Tidings of Great Joy

"...And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not" for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

I just love Christmas time! This year is no exception. Even better because this year, we have the added joy of welcoming our first Grandchild into our family. I love the decorations, the baking, the traditions, and of course the presents! But this morning as I sat in church and listened to the beautiful music and message, the Lord really impressed upon my heart, that although all of those things are fun and special, you don't need any of them to experience the "joy of Christmas!"

Anyone that knows me well, knows how much I love decorating my house for Christmas. There is not one room that goes "untouched". I love baking and having people over. I love making up plates of cookies to give away to neighbors and community helpers. I love planning and having special parties and programs at church. I love being with my family! These last years have been harder for me as the girls have grown up and are starting lives of their own. Last year it was such a blessing to have Ashley and Lexi back "home" in Manta with us for Christmas. It was the first year for us to be separated from Mandie.

This year, I have missed a lot of the "Christmas traditions" I have always loved so much. I have had the incredible blessing of being able to be here in Korea with Mandie, Mike and Ioan, but I will admit that I have also missed "home" at this time of year. Enjoying the kids here, but in a part of my heart, wishing we could all be together at "home."

This morning as I listened to these verses being read, and thought about the message of Christmas, I realized that I haven't really "missed" Christmas at all! Christmas really is all about...

Good tidings of great joy! God sent his angels to earth to announce the birth of his son and the only people the angels found who had time to listen to the announcement were lowly shepherds out in the field.

"Those who missed His Majesty's arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren't looking." -Max Lucado

Dear Lord, Please help me to remember that the Joy of Christmas is a choice... It is focusing on you and the Good tidings of great joy! that you sent to us over 2,000 years ago. May I not get so wrapped up in all the "trappings" of Christmas that I forget that it is You and You alone that put the Joy in Christmas.

God Bless you and Merry Christmas!
Joy

Welcome Baby Ioan

Ioan Michael Lewis was born, Friday afternoon, Dec. 7th at 4:25pm. He weighed right around 7Lbs. 3oz. and was about 20 inches long. Mother and Baby did wonderfully well. Daddy and Nana were allowed to both be in the delivery room and see the miracle of his arrival! What an incredible experience!

We brought them home from the hospital on Sunday morning, and have enjoyed having them here and taking care of them. This morning Mandie and Ioan both had a doctor's visit. Mandie is healing very well and got a good report from the doctor. Ioan is very healthy. He has gained a little more than a pound these last 4 days, so he seems to be thriving.

To be here in Korea with the kids, to see this amazing miracle and have the chance to be with Mandie has been a blessing beyond words.

Please keep Mandie and Mike in your prayers as they continue to adjust to this new life God has given them. Pray that Ioan keeps healthy and continues to grow stronger each day. Pray for Tony and Teddy as they are in Manta. Pray for Ashley and Lexi in the US. Both girls are finishing up Finals as this semester comes to a close.

God Bless each of you!
Joy
the new Nana! :-)

In Korea...

My trip to Korea went very well. My luggage was about a day behind me, but other than that I experienced no mishaps. I was very thankful that my luggage arrived and nothing was missing, although they had been a pretty big rip in one of the duffle bags that had been taped up.

I have enjoyed being with the kids and seeing where they live and meeting their friends. Their apartment is pretty old and very small. There are definitely some cultural issues that would be hard to adjust too, if you lived here all the time, but I am very proud of Mandie and Mike and how well they have adjusted to life here. It has been fun to learn my way around their neighborhood...actually I'm still working on that, and just to go out and see what is involved in their everyday life.

I am trying to learn some Korean... have "thank you" down pretty well, and I'm learning some other basic phrases to be able to get around some on my own... and also just to know... it is all very interesting. My husband is so good at languages, I'm sure he would be trying to read everything by now... I think I will stick to learning some basic polite phrases :-)

Sunday I enjoyed going to church with the kids. Mandie teaches the preschool Sunday School class and it was fun to help her out in her class. I also enjoyed the church service. It is such a blessing that no matter where in the world you go, you can feel at home and know that you are with brothers and sisters in Christ, worshiping God together.

We are still awaiting the arrival of baby Ioan. Please be praying for Mandie and the baby at this time. We all appreciate your prayers. Please keep Tony and Teddy in your prayers and the work in Manta. I miss them very much, but I'm so thankful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to be able to be here in Korea with Mike and Mandie at this time.

God Bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy

Bags are Packed

Well, my bags are packed, and I'm about ready to go! My flight for Quito leaves Manta tomorrow about 2:00pm. That will be the start of my trip to get to Seoul, Korea. I am suppose to finally arrive in Seoul, Friday evening, (their time) around 8:40. I appreciate your prayers for my trip and for Mandie and baby Ioan. The reports from the doctor these days are that he could come anytime!

We had wonderful Thanksgiving. Full house and that is always fun! We enjoyed all the traditional favorites and even were able to enjoy "real" pumpkin pie (many years I make it out of carrots) "real sweet potato casserole" (that too has been made out of carrots in the past! LOL ) It was a great day of fellowship and sharing in the blessings that the Lord has given us.

Saturday afternoon, 17 ladies gathered at my house for an early Christmas party. We had a lot of fun. They made 2 Christmas ornaments, and I showed them how to make sugar cookies. Then Jane Mock, from Cayambe, shared a devotional with us that was a wonderful blessing to everyone. Of course not party would be complete without refreshments, and the ladies did a great job with that too.

Sunday was a good service at the church. Ben Mock preached and that was a blessing. We had 89 in church. I really did look for that "extra" person to make it 90, but I just couldn't find them, no matter how many times I did the count! ;-) Please be praying for those that will be stepping in and teaching while I'm away.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for the ministry here in Manta and for our family.

Love, Joy

Well, here it is Sunday afternoon again! We had a very good service this morning. We had 70 in Sunday School and 86 in Church. We had 3 visitors. It is exciting to see how the Lord is working in the lives of the believers here.

Everyone was very happy to have Tony back at church this morning. This coming Saturday we are having a ladies meeting. Please be praying with us that this is a blessing to the Ladies here and that the Lord is honored and glorified.

This week is Thanksgiving! Can you believe it? We are looking forward to a big turkey dinner and sharing some time with good friends.

Have a wonderful week.
Joy

Retreat

I made the trip to Quito Thursday to participate in a retreat for Missionary Ladies. What an incredible blessing it was to be with all these other ladies who are serving the Lord around Ecuador. The time of fellowship with them was very sweet, but the times of teaching and praying together was just wonderful.

There were 15 ladies who came from the US to minister to us and that is exactly what they did. They showered us with love, gifts and special treats,(among which was lots of chocolate!) I am so thankful for all the sacrifices that they made to be here in Ecuador and bless us with this special time.

Update on the "Update"

Hi Everyone! Hope your week as started out well. Just wanted to let you know that Tony wasn't able to travel back to Ecuador today. Their was an accident at the Quito airport on Friday. No one was hurt seriously, but a plane went off the end of the runway. Anyway, it seems that everyone has resumed their flights to Quito except American Airlines... wouldn't you know it!

Anyway, he was able to get booked on a flight to Guayaquil on Wednesday. He will be spending the next couple of days with friends of ours in PA. (although the airline changed his flight at no additional cost they won't pay to put him up or to get him to Quito from Guayaquil) What a mess.

We are doing fine here in Manta. Thanks for your prayers for us and please keep Tony in your prayers during the next couple of days.

Joy

Update

Matthew 16:25

"For whosoever shall save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."

This morning as I was reading my devotions, this verse stood out. Our Sunday School lesson today was on James 4:1-12. We spent time talking about how pride and our desire to be in control puts us in opposition to God. In my devotional reading this morning, one part really jumped out at me...

"It is not difficult to turn over to Christ those things that are not a sacrifice or that you would prefer to do without anyway. Rather it is the things that are good and dear to you that may stand between you and God's will. It's good to be near your grown children and grandchildren, for example, but God may want you to go to another city or continent on mission with Him."

We had good services this morning. There were 65 in Sunday School and 93 in our church service! We had 5 first time visitors. The men did a great job leading the service. We enjoyed hearing a report on the ministry, here in Ecuador of the radio station, BBN, from the director, Jorge Michala. Samuel Moreno, from Guayaquil preached this morning.

Tony reports that his time in the US has gone well. He has had the opportunity to speak at 3 of our supporting churches, and to visit with 3 other pastors. Teddy and I are looking forward to his return home on Tuesday. He will be flying back to Ecuador tomorrow and back to Manta on Tuesday. Please be praying for him as he travels. There was an accident at the Quito airport on Friday and the airport was closed some, we don't know if he will be flying into Quito, or somewhere else at this time.

Please continue to pray for Teddy and me, while we are here without him.

Have a wonderful week!
Blessings,
Joy

Home Sweet Home

Well, Teddy and I are safely home in Manta. It was a long couple of days, but we are so thankful for the blessings of the Lord and that we arrived in Ecuador safely Thursday night and that our suitcases arrived safely on Friday night! :-) The Lord allowed us a day together with Tony relaxing in Guayaquil. What a special blessing. We arrived home yesterday about noon.

This is a big holiday week-end in Ecuador and today is the celebration of the founding of Manta. We had a really low attendance this morning, 57. Every class was down. All the schools had special events this morning.

We are thankful that this past week, Darwin decided that the men were never going to be able to clean the property off on their own, and he got some friends he knew who owned heavy equipment to go over and clear it all off in about 2 hours! What a blessing that was!

Tony will be traveling this week. Please pray for him as he travels and visits 3 of our supporting churches and has the opportunity to meet with a few of our pastors. Pray for Teddy and me as we are here while he is gone. He will be gone for about a week.

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta. We are so thankful to know that God is in control and that he has a plan for us and for the work here.

God bless you as you serve Him!
Joy

Time to go home...

Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying the beautiful fall! It has been so neat for Teddy and I to see the beautiful colored leaves of fall. That is something that we never get to enjoy in Ecuador.

God has been so good to us and we have had a wonderful visit with my parents. Ashley and Shane made the trip from Springfield, MO. last week and that was a special treat. I have enjoyed getting to talk to Lexi on the phone where we didn't have a problem with the connection, too! :-)

Tony reported to me that they had 78 last Sunday. That is alittle low from what we have been running but still good. Please continue to keep the work in Manta in your prayers.

Teddy and I will be flying out of Knoxville, TN. on Thursday morning. Please pray for us as we will be spending the day flying from place to place and finally are suppose to arrive in Guayaquil about 9:30pm.

God bless you as you serve him this week!
In Christ,
Joy

Weekly Update

I pray that each of you had a wonderful Lord's day! Teddy and I had a great day. We are enjoying being a part of the Missions Conference at Southside Baptist church in Knoxville. This morning I had the opportunity to share my testimony with the "20's and 30's" class. Then during church, they had each of the missionaries come forward as they shared a little bit of our background and then they thanked us for being their missionaries.

I talked with Tony this afternoon and he told me they had a great service in Manta this morning. There were 85 present in the church service. He wasn't sure when we talked what the Sunday School attendance had been, but was excited because Darwin and Jessica had 6 teens in their class this morning! Nelly and Cristobal's son and daughter attended the Youth Group Saturday afternoon, and both of them told Tony that they really enjoyed it and plan to come back! He also told me that they had 1 first time visitor this morning, an elderly man that has been attending the small group meeting on Wednesday evenings at Gonzalo and Aday's house.

Teddy and I are having a special treat. Ashley and Shane have made the trip from Springfield to visit us this week. We are enjoying having some time with them.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry in Manta. Please keep Teddy and I in your prayers and the Missions conference here. I will be sharing with the church on Tuesday evening and showing a short DVD that Tony made for me about the work in Manta. Pray also for each of our children. Mandie and Mike, Ashley, Lexi and Teddy. Pray for Tony as he continues the work in Manta, alone these days.

I pray that you have a wonderful week and see the blessings of the Lord upon your life.

Joy

Prayer Requests

Hello everyone! We are having a great visit with my Mom and Dad. Yesterday we had the opportunity to drive over to Manchester, TN, where my Dad pastored for 3 years when I was a little girl. It was a nice "walk down memory lane". It was also very special to make contact with some dear friends, who we haven't seen in many years.

This week-end, Teddy and I will be participating in the Missions Conference at Southside Baptist church in Knoxville. Sunday morning I will be sharing in the 20 to 30's class and on Tuesday evening I will be sharing our ministry with the church. Please keep this in your prayers. This is the first time I have participated in a Conference like this without Tony.

Also please be praying for Ashley and Shane as they travel down from Springfield, MO. tomorrow. We are looking forward to having them here for a week.

Please pray for Lexi as she works and studies in Kansas. Pray for her as she ministers in her church there.

Pray too, for Mandie and Mike as they work in Korea. Pray for continued health and safety for Mandie and the baby during these last couple months. Her due date is Dec. 8!

Continue to pray for the church in Manta. We need to raise money to build on the new property. Pray also for Tony as he ministers and works alone, while Teddy and I are still in the US.

I pray that God blesses you this week-end!
Love, Joy

Rocky Top...

Life is good. Teddy and I are still in Tennessee. Teddy has learned to sing "Rocky Top Tennessee". We have been enjoying our time with my parents. This week, Teddy and Papaw went fishing. I went along for the "ride". This time we just fished off the bank. We tried a couple different lakes, and finally he was able to catch a little brim that we were able to admire and then threw back in the lake, "for another day". This week, Papaw is planning on renting a paddle boat and we will actually go out onto the lake. Teddy is really looking forward to that. He is sure that we will have much better luck fishing if we go out to the middle of the lake, because "that is where the fishes live!" LOL

Last Sunday night I had the opportunity to share my testimony at the Gospel Baptist Tabernacle here in Crossville. Then on Wednesday night they showed our DVD of the ministry in Manta. This coming Saturday we will be going to Knoxville to participate in the Missions Conference at Southside Baptist Church. This is a first for me to be in a conference without Tony, so I really appreciate your prayers.

I was able to talk to Tony a couple times today. (I just love modern technology! Thanks to our Vonage phone we are able to talk a few times a day.) He reported that they had great services this morning. There were 90 in attendance! 4 first time visitors. This afternoon they had 4 men show up for a "work day" at the new property. Another group went to minister in La Travesia.

This last week, I was able to send a letter out that Tony sent with me to all of our supporting churches. We are trying to schedule visits to our churches during the months of March - June. Please pray with us that the Lord would open doors and that we would be able to fill up our calendar.

Please continue to pray that the Lord would supply the money we need to build.
Pray for Dina and Marco as they plan their wedding and seek God's will for their life.
Pray for the new believers in the church, as they grow.
Pray for the Missions Conference at Southside Baptist Church this week.

Have a great week!
Joy

October is Here!

I must start out and apologize for the delay in posting! Things have been crazy for me the last couple weeks.

The ladies fellowship we had at the church went really well. We had over 40 ladies attend! There were about 7 first time visitors. The ladies did a great job organizing the food, decorations and even the clean-up! Thank you for your prayers.

Our church services have been very good this last few weeks. Last week was the National Election for the assembly men who will be writing in the new Ecuadorian Constitution. In Ecuador voting is mandatory and a large number of people living in Manta have to go back to their home towns to vote... but even with that, Tony told me that we still had 50!

Another really neat blessing is that our "Faith Promise Building Fund" offering at the church exceeded our goal of $300 for the month of September!

Teddy and I are enjoying a visit in the US! All those airline miles we have earned over the years are paying off! :-) This past week we have been at a small reunion with my Mom and 4 of my cousins in Charlotte, NC. This morning we will be heading back over to Tennesee, where we will be staying with my parents for a few weeks in Crossville.

Thank you for your prayers for our ministry in Ecuador. Thank you for your prayers for Teddy and I as we travel and visit with family. Thank you for praying for each of our girls. Thank you for praying for Tony as he continues in Manta, with out us this month.

Praying God's blessings on you!
Joy

It's all a matter of perspective...

One little thing that Tony and I have enjoyed the last few months, is the ability to watch "Fox News" in English. It helps us feel connected to what is happening back in the US. Yesterday morning we watched the memorial services and the footage from 9/11.

This is something that really affects Tony and I. Teddy, who is very sensitive to our moods and emotions, of course caught on right away. So in our school time yesterday when we talked about what day it was and marked the date on the calendar. Tony came into the school room, and together we tried to explain to our kindergarten in language that he could understand, what people were talking about when they said, 9/11. He had several questions, but then we went on with our day, and he seemed fine with everything.

We had friends visit for lunch, and Teddy was sitting with the children. He said, "Hey, today is a special day. Years ago, before I was even born, bad men took over some airplanes and ran them into big buildings. A lot of people died, and we need to remember it today."

The " years ago, before I was even born," caught my attention. In many ways it seems like yesterday to me, but here we are 6 years later, and to my little boy, it was very long ago.

Another sign of Fall...

Football season has arrived, even to our house in Ecuador! This means the same thing here in our house that it means for the rest of you, who are married to big football fans. :-) We may not have fall leaves, or any of the other things that you associate with "fall" here in our "tropical paradise" but thanks to "Direct tv" we have the NFL.

We had a good service this morning. Each month we have a "theme" and a memory verse to go along with it. This morning during the church service, after going over the verse again with everyone, Tony asked if we had some who were ready to say the verse. After 5 people had said it, Nelly raised her hand, but she said, "We have learned it together as a family". Then they all stood up and recited the verse together! What a blessing. After church they were asking us if they could get some Cd's of the music we sing, because they don't know any of the songs and they would like to learn them and sing them at home! Please keep these new Christians in your prayers.

The congregation is very excited about the new property. They agreed today, to start making the payment on the loan that we had to get from the Missions Office to pay the down payment, until we have raised the money to pay that off. They also are excited about having some "work days" to get the property cleared off, and having some places to play volleyball and just have some fellowship times there.

We are planning a "Ladies Tea" for Saturday, September 5. The ladies have divided up the work. I had 3 ladies volunteer to lead 3 different groups. 1 group is in charge of organizing and get the food, 1 group will take care of setting up and decorating and 1 group will be in charge of cleaning up and getting everything set up for the Sunday Service. It was neat to see them all excited and willing to get involved.

This week the Tignor family from Puerto Viejo is coming over for dinner. We are looking forward to a good time visiting and playing games with them. Teddy is always very excited to have friends to play with!

One more prayer request for you... Tony will be sending our new US passports to Quito this week, so that our visas can be transferred. Please pray that this goes through without any problems. It should just take a week. But of course you never know... ;-)

Thank you for praying for our family and the ministry here in Manta!
God Bless,
Joy

A little funny...

This past week Teddy's Bible verse was John 15:5. "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

Well, he kept saying, "That isn't nice to say". (referring to the last part, "for without me ye can do nothing.") So I of course spent some time trying to explain the verse. I was pretty excited because we have been learning about trees in Science, and I thought, "what a great way to bring what we have been talking about in science into our Bible class!"

So I spent some time reminding him about what we had been learning about trees, and how if you had an apple tree and cut a branch off of it, that branch wouldn't be able to grow new leaves or apples, because it wasn't attached to the trunk. Then I told him that is what the verse is saying. It is saying that Jesus is like the trunk of the tree and we are like the branches.... Anyway you get the idea, I'm sure!

After spending some time explaining and talking about it, and asking questions to make sure he was understanding, we finished up Bible and started getting ready for Math. About that time Teddy says, "I'm just not believing any of it!" I said, "what are you not believing?" He replies, "I'm just not believing that, that man could have leaves and apples growing out of him!"

So much for my "great explanation!" :-p
Joy

September has arrived!

Hello everyone! Sorry for not posting sooner. We have some very exciting news around here. Tony signed the final papers on the property for our church on Monday! It has been paid for and the deed is being registered with the City of Manta! We are so excited about this. What an incredible blessing it has been to see how the Lord supplied the money for this step! Now we need to start praying that he will continue to help us raise the need funds to build.

I finished up our latest Ladies Bible Study last Friday. It seemed to be a real blessing to the ladies and I am thankful for that. I am hoping to plan a time of fellowship for the ladies in a couple of weeks.

Tony was able to meet with Nelly and Cristobal this week and they both prayed to ask Christ to be their Savior. Please pray for this family as they grow. They have 2 teenage children and an 8 year old.

9 students finished up this last Bible Institute class. They are now taking a break for a few weeks. The next class will start in October.

God is blessing the ministry here! Thank you for your prayers.

Joy

From our Family Picture Album...

Property we are in the process of purchasing for the church. We are suppose to sign on Monday, Sept. 3!

Mom and Dad in Guayaquil.

Eatting lunch at McDonalds in Guayaquil. This is a "treat" for Teddy, as there aren't any McDonalds in Manta.

Grandma, Teddy and Papaw in Guayaquil.

Tony and Teddy playing in a park in Guayaquil.

Teddy waiting for Sunday School to start.

One of our children's Sunday School classes.

Tony translating for Dad at our Sunday morning service.

Out for a walk in our neighborhood with Grandma and our dogs.

Teddy and Papaw playing at our house.

Checking out a "Honey Bee" at work in the gardens at the Malecón 2000 in Guayaquil.

August 10... Out to eat with Teddy and my parents to celebrate or 25th anniversary!

Update

My mom and dad got off . Their flight was suppose to leave Guayaquil at 1:10am Saturday morning, and it was delayed... they finally left Guayaquil about 3:50am! They were worn out by the time they finally got home to Tennessee, around 3:00pm on Saturday. We really enjoyed having them here and are so thankful that they were able to come.

Our youth group has been meeting on Sunday afternoons, but we moved that this past week to start meeting at 5:00pm on Saturdays. That seemed to work out well. This past Saturday Luis led the devotional time. He and Melanie are doing really well with the young people. Please continue to keep this minstry in your prayers.

We had a good attendance this last Sunday. There were 90 present for the preaching service. We had a family visit for the first time. They had been listening BBN here and called the office in Guayaquil to find out where a church was in Manta. They haven't accepted Christ yet, but were very interested. Please pray for the salvation of Cristobal and Nelly.

We are excited as the day to sign for the property approaches. That is September 3. God has blessed us so much. All the money for this final installment has come in! We are now asking the Lord to provide the $11,400 that we borrowed from our Mission to make the down payment. Please be praying with us that this money will come in. Once that is taken care of, the next step will be to start raising money to build! We can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do here!

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

A little funny...

Last Sunday would have been my Grandpa's birthday. My mom and I were talking about it and Teddy started asking us about it. Wanting to know if we were going to make a cake, etc. My Mom mentioned that "Pa" was in heaven with Jesus now and he would be celebrating there, so we didn't need to make a cake or have a party.

Teddy thought about that for a minute and then he said, "Did he die because he got old and sick or did he get run over by a car?"

Teddy's only experience with death has been our two dogs that died. First our German Shepherd, got sick and he was old so he died. Then our little dog got out and was run over... so I guess he figures that you either die of "old age" or you get "run over"!

Have a great week!
Joy

Another week...

We have really enjoyed having my parents here for a visit. They have a few days left and we are going to miss them! Today we took a drive around town and then went to eat down by the ocean. That was nice. After lunch we came back to the house and had cake and ice cream to celebrate my Dad's birthday. (we're a little early, but it was nice to be able to celebrate together! :-)

The special services we had last Friday and Saturday night were well attended. We 38 the first night and 27 the 2nd night. Everyone seemed to respond well the the messages both those nights and in the Sunday Service. Please be praying with us as people make commitments to give special offerings toward our building fund.

Sunday school went well. Both the classes were up and that was encouraging. There were 13 at Youth Group, Sunday evening. We have decided to switch it to Saturday afternoons and that will start this week. Please continue to pray for Luis and Melanie as that get more involved with this program. Luis will be leading the program this week.

Please pray for us as we travel to Guayaquil on Friday morning. My parents will be flying out Friday evening. Please pray that they have a safe trip back to the US and then that we have a safe trip back home to Manta, on Saturday.

News from our girls is all good. Mandie and Mike have started classes and things seem to be going well there. Ashley was able to get registered and will be staring classes next week. This week-end she will be in Kansas City. Sunday is her birthday. Lexi is doing well. She started classes yesterday and seems to have enjoyed most of what she has had so far. She will be going over to Kansas City to see Jonathan and be with Ashley for her birthday.

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta.
Joy

Break

Hello everyone! Hope you are having a wonderful week. We finished week six of Teddy's school, so have decided to take some time and enjoy Papaw and Grandma's visit. Teddy is having a great time playing with his Papaw!

We had good services Sunday. There were 87 there for the preaching service. The new teachers all seemed very excited about their classes. Everyone worked the plan and it went really well. Thank you for keeping these precious ladies in your prayers.

There were 16 young people out Sunday afternoon for Youth Group. Please keep Melanie and Luis in your prayers as they work with Tony in this ministry.

We are having a "mini" Stewardship conference this week, with special services Friday and Saturday night. This is a first for us, so we are unsure of how it will be attended. Many people raised their hands Sunday that they intended to come.

Teddy has been "helping" Daddy and Papaw put up some ceiling fans in the bedrooms. I am enjoying having my Mom here. We have made two kinds of "freezer jam" and tomorrow plan to work on a valance for my kitchen.

The news we hear from the girls is all good. We praise the Lord for this! Mandie is doing well. Classes start at their school this week, so she has been very busy getting ready for the fall semester. We are so thankful that she and the baby are doing so well. Ashley has been working and will be starting classes soon. She is in the process of getting the van fixed, so please keep her in your prayers. Lexi is enjoying her job at the bank. She has enjoyed being a part of the church there. Her classes start soon, too.

As always, I thank you for your prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta!

God Bless!
Joy

Another week...

Last Sunday was a great day. We had 96 in our worship service. The older childrens class had 26! We had a good workshop with our new Sunday School teachers in the evening. Everyone seems really excited. We worked on getting the rooms moved around, cleaned out and decorated. Please keep these new teachers in your prayers.

On Monday we made the trip to Guayaquil to pick up my parents. We have enjoyed having them visiting us this week. Daddy will be preaching this Sunday and then next Friday and Saturday evening and next Sunday. He will be doing a Stewardship conference for us. Please be praying for him as he prepares and that the Lord would prepare hearts to receive this message.

This afternoon we started meeting for discipleship with a young couple that has been attending our church for a couple of months. Please pray for Javier and Cecelia. God is working in their hearts and lives.

Today is our 25th anniversary. God has been so good to us. It was nice to have my parents here visiting at this time. They brought us many cards from friends and family in the US. We also enjoyed going out to dinner together tonight. Mom and Dad were also celebrating their anniversary, number 48!

I pray that you have had a wonderful week. God bless you!
Joy

July has come and gone...

Sometimes we get so busy, but it doesn't seem like anything is happening. Then I stop and start recounting everything that we've done this month.

Let's see...

We started school with Teddy. We are now into week 5 and it is going great. We are really enjoying it.

Lexi and Jonathan were here and we did a few "site seeing" things with them. Took a day trip down the coast. Tony took them to Guayaquil one day. Then we all went to Quito for a few days and played the "tourist" there before we saw them off to the States.

Hosted a national pastor and his family for 4 days. They came down from Quito for their "first ever vacation."

Meeting weekly with a young lady in the church for one on one Bible study time. Started having discipleship lessons with another young mother on Friday mornings.

Continued with Ladies Bible Study on Friday afternoons.

Finished pulling together the 3rd quarter Sunday School material. That will go to get copied tomorrow and be ready to pass out to the new teachers on Sunday evening.

Besides that we did some moving around to make space for a "school room"... which involved moving Teddy's room, setting up an office/guest room in his old room, and re-decorating our main guest room. Everything turned out pretty nice. Still have some painting to get done, but little by little. :-)

Our attendance was down a little bit Sunday. It was "cold" for Manta. Even so we had over 80 in the preaching service.

Please pray for those who have made the commitment to teach in our Children's ministry. We have asked them to teach for a whole semester this time, instead of just a quarter. This is a big step. I am trying to work it out so that there is an "extra" person working during the church hour, so that they can rotate out and be in the service once every 3 weeks. I am going to give you a list of everyone so you can be praying for each one of them by name. Thank you for praying for our family and ministry here in Manta.

Joy

Nursery class (up to 3 years old)
Betsabe and Manuela
Barbara, Jessica, Yolanda, Angela (they'll switch out every other week)

Children 1 (4 years old through 1st grade)
Lorena and Pamela
Leonor, Cecila, Isabel

Children 2 (2nd - 6th grade)
Wilda and Janneth
Dina, Aday, Maria Jose

Middle School
Darwin and Jessica

Youth Group(Sunday PM)
Luis and Melanea, with Tony

Seeing God's Hand...

It is such a joy to me to see God working in the lives of people around us! It is a thrill to be able to be used by the Lord to make a difference in someones life. It is easy for me to get so busy in "doing" the work... that I forget to step back and watch for God's leading.

Today I had the opportunity to start discipleship classes with my friend Elizabeth. She stopped by to see us this week and asked us what she needed to do to be a part of our church. Please pray for her. She accepted Christ a couple years ago. Pray for the salvation of her husband, Mike.

9 ladies attended the Ladies Bible Study at church this afternoon. It was a great time fellowship for everyone, along with studying God's word. It is such a blessing to see how much these ladies are growing and how much they desire to serve the Lord.

I am also meeting with another young lady, once a week. She is a very young, single mom, who faces many challenges in her life. Right now she desperately needs to find a part time job. Please pray for Lorena, that the Lord would provide her with a decent job and also that she could continue to grow in her walk with him.

Another way we saw God working in our lives this week, was in providing a good job for our youngest daughter, Alexis. This is a wonderful answer to prayer for her. She has great hours... working from about 2:30 -7:30, and the pay is decent. She is thrilled and we are too!

Other prayer requests that we have...

Pray for the rest of the funds to come in to purchase the property. The closing date has been set for Sept. 1.

Pray for membership classes that Tony will be presenting at the church the next two Saturday evenings. We are getting ready to formally organize the church and these are important classes for those interested in joining our church.

Pray for our children's ministry. We have several new people who will be involved this next semester.

Pray for our family...

our girls are all 3 in different places. Mandie and Mike in South Korea, Ashley in MO. and Lexi in KS. Pray with me for protection for each of them and wisdom to know God's will for the coming decisions they each will be facing in the their lives. Pray that Tony and I will have wisdom to know how to be supportive and involved in their lives from thousands of miles away.

Teddy is doing great with homeschooling. We just finished week 4. Please pray that we will stay consistent in this. Pray that God will protect him and keep him strong and healthy.

Tony and I will be celebrating our 25th anniversary in 2 weeks! Praise the Lord with us for the 25 years he has given us together. What a blessing it is to be married to your "best friend"!

Thank you so much for your prayers and concern for our family and ministry here in Ecuador!
God Bless You!
Joy

Family news...

Sometimes I just add this in with the weekly updates, but then it makes the post rather long, so I decided to just make a separate post this week.

What we are hearing from Korea...

Mandie and Mike are doing well. Mike enjoyed having last week off for vacation, and they were able to visit some of the tourist sites around. From what we hear the biggest "find" was an "Uno's" restaurant. If you aren't familiar with "Uno's" it is a pizza/Italian food restaurant. Although they say it was a little pricey, it seems to be worth it for a special treat. Also right up there was a bookstore with a large selection of English books! If you know my daughter at all, you know that was a huge deal. Actually it was a big deal to both of them! In service for the teachers at their school starts Aug. 9. Mike is also working on getting everything in order for this years audit. I know that he would really appreciate your prayers. Everything seems to be going well for Mandie and the baby at this point. Thank you so much for your prayers for them!

News from Springfield...

Ashley is doing well. Keeping very busy working full time at the nursing home. She and Shane are teaching the 3 year old Sunday School class at their church and loving it! Ashley is checking into taking some nursing classes at a community college in the area along with her courses at BBC this fall. She is also starting to plan a wedding! Looks like we are looking at June. Not sure I am ready for another one of these, but with 3 girls, what can we expect, right?! She has had some problems with the van, so we are praying at this time, that she will be able to nurse it along for a little longer. Please keep her in your prayers.

News from Kansas...

Lexi is getting settled in with Tony's sister and her family. She has applied at just about every place there is to apply for a job. We know that God has the perfect job for her. Please pray with us that she will find something soon. She will start classes the end of August. This move is a big adjustment for Lex. I know that she would really appreciate your prayers for her as she settles into a new place... new church, new college, new job... Pray with us that God would not only supply a good job for her, but also bring some good friends into her life during the next weeks. Pray too, that she would be a great influence on her little cousins, as I know this is important to her too.

Teddy Boy...

Teddy is our non-stop bundle of energy and joy. He goes from the time his eyes open in the morning until he falls asleep, (usually talking! :-) at night. We are into our 4th week of school and he is doing pretty well. Of course anytime you ask an "on the go" boy to sit still it is not easy, but he is adjusting to it and learning more everyday. He is very close to reading and I know that as soon as we start in a couple weeks, he is going to catch on and run with it. This week I asked him what his favorite foods were, his answer, "French Fries, Broccoli, hot dogs, apples, and grapes..." How many 5 year olds do you know that Broccoli would make it 2nd on their lists of favorite foods? Don't worry he loves candy and cookies too!

We are looking forward to my parents visiting us in a couple weeks. This is the first time Mom and Dad have made it to Ecuador since Mandie was a junior. Of course we have been back to the US many times during this last years. We are excited that they are going to get to come and see what it is like here in Manta.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and our ministry here. We really do appreciate you!

God Bless!
Joy

What's happening at church/

Here we are at the beginning of the last week in July! The summer is just flying by. I know for many, school will be starting early next month. My daughter Mandie has mentioned that teacher inservice starts for them on the 9th. Of course here on the coast of Ecuador the school year is different. For our students here "summer vacation" begins in January and they are all back in school by the end of March.

Sunday morning, the church had a special fellowship time after the morning service to celebrate Tony's birthday. It was very nice to see how they had worked together to organize everything. Everyone was treated to Birthday cake and pop. Teddy was thrilled! :-)

We had good services Sunday. There were 92 in church! We were thrilled to see our older children's class up to 17! This week I am working on getting the Sunday School material all together for the next quarter, which will start the 2nd Sunday in August. We will be having a special teacher's meeting this Sunday evening and then again next week. There are several new people who will be working in these ministries during the next months. I know that they would appreciate your prayers for them.

This Saturday we are having our first "Membership seminar." These seminars are very important for our church. Tony is going to have the seminar at 2 different times, so that people can fit it into their schedule. Please be praying with us that we will have a good turnout. So far in the life of our church, we haven't had deacons, members, etc. We have now grown to the point that it is time to put these processes into motion. The seminars will be a time to explain in detail what it means to be a "member" of our church, etc.

Tony and I continue to meet with different people for discipleship classes throughout the week. Also the Ladies Bible Study on Friday is going well. We are getting ready to start a new round of small group meetings this week. These meetings run on a 6 week cycle with 2 weeks off. Please pray for the leaders of these groups. They are all men who are very young in their Christian faith, but who are growing.

The Bible Institute Students had their final exam last week, so are getting ready to start a new course this week. Pray for those who have made the committment to study.

Starting on August 5 we will being having Youth Group again in the afternoons. Luis and Melanie have committed to work with Tony and the youth.

Home Again...

Hello Everyone! Hope you have each one had a great start to your week. We had a good trip to and home from Quito. If you have been reading the posts lately, you know that we just said, "Goodbye" to our youngest daughter, Lexi, and her boyfriend Jonathan last week. They flew out of Quito on Friday. We are thankful that they had a safe trip back, although they didn't make their connection in Houston, but fortunately there was a later flight they were able to get on. Lexi will be heading to Hutchinson, later this week. She will starting classes their this fall.

Ashley is doing well. She is enjoying teaching a 3 year old's class in her church. I don't know if I would want to be left in a room with a bunch of 3 year olds or not! :-) She is checking into taking some nursing classes this fall too, along with the classes she will be taking at BBC.

Our daughter, Mandie and her husband, Mike are doing well. Mