth, so I added about a 1/4 cup of "lite sugar" (a white sugar and stevia mix, it is much sweeter than just plain sugar and you only need to use about half the amount you would normally use). I then filled up little dessert cups that we have and stuck them in the freezer, to be ready to serve after lunch.

Sunday Services

2012-01-29T17:09:00.002-05:00

Today I awoke to a rainy Sunday morning. A couple weeks ago, when we had rain, our attendance took a nose dive, so we were expecting about the same this morning, but were surprised to end up with a great attendance of 148! The ladies class was full, in fact we ran out of lesson hand outs.

2 sweet little girls were baptized after the morning service. It is exciting to see God working in the lives of our families!!

This evening we are having our annual meeting. Tony will be introducing Darwin as our new assistant pastor! We are so excited to be taking this step. Please be praying with us for Darwin, Jessica and their 2 sweet kids as they make the adjustment to full time ministry. Also be praying for the church as they take on the responsibility of a Pastor and his family.

This coming week, we would appreciate your prayers for the group from Battlefield Baptist Church in VA. They will be arriving in Ecuador on Tuesday evening, and in Manta Wednesday. We have lots of things planned. Pray for open doors. Good health for all of them.

Blessings to each of you as you start your new week!

Joy

--
Joy Anzalone
Manta, Ecuador

2012-01-27T23:14:00.000-05:00

Starting the new year is always exciting! The kids and I have been back in school for a couple weeks now. They are doing really well. Both Carla and Matthew are reading short vowel words and Teddy is moved on to bar-graphs from fractions. :-) Many days it often feels like that my whole life is tied up in homeschooling these little ones.

We are preparing for the church's 7th anniversary, which will be Feb. 5. This coming week a group from Battlefield Baptist Church, in VA. will be visiting us. We are looking forward to having them here! On Saturday the 4th, the ladies are having a special tea, and we are excited that Mrs. Skinner will be speaking. I know that she will be a real blessing. On Sunday, Pastor Skinner will be preaching in the morning service. That evening we will have our annual dinner and program reviewing the history of the church. This year we are preparing for 200! So happy that several of the ladies have stepped up to help organize and cook for this special event.

This coming Sunday, Tony will be introducing Darwin and Jessica as our first Assistant Pastor! This is a huge step for the church, but we are so happy about it! We appreciate your prayers for them as they step into this role, and as the church learns what it means to take care of a pastor and his family.

It is always exciting to see God working and to be a part of it!

Blessings to you and yours,

Joy

Christmas and New Years!

2011-12-27T22:33:00.000-05:00

I love the holidays! We have been so blessed as a family. This last month has been a special gift of time with family. We have enjoyed my parents being here for the whole month. They have had the opportunity to get to know Carla and Matthew and spend time with Teddy. My Mom baked us many special treats, and helped me figure out some decorating ideas. She also did some painting for me and my Dad did some little "fix-it" jobs, that have been needing to be done for awhile, but we just never seem to have the time to get around to them.:-) We will be heading to Guayaquil with them tomorrow, as they fly back home on Thursday. We are all going to miss them!

We have enjoyed the Christmas Season with the Children. Spending time each evening during the month of Dec. reading verses and discussing different parts of the Christmas story. It is has been so much fun to watch Carla and Matthew become more and more familiar with the story, and not just the story of Jesus but understanding that he was born so that he could die on the cross, so that we could be saved! Teddy has also grown in his understanding of many different aspects of the Christmas Story. On Christmas Eve we enjoyed our own Birthday Party for Jesus.

We also had a great month at our church with high attendances of 155, 151 and 161! The ladies enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Tea on Sunday afternoon, the 18th. It was such a blessing to have the ladies take responsibility for so much of the tea, and follow through with it. 49 Ladies participated and had a wonderful time. We also had our children's Christmas program on the 18th. Teddy was Joseph this year, Carla was one of the angels and Matthew was part of the "Multitude of Angels" along with the rest of his class. :-)

On Christmas Day we had a "Birthday Party" for Jesus. Each of the classes started out in their class rooms, playing games, doing a Christmas craft, having a snack. (Even the adults and young people, we skipped the craft! :-) Then we all went to the auditorium, and enjoyed singing Christmas carols, watching a puppet skit and a message from God's word. We took a special offering for 2 of our missionaries and also collected toys, clothes and non-perishable items for a Children's Home in our area. It was such a blessing to see our church being generous with others!

As this year comes to a close, I can't help but count all the many blessings the Lord has poured out on us and look with excitement at the coming year. I don't know what 2012 holds for the Anzalone Family, but I know the one who does and I am so glad that I can trust him to guide our family each step of the way!

Blessings and Happy New Year!

Joy

Celebrations and Blessings!

2011-11-27T20:35:00.001-05:00

The last 2 months have been ones of celebration in the Anzalone house! We have celebrated 3 birthdays and the kids enjoyed Halloween, and we also enjoyed celebrating the Ecuadorian Holiday, "Dia de los Muertos". Then we had a wonderful Thanksgiving here with just our family this year. Teddy was a little concerned at first when he realized we weren't having company, because he thought if there weren't a lot of people here we wouldn't have a "feast" as he likes to refer to it. But we put that notion to rest! :-) We had all of the classic dishes, and everyone was stuffed when dinner was over!

What fun we've had celebrating the joys of life and marking special days as a family. It is neat to see how the kids have grown and how God is continuing to mold us into a family. A tradition of ours is to start decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. It has been a joy to see the kids faces light up as we pull out things that they remember from last year. Carla mentioned the other day, that this was her 2nd Christmas. Tonight we started our Advent Celebration. One of the things we talked about was the giving aspect of Christmas, and that we wanted to think of people that we could give to this year. Each of the kids thought of someone that they wanted to do something for. It is so good to see them want to be generous to others.

The church is growing. We had another evangelistic outreach in Jaramijo yesterday. This one focused on the children. There were about 40 kids that came to the program. People from the church went and invited people and handed out about 300 tracks and invitations. Our 4 puppet teams from the church, each presented a small skit. In between the skits we had fun activities and music. At the close Tony presented the plan of salvation. At the end 12 boys and girls accepted Christ as their Savior!! What a blessing! Today, we had a great service. 134 attended the worship service and one man accepted Christ as his Savior at the end of the service.

Tony has 2 Bible Institute classes going now. Appreciate your prayers for him and for the students. Also we are ready to get more things done on the building. Work on the walls of the auditorium should be continuing soon and we are getting tile put in the large class on the main floor of the Education Building. Exciting times!!

The Ladies are planning a Christmas Tea for Sunday afternoon, Dec. 18. Appreciate your prayers for the planning and that this would be a great outreach opportunity for the Ladies Ministry. I am very thankful for the ladies helping with the planning and organization of this program!

One more very special blessing for our family, is that my parents will be traveling down to Ecuador on Tuesday and staying for a month! We are so excited to have them here for Christmas! Carla and Matthew are very excited about meeting Grandpa and Grandma, and of course Teddy is excited to have them here for a visit! Please pray for safety as they travel.

Blessings to you and yours!
Joy

There are no accidents....

2011-10-05T22:18:00.000-04:00

Dear Pastor’s wife and Ladies,

Nothing ever happens by accident. Life is full of moments
when we have a choice to make. Will we be available or will
we be so preoccupied with ourselves that we miss the
opportunity that God places right before us. So often I’m
afraid that I fall into the latter group. I get so involved in my
life that I fail to see what the Lord has placed in front of me to do.

This month, I had the opportunity to travel to the US, to have
some medical check-ups and while I was there, I was able to
be involved in the wonderful Missions Revival at Battlefield
Baptist Church in Gainsville, VA. It was an incredible weekend
full of encouragement and blessings. When I got to the
airport for my return flight, I will admit that I was a little
nervous and unsure of things, since it was the first time I had
ever flown into and out of Dulles. Making my way to security,
I was waiting in line, and I heard the TSA lady ask, “Does
anyone speak Spanish?” I hesitated a moment thinking that
another officer would approach, but when they didn’t I said, “I
do”. Then I spent a few minutes trying to explain to 2 guys
from El Salvador that they could not both get through security
and on to a plane with only 1 boarding pass, even if they
were both flying together! I started back to my place in line
and was told to just stay there, so after she checked my
papers, another officer said, “I’ll be right back, I’m moving her
up to the front of the line because she was so helpful.” I
thought that was nice, but not really necessary since I had
plenty of time before my flight. I proceeded to my gate, and
after getting settled, a young lady sitting across from me
asked if I flew often…we started talking, and I asked if she
attended church. Long story short, I was able to share the
gospel with her and she prayed and accepted Christ as her
Savior! This experience made me stop and think, I wonder
how many other opportunities I have let slip by because I
was so preoccupied with myself? Oh that we would see this
world through the eyes of Christ!

God bless you as you serve where you are!

Blessings,
Joy

Prayer Requests...

2011-09-17T17:54:00.001-04:00

I want to thank each of you who take the time to read my updates and pray for our family and the ministry here in Manta! You are all an incredible blessing to our family and we don't take that lightly.

Tomorrow after the services Tony, the kids and I will be traveling to Guayaquil. We appreciate your prayers for a safe journey there. Monday morning, I will be flying to the US for 3 weeks. Yes, you read that correctly, 3 weeks! Most of the first week will be spent with one of our faithful supporting churches in their Missions Conference. This wasn't something that I actively sought out, but it is a special door that the Lord opened for me, and I am excited about going and praying that God would use me to be a blessing and an encouragement. After that, I will return to TN and spend 2 weeks at my Mom and Dads. I have medical exams and check-ups schedule, and I appreciate your prayers as I take care of all of that. Also we are going to try and clean out a storage unit that we have there, and maybe have a "garage sale". :-) (it doesn't seem to matter where I go, I have "stuff" waiting for me to sort and clean out! Why is that do you think?! Maybe because I'm a "pack rat" and want to hold on to EVERYTHING!...well, I am, but I have to say, after seeing some of those shows on tv, I'm not really that bad! LOL!!)

I am grateful that the Lord is giving me the opportunity to see 2 of the girls and their families. Jonathan, Lexi and Ren will be at the Missions Conference in VA. and Mike, Mandie, Ioan and Saranna are planning to come to my parents the last week-end I am there!

While I'm away, I really would appreciate your prayers for Tony and the kids, here in Manta. Also for the Ladies Ministry at our church. The leaders wives will be organizing the October Ladies which is the 2nd Saturday of the month. They will also be organizing a baby shower for one of our faithful ladies. It is really exciting to see how much these ladies have grown and their willingness to take on responsibility for the ministry.

One other special request is that the Lord would open the doors and that Tony would find favor with those in authority and that we would be able to get our "new" car registered. I would explain the situation to you, but it wouldn't make any sense...truth is it doesn't make any sense to us! LOL! It just seems that for some reason the "computers" aren't "talking" to each other between the different agencies, or for that matter cities...even though they are suppose to be all "networked" together now. Anyway, we know that God has not been surprised by any of this. Thank you for your prayers.

I am praying that each of you receive blessings beyond your imaginations, and that in each of your lives, your homes and your ministries, God is glorified!

Joy

In the End, God Wins!

2011-09-17T17:31:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow morning we will be finishing our study on Esther in the Ladies Sunday School class. What an incredible study it has been. I don't know why it continues to amaze me, that no matter how familiar a story or Bible passage is, there is always something new to learn! That is what it means when it says in Hebrews 4:12,

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Word of God is living and active. That is just the neatest thing! Every week, when I prepare the lesson, it has just been such an incredible thing to see how God has used it in my own life.

As we finish up the story of Esther, we are reminded that in the end God really does win! It doesn't really matter what is happening at this very moment. God will turn our sorrow into joy and mourning into laughter! The other thing that really stuck out to me in the end of the book, was just how very important it is for us to make monuments of remembrance. This month, has been the 10th anniversary of 9/11. All of us I'm sure can remember exactly where we were, and when we heard the news. Because of that, it is almost inconceivable to us, that anyone could ever forget or not know what happened on that fateful day. Yet, the truth is, there are children that have been born during this last 10 years, that have no idea what 9/11 is. And without monuments of remembrance they will grow up and have no idea. So just as it is important for us to have memorials and monuments in our country, it is also important to have them in our lives too. I'm not talking about shrines here. We are talking about monuments that teach our children and those after us, from our failings. We aren't enshrining our failures, we are praising God for the victories that he brought about. In Esther, after the enemies of the Jews were vanquished there was a celebration! Before Esther walked off the scene and let Mordecai and King Ahasuerus, get back to business, she made sure that the days of Purim would be observed at their appointed seasons. Esther 9:29-32 Why was this important? Because, each year at the feast of Purim from the time of Esther to this present day, the Jews recounted the story of how Haman tried to destroy them, but how Almighty God saved them. Every child grew up knowing what happened.

That has made me stop to think...am I living at a shrine to my past failures and shortcomings? Do I spend time thinking about what might have been or should have been or could have been if only? Or have I made a monument of remembrance for the incredible victories God has brought about in my life? Do I celebrate the joy of my salvation and the freedom I have been given in Christ? Keeping my eyes on Him?

What an incredible blessing to know that in the end, God wins! 2 Timothy 4:7-8,

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Sometimes God is silent...

2011-08-28T17:52:00.000-04:00

Sometimes God is silent. That doesn't mean he isn't there. I may not always see or hear God working, but I can always trust that he is there. He has promised to never leave me! In the Ladies Sunday School class we are continuing our study on the book of Esther. The last two weeks we have looked at the Sovereignty of God. As I was preparing for the lesson last week, I was thinking about Job. We read the book of Job, and see the whole story from God's perspective. But if you stop and think about it. Job didn't know any of the things that we know. He went from one day being on top of the world, to having his whole world come crashing in on top of him. While he was dealing with the grief and pain of his losses, and then the physical pain of his illness, he couldn't see the end. He didn't know about the conversation God and Satan were having. He didn't know that God was going to bless him more than he could ever imagine in the not too distant future.

It is so easy for me to get stuck in the present. About 10 days ago, Tony and Teddy took our daughter, Lexi, and her family to Guayaquil to catch their plane back to the US. We had talked about all of us going, but there is no way that we could all fit in our car, and we decided that the expense of all going in a rented van, and then the hotel and meals out, were just going to be more than we felt we could spend. So Carla, Matthew and I stayed home. I have to admit that I was a little resentful...wondering why God would do this to me! (I know I sound like one of my kids! ;-) Well, Tuesday morning, we got up and I fixed breakfast for the kids and me. After breakfast, I read a passage from the Bible, and was talking to Carla and Matthew about it. In the course of the conversation, I asked each of them if they had asked Jesus to forgive them of their sins and be their Savior. We've asked this many times, and the answer was always the same. Carla always told us, "no", and when we ask if she would like to, she always responded, "no". So imagine my surprise when on this morning, I asked her, and she said, "Yes, Mommy, I want to ask Jesus to be my Savior!" What joy filled my heart, as I was able to tenderly lead her to Christ! Later, while I was washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, God spoke to my heart. "If you had gone to Guayaquil, Carla would not have accepted me as her Savior, this morning!" For me this was the Lord, gently showing me that although, I may not always understand what is happening, or not always enjoy what I'm going though, He has a plan! He is my loving Heavenly Father, and he is always working things for my good. I may not enjoy the process, (I never did enjoy getting a shot when I was a kid, but my parents always took me to the doctor anyway! :-) but he is at work, making me into the image of his son.

This morning we had 119 in the Worship service. 2 precious adults accepted Christ as their Savior. Then on the way home in the car, Matthew pops up and says, Mommy today in my class, I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins. We aren't sure if he understands, but we are so thankful for his tender heart, and are trusting God to continue to draw him to himself.

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta. God continues to work in the lives and hearts of people. Please continue to pray for my friend, Marti. I had the opportunity of leading her to Christ about 3 weeks ago. She made it to church once, but the last couple weeks Satan has been working overtime to keep her out of God's house! Please pray that she would be able to grow and learn to trust God. Please pray for Lexi's friend, Gaby. She was able to see her a couple times while they were here, and even got Gaby to visit the church. Pray that she would come to know Christ as her Savior. Continue to pray for young families in our church. Many are facing family problems.

I pray that you have a week full of blessings from the Lord as you serve him, where he has placed you!

Joy

Pain and Life...

2011-07-17T15:46:00.001-04:00

We have been studying Esther in the Ladies Sunday School class. This morning the lesson was "An Interlude with Evil".   Not very encouraging! :-) You know pain is part of life. There's no getting around it.   Bad things happen...be it natural disasters or horrible accidents or children born with birth defects or disease or just plain wickedness.   Often times, when there has been a terrible event...accident that takes the lives of children, or a natural disaster, people often ask, How could God let this happen? Well, I think it is important, to remember that all of this is a result of the fact that we live in a fallen world. I mean sin entered and with it all the consequences we see today.

As a child of God, I know that God is working in my life to mold me into the image of His Son. That means everything that he allows to come into my life, he is using to do that work. I also know that He will never leave me and that his grace is always sufficient. Wow! That means that no matter what comes my way, my loving Heavenly Father, knows all about it. He is using it to form me into the image of Jesus. It will all bring Glory to Him. He also is right there with me, and filling me with his grace and strength. He has promised to always give me what I need for today. I've not been promised grace for tomorrow. That will come tomorrow.

God is working in the hearts and lives of people here in Manta! This week Tony was able to lead two precious souls to Christ. Two new young couples are now on the road to building Christian homes that will honor Christ. There are many road blocks and obstacles for each of them to overcome, but with God's help and grace, they can be victorious!

It has been so exciting to see people getting involved and taking ownership of the new puppet ministry. All 4 teams, have been working really hard. The first month, they all worked on skits and programs that had been provided for them. This month, they have each one had to come up with their own. It has been such an encouragement to me to see them excited and really creative. God is blessing their efforts. Today we had 47 in the Children's Church.

This morning, Cristian and Monica dedicated their precious baby girl, Abbey.   This is a young couple who a year ago, we weren't sure were going to make it, and this morning, they were able to stand in front of the church and promise that they were going to do everything in their power to make sure that their precious daughter would grow up in a home that honored the Lord!   Please keep this precious family in your prayers. God is doing a work in their lives.

Please pray with us for continued growth in the lives of the baby Christians in our church. Pray for the Lord to supply the funds needed to finish the church building. Pray for the Sunday School teachers, and those working in our Children's ministry.

Also please pray for safety as our son-in-law and daughter, Jonathan and Lexi travel to Ecuador this coming Tuesday, with our precious grand baby, Adrienne.   We are looking forward to our visit with them. They are excited not only to be coming to visit with us, but to get a vision about what God might have in store for them in the ministry here in Ecuador.

I want to thank each one of you for your support and prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta, Ecuador. I pray that God would bless each one of you as you serve him this week.

2011-07-04T00:09:00.000-04:00

Life has been quite exciting for the Anzalone Family. Teddy and I enjoyed spending 3 weeks in the US during the month of May. It was a wonderful blessing to be present for the birth of our 5th grandchild. We were also able to be there to see Jonathan and Lexi recognized as BBFI Team missionaries to Ecuador.

We arrived back in Ecuador and hit the ground running. That first week-end we were back, we had a special workshop to introduce those involved in our Sunday School to the puppet ministry. We had 30 people sign up and attend the Friday evening and Saturday workshops. We are very thankful to Jenny Carpenter for coming down and spending the week-end with us and doing such a great job with the workshops. We were able to form 4 groups, and each one has taken a turn during our Children's Church. This Sunday, we started the rotation again. It has been great to see how excited and involved the groups have been.

Last week, our family went to visit Joe and Sylvia Wells in Santo Domingo. We had a great time with them. Our children love to visit with Uncle Joe and Aunt Sylvia. On Saturday we traveled on up to Quito and spent time with Glenn and Sherri McGhee. It was really good to be in the services of the Iglesia Biblica Bautista, La Victoria, last Sunday. While in Quito we were able to get Carla and Matthew's national ID cards. We were also able to take Carla to see a pediatric cardiologist. She was also able to have have a few tests done, which gave us a better picture of what we are facing. We would appreciate your prayers as we seek God's plan in all of this. At this time it looks like Carla is going to need to have a procedure done to repair a defect in her heart. We are trusting God to open the doors he has for us, and show us exactly When, Where and How this is to be done.

We returned back to Manta on Wednesday. Wednesday evening at prayer meeting and then Thurday at Institute class we were greeted with a torn up street around the church, and a horrible smell...they were putting in sewer lines! It was a great blessing to get to the church this morning, and although the streets are still a mess there was no horrible smell!

This week the kids and I will finish up our school year. It has been extra long, because we didn't start until the middle of September last year, after Carla and Matthew joined our family. We are all looking forward to our "summer vacation!" Tony will be making the trip back to Santo Domingo on Thursday to preach at a Pastor's Retreat.

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta! God is working and lives are being changed.

April is coming to a close....

2011-04-26T16:02:00.003-04:00

We have had a great month! It is amazing to see how the Lord keeps opening doors and opportunities. I appreciate so much your prayers for our ministry and family!!

We started this month, with a short vacation. This was the first time that we have taken our "new family" for a vacation. We went down the coast a couple hours, and stayed at a very nice place right on the ocean. It was great to get away. We all had a wonderful time, even though Carla and Matthew weren't quite sure what was going on, and many times through out the 2 days we were there, they would ask, where are we going to eat...where are we going to sleep...what are we going to do next? ;-)

While we were away for those couple of days, Teddy celebrated his 9th birthday! It is hard for me to believe that he is already 9 years old!!! What an incredible blessing he has been to our family!

We got back home on 6th and on the 8th was the 2nd meeting with the deacon's wives. We started our Bible study at this meeting. We are using the book, "Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free". We were also able to organize a Baby Shower, get some ideas going for our next Ladies Meeting and start making plans for a special Mother's Day Breakfast.

Last week, we attended a new Bible Study with some retired Americans who are now living in Manta. Also had another meeting with the Deacon's wives, and continued to make plans for the upcoming events.

Easter Sunday, we had 139 for church, and 4 precious believers followed their Lord in Baptism after the service!

This week, I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare the devotion for our Ladies meeting Saturday at 4:00pm. We are also starting a new music ministry, and will be meeting with those who want to be involved Saturday at 6:00pm. Also please be in prayer for our special Mother's Day Breakfast. We are planning on and praying for 50 ladies to attend. It is open to all the ladies of the church and their friends and family. We have encouraged them to invite their unsaved friends and family members.

I pray that God blesses you as you serve him in the place where he has planted you!
Blessings,
Joy

2011-03-27T18:15:00.000-04:00

Life is certainly never boring, is it? This we I had the opportunity of having the deacon's wives over for a Tea on Friday afternoon. That was a lot of fun. I enjoyed preparing for it and hosting it. It was also a great time to just share and get them to start thinking and dreaming about ministry opportunities that we have. Please keep this a matter of prayer as we work together to get some new ministries off the ground. You know it is always easy to dream, but it becomes more difficult to put you feet to your dreams. ;-)

Yesterday afternoon was our monthly Ladies meeting. We had about 24 attend and had a wonderful time of fellowship and prayer together. It was encouraging to see one of our ladies give the devotion for the first time. Nelly was very nervous, but she did a good job. It was also neat to hear all the ladies praying when broke off into groups of 2 and shared our concerns and hearts with one another and took those to the throne of grace.

It always amazes me how God can take imperfect people and use them to bring and honor and glory to him if they are just willing to surrender to him. This morning we had about 30 ladies attend the morning Bible Study. We were studying lesson 4 in our series of Biblical Principals of Discipline. We ended up with 121 in church this morning. We are looking forward to moving down to the auditorium space soon!

I have a special request for you this week. It has come to our attention that the behavior and attitude of the wife of our "care taker" at the church, has not been what it should be. Tony talked with her yesterday and her response was not one of repentance and acceptance of responsibility for any of the words or actions. This evening Tony has a deacon's meeting and afterward will be talking to both the caretaker and his wife. I would ask you to be praying for wisdom and discernment on Tony's part and on the part of our leaders. Also that God would soften her heart. Above all please pray with us, that this would not harm God's work here.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta! We are so thankful that we have the opportunity to serve God here.

Blessings,
Joy

"I just want to thank you for coming to Manta!"

2011-03-20T16:14:00.000-04:00

Little Dominica was playing around an exercise machine at her house, and somehow got a metal rod stuck in her foot.   She yelled for her Mom and said, "Mommy pray for me, that I would have faith that Jesus would save me from this! I don't want to have a little faith like Peter!" (Dominica had been to our VBS a week ago, where we studied Peter) Dominica's Daddy is not a believer. He was very worried and scared about what to do for his daughter. He told his wife, if I cut the rod, it is going to hurt her foot and she'll move it. But Dominica responded to her Daddy, to just cut the rod, Jesus was going to save her and he would give her the strength to not move her foot. So he did, but it took him over an hour to cut through the metal rod. The whole time, he kept saying to his wife, pray for me, to have strength to do this!

Once they had cut the rod and got her foot loose, they took her to the hospital. Her mother said, they were sure there was damage to the tendons and nerves. At the hospital, the doctor said, you'll have to hold her down, I'll have to give her a shot and then sew it up. But little Dominica replied, you can do whatever you have to do doctor, because Jesus is with me and he will give me the strength I need! The doctor looked at her mother and said, you are Christians.

This morning as Alexander was telling me this, tears were rolling down her face. She said, "Thank you, so much for coming to Manta, and for starting this church! Thank you so much for teaching the Word of God to my daughter in the Sunday School! God is using her to strengthen my faith, and God is using her to soften the heart of my husband.   She said, "this week, my husband said, I need to start going to church!" He also told Alexander that they would get legally married, so that she could get baptized!   They have an appointment to do that on Tuesday!

While she was talking to me, little Dominica ran up. She was wearing some cute little sandals and she had a small bandage in the middle of her foot.   We are praising the Lord that there was no serious damage done to her foot!   Please pray for John that he would come to know Christ as his personal Savior!

Praise the Lord with Us!

2011-03-20T15:54:00.000-04:00

This week 14 teens gathered at a local camp for our youth retreat. It went Thursday afternoon - Saturday afternoon. It was a great time of growing for them. We are so thankful the young people that God has brought to our church and for those that have been willing to work with them.

This morning we continued our Sunday School lessons on Biblical Principals of Discipline. It has been exciting to see how well the ladies are receiving these lessons. Pray with us that they will be able to apply these principals in their homes.

We had a great attendance of 140 this morning for our church service and 2 precious young people accepted Christ! We also had several 1st time visitors. It is so exciting to see Christ working in people's lives!

Thank you so much for your prayers for the ministry here in Manta! Thank you for your prayers for our family!

Blessings!
Joy

Let the Little Children Come....

2011-03-07T09:05:00.000-05:00

We've had an incredibly full week, but then most weeks are, right?! On Wednesday night we started our VBS. We had a good number of kids turn out and more adults to help than we knew what to do with. What an awesome problem to have. I had helped organize it and get the material, etc. but when it came to running the program, my only job was taking pictures! It's really neat to see the people take ownership of things and put them into action! We averaged about 50 children each evening. Our main Sunday School teachers took the responsibility of teaching their classes, with some extra help. Tony handled the opening, which included a song, and usually a little game or something that involved the kids. Then after their classes they came back upstairs and for the closing time, about 6 men in the church had worked the class time, with Tony to put together a skit that dramatized the story they had that night. The guys did a great job. They had a lot of fun and the kids remembered the lessons!

We had word that a few children accepted Christ. On a personal note Matthew prayed to ask Jesus to forgive him of his sins and save him, in his class, Wednesday night! We have talked to him about it a few different times, and he always tells us the same thing, so I think he really did understand what he was doing. I would ask you to pray with us that Carla would come to know Jesus as her Savior. I asked her when I was putting her to bed, if she had ever prayed and asked Jesus to forgive her of her sins and be her Savior and she told me, No. She wasn't ready to do it yet. So just pray with us, that as she keeps learning more and more, that she would understand her need for Christ.

We had a great day yesterday! All the Children were in the service, for the opening. Each class presented a song and a verse for the parents. Then we sang all the songs we had song during our VBS week. It was fun. The guys who had helped with the skits and music all week, helped with the music.

Thank you for your prayers for our ministry and for our family. It is exciting to see what the Lord is doing here in Manta, Ecuador!

God Bless!
Joy

Showers of Blessings always seem to bring on the Storms!

2011-02-27T21:12:00.002-05:00

Have you ever noticed how when there are blessings pouring down there are always storm clouds brewing? It seems to me that Satan is always ready to try and steal away our joy.

We had a fantastic day, today! 157 in church! That is one of the best attendances we have had, and it wasn't a "special" day! No meals served, no holiday, nothing! Then after church we had our first Baptism Service using our baptistery, (unfinished though it may be! :-) 17 people were baptized this morning!!! What an incredible blessing. Right before the baptism, we had a couple stop us and tell us they had been working to get everything straighten out so they could get married and they were getting married this Friday! They asked if Tony and I would come to the court house to be their witnesses. In this culture we have so many people living in what they refer to as "Free Union", that it is a huge victory when they make the decision to get married. Right after church another couple told Tony that they were getting prepared and they wanted to be baptized the next time, we have a baptismal service!!

Yesterday, we had 30 ladies show up for our ladies meeting and 1 lady accepted Christ as her Savior after the meeting!

So you say, WOW!!! what could possibly go wrong after 2 days full of blessings?!?!?!

This evening we went back to church for an organizational meeting for our VBS. When everyone broke up into their small groups to go over some things, I went down stairs to check on the kids. One of our sweet ladies was down there, and she wanted to talk to me. Then she started crying...Well, you don't need to know all the details of our conversation, but it boils down to another lady in the church, allowing herself to be Satan's instrument to tear down and try to hurt another. After we got home, I sent the kids upstairs to play so Tony and I could talk. First thing Tony said, was, well, we've had a great day, so Satan is trying to steal our joy!

Well, it's not going to happen! Yes, we will have to deal with the situation, but this has been an incredible day of victory and blessing, and I am going to bask in it just a little bit more! :-)

So I invite you to bask in it with me! Praise the Lord with us for all of these blessings. Pray with us for wisdom to gently guide and council those the Lord places in our care. Pray for a great VBS this week, too! It will be Wednesday-Sunday.

Have a wonderful week!
Blessings,
Joy

Here's a picture of the 17 people that were baptized this morning with Tony.

Valentine's Dinner Menu

2011-02-14T21:32:00.000-05:00

I did a fancy 4 course dinner...It was a lot of fun!

Course #1- simple green salad served with Italian Herb bread

Course #2- Strawberry gelatin fruit cup

Course #3- Chicken Alfredo

Recipe adapted from Todd Wilbur's book, Top Secret Restaurant Recipes.

1/2 cup butter/margarine
2 cups of evaporated milk
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 12 oz package of fettuccine pasta
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 a chicken breast, cooked and shredded
4 slices of bacon chopped

Put water on to boil for Pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the evaporated milk, garlic powder, and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. While sauce is simmering, cook the chopped bacon. When bacon is cooked add shredded chicken breast and saute until chicken is heated through. Add chicken and bacon to sauce, along with Parmesan cheese. When ready to serve pour sauce over cooked pasta. Garnish with a little more Parmesan cheese.

Course #4- Strawberry Cordial Pie

This recipe comes from the website of a local Knoxville, Tennessee television station. www.wbir.com

Crust-
1/2 cup margarine-softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups flour

Mix will, and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 400F. Cool.
(Special note: Next time I will cut the amount down, as I personally thought the crust was a little bit too thick.)

Filling:
1 package of Chocolate Chips, (I used 2 cups).
1/2 Cup of milk

Place in a microwave safe mixing bowl, and melt, stirring every minute or so, until smooth. Pour into crust. Chill 1 hour or more.

Top with Sliced strawberries

(Tony was wondering where I put his fork! LOL!!)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

2011-02-14T17:04:00.000-05:00

We are on "School Break" this week. We finished up our first semester last week! I can't tell you what a great feeling that was! Everyone was more than ready for a break, too, so this all worked out great! :-)

Our first day off, has been pretty laid back. I have been working on getting things ready for a special Valentine's dinner tonight. Actually it was going to be a special lunch, but I got a little behind, and Teddy has tennis class from 3 to 4, so we just decided it would work out better to make it a dinner.

We are having Chicken Alfredo with salad, homemade Italian Herb bread, strawberry jello salad, and "Strawberry Cordial Pie". (recipes will follow in another post, for those of you interested. :-)

On Saturday, the kids made valentines for each other and for Tony and I. They also decorated lunch bags, for "mail boxes". I also found a lot of ideas for valentines on FamilyFun.com, and I made several different things to stick in their bags. One of the neat things I found, was "coupons and checks", which I printed out and put together in a little book for each of them. I never went quite this far when Mandie, Ashley and Lexi were little. We would usually have a special dinner or breakfast, and cards and a little gift for each other. They always had a Valentine's Party at school, so there really wasn't any reason to do all of that at home. This year, I decided, since Teddy, Carla and Matthew, have never had a Valentine's Party at school, we would try to do something kind of like that at home, along with our special dinner. Thus, the "mail boxes" and the little "valentines" for everyone.

Well, it's time to go finish up dinner and get things moving. I hope each of you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

God Bless!
Joy

What's cooking around here?

2011-02-13T18:47:00.004-05:00

We usually always make cookies around the holidays. In recent years I have been just making cut-out sugar cookies, that Teddy enjoyed decorating. This year, with homeschooling 3 kids and just trying to keep us all on track, I haven't really had time for much baking or much of anything "extra".

The other day, when I was cleaning out some stuff, I came across my cookie press. I haven't used it in a long time. I was talking to my Mom, who mentioned using her cookie press and how much easier it was, so I thought I would give it a try. I also remembered that years ago, my Mom used to make "jello cookies" with her cookie press. So I got on-line and I found this recipe at the Kraft website, yesterday.

This afternoon, while the kids were in the pool, I went in the kitchen and baked some cookies. They came out so good and were really pretty easy. I think I will definitely be using my cookie press more often! :-)

"Jello" cookies

31/2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 1/2 Cups butter or margarine
1 Cup of sugar
2 3oz. packages of jello, (same flavor)
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix the flour and baking powder and set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat until creamy, the butter, sugar and egg. Add 1 package of jello and vanilla and beat well. Slowly add the flour and beat until well mixed. (Can mix by hand. I have a Kitchen Aid and use it for everything! ;-)

Fill your cookie press and press out whatever design you want on to greased cookie sheets. They don't spread very much, so you can place them pretty close together. Sprinkle with the other box of dry "jello". Bake in a hot oven, 400F, for 5 to 6 minutes. Check, you might need to bake them a minute or 2 more, but watch them close because they can burn fast. I lost 1 1/2 pans today.

Special note: Instead of using a 2nd box of gelatin, I sprinkled my cookies with pink sugar. ;-) Also today, for our heart shaped cookies, I used Cherry gelatin. If you don't have a cookie press, you can let the cookie dough chill a little bit, and then form into balls and press with a fork, (like for peanut butter cookies) or with a glass. The recipe on the Kraft website said to bake them 6 to 8 minutes, but the one pan I left in there 8 minutes is the one I burned.

In my shoes....

2011-02-13T15:55:00.004-05:00

Today, has been hot, overcast and very muggy in Manta. Not the kind of day, you would expect to be anything out of the ordinary. It's a day, you would like to stay inside with the air conditioner on full blast and just enjoy the cool with a tall glass of iced tea!

But it is Sunday. So that means, getting up, reviewing your Sunday School lesson one last time. Fixing breakfast for the family, making sure the kids have their clothes out and are getting ready for church. Then fixing your hair, putting on your make-up, that you know will be "melting off" in a matter of minutes after you walk out the door, but you do it anyway, because you can't imagine heading to church with your hair not fixed and your make-up not on! ;-)

Driving to church, you review the kids Bible verses with them, remind them that you are going to be talking to their teachers after church to see how they behaved, so you expect them to be good, no matter what the other kids might do! About half way to church, it starts to rain...and you think about all the mess that can cause, and hope that it doesn't last long!

When you arrive, you greet everyone, and make sure the Sunday School teachers have what they need, and the Nursery workers are all set, then you head upstairs to your class, which is at one end of the "auditorium" and the Men's class is at the other, with the older children's class behind you separated by a curtain. You start out with the 10 ladies that are there, and after greeting them, ask if anyone has anything for which they are thankful for this week? Blank stares greet you. You think, oh yeah, I can tell this is going to be a good one! Then finally a few ladies start to raise their hands, and share some blessings. Then you take some prayer requests, and get ready to start the class. By this time you are facing about 15 to 20 ladies. While you are listening to the opening prayer, the kids behind you are singing and you are straining really hard to hear the prayer, so you can start talking after the "amen" and not before, or not keep your head bowed for an extended period of time either. It is so hot that sweat is rolling down your back and dripping off your face. You try to ignore it.

After class, (which ended up being about 30 ladies!) you go and check again with the Sunday School teachers and Nursery workers, to make sure their replacements have shown up. The nursery is short a worker so you see what you can do about finding someone for them. The other classes are fine, so you head back up stairs and get to your seat in the middle of opening prayer. You started sitting up front with the Pastor because that way you aren't distracted, by the kids/people going in and out. Which just aggravates you and makes you want to yell at someone!

The song service starts, and you notice, that they are still having problems getting the bulletin printed so it folds up right...I know probably not that big of a deal, but it is an "irritant." The music starts. They are introducing not just one new song, but 2...but they are good songs and the messages are good. One song talks about how in heaven the Sun won't be there, giving it's light or it's heat, and you are thinking, how wonderful that will be to be without this unbearable stifling mugginess! The kid that handles the sound equipment keeps messing with buttons, but you just decide to ignore him. After all, he doesn't cause any major problem this morning! After the music, they are giving the announcements and you notice that for some reason they have erased the announcement for the next ladies meeting at the end of the month, so thankfully you are sitting by the Pastor, and he can add that announcement later! There are definitely some "perks" in having the Pastor's ear! ;-) Then it's time to welcome 1st time visitors...Viviana gets up and introduces her brother, Emilio who you have been praying for the past several months! She says, Emilio accepted Christ this week! Then Neiger introduces a friend of his and he says, He accepted Christ this week and would appreciate your prayers as he starts his Christian walk! Then Consuelo introduces a family of 4 and says, "They have all recently accepted Christ!" OK, so suddenly, the heat, the dirt, the lack of nursery workers, the kid messing around with the sound equipment, the crooked printed bulletin...None of it really matters! You have just been introduced to 6 people who have given testimony that they have accepted Christ!!

After church you find out that another man, Javier, Paola's husband, that you have been praying for during the past 3 years, has accepted Christ as his savior, too! We had 125 in attendance this morning. No we aren't a perfect church, but by God's grace he is using this work to impact the hearts and lives of people in this city! God is good! All the time! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Anniversary

2011-02-08T16:28:00.004-05:00

This past week-end marked the 6th anniversary of the church here in Manta! In some ways it is hard to believe that it has been 6 years since that Sunday morning that we met in Wilson and Rosalena's living room for our 1st service. That morning about 30 people gathered together. Lexi and I took the children downstairs and met for Sunday School in what was the Gonzalez's little stationary store.

Many things have happened since that first Sunday morning. We met in two rented locations in that neighborhood. The Lord blessed us with a pieces of property and about a year and half ago we moved to start meeting in our own buildings, rough and unfinished though they may be. :-)

Besides the changes in our meeting facilities, the biggest changes have been in the lives of people! We have watched the church grow from around 30 people that first Sunday to consistently averaging 120 for our morning worship services. While some people have come and gone, it is such a blessing to see the Lord work in the lives of people that have given their life to Him. Isn't it wonderful to know that God will take us and use us in his work, so long as we are willing to just turn it all over to Him!

This month also marks a special time in the Anzalone's ministry in Ecuador. 20 years ago, this month, we arrived in Quito, Ecuador with 3 little girls and small mountain of suitcases. What an incredible adventure the last 20 years have been! We are praising God for allowing us to be a part of his work here.

I want to thank each one of you that have supported us over the years with your prayers and your money!

God Bless!
Joy

Here is a link to the pictures of our church's story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Yr8N7h_S4

Are you looking to see what God is preparing?

2011-02-02T08:12:00.002-05:00

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

I don't know where you are right now. Maybe out in the ice and snow trying to get to work, or home from work. Maybe at home, snug and warm, praying that God keeps the power on and your loved ones safe.

Maybe you are miles away, (a continent perhaps, ;-) from your loved ones, and praying that God keeps his hand of protection upon them.

Wherever you are right now, God has the same promise for you if you love him. He has prepared incredible things for you! Way beyond your wildest imagination. God is at work right now!

I pray that God pours out blessings upon your life today, and that you are in tune with him, so that you can actually recognize them! How many times do I miss God's wonderful blessings because my eyes are focused on some little problem (or big problem!) I'm dealing with instead of just turning it all over to him, and trusting him to work it out for his glory!

Christmas is coming!!!!

2010-12-20T11:55:00.002-05:00

Wow, what a busy week we had around here last week! Our trip to Quito and home went well. We enjoyed visiting with our good friends, and were thrilled that the audience with the judge went well. He signed the act, that legalizes the adoptions. Now we just have to wait for the paperwork to make it's way through the system. Our lawyer expects to have it by the 27th or 28th. Then we will need to get their new birth certificates and ID cards. Exciting times!!!

Saturday at the Children's Christmas party at church, we had about 60 kids and probably 25 helpers! What a blessing! Everything went well and everyone had a good time. Yesterday our services were a little done in attendance with 104, but we had a great morning. The children said the verse they had learned at the party Saturday and sang a Christmas song. In the afternoon, we had the Ladies Christmas Party, and had about 35 ladies present. Everyone had a great time, and the best of all, we had one lady accept Christ as her Savior!!!

This week, we have some presents to buy for our family, gifts to wrap and cookies to bake. Looking forward to a wonderful time with the kids. Everyone is happy to be "on vacation" from classes! (including Mom! :-)

I pray that each of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Blessings,
Joy

It's the Middle of December....

2010-12-14T12:18:00.002-05:00

It's the middle of December and there's excitement in the air!!!

We are gearing up for Christmas at the Anzalone house. The decorations are up. Classes are winding down. Oh and in the middle of all this excitement we received a call from our lawyer yesterday that our audience with the judge in Quito to finalize the adoptions is set for this Friday at 11:00am.

So today, we are working like crazy, to try and get the school work that needs to be completed this week finished...the candy bought for the Children's Christmas party which will be at the church this Saturday afternoon, and everything else packed up and ready to go. We plan to leave in the morning and head to Santo Domingo, where will be spend the afternoon and evening with our friends the Wells. From there we will head to Quito on Thursday, and stay Thursday night and Friday night with our friends there, Glenn and Sherri McGhee.

We really appreciate your prayers as we make this final step to finalize the adoptions. Please pray for safety as we travel. Tony still does not have a valid driver's license, but he has papers that say that he did have a valid license and that we are working on getting a new one. They told him to show those papers if we have a problem...hopefully that will do the trick. Appreciate your prayers about that, too! :-)

This Saturday afternoon from 3-5 is our Children's Christmas Party at church. Then Sunday afternoon, the ladies are going to have their Christmas Party. Please pray for both of these activities, that God will be glorified and that they will be a blessing and encouragement to others.

Blessings on you and your family as you seek to serve Christ, this week!
Joy

Being Knit Together...

2010-10-10T23:39:00.002-04:00

These days I am so excited to see what the Lord is doing in our hearts and in our home. It is really amazing to see his hand at work, knitting us into a family!

The first couple weeks, I literally felt like I was just surviving the days. I would wake up and go non-stop pretty much the entire day, falling exhausted into bed at night and basically feeling like I had just accomplished the very basic things...then little by little the routines have been established, and everyone knows what the "game plan" is and that has made a huge difference.

It is a joy to hear the the children playing together, and laughing. It is a joy to hear them pray and thank God for making us a family!

Thank you for your prayers for us during this time of transition. We are seeing progress day by day, and we know that it is the result of many, many prayers being said on our behalf.

The construction on the church continues to move forward. We ask you to join us in praying that the Lord would provide the funds needed to finish this work.

Plans for the Ladies Conference is moving forward. We have invited two of our sister churches in Portaviejo. The Ladies are getting excited. Please keep this conference in your prayers. Pray for Sharon Smith, as she prepares her lessons, pray for the ladies from our church who will be helping make this conference a success. There are about 6 ladies working with me to pull off this special event. There are ladies working on organizing a nursery and child care. Others, helping to organize refreshments, music, the craft time, and ice breaker activities. It has been a huge blessing that so many have been willing to stand up and take on a responsibility to put this conference together. Please be praying that God will use this conference in the lives of the ladies in our church, and also will be an opportunity to introduce Christ to many friends and neighbors.

God Bless you has you serve him this week!
Joy

It's a new week!

2010-09-26T22:39:00.002-04:00

We had a pretty good first week of school in the Anzalone house. Teaching 3 children, 2 of them ESL with some learning differences was quiet a challenge. They did pretty well, though and I was thrilled when we took Mateo to the doctor on Tuesday, and she asked him what color a wooden bead was and he said, "Blue"....and he was right! Then he named the other ones too..."green, red, yellow"... Sometimes you think nothing you have said or done has gotten through and then something like that happens and you know it actually did! :-)

We were able to get both Mateo and Carla to our doctor this week, for a general check-up. That was good. We were also able to meet and interview a Physical Therapist, who is going to start working with Mateo tomorrow.

The construction on the auditorium is continuing. Please be praying with us, as we are trusting the Lord to supply the needed funds to finish this work.

We are also planning a Ladies Conference the end of October. Sharon Smith will be here to speak. The ladies are very excited about this.

Tony is teaching a personal evangelism course on Thursday nights. Last week was the first week, he had 19 show up.

We had 112 this morning. That is a little down from the previous weeks, but then we were thinking it is nice to have a "down" Sunday, and still have 112!!!!

I really appreciate your prayers as our family continues to make adjustments for the 2 precious children the Lord has brought to us. We received word this week that the "official assigning" as taken place, so that is a blessing. We are looking at about 30 days for our court date, at which time the adoptions will be finalized. Thank you for your prayers.

God bless you as you serve him this week!
Joy

Some new photos!

2010-09-19T21:54:00.002-04:00

Dressed up and ready to go to church.

Mateo and Carla's first trip to the beach. I think they liked it! :-)

Ready to go to church, again. This was their first Sunday here.

Our first day home, a neighbor was having a 1st birthday party for her baby...so we dressed up and went over for a little while.

What's happening now....

2010-09-19T21:34:00.004-04:00

The last few weeks have been quiet an adventure for our family! We arrived home in Manta, on Friday evening, the 10th. The first week has been one of adjustments. We have worked on getting ourselves a little more organized.

The kids are doing great! Mateo, is a happy a little boy. He is very loving and usually very cooperative. He wants to do everything his big brother and sister do.

Carla is a sweet little girl. She is usually very happy and plays well with her brothers. She loves playing with our little dog Ellie.

Teddy is filling the role of Big Brother, with very little difficulty. He has his moments, but then every child does. He love having a brother and sister to play with.

Life has changed drastically for Tony and I, but we are loving it! We start our day early, Tony is usually up before 6:00 and I'm up between 6:00 and 6:30. Once we get the last child in bed at night, around 8:00 or 8:30, we are pretty much exhausted. I've been getting in bed at night by 10:00 and fall asleep almost immediately, but wake up bright and early and ready to start the day again. The children fill my day.

This week, we will be starting school. I appreciate your prayers as we get this underway. I have taught school for years, and had classes between 15 and 25, but the idea of homeschooling these 3 is a little overwhelming. Yet I know that nothing is impossible with God and that he will supply what I need.

Pray with us too, that the Lord would complete what he has started in us, and that the adoptions would be finalized quickly and with very little hassle.

God bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy

On Mission from the Lord to Care for my Home...

2010-09-19T21:18:00.003-04:00

Today in the Ladies Sunday School class we were talking about taking care of our home. We looked up many different scripture passages, but our main passage was Proverbs 31. I know, I can hear you now, "oh no, not the passage about the "perfect woman".

I think the thing that impacted me most this week as I studied, was to be reminded, that this is God's plan for my life! He wants me to take care of my home, and watch out for those living in it. When I look at it in this way, it changes everything! If I'm doing all of these things for the Lord, then I won't get "weary in well doing".

The other thing was that I was reminded that God NEVER calls us to something that He doesn't equip up and empower us to do, so if God has called me to this, He will supply what I need, He will equip me and empower me to do! Therefore the description, of the Proverbs 31 woman is not something that is unattainable, or out of reach!

Praying for you this week, as you seek to glorify the Lord and take care of your home and your loved ones!

Joy

Exciting times...

2010-09-04T19:02:00.002-04:00

Hi Friends! Things have been very busy and exciting the last few days for the Anzalone family. We have spent the last week in Latacunga, where we have gone through the adaptation time with our son, Mateo. Yesterday we signed papers that make us his legal guardian until the adoption is finalized.

We will leave here tomorrow and go to Quito, where we will start the entire process over with our daughter, Carla.

I really appreciate your prayers for our family at this time!

The church is going well, and they are getting ready to start construction on the auditorium building.

Have great week!
Blessings,
Joy

2010-07-27T11:28:00.004-04:00

We arrived in the US on Wednesday morning, July20th. We had an uneventful trip, which is ALWAYS nice.

Tony and I both had doctors check-ups on Friday, the 23rd. That all went well. I have a couple appointments at the end of August, right before we head back to Ecuador.

Saturday we drove over to Knoxville, and enjoyed spending the night and visiting with good friends, Pete and Sonya Wright. It was fun to catch up with them. Teddy really enjoyed having time to play with Megan, who is also 8. Sunday morning we were at West Park Baptist Church. It was great to be in one of the Adult Bible Fellowships for the 9:30 service and in the 11:00 Worship service. It was good to see old friends! We had a WONDERFUL lunch at the Chop House, with Mark and Carol Weaver. What's not to love about giant sweet potatoes and Prime Rib?! :-)

Yesterday, we made the trip from Crossville to Springfield. We left really early in the morning, and made great time. It was so fun to get here and be able to see and hold the babies! We are sooo very blessed.

I pray that each of you enjoys the blessings of the Lord this week!

God Bless,
Joy

Friends

2010-07-11T18:44:00.002-04:00

It is such a wonderful blessing to be part of the family of God! It makes it possible to meet people that you've never known before and after spending just a little bit of time with them, you feel like you have a friend for life.

Last Monday afternoon, Tony, Teddy and I took a bus trip to Guayaquil. We went there to meet a team of 5 people coming in from Knoxville, TN. They were all part of mission team from West Park Baptist Church. Of the 5 people Tony and I had the opportunity to meet 2 of them about a year and a half ago, for an evening meal.

Now after spending the week with them, we feel like each one of them is a very special friend, and we really do hope that they will be able to return and that we will be able to visit with them when we make a trip back to the US.

I am so thankful for each one of our supporting churches. For the friends we have been able to make in each one. For the impact many of you have made on our lives, on the lives of our children and on the lives of many people here in Ecuador.

This week, not only did these very special people minister to our church family and community, they also blessed our family and ministered to us.

July is here!

2010-06-30T19:02:00.003-04:00

Happy 4th July!!!! Hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends.

We are doing well here in Manta, Ecuador. The weather has finally cooled off a little bit and that has been really nice.

We had great services Sunday. The ladies are studying Elizabeth George's Bible Study, "A Woman After God's Own Heart". I have been so excited to see how many ladies are making the effort to attend the 10:00 Bible Study time. Please pray with me that this makes an impact in the lives of these precious ladies.

Tony met with the Architect for our church building this week. We now have an amount of steel and cement to purchase, and are on track to start the auditorium building in 3 weeks. William told Tony that it will take about 10 weeks! Please continue to pray as we work forward to get this building built. We have funds for the next step, but then we are just trusting the Lord to continue to provide.

We are scheduled to have our Home Study tomorrow. Please keep this in your prayers. We are excited to be moving on to this next step, which is the last big step for us to take, yet at the same time it makes us nervous. Teddy's questions today, indicated that he too is nervous about the process. He asked us today, if something could happen that would mean the children couldn't come live with us? Thank you for your prayers for us as we continue to walk through this process. We are trusting the Lord to do all things right.

Enjoy the rest of the week and have a wonderful week-end!
God Bless!
Joy

Stepping out by Faith...

2010-06-30T18:42:00.002-04:00

I may have mentioned this on here before, because this is something that I thought about before, but was reminded of it again today while reading through the gospel of Luke.

I was reading today about Jesus feeding the 5,000 with the 5 loaves and 2 fish. You know, after he was handed the lunch, he turned and told them to have everyone sit down in groups...still just holding 5 loaves and 2 fish...then he lifted his eyes up to heaven and blessed the food...still just holding 5 loaves and 2 fish...then he broke the bread, and started passing it out.

Now I know that he was/is God, but he was also man. Think about it...there he was in front of over 5,000 people, basically telling them to get ready for lunch, and all he had in his hands was 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Yet he had such communion and faith and God to take that step...prepare everyone to eat, and thanked God in heaven for what he was going to do.

We are called to act on faith. To step out, before we can see the end result. That's not always easy. Sometimes it just involves me and maybe a few people close to me, but sometimes it's out there in front of a lot of people.

So what do you think? Are you ready to step out by faith? Trusting the outcome to the Lord?

2010-06-25T22:34:00.002-04:00

"Hope is patience with the lamp lit." That has been on my desk top for the month of June. The idea of having the "lamp lit"...gives me the picture of someone waiting expectantly. I thought about the times when I have waited for Tony to return from a trip. How I would maybe bake his favorite cookies, and have things cleaned up and just making sure that everything said, "Welcome Home, we missed you!"

As we go through these months, we are waiting patiently, for the Lord to work and open doors. At the same time we aren't being idle. We are working on getting things organized around here...I have spent time cleaning out, closets and storage rooms. throwing away tons of stuff, and getting ready for a "garage sale". This morning was the first day for that, and it went amazingly well. I really was blown away, at how well we did, and I know it is just the Lord blessing us! :-)

We needed to get a bed made for Teddy's room, to make room for 2 boys in there. That is being done now and should be finished sometime this coming week. We also got the "guest room" painted, and are in the process of turning it into a little girl's room. That is fun! It has been quite a while since we had a little girl's room around here. So that is exciting, too! :-)

I have been working on figuring out what and how we are going to do school next year, and have ordered the curriculum we will use. Have just about got that figured out as much as possible, at this time. Tony is going to build 3 new small tables for our school room.

So that is a little of what has been going on around our house. We got all the Sunday School material packed into some trunks and taken to the church. So the ladies that help me with the Children's ministry is working on getting it organized and ready to go. We are using material that I organized in a 3 year cycle. That is all good, but for the 1st two years, we only had 2 classes and now we have 3, so I am working on getting material for ready for our "primary class", so that it will follow the plan also.

Besides working on Children's ministry stuff, I am also teaching the Ladies Sunday School class. We are presently using Elizabeth George's study, "A Woman After God's Own Heart". The women are really enjoying the study. We have had a good turn out for the first 4 weeks of this study...averaging about 30 ladies.

I appreciate your prayers for Tony, Teddy and I as we have our home study, this coming Thursday. (hopefully, that is when it is scheduled to be, but they haven't confirmed that.) Pray with us, that we actually have it, as there isn't a lot of wiggle room in the schedule. Also pray that the meeting goes well.

Please be praying for a team from West Park Baptist Church that will be visiting us from July 5-12. They will be in our services on Wednesday night, and we are having an outreach on Thursday in a new neighborhood, where we would like to start a new work. The plan now is to hand out fliers and show a movie. Then on Friday and Saturday we are having our first Family Retreat. Pray we have a good turn out and for the team as they work with us. Teaching classes for the children, teens, and adults.

Please be praying for me as I work on getting the material together for the primary class and also as I prepare the lessons for the Ladies Sunday School class.

God Bless you as you serve him wherever he has placed you!
Joy

June is here...

2010-05-31T20:40:00.003-04:00

I am so thankful for the service and sacrifice that so many have given to make and keep America free. What a blessing that we have to be part of such a wonderful country. I know that there are many problems, but it is still the greatest country in the world.

God Bless America!

Things are going well here in Manta, Ecuador. We are working on getting things organized for a Family Retreat in July. We have a group of 5 from West Park Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN coming to help us with this and we are very excited about it!

Last week the Tuesday night Bible Institute Class had their exam. It was extra long, so they will be finishing it this week. The Thursday night class started their new course, Life of Paul 3.

Friday I hosted the Young Ladies from the church for their monthly meeting. It was a great time together. 7 ladies were able to attend.

Sunday morning we started a new study, using Elizabeth George's book, "A Woman After God's Own Heart". We have been having a great attendance for this class. So many of the women are new Christians. Please be praying that the Lord will use this as they learn what it means to be a Christian woman, wife, mother...

Last week we received the last document we need for our adoption folder. We heard from our lawyer today, that we need to call the office in Guayaquil and make an appointment, so Tony was able to do that. We will be traveling to Guayaquil Wednesday afternoon, for a meeting Thursday morning. Thank you for your prayers as we travel there and please be praying that our meeting goes well.

Praying each of you experience the blessings of the Lord on your life this week.
Joy

2010-05-26T12:56:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone! Hope you are enjoying the blessings of the Lord in your life this week!

We had a good week-end here in Manta! Sunday morning we had a great attendance again, with 124 present. A great blessing was that Mirian's husband, Fernando came to church. Fernando accepted the Lord many years ago, and was instrumental in bringing his whole family to Christ, but then he got away from the Lord, and has been out of church and not interested in the things of the Lord. We understand that the Lord still has a lot to do in his heart to bring him back, but we were thrilled with the victory of seeing him in God's house!!!

I enjoyed a couple days away last week. I had the opportunity to make a trip to Guayaquil with my friend, Mirian. We enjoyed shopping, visiting, and just the fun of having a couple "girl days". :-)

Sunday evening we had a Teacher's meeting. There was a good attendance, and we feel that we were able to address a few things. Please keep our Sunday School ministry in your prayers. We are really a young church, and the majority of our workers are very young in Christ. We are trying to figure out how to have the best ministry for our children, and at the same time give everyone an opportunity to continue to grow in Christ.

Our nursery is working out really well. I was very "hands on" the first couple of weeks. I had spent so much time and energy, to get it set up, and it was hard to just turn it over, but the last couple weeks, I have stayed out of the way, and let the ladies in charge, do their job, and they are doing a great job, getting it all figured out! :-)

This week, I have been working on trying to sort out and organize the school room and the office. I have made quite a bit of progress and that is a great feeling!!!

We are awaiting the last document to arrive from the US, so that our adoption file is complete and we can take it to Guayaquil. It is suppose to arrive this week! Thank you for your prayers with us about this. The last time we checked, it had arrived in Quito and been released from customs!

Friday afternoon, the young women, (35 and under) are suppose to meet at my house. I appreciate your prayers for me, as I work on the devotion to share with them. This is a great group of ladies. All are new wives and young mothers. Most of the are very young in the Lord. There are about 6 of them that have been very faithful to get together once a month, and they are forming great friendships.

I pray that you have a wonderful week and that you sense the presence of the Lord in your ministry and work.

God Bless,
Joy

Good Morning!!!

2010-05-19T10:32:00.002-04:00

Good Morning, Friends! I have lost track of time, and keep thinking about posting on here, but then things happen, and it just hasn't gotten done! So sorry about that!

I will try to catch you up with our life, without writing a book, which I know no one has time to read, or even that much interest! :-)

My trip to the US with Teddy was wonderful! I got great reports from my doctors, and we were able to see all 3 girls and the 3 wonderful grandchildren!!! Spending time with my Mom and Dad was a treat too. Teddy also got to celebrate his birthday a week early, on the Monday before we returned, and had a great time at the "Bounce House" with his cousins Evan and Estella Jane.

While we were gone, Tony continued with the work here. The Youth Retreat was a great blessing. One young person accepted Christ and many other decisions were made. VBS went well too, with many children attending, and hearing the gospel.

Since we returned we have made a trip to Quito, which had 2 purposes. 1st we went to pick up some things donated for our church nursery. These are things that Stacey Smith had stored, since closing her home for abandoned babies. I can't even begin to express how grateful we are to have all of this wonderful stuff! We would have never been able to afford to purchase all of this, or even this quality of furniture and toys! The 2nd reason that brought us to Quito, was to meet with the director of "For His Children" and with our lawyer, (and theirs) about adopting 2 precious children. We returned home to Manta, with the news...

We are adopting Carla, age 6 and Mateo, age 5. They should be joining our family around September 1st!!!! We are very excited about this news, and praising the Lord, for the way he has led and guided each step in this process.

Here in Manta, we have been working at church. We got they Nursery set up and running. Sunday was our 3rd week to have it operating and it is going great!!! We have also had a Mini Missions Conference, where our church was challenged, and hearts were touched. Please pray for those who feel that the Lord is calling them into full time ministry.

On May 8th, we had a special Ladies event, in honor of Mother's Day. 28 ladies attended and had a wonderful time! Sunday, May 9th, we had a great service with over 30 mothers in attendance.

Last week, we had 124!!!! There were no first time visitors, which was sad, BUT to have 124 without visitors, WOW!!!!

Please be praying as we get the next part of the building underway. Pray for the different ministries in our church. Pray for workers, we are desperately in need of someone to come along side of Tony, full time to take on some of the pastoral responsibilities of the church. We know that God is in control and he has to right plan and the perfect family picked out already!

On a personal note, our good friends, Jim and Sharon Smith, have suffered a great blow, in the lost of their son Zac to cancer. Zac was only 33 years old, but God used him to touch many lives. He had an amazing testimony. I would ask you to please lift up Jim, Sharon and Stacey Smith in your prayers, along with Zac's wife Mandy, and their 3 precious children, Lizzy, Jake and Luke.

Thank you for your support and prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta, Ecuador!
God Bless,
Joy

In the US

2010-03-06T12:26:00.003-05:00

Teddy and I are enjoying a trip to the US. My doctors wanted me to come back for a check-up, and we decided if I needed to do that, we would take a little extra time to visit the girls and their families.

Before we left Ecuador, Teddy kept asking me if there was going to be any snow at Grandpa's house. I kept telling him, I didn't think so, because it was March, and they live in Tennessee. It is the beginning of Spring there. Well, wouldn't you know. Tuesday before we arrived, they had 3 inches of snow. A lot of it had melted, but there was enough left in Mom and Dad's yard for him to have a wonderful time playing on Thursday morning! He managed to make 2 small snowmen.

Yesterday, I had my first doctor's appointment. That went pretty well. My blood pressure is a little high, but he thinks since it was doing well in Ecuador, that it might be the "stress" of traveling and just everything that we are trying to do in the next few weeks. So we will see what happens. I appreciate your prayers concerning this.

Next week, I have another appointment with my surgeon, just to make sure everything has healed properly, from my surgery last fall. That will be on Tuesday and then on Thursday we are heading to Springfield, MO. to visit with Ashley, Lexi and their families. Thank you for praying for our travels.

While we are away, Tony is continuing with 2 Bible Institute classes. One meeting on Tuesday evening, and one on Thursday. Also the construction on building continues. March 12-14, we will be having a Youth Retreat. Please pray that we have a good turn out from our church. Pray for Tony as he works on organizing everything, also.

Then on March 24-28, they will be having VBS. We have already done quite a bit of planning for this, but as you know there is always more to do, and of course just the last minute stuff involved.

We are excited to see how the Lord continues to bless the ministry in Manta! Thank you so much for your prayers. God bless you as you serve him.

Joy

Where did February go?

2010-02-26T22:31:00.002-05:00

I can't believe the month of February has gone by. We have been very busy around here! On the 7th our church celebrated it's 5th anniversary. We had over 135! Cliff McGhee came down from Quito and was our special speaker for the day. We recognized 17 people that had been baptized this past year! God has been so good to our church and ministry here.

After the service we had a great lunch that the ladies had prepared! Everyone had a wonderful time.

Tony, Teddy and I made a trip to Quito this month too. We left Sunday afternoon the 14th and drove to Santo Domingo, where we spent the night with our friends, Joe and Sylvia Wells, and then drove on to Quito on Monday morning, the 15th. While there we stayed with Cliff and Neoma McGhee. It was nice to visit the capital again, and we had good meetings while we were there!

On our return from Quito, Tony started Bible Insitute classes again. They will be meeting on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with our weekly prayer meeting in between on Wednesdays. Last Saturday was our monthly Ladies meeting at the church. We had about 25 ladies attend.

This afternoon our younger women had their monthly get together. They take turns hosting this meeting and always enjoy the fellowship. Today it was my privilege to bring the devotion.

On Wednesday morning, Teddy and I will be flying to the US. We will be in the States from the 3rd to the 30th. I have 2 doctor's appointments, and I appreciate your prayers about that. Everything seems to be going very well with my health and I am thankful for that. Because of the problem I had with my blood pressure before we left, my doctor told me he wanted to see me again so here I go....Also it will be 6 months since my surgery and my surgeon wanted to see me again too. :-) (I'm just a very popular person these days! )

We are looking forward to having some time visiting with my parents, and are planning a couple trips to visit the girls and the grand babies! You didn't think I would make a trip all the way back to the US and not see my grand babies did you? :-)

Appreciate your prayers for us as we travel. Also for Tony as he is here. During the month of March there is a planned Youth Retreat and a VBS...(I know it seems weird, but here on the coast of Ecuador, we are actually in the middle of our "Summer Vacation"!)

Have a wonderful week!
God Bless,
Joy

2010-01-24T14:31:00.002-05:00

Every Sunday when we go to church, it amazes me to see how the Lord is working! We are thrilled to see people growing and serving the Lord.

This morning after the sermon, Tony asked everyone who wanted to make a public commitment to discipleship, to take up their cross and follow Christ. We had about 10 people go forward to pray. What an impact just those 10 people could make if they are sold out to the Lord, not to mention those already sold out!

I have a couple specific prayer requests for you today,

1. Please pray for Cristian and Monica. They are a young couple whose marriage started out in the not the best circumstances, and they are struggling right now. Pray that the Lord would be glorified in their marriage, and that they would work together to establish a Christian home in which to raise their baby boy, Ismael.

2. Please pray for the leaders in our church to be unified and to work out differences that they have with one another.

Have a wonderful week.
Joy

Off and Running!

2010-01-19T07:51:00.002-05:00

We are approaching the end of January! I know I'm always saying I can't believe how fast time is flying by...that must mean I'm getting old! :-) I remember as a kid, thinking time just stood still!

We have had a great start to the New Year! The church is growing. We've had some new families coming and are excited to see what the Lord is going to do this year. We are praising the Lord for a special offering from Battlefield Baptist Church toward the construction of our building. At this time we are meeting in the unfinished 2nd floor of the education building. Our contractor is working this week on getting the electricity in up there... then we hope to get the small bathroom put in the "nursery" and that room tiled, and our other bathrooms and small kitchen in the ed. building tiled. After that we are planning on starting the main auditorium! Goal for getting that under way is March! Thank you for your prayers as we continue with this.

We are also in the process of planning our VBS which will be the last week in March, and because of the cost of youth camp this year, have decided to do our own thing near by...so that is also in the works. You ask, how much youth camp is costing this year...well it's $50 a camper, plus about $10 in transportation. I know you are thinking that is a really good price, but when you consider that that average salary is $300 a month, you realize that it is a lot of money for the people here, especially those with more than 1 teen! So we have found a few alternatives that will make it more reasonable, closer to $25 a camper. Please make this a matter of prayer as we iron out the details.

At this time Tony is meeting with 2 different families for discipleship classes. We are also getting ready to start Bible Institute classes up in February. There will be classes on Tuesday night and Thursday night. We have been having a Wednesday night Prayer meeting, that although not as well attended as we would like, is steadily growing. I think we had about 20 out last week.

This Saturday afternoon we will be having our monthly Ladies meeting. I appreciate your prayers as we get ready for this.

On February 7th the church will celebrate it's 5th anniversary! Cliff and Neoma McGhee are coming down to be our special guests. The women are planning a meal to serve after the service. God has been so good to us! What a blessing to see the work He has established in the last 5 years here in Manta!!!!

On February 14th, we will be adding our Sunday School hour again to our Sunday Morning Schedule. I have been working on getting the worksheets ready for the adult classes. So far I have the first 9 weeks done! YAY!!!!! We are using some basic discipleship lessons. This book, is called "Fundamentals of the Faith". Also on the 14th, we are planning to have an adult fellowship that evening. Still working on the details for that. :-)

I appreciate your prayers for me this week. I have meetings every afternoon we different ladies. Yesterday, the meeting was about our plans for VBS. Today, I'm not sure what it's about, :-)...Tomorrow, will be meeting with the director of a children's home in our area to find out some ways that the ladies and the church could be more involved in this ministry. We would like to be a blessing to them, but not cause them more work! Also tomorrow we will be meeting with a young single mom. Then on Thursday or Friday, I will be meeting with our Children's Ministry leader to discuss some things with the Sunday School....plans and problems. :-)

Well, I should post this. It is getting late, and I need to get breakfast on the table and school started with Teddy.

Thank you so much for your interest in our ministry and for your prayers!
God Bless you and you serve Him this week!
Joy

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

2009-12-26T14:57:00.003-05:00

I pray that each of you have enjoyed your Christmas with friends and family! We had many exciting things happening around here.

The Christmas party at church on the 2oth was a big success! We had over 170 there. Everyone had a great time. Lots of people helped out with the preparation, the set-up and the cooking. We had a great time of fun, food and fellowship.

Tony, Teddy and I enjoyed a great Christmas together. Christmas eve we tried our hand at making candy canes. I can hear you now, why would you try to make candy canes when you can buy them? Well, you can't buy them here, at least not in Manta, so we decided to try our hand at it. It was quite an experience...having never done anything like it before. We had a huge mess, some burnt fingers and a really fun time. Our candy canes were some of the funniest looking things you have ever seen, but they were made with love and they taste great! :-)

We enjoyed a "Birthday Party for Jesus" on Thursday evening. Playing games, and reading the Christmas Story, and eating "Pizza Fondue", it was really yummy. Christmas day was also a good day for us. We enjoyed talking to each of your daughters and my parents. We were able to use the web cam with my parents, and with Ashley, Shane and Curtis and that was fun.

Today has been a great day of just resting...a little cleaning up and a lot of just enjoying one another. Tony is going out to the village ministry in La Travesia this afternoon. We are looking forward to a great day at church tomorrow.

God has blessed us so much! Thank you for your prayers for the ministry here in Manta and for our family!

God Bless you!
Joy

2009-12-13T19:41:00.002-05:00

We had a great day worshiping the Lord! The attendance was down, but we are so thankful that God is working in the hearts of his people. Please remember to keep this work in your prayers.

Upcoming events...on Friday the Leadership team and their wives will be coming over to our house for a small Christmas party. Then on Sunday morning, the kids at church will be receiving their Christmas treats and Sunday evening we will be having a "Family Christmas Party" at church...We are going to be having a "Birthday Party for Jesus!" The church will be providing the meat, which we are grilling...and everyone else is helping by either bringing rice, menestra (lentils), salad, colas, plates, cups, napkins, forks.... This is all a "new" idea for the culture here, so we will see how it works. "Potluck dinners" are not a normal thing in Ecuador! :-) But everyone seems really excited about it and is looking forward to a great time. We will be exchanging ornaments...each family that wants to participate has been bringing ornaments and putting them on the trees at church...The ornament has their family's name on it. The idea is that we will exchange them and then each family will pray for the family whose ornament they receive, during the coming year. We have also asked those that would like to participate to bring a wrapped "birthday gift for Jesus". These are to be toys that we will be giving out to the 2 children's homes in our area. We are looking forward to a great time of fun and fellowship!

We are excited and looking forward to Christmas at the Anzalone house! We have been baking and decorating. This week we are planning to do some shopping. I pray that each of you has a wonderful week as you prepare for this most precious time of you!

God Bless you!
Joy

Some pictures....

2009-12-09T11:15:00.007-05:00

Just about finished decorating for our Ladies program, "Fantasia de nieve"(Winter Wonderland) Saturday morning. I have to say it was pretty strange to have "snow" in Manta! :-)

Some of the ladies that attended Saturday's program. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Here they are listening intently to my lesson...They are really trying to figure out what in the world I'm trying to say in Spanish! :-)

These are the 9 people that were baptized a couple weeks ago, with Tony. We are so thankful for the work the Lord is doing here! Many lives are being changed!

The Ecuador, BBFI missionary family on Thanksgiving Day at Joe and Sylvia Wells. We had a great time! (we missed you Jenny!)

Christmas is coming!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-09T11:06:00.002-05:00

Can you believe that Christmas is just 16 days away?!?!?! Yes we are counting down here at the Anzalone house. Teddy would have us counting the hours and the minutes too, but we will just stick to days. :-)

We have had a very busy few weeks here in Manta. We were able to enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends Joe and Sylvia Wells in Santo Domingo. We joined all the other BBFI missionary family for a wonderful day of fun, fellowship and thanksgiving.

Two weeks ago, we had 9 precious baby believers follow their Lord in Baptism! What a wonderful day.

Last Saturday was our special Ladies Christmas program. We had 39 ladies attend and had a wonderful time.

Our church attendance the last few weeks has been very good. God is working and changing lives. Of course anytime the Lord is working, Satan doesn't like it! Please pray for the work here, and especially for the leaders, as Satan is attacking big time. Pray too for the new baby Christian that sometimes get caught up in the "crossfire" for the attack.

I pray that God richly blesses you as you serve him in the place he has put you.
Blessings!
Joy

Amazing Love....

2009-11-16T10:44:00.003-05:00

I started a new Bible Reading plan this morning. The idea is to read through the main stories of the Bible in chronological order in 61 days. So today I started with Creation and the Fall of Man. As I was reading, I tried to envision what this world must have been like...I mean, over and over again, it says and "God said it was good". WOW! Then he created Man and Woman in his very image. Pure and completely innocent. God would take time each day to come down and "walk with them". Then the day came when they disobeyed God, and it all came "crashing down" around them. Suddenly, what they thought they wanted, really wasn't what they wanted at all!

Yet God still came down and sought them. He still came looking for them. I often wonder what would have happened if Adam had taken responsibility for his sin...instead of "passing the buck" to Eve...or if Eve had taken responsibility, instead of passing it off on the serpent. We'll never know. This passage is really very sad, except when you remember that God still loved them, he still came seeking and he still made a way of salvation.

Oh, Amazing Love, how can it be, that thou my God wouldst love me?

Praise the Lord he still comes searching for us today!

We had a great day yesterday! 124 people packed out our temporary meeting room. The men are working on getting the roof on the 2nd floor so we can use that for our services, and put the children in the classrooms downstairs. Not only are we pushing the limits on all classrooms, but we desperatly need a nursery! There were at least 5 little babies in the service yesterday not counting the little children under 2!!!! What a wonderful problem to have. :-)

Pray for this Saturday, as we have a special Ladies meeting, where we will be making a craft. There are at least 50 ladies already signed up to attend. Pray too, as plans go forward for our special Christmas Event we have every year for the Ladies. This year we are planning to have it at the church on Dec. 5.

Tomorrow, I will be meeting with Cecila and Jessica to go over plans for our Children's ministry. Wednesday night we will be having a "Prayer Meeting/Bible Study" at the church. Friday evening, Luis and Melanea will be coming over to visit with us, and talk about plans for the young people. These are just the "meetings" I am personally involved in. Tony has several other things on his plate as he works with the men to keep things moving forward with the construction, and everything else. Pray too, as Teddy and I focus on school every morning.

Thank you for your interest in the ministry here in Manta! God bless you as you serve him where you are this week!

Joy

Rejoice in the Lord, always!

2009-11-12T09:51:00.002-05:00

Paul tells us to "rejoice in the Lord, always, and again I say rejoice!" We are very happy to be back "home" in Manta. God was with us and although there were some delays in our trip, I know that God had it all figured out and his plan and his time is perfect!

Our flight from Atlanta to Miami was delayed, putting us into Miami after our scheduled flight to Ecuador had left...but all that meant was that we got a free night and whole day to rest up in a really nice hotel, compliments of American Airlines! We arrived safely into Guayaquil on Tuesday evening, and all of our luggage arrived with us!!!

We got to Manta, last Wednesday afternoon.

On Saturday the Ladies at church had a special "surprise" Welcome Home/Birthday Party for me. It was very sweet and it was so nice to see all of them. There were over 60 ladies present. It was also very encouraging to see new faces!

Sunday was a great day! There were over 90 in the worship service. It was wonderful to be at our church! Don't get me wrong, I love visiting all of you and each of you have great churches, but there is just something about being back at your own!!! :-)

After the services Sunday, the Leadership Team took us out for lunch. What a great time of fellowship we had with them.

Sunday afternoon, I met with the Women's Ministry Team, and we put into motion plans for some special events for the Ladies. We are planning a "Craft Day" on Nov. 21, and then our special Christmas Event on Dec. 5. Please keep these special days in your prayers. We are asking the Lord to use them to foster fellowship, unity and to give us an opportunity to witness to ladies that would not normally attend church.

So, as you go through this day, remember to "Rejoice in the Lord, always!" :-)

Blessings,
Joy

Heading home!

2009-10-31T16:03:00.002-04:00

We are enjoying our last few days in the US with our good friends, Ben and Jane Mock and their family.

Tony, Teddy and I are looking forward to getting back "home". We appreciate your prayers as we travel on Monday.

I am doing well. The medicines seem to be regulating my blood pressure. My recovery from the surgery has been well, and I am starting to feel "normal" again.

God Bless you as you serve Him!
Joy

God's ways are not our ways...

2009-10-15T21:28:00.002-04:00

I have been thinking today, how no matter what we do or plan, the Lord is in control and he is always working for our good.

On Wednesday this week, I went to the doctor for my last check-up. It has been 4 weeks since my surgery and since we are suppose to return on November 2nd, I wanted to make sure there was time in case he wanted me to do anything else...of course we never expect there to be "anything else".

Well, my blood pressure was up at the office and my doctor didn't really think it was anything to worry about it...he asked if I had a way to monitor it at home, or if I could go to Walmart or somewhere and take it a couple times, later. Well, since my Dad has a monitor, I told him I could do it at home. So he told me to take it later in the evening, and the next day. Well, when I took it it was still high. So now I have an appointment with a General Practitioner on the 28th. I was a little frustrated last night with all of this...and then I started thinking this morning, how gracious the Lord is to us! This could have been something that went undetected and have caused a stroke or heart attack.

I am grateful that God is in control, that he works all things for our good. So tonight as I write this, I'm resting in the wonderful truth that He is in control!

Thank you for your prayers. We have plans to travel next week... will are suppose to be in 4 different churches during the next couple weeks. My recovery has gone pretty well. Please continue to pray that we will get my blood pressure problem under control.

I am praying that you see God's blessings on your life as you serve him.
Joy

It's October!!!!

2009-10-06T08:49:00.002-04:00

Good Morning! I know some of you that faithfully check my blog, are probably wondering what has happened to me! :-) I'm still here. Have been recuperating at my Mom and Dad's in Crossville, TN.

Tony has started school with Teddy. He is now in 2nd grade! It is hard to believe how fast he is growing up. A week ago they went to a "Corn Maze" for a field trip and yesterday we went to an Apple Orchard in Pikeville, TN.

Tony's Mimi went to be with the Lord last Wednesday. We are so thankful that she went peacefully and without pain. God is so good! We are also grateful that Tony was able to make the trip out to Kansas to be with family and participate in her funeral.

My recovery continues to go well. This Wednesday will mark 3 weeks. Everyday is better and I am thankful to the Lord for that.

We are looking forward to having a visit from my Father-in-law this week, and then on the week-end, Mandie, Mike, Ioan and Saranna are planning to come down to see us!

While out in Kansas Tony and his Mom were able to make the trip to Springfield, Sunday to be in the church service there Sunday evening for baby dedication. It was a huge surprise to Ashley! She had no idea they were going to be there, until they walked in, during the first song and sat down by them! :-)

Thank you for your continued prayers for the work in Manta. We are hearing good reports! The attendance has been over 100 for the Sunday services, and they are continuing to work on finishing out the first floor of the Sunday School building. The Ladies are working on organizing the special Ladies Day we will have in December.

Right now our plans are to return to Ecuador the 2nd of November. Thank you for your prayers for me during my recovery.

God bless you as you serve him this week!
Joy

Recuperating...

2009-09-23T19:32:00.003-04:00

Well it has been one week since my surgery. I was just thinking this morning that I was glad it was today and not last Wednesday! :-)

So far everything is going well. The pathologist report came back clear. I was discharged from hospital on Friday evening. Have been enjoying the great care of Tony, Teddy and my Mom since then. Every day is a little better.

I appreciate your prayers for my complete recovery and for the ministry in Manta during our absence.

Tomorrow is the Ladies Retreat in Santo Domingo. I know that some of the Ladies from Manta were planning to attend, but have not heard yet how many. Please pray for the retreat and for those traveling there and back on Saturday.

Work on the building continues during our absence. Please continue to keep the construction in your prayers. We still need at least $10,000 to finish this first phase.

The reports we have received have been very good. We have heard that the last few weeks they have had over 100 in attendance for the Sunday Worship services.

Thank you for your prayers for our family and the ministry in Ecuador.
God Bless!
Joy

August is over, and September is coming...

2009-08-31T13:18:00.003-04:00

Hello Everyone! Things have been pretty hectic in our lives this past month, and we haven't always had easy internet access. I will try to catch you up on everything that is going on in our lives....

The first week in August we went to the annual BBFI Missionary Retreat in Arkansas. It was a great time to visit with old friends, make some new ones. We enjoyed the services each morning and evening. Teddy had a great time, playing with other MK's and they had special kid's classes every morning and evening for him.

From there, we headed back to my Mom and Dad's in Crossville, Tennessee. We were able to attend the special service at Southside Baptist Church on August 9th, to celebrate Pastor and Mrs. Gresham's 24th anniversary at the church. Carole is my cousin and there was lots of family present, so it was a great time. Then on Monday-Wednesday, we were at the Whitestone Country Inn in Kingston, Tennessee, celebrating my parents, Ted and Verneta Wille's 50 wedding anniversary. It was a very special time!

We were able to take my parents up to see Mike, Mandie, Ioan and Saranna, on the week-end after their anniversary party. It was great to have a couple more days with them and love on our grand babies a little bit more!

That week found us back at my parents. I had a scheduled a check-up with my doctor there, and found out that, I will need to have a hysterectomy. That surgery is scheduled for Sept. 16. Because of that change in our plans we will be changing our return flight to Ecuador to hopefully around the 1st of November. We appreciate your prayers!

Right now we are in Springfield, MO. Tony brought Teddy and I here last week, and then he went with his sisters to help his Mom move from Texas to Kansas. This past week-end we enjoyed taking Ashley, Curtis and Lexi with us on a quick trip to Kansas to visit family there. This week we will be spending a little more time with our kids here. Enjoying the time with have with Curtis. On the week-end we are suppose to be heading to Kansas City, and then on Monday, Lord willing, we will be heading back to Tennessee.

We thank you so much for your prayers for our family and the ministry the Lord has given us in Manta. All the reports we are getting from Manta have been good. Please continue to keep the work there in your prayers.

God Bless you as you serve him!
Joy

And we are off on another week!

2009-08-03T08:37:00.002-04:00

Good Morning! I hope you are enjoying this new week.

Our family is praising the Lord for bringing Baby Curtis Anthony Coston home! He spent a little over 4 weeks in the NICU. He is doing great and God has been so very good to us.

Yesterday we had the privilege of presenting our work at Seminole Baptist Temple. It was great to be able to share with 2 classes, give testimonies in the 2 morning Worship services, and then last night, Tony shared our presentation and had the opportunity to preach.

After the evening service we went out with Andy and Amy Ragsdale and their family. Andy and Amy were approved in May as Missionaries to Ecuador. Please be praying for them as they get started on their deputation.

This week we will be heading to Arkansas for the BBFI Missionary Retreat. We really appreciate your prayers as we travel. Tony has already driven over 4,000 miles since we arrived in the US on July 8th!

Please keep Baby Curtis in your prayers, and Ashley and Shane as they now adjust to having him home!

Also be praying for the work in Manta as it continues in our absence.

God Bless you this week as you serve him!
Joy

"Everything should be about God!"

2009-07-29T10:56:00.003-04:00

I'm sitting here in Lexi and Jonathan's apartment this morning thinking about the Sunday School lesson I heard Sunday. The class is doing a study on 1 Corinthians, and Sunday they were on chapter 3. The basic truth from the lesson was that "EVERYTHING should be about God!"

It seems to me that it doesn't matter how long you have been a Christian, it is so easy to get our mind and our life so wrapped up in our day to day life/circumstances, that we lose sight of the fact that my life belongs to God. I've been bought with a price, I'm his child and he is my Father. He is suppose to be in the drivers seat, and I'm not suppose to be telling him how to drive. I'm to trust him and rest in him, and follow him.

I need to get my eyes off of me, and keep them on him!

Joy

"On the Road Again!"

2009-07-19T14:27:00.002-04:00

Well the title of this post says it all.... We arrived in the US about 10 days ago. We flew into Atlanta on Wednesday, July 8, and spent some time with our good friends the Mocks in Jasper, GA. I spoke at 2 ladies Bible Studies at the church there, on Thursday and then flew up to Springfield, MO. It was great to see Lexi and Ashley. It was also special to spend time taking Ashley back and forth to the hospital and to be able to hold baby Curtis. We are very thankful that he continues to do well and show progress. Please keep him in your prayers. He is still in the NICU, there in MO.

Tony and Teddy spent the rest of our first week-end in the States with the Mocks. They enjoyed a trip to the Atlanta Aquarium, and tubing down the Toccoa River. Tony also enjoyed the opportunity of speaking to the teens on Sunday there, and sharing a testimony in the service.

Monday morning, found them heading up to Knoxville. My Dad met them and Teddy and the majority of our luggage went with him. Teddy enjoyed the week with his grandparents, and also had the opportunity to meet some new cousins who were visiting my parents from Arizona!!! Tony continued on to the Knoxville airport, where he caught a plane and flew up the Flint, MI, (via Orlando, Florida! and lunch with good friend Tim Gunter). In Flint he picked up a car that we were able to buy with the help of some great friends in our in Home Church there. Then on Tuesday he made the trip in the car from Flint to Springfield, arriving around 10:30. We immediately took him up to the hospital and he was introduced to his 2nd Grandson, Curtis Anthony Coston!

On Friday morning, Tony and I said "goodbye" to our kids there, and made the trip back to Tennessee. Arriving at my parents house in Crossville, around 5:00. We were happy to see Teddy again, and he seemed thrilled to see us, although he had a great week with his grandparents!

Yesterday afternoon, we headed over to Knoxville and have enjoyed making some new friends and seeing old friends at West Park Baptist Church. Tonight we will be heading across town to be at another one of our supporting churches, Southside Baptist Church.

Our new grand babies are doing well. Curtis continues to gain weight and make progress everyday. He is now working on getting the whole eating process down and that seems to be the only thing holding him back from going home at this point. Saranna who was born to Mike and Mandie on July 4th, is doing great. We are planning on seeing here and her big brother Ioan, and of course our kids, this week for a short visit.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel around the US. Please pray for baby Curtis' continued growth and progress in the NICU in Springfield. Pray for Ashley and Shane as they deal with all the worry and stress that comes with having a baby in the NICU. Pray for Mandie, Mike, Ioan and Baby Saranna. Pray for Lexi and Jonathan as they make plans and preparation for what the Lord has for them.

Also please keep the work in Manta in your prayers.

God Bless you and keep you!
Joy

A few pictures...

2009-06-28T19:00:00.002-04:00

Luis, Jesenia, Tony, Mercedes and Andres, at the baptism this afternoon.

The terrace was packed out for the morning service today.

The women at the retreat, honoring, Sylvia, Sharon, Stacey and I. They are so sweet!

Cecila, Aday, Mirian, Wilda and I at the retreat this week-end.

Ladies in Ministry retreat, June 25-27, in Santo Domingo. What a great group!

We're coming and going!

2009-06-28T18:44:00.002-04:00

I pray that each of you had a wonderful time of worship in God's house today!

We have had a great week! Last Sunday, which was Father's Day, we had 15 Father's recognized at the church here in Manta.

This week, we went to Santo Domingo for our annual retreat for Women in Ministry. God blessed and we had wonderful retreat. 53 Ecuadorian Pastor's wives and Ministry Leaders attended this years retreat. We were excited because Sharon Smith, who has worked with Sylvia Wells and I over the last 10 years to plan this retreat, was able to return to be a part of this years retreat too.

Last night our church sponsored an Evangelistic meeting in the park near our church. At one point Tony counted over 150, just in the part close to the stage. There were so many people coming and going, we really have no idea how many actually heard the gospel. Many raised their hands that they had accepted Christ. Our Church members went around and talked to many of the people, asking them if they could visit them, and if they were interested in signing up to have a Bible Study. From the many that raised their hands, we only got about 15 names, of people who were interested in a follow up contact, but that is still 15!

This morning, we had 148 in church! I can tell you that the apartment was packed out to the max! There was a group from the US visiting, so that was 14, but still we had a great attendance! After church we had a meeting, trying to get the necessary things done to our church "incorporated" to make it legal. We had over 50 sign the sheet as members. We would have have a few more, but they didn't have their documents with them for us to copy. (Here we had to have a copy of their ID card, and the proof that they voted in the last election....yes voting is mandatory in Ecuador). After that we had a baptism, with 4 people being baptized! Lots going on, and the day still isn't over! :-)

This afternoon, the men are having a work day at the property, and then they will be enjoying a few games of volleyball.

This coming week, we will moving out of the apartment and over to the new property. Pray as we make decisions what to actually move to the property and what to store until we have more of the building finished. Pray that we would get water and lights! Everyone is very excited and we are so thankful for all the Lord has done to this point.

Saturday, July 4, we will be having a Baby Shower here at my house. God is blessing our church with more babies! :-)

Thank you so much for your prayers for the ministry here in Manta!
God Bless!
Joy

Can't keep up...

2009-06-17T20:29:00.003-04:00

Do you ever feel like there is just so much to do and not enough time to get it done? I'm so sorry that it has been over 2 weeks since I posted on here. I will try to catch you up...without writing a "book". LOL

On June 6th, we had our "Young Women's meeting" at the church. This is a meeting for women 20 to 35. We only had 6 attend, but it was a great time of fellowship for them. They so enjoy getting together. Melania shared the devotion with us, and did a great job. She is going to be doing it, during the time that I am away. Please keep her in your prayers.

Sunday morning, June 7, we had 115 in our Worship Service. We are definitely bursting at the seams in the apartment! :-)

On Saturday June 13th, 28 people from church attended a Teacher Training Seminar. We started at 10 in the morning and ended at 4:00 in the afternoon. We had 16 that had gone through the program last year, and 12 new ones. We started the morning, with Tony giving an "over view" of some of the introductory stuff we had done last year. Qualifications for a teacher...The importance of teaching children...some basic characteristics of the different age groups. Then I did an hour sharing the material on "Explaining Salvation to Children". After that time, they all had a chance to either make a small "word less book", "a bracelet, with beads the color of the wordless book" or another little book, with felt pieces, in the colors. When we finished that, we had lunch, which was prepared by one of our families. They did a great job...They opened up their home and had everything set up for us to walk in and eat. It was just a block from the church, so that worked out great! After lunch, we returned to the church and split up... Tony took the ones that had gone through the program before, and worked with them on a little more detail of developing a lesson, and also spent some time of methods of getting student participation. I took the news one and we went through the basics of preparing a lesson and presenting the lesson. Both of these groups have assignments that they are suppose to turn in. Everyone that turns in their assignment will receive a certificate on July 5.

We also introduced the idea of "neighborhood Bible clubs". We have had one young woman approach us about starting a club in her neighborhood. Please be praying about this. Pray also for Maria Jose as she steps out into this new ministry.

This last Sunday, was an "Election Day" here. Voting is mandatory in Ecuador, and many of our church people have to go out of town to vote. We were thrilled to still have an attendance of 89! We also had Alan and Pearl Jackson come and share their ministry to abandoned children with our church. It was exciting to see many of our church members seeking them out after church to see how they could volunteer and be involved in this very special and much needed ministry.

Today, Tony went to the Ecuadorian Naval Base here in Manta, for the 2nd of his seminars on Marriage and Family. The response was very good. Please be praying with us that the seeds planted will bear fruit.

Construction the building continues. We are praying that the Lord would supply $10,000 to finish the first floor of the Education building. We will be moving into the building, "as is" on July 5. It will be a little "rustic" to start with, but we are excited and know that God will finish the work that He has started!

Next week is our annual retreat for Women in Ministry at the camp in Santo Domingo. We have 46 women signed up! Please pray for Sylvia Wells, Stacey and Sharon Smith, and I as we finish up the details and do the teaching at this years retreat.

I pray God's blessings on each of you as you serve him this week!
Joy

June has arrived!

2009-06-01T11:41:00.002-04:00

Good Monday morning to each of you!

We have a beautiful sunny day here in Manta...blue skies, fluffy white clouds...the air conditioner is running, SO it is very comfortable in the house! :-)

We have had a couple very busy weeks. Last Sunday, the 24th, we had 115 in the Worship service here in Manta! We were pretty packed out in the apartment. We had some first time visitors and just had a great day! Everyone was very excited about the 2nd floor getting poured on Saturday morning the 23rd.

Monday the 25th, we worked on getting some curtains and blinds ready to put up in the apartment of the church in Portoviejo. We were trying to get things in order there, to welcome Gustavo, Lydia and Ezequiel. They have come to work with us from a church in Santo Domingo. Gustavo will work in the position of "Assistant Pastor" to help Tony with the work there. We are very excited to have someone actually living there in Portoviejo! It is not easy to pastor a church from about an hour away. Please keep Gustavo, Lydia and Ezequiel in your prayers as they adjust and adapt to life away from their family for the first time.

Tuesday we actually went to Portoveijo and hung some of the curtains...Tuesday evening was advanced Bible Institute class here at our house. Wednesday we went to meet Gustavo and Lydia as they arrived. Also on Tuesday and Wednesday we took care of getting Teddy's Ecuadorian passport renewed, in Portoviejo.

Thursday, I had art class in the afternoon, and Tony had Bible Institute at the church in the evening. Friday, Cecilia came over and we made 45 large sugar cookies to pass out at church yesterday, for "Children's Day". Saturday was our general Ladies meeting at the church. We had 25 ladies attend and had a wonderful time. I was thrilled that Mirian, Wilda and Aday, organzied everything...set it all up, I just gave the devotion and enjoyed the afternoon with the ladies! :-)

Yesterday, our attendance was down a little bit, with 85 present for the worship service, but we had a great spirit, and are excited to see what the Lord is going to do with this work. As with any work, when people are growing and lives are being changed, Satan is not happy and he is on the attack to try and destroy God's work. We are so thankful that this is God's work! Please pray for the leaders in the church here. Each one of them is facing some kind of attack, and we know that God has promised to give the victory!

Our family is doing well. Today is Teddy's "Welcome to our Family Day!" It was 6 years ago today, that God blessed us with this precious gift! We are so thankful for him. This is also our last week of school for the year! We will finish up 1st grade on Friday! YAY! The news we hear from our 3 daughters and son-in-laws is all good. The Lord is suppling their needs and blessing their families. We are very thankful for all the blessings he has bestowed upon our family.

Have a wonderful week. God bless you as you serve Him, this week.
Blessings,
Joy

Yay it's Friday!

2009-05-22T14:35:00.002-04:00

I'm sure each of you are looking forward to the "long week-end". We had a great day last Sunday, with 115 in attendance for the Morning Service. We celebrated the Lord's supper and had 53 participate. It is so exciting to see the church growing and moving forward. Last Sunday evening, we had a special service. Aida Hidalgo, a young single girl who went with a team to Thailand to work in children's ministries for 1 year, returned and gave a report to our church. We had over 40 people attend the service. It was so exciting for them, to see a young woman from Manta, that had stepped out by faith in this way. She is now back trying to raise support and go back to Thailand as a "career missionary". Please pray for her as she waits on the Lord to open the doors He has for her.

On Monday had the opportunity to travel to Guayaquil with a lady in our church. We had a great time together. We spent Monday night with her daughter who is studying in Guayaquil and then returned to Manta on Tuesday.

Tuesday night was our Advanced Institute class. It has been a real blessing to be a part of that.

Tomorrow, they will be pouring the 2nd floor at the building!!!! We are very excited about this. It is so incredible to see how God is working and providing. We will be moving to the new property...at whatever stage it is in...the end of June. Planning to have our first service there on July 5! Please continue to pray with us that God would supply the funds to complete this work.

Also tomorrow afternoon the young people will be coming to our house. We will be grilling hot dogs and playing games. We are praying that God will use this time to be a blessing to them. On Sunday evening, the Leadership Team will be coming over. We are trying a "pot-luck" dinner idea... Tony and I are providing, the meat, drinks and dessert, and they are suppose to be bringing, rice and salads....this is not a real common practice here, so we will see what happens! :-)

Next week Tony will be starting a series of classes at the Ecuadorian Naval Base...Please be praying for him. Sometimes you just never know how the Lord is going to work and what doors are going to open up. He was approached out of the blue and asked if he would do a series on Marriage and the Family. Of course they aren't expecting to get anything "spiritual" out of it, but God evidently has other plans! :-)

This coming Wednesday we have a family that is coming to Portoviejo from Santo Domingo. They are coming to help out at the church, and relieve some of the pressure of this ministry. Please pray for Gustavo and his family, as they make the adjustments to a new place and a new ministry. Tony will continue to be the Pastor of this work for the time being, but it will be a great blessing to have someone actually living there and making contacts.

I pray that each of you have a wonderful week-end! Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and the ministry here!

Blessings,
Joy

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T23:13:00.001-04:00

I wanted to wish each of you Mother's out there a very Happy Mother's Day! I pray that you had a wonderful day.

Yesterday was our "Tarde de Damas", (Ladies Afternoon). It was like a "Tea" minus the hot tea. We had about 40 ladies attend. It was a very nice time for all. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.

This morning, we aren't sure how many Mother's we had present in church, but know there were over 30. We had a great service, which included a time of recognizing all the Mother's present, a special Baby Dedication, and at the end of the service we took pictures of each of the Mother's with their families. We had some visitors, which was very special. Carmen's husband attended today. She has been praying for his salvation for years, and that he would come to church with her since we started...what a blessing to see him there today. He didn't accept Christ, but we know he heard a very clear message of salvation. Wilda also got her two kids that are still living at home to attend the service today also. That was a victory as they have been trying to get them there for quiet awhile too.

I enjoyed the Day with Tony and Teddy. I missed the girls, but am thankful that each one of them loves the Lord and is serving Him in the place where he has placed them now. My Mom and Dad were in Springfield today and spent the afternoon, with Ashley, Shane, Lexi and Jonathan, so that was very special too. Mike cooked dinner for Mandie today, and I heard it was very good! :-)

I am going to post some pictures from our special event yesterday. I hope you will enjoy them!

I have a very special prayer request this week. We have a very special friend, Zac Smith, who just underwent major Cancer Surgery yesterday. Zac is the son of our very dear friends, Jim and Sharon Smith who were missionaries in Quito for many years. Please pray for Zac. Pray for his wife Mandy and their children. Pray for Jim and Sharon, and for Zac's sister Stacey. Thank you!

Have a wonderful week. I pray that it is full of joy and blessings!
Joy

"Tarde de Damas"

2009-05-10T22:46:00.005-04:00

We had a great time yesterday at the church for our special "Mother's Day Event". Everyone had a great time. We enjoyed a couple "games", some special music, a devotion time, and a great time of fellowship. About 40 Ladies attended.

What blessings have you received this week?

2009-05-04T11:00:00.004-04:00

People from church who went to witness the baptisms yesterday.

Luis, Neiger, Tony and Jon after the baptisms yesterday.

Dear Friends,

I enjoy Mondays. Our week-ends are usually very exciting and hectic...so when Monday rolls around, there is a calm...usually no list of urgent things to try to complete. It is a day to reflect on the blessings of the Lord we received over the week-end...and look ahead to what we need to be doing this coming week.

It is usually a day that we spend working around the house, getting to those odd jobs, that aren't usually huge or any big deal, but that need to be done.

This morning I'm rejoicing that Tony is back home safe and sound. The reports from the Men's Retreat in Santo Domingo are great! 8 men from our church went to the retreat with him. All 8 gave testimonies yesterday during church and what a blessing it was to hear them. One of the men was baptized yesterday, and along with him his son, who he led to the Lord Saturday night when he got home from the retreat! What a blessing to see the smile on Jon's face Sunday morning, and see the glow in his Dad's eyes.

We continue to work with a small church in Portoviejo. I would ask you to be in prayer for his work. There are about 10 people that faithfully attend the Sunday morning service, but there is no "restlessness" in them, to see God do something there. They all seem perfectly content to just go on as things are. Comfortable in getting together on Sunday afternoons and having their little church service. I know that God could do a great work in that place. There are many people that need to be reached with the gospel. Pray with us that, God would light a fire under this believers and give them the desire to reach their lost neighbors, family and friends. Pray with us that the Lord would bring a permanent Pastor, who would be burdened for this work and area.

Work is getting started again at the construction site this week. The next step is getting this ready and pouring the 2nd floor and columns. We are grateful that the Lord has supplied the need to get this next step moving. Please pray with us that He would provide the funds needed to get this first phase of the building completed, so that we can start meeting there soon!

This coming Saturday we will be having a "Ladies Afternoon" (basically a Ladies Tea, but who wants to drink hot tea in this kind of weather, and how can you call it a Tea, if you don't serve tea? :-) I would really appreciate your prayers as we prepare for this special event. We have asked the Ladies to invite their unsaved friends and family members. Many times Ladies that would never come to a regular church service will come out for a special event like this. So pray with us, as we prepare and make the final preparations. Pray too, that God will use it to touch hearts.

As we start this new week, I am thanking God for all the blessings we received this past week...for the great attendance in church yesterday, for the 3 men baptized, for the birth of a precious baby girl, Thursday night to Viviana and that both of them are now at home doing well. I am thankful for the Ladies the Lord has put in our ministry to work together with me, both with the Ladies Ministry and with Children's Ministry. I am thankful for a Godly husband. I am thankful for the work the Lord is doing in our daughters lives and the lives of their families, and I am thankful for the son the Lord has given us to keep us young, and to fill our house with laughter. I am thankful that the construction is starting up again on the building.

I am also looking forward with excitment and anticipation, wondering what incredible blessings will the Lord pour out on us this week? What blessings are you counting today?

Do you have hope, this morning?

2009-04-27T11:04:00.003-04:00

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. Is is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." Lametations 3:21-16

Do you have hope, this morning? Are you hoping in the Lord? There are times when I don't understand everything the Lord is doing. Times when I can't see the future...can't even see through this day, yet God has called me to trust in Him. He hasn't asked me to look ahead and figure out way I'm to go...He's only asked me to follow his lead this day...to take one step at a time, and join Him where he is working.

His mercies are new every morning! His compassions do not fail. He is my portion and my hope. I rest in him.

Thank you for your prayers and support of the ministry here in Manta. Thank you for your support for our family. Ecuador had elections yesterday. They have re-elected the President Correa. We haven't heard yet, if the new "assembly" (congress) will be controled by his party or if it will give some balance to the government. There are many things unknown at this time, but we do know that God is in control!

God bless you as you serve him this week!
Joy

Iced Tea Anyone?

2009-04-21T19:24:00.002-04:00

Well, I can tell you that if you were sitting in my kitchen with me today, you certainly wouldn't want a cup of tea! We had a very hot and muggy day in Manta. I could have offered you a tall glass of sweet tea though! :-)

We had great services at our church here in Manta on Sunday. We had an attendance of 100, and God blessed. Patricio Solis was visiting us and preached in the morning service and then in the afternoon service in Porto Viejo. We are looking forward to having a baptism on May 3rd. This evening, Tony is starting discipleship classes with a new couple that has been attending off and on for about 6 months, but who have been very faithful the last month and half. We are also starting a class of the 4 Bible Institute Students who have completed the first phase of our program. They are going to be meeting together here at our house on Tuesday evenings. Please keep this group in your prayers. Darwin, Jessica, Mirian and Maria Jose are in this group.

We are waiting for our Architect to come up with an estimate for the next step in the building. We are praying that the Lord will provide the funds needed to complete this phase. Our contract at our present meeting place is up the end of May...we are hopeful that the Landlord will allow us to stay until the end of June. Please keep all of this in your prayers. We know that God is in control and that he has this all worked out. We are trusting Him to complete it.

Our family is all doing well. Mandie, Mike and Ioan are getting ready for baby Saranna's arrival in July. Ashley and Shane are looking forward for the arrival of their baby boy in August. Lexi and Jonathan are excited to be getting a puppy soon! :-) Teddy only has 6 weeks left of first grade! We are excited to be on the "home stretch" for this year! He is also looking forward to the trip this summer to see his sisters, brothers and grandparents.

Tony and I are doing well...keeping very busy. We appreciate your prayers for the ministry here in Manta!

God Bless you as you serve him this week!
Joy

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T14:25:00.002-04:00

Praise the Lord! "He is not here, for he is risen as he said!" What a special day. Just to think of the great victory won for us! Without the resurrection there is no point in the rest of the story, but with it, we have the gift of salvation.

We had a great day this morning. There were about 109 in attendance. We have new couples wanting to start discipleship classes. The Bible Institute class on Thursday night is running about 17. We have 3 students ready to go ahead and start the next phase of the program.

This past week was a nice week of "vacation" for Teddy and I from school. We enjoyed to slower paced mornings and just the change of pace. Tomorrow we will be getting back to school. We have 8 weeks left! The school year is winding down.

This coming Saturday the "young women" will be meeting here at my house. This is a monthly meeting we have for women 20-35 years old. Please pray for these women. Most of them are new Christians. This is a great opportunity to mentor them and for them to also work on friendships with other Christian women.

I pray you have a blessed week!
Joy

April 8

2009-04-08T18:36:00.002-04:00

Well, I seem to be getting farther and farther behind in keeping this blog updated. Sorry about that. Things are going well here. We haven't had any snow! :-) Most days are bright blue skies and sunshine. The last couple days have been a little overcast, but that hasn't seemed to lower the temperature very much.

Our church services the last couple weeks have been very good. We have had good attendances and visitors both Sundays. Melanie was able to lead to ladies to the Lord last Tuesday evening, when they met together to start discipleship classes! What a blessing.

The construction has gone well so far. We have the first floor columns and floor poured. Next we need to raise some more money, so that we can pour the 2nd floor, (which will be the roof of the first floor), so that we can finish up the first floor. Please be praying with us that the Lord would provide. Our current Landlord wants us out of the apartment we are meeting in this June, so we need to get this first floor finished to provide a meeting place for the church.

Teddy is doing great in school. He is starting to enjoy reading. This week we are on "Easter Vacation", and we are enjoying the time off. Today we started making our chocolate peanut butter eggs. They are mixed up and in the fridge. Teddy is excited about tomorrows part, as that is when we can dip them in chocolate and decorate them.

Friday evening we are having a "video night" at the church. Pray for this outreach.

I pray that you are having a wonderful week!
Joy

March 23rd

2009-03-23T21:26:00.002-04:00

"Happy Monday!" Hope you are each doing well. We have had a couple busy weeks. Things at the church are going great. The building is underway and we are excited to see how the Lord is providing each step of the way. Please keep this in your prayers.

Last week we made a run to Guayaquil. We had to start to process to get Teddy's passport renewed, and we were able to get tickets using our Airline Miles for this summer, so we will be able to see our new grand babies and visit some of you!

Yesterday evening we had a double baby shower for two precious ladies in the church. Monica and Viviana are due to deliver this coming month. Please keep them both in your prayers.
37 ladies attended to show their love and support. It was a very special time.

I have a special prayer request for you...This morning we got a phone call from one of the ladies. Her mother had passed away in her sleep last night. Please pray for Wilda. Her mother was in good health and this has been a very hard blow for her. She knows that her Mom is with the Lord and we are thankful for that! Wilda and Alfredo have headed to Quito to be with the rest of their family. Please pray for them during these difficult days.

God Bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy

Sunday afternoon...

2009-03-08T17:58:00.003-04:00

Good afternoon everyone! Hope your Sunday is going well. We had good services this morning, even if our attendance was down. The "official" count was 64. Our kids classes were down and we had many regulars out for various reasons...Even with that, we had 1 first time visitor and several returning for the 2nd time, so we were thankful for that.

Yesterday 5 of the younger women came over to our house for a time of fellowship. We had a great time together. Each of them are struggling with different areas in their lives. Two of them have unsaved husbands. Please pray for Paola and Janneth as they witness to their husbands. Pray for Javier and Edwin to accept Christ as their Savior.

We just got back from the service in Portoviejo. There were 17 present there. Please pray for this struggling work. Pray that God would bring the Ecuadorian Pastor that He has for this church.

Tomorrow we believe they are actually going to get down to work at the property! We are very excited about this. We have very limited funds and we are trusting the Lord to supply what is needed for each step of the way. Please be praying with us about this.

I have to share a little blessing...I think it is just amazing how the Lord uses children to encourage and bless us...

Tony has Teddy on an "envelope system" with his allowance. He has an envelope for his offering, another for "spending money", one for "long-term savings" and one for "short-term savings". I don't know if he has figured out the difference in "long-term" and "short-term" savings but over all he is doing really well with it. He totally understands the idea of savings as he saved quite a bit of money to take to the US when we went at Christmas, and used it to buy Christmas presents and then had some left over to do some "shopping of his own".

A few minutes ago, I noticed he had all his money out and he was counting it. I asked him what he was doing, but he was a little vague in his answer. Then he brought Tony an envelope full of money and on the outside, he had written as best he could..."money to help buy Bibles for the people at church". Tony told him that was really nice, but that we had some Bibles and we would be getting more so he didn't have to us his savings for that, but Teddy insisted that he wanted to add his money to the fund. He put in all the money he had, except what was in his "offering envelope" because that was for the church and the missionaries. What a blessing to me to see him growing in generosity and tenderness, toward the things of the Lord. To hear us talking about a need that many of the people have for a Bible, and then decide on his own, that he wanted to do something about it, more than he wanted to buy a new toy.

I pray God's blessings on your week, your family and your ministry!
Joy

Some VBS pictures...

2009-03-01T22:43:00.003-05:00

The Intermediate class this morning getting ready to share a song they learned this week.

The preschool and primary classes receiving their certificates this morning.

The Intermediate class met on the terrazzo Friday and Saturday nights.

The primary class, Saturday night.

The preschool class working on their activity, Saturday night.

2009-03-01T22:16:00.002-05:00

We had a great week here in Manta! VBS went really well. We had over 50 kids every night. A great turnout of workers. Everyone had a great time. This morning for the closing program with had 134 in church. We had a great turn out in each of the children's classes and a few parents visiting to see their kids receive their certificate.

There were 20 at the service in Portoviejo, so that was good. 4 visitors. Please keep this work in your prayers. Pray that God would send a permanent pastor to take over.

This evening Tony had his Bible Study and then at 7:00 we had an "Annual Meeting". It went really well. It is exciting to see how the Lord has blessed this work over the last year.

We are hoping to get the construction started this week...looks like it might not start until next week. Pray for that. We need a "general contractor" and that still isn't settled. Everything else is ready to go.

We appreciate your prayers for the ministry here in Manta. God bless you as you serve Him this week!

In Christ,
Joy

Carnival Vacation

2009-02-23T10:40:00.002-05:00

Good morning everyone! This week-end is "Carnival" here in Ecuador. The kids are all out of school and most people are off work today and tomorrow. The traditional thing, besides for everyone who doesn't live on the coast to go for vacation...is to throw water on people. These days everywhere you go, you need to be on the look out for water balloons, water guns, buckets of water, cups of water, whatever... No one can tell me where this tradition of throwing water at people came from, but everyone seems to have a great time!

Our family had a good week. We had a great trip to Santo Domingo last week. Enjoyed very much being a part of the Valentine's banquet at Iglesia Biblica Bautista Rey de Vida. Tony also preached there Sunday morning. This is their "Missions Emphasis Month" and it was special to be a part of that. We also enjoyed a few days visiting with our good friends, Joe and Sylvia Wells. We returned home Tuesday evening, and pretty much hit the ground running. Wednesday was the Men's and Ladies Bible Studies in Portoviejo. Thursday I had a few visits to make...Friday one of the ladies from the church visited me, and Saturday was our monthly Ladies meeting here at the house. We had 14 and I thought that was pretty good, considering this is a "vacation week-end".

We had good services yesterday. Not sure what the attendance was, but estimate it was in the 80's. We started our new Sunday School class yesterday, so now we have 3 children's classes. Pre-school, 3-5 year olds, Primaries 1st-3rd grade, and Intermediates, 4th-6th grade. We also have a class for kids 7th-10th grade.

After our church service here in Manta, we headed over to Portoviejo and had church there. Then back home, to get things ready for Bible Study and our last meeting to organize our "mini" VBS. Things seem to be ready for that, and we are excited to see what the Lord does through this outreach. We will be starting Thursday evening and going through Sunday. This is the first "VBS" we have done one our own here, so we have been excited to see the response of the people and look forward to the blessings God gives us this week.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry here in Manta. I pray that each one of you have a wonderful week!

Blessings,
Joy

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-13T14:33:00.004-05:00

A couple pictures of the congregation, Sunday morning, Feb. 8.

Tony recognizing the 18 people that were baptized during the year.

Some of the ladies, serving the cake and "snack" after the service.

Teddy enjoying his plate of "goodies"! Looks happy doesn't he?

Tony and I with Pastor Eduardo and his family in Portoviejo, Sunday afternoon.

I pray that each of you have had a wonderful week! So sorry for not updating you earlier in the week on our week-end, but things got a little hectic around here. LOL I believe Tony posted an update and some pictures, so maybe you have all been able to keep up with me through his blog.

Last Saturday, we had the young women's meeting here at our house. Only had 3 ladies show up, but we had a great time. Later, several told me they had planned to come, but just had different things come up. Please pray for these ladies. Each of them is struggling with their own set of problems, but they are growing and seeing God work in their lives and in the lives of their families. Saturday, Monica shared how overwhelmed she has been with the love and concern that has been showered on her by the ladies in our church. Monica is a very new Christian, and she is expecting her first baby. She mentioned that none of her sisters or even her mother have offered any kind of support or help, nor have any of the people that she would have considered, "her friends", yet several ladies in the church, who have known her a realitvely short time, have opened up their hearts to her! What a testimony to what the difference Christ makes in our lives!

Saturday evening we had a Leadership Team meeting. It went well, but long, as there were many things to discuss and "iron out".

Sunday morning started bright and early. It was pouring down rain, but about 30 minutes before the service the rain stopped and the sun came out!!! We had around 95 people to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the church. It was a very special service and time of fellowship. Tony recoginized the 18 people that had been baptized during this past year, and it was such a blessing to have all 18 of them present! What a great sign of growth in our young church.

Sunday afternoon we headed to Portoviejo, and enjoyed the service there, where the church recognized Pastor Eduardo and his family and thanked them for the years of service they have given. Pastor Eduardo and his family will be moving to Santo Domingo this week-end. Please pray for leadership and direction for them, and also for the church in Porto Viejo.

The Bible Study Sunday evening was once again well attended. After the study, we had a short meeting to get things organized for our "mini" VBS which will start February 26. Please be praying for those who have made the committment to help with this.

This week hasn't slowed down any either! Tuesday we had some friends from Santo Domingo come and visit us for a few days...we enjoyed thier company. Wednesday I met with the Leaders in our Women's ministry and then Wednesday evening we were off to the Bible Study in Porto Viejo. Tony has been very busy, with the normal classes and discipleship, plus work on getting the construction going for the building. That is all moving forward. We need to find a "general contractor" within the next week, that will be there to "over see" the day to day construction. Pray for God to lead us to the person he has for this position.

Thank you for praying for Barbara Casto. She is out of the hospital and doing well. She has a long road of recovery ahead of her, but God has been so good. Veronica Perez, too, is doing much better. Teddy seems to finally be completely over his "bug" and we are getting back on track with school. Tony and I still need your prayers for wisdom and energy and we minister here and in Portoviejo.

God bless you!
Joy

Blessings on top of Blessings...

2009-02-01T21:21:00.005-05:00

Group with Tony that was baptized this afternoon.

l to r - Paola, Merly and Stalin, Tony, Monica, Solanda, Cristobal, and Andres

Tony teaching at the Bible Study tonight.

26 people attended the Bible Study this evening.

This has been a day full of blessings...and at the same time exhausting! We had a great service this morning. There were 92 present, with 3 first time visitors. After the morning service we had a baptism at the beach. 7 precious believers were baptized today. 6 adults and one young boy. This marked a great victory in their lives and we were blessed!

After the baptism we headed home for a couple minutes to change clothes, make a few sandwiches to eat in the car and headed to Porto Viejo to meet with the congregation there. 15 people gathered to meet with us and discuss the future of this work. Please pray for Tony and I as we lead this congregation during this time of transition. Pray that God would send the couple he has chosen to Pastor this work and that we would be patient to wait on His timing. At this point we will be making the trip over there on Sunday afternoons for their regular service and then on Wednesday evening, when we are planning to have a Men's and a Ladies Bible study.

From Porto Viejo we head home, had a time to get a class of iced tea, and print out some things we needed for the new Bible Study that started this evening in the church here! We had 26 people attend the study tonight. Tony is teaching a series on "How to Study the Bible for Yourself". The plan is for it to be about a 5 or 6 week series.

So we come to the end of this day, we are tired, but we are also very excited to see the hand of God working in the lives of the people here! Next week will be the 4th anniversary of the church here in Manta!

A couple special prayer requests...

1. Please pray for Barbara Castro. She had surgery this week and is still in the hospital.

2. Pray for Veronica Perez. She will be having some tests tomorrow.

3. Pray for Veronica's husband, Neiger, who was just told Friday along with 4 other guys, that after working for a month, they were no longer needed. Not only that, but they weren't paid for the months work...they were told to return next Friday and they would get paid.

4. Pray for Teddy, who has been sick this past week. He is much better, but still seems to have somthing "hanging on".

5. Pray for strength, energy and wisdome for Tony and I as we minister here in Manta, and now also in Porto Viejo.

Thank you for your prayers and support!
God Bless,
Joy

Keeping Busy!

2009-01-25T19:24:00.003-05:00

We have had some pretty busy days lately.

Getting back into the swing of school last week took some extra effort. It is always hard to get going again after vacation! Teddy is doing very well in school though and we had a good week.

On Friday afternoon, our friends, Joe and Sylvia Wells came over from Santo Domingo. We enjoyed visiting with them through the afternoon and evening. Saturday morning we all went to Porto Viejo for their Building Dedication. That made for a very long day. The service was very nice. Tony preached and did a great job as usual. 11 people besides us went over from our church. Cristobal, Nelly and Joselyn sang a special. There were several churches represented.

Today we had a good service here in Manta. We had 100 in the church service. With several first time visitors. Next Sunday we will have a baptism service and so far there are 3 people planning to be baptized.

We also had sign up sheets today for 2 new Bible Studies starting this coming week. One on Friday evenings at 7:30 and the other on Sunday evenings at 6:00. There are about 13 people signed up for each of those.

Starting this coming Sunday, Tony, Teddy and I will be making the trip to Porto Viejo on Sundays. Please pray for us as we lead this congregation until the Lord sends them a new Pastor. Pray for the work here in Manta too. At this time we will be going over there on Sunday afternoons.

Another special prayer request is for one of the ladies in our church, Barbara Castro. She is in the hospital now and is schedule for surgery on Tuesday.

Pray for Teddy, he seems to be getting sick this afternoon. He is complaining of a head ache and running a temp.

Thank you for your prayers!
Joy

Wedding pictures., Enjoy!

2009-01-25T17:14:00.011-05:00

Getting beautiful...

At the nail salon...

Fixing the veil

In the Bride's Room

What a handsome boy!

Lexi and Teddy

Lexi and Tony

What a beauty!

3 sisters

The "princess"

Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Taylor

The whole family!

Teddy, Lexi, Jonathan and Stephanie

The wedding party

Ashley, Shane, Jonathan and Lexi at the reception.

Teddy is definitely ALL boy! Walking into the reception.

Home Again...

2009-01-18T17:16:00.002-05:00

Thank the Lord we had good flights back on Thursday. There was a delay leaving Orlando and then leaving Miami, but we arrived safely about 11:30pm...by the times we cleared customs and immigration we finally arrived at our hotel about 1:30am. That's ok, they were were expecting us...the room was clean the bed was soft and the air condition worked just fine! We slept in Friday morning, enjoyed the breakfast buffet...Teddy especially! :-) Darwin and Jessica picked us up about noon, and we arrived at our house here in Manta about 3:30.

Friday evening we got all the suitcases emptied and things headed in the right direction. Yesterday, we worked on getting things put away and also on preparing for the services today. Also yesterday afternoon, was the first ladies meeting especially for women 20-35. We had 10 attend and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.

This morning we had around 80 in the services. It was good to be back and to see everyone. Please pray for us during the next couple weeks as we get back into the work here. Also pray as Tony takes over the responsibility of a sister church in Porto Viejo, (about 40 minutes away).

God bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy

The bags are packed and we're ready to go...

2009-01-15T08:25:00.002-05:00

Good Morning! It is 8:30 on a chilly, overcast morning here in Central Florida. I am sitting at the kitchen table, thinking that, Lord willing, tomorrow morning I will be sitting in sunny, warm Ecuador, enjoying rolls and Cafe con Leche!

We have had a wonderful trip in this time. It was so good to have time with the girls and my parents. Also to have a few days with Tony's mom, and to visit with his Dad, Cindy and CG. The church here in Altamonte has been so gracious and generous to us as always. We have thoroughly enjoyed having the use of the Missions House and being able to visit with good friends. It was also great to visit a few of our supporting churches. 2 of which, although they have supported us from almost the beginning of our ministry, I had never had the opportunity to visit.

As you go through your day today and tomorrow, we would appreciate your prayers for safety as we travel. Our flight is suppose to leave Orlando at 4:00 this afternoon and we are scheduled to arrive in Guayaquil at 10:30 tonight. Darwin, from the church in Manta, is suppose to pick us up from our hotel tomorrow around noon, and drive us back to Manta. We are hoping to be home late tomorrow afternoon.

Also please be praying as we prepare for Sunday services there in Manta.
Praying God's blessings on you as you serve him!
Joy

Last few days...

2009-01-11T21:18:00.002-05:00

Well or time in the US is winding down. We have enjoyed time visiting friends and family and also some of our supporting churches. This morning we were at Suncoast Baptist Church in Port Charlotte, Florida. We enjoyed renewing friendships there and being in their services.

This evening Tony preached here in Altamonte Springs at Palm Springs Drive Baptist Church.

We appreciate your prayers this week, as we finish up our time in the US. We are planning to fly back to Ecuador on Thursday.

Joy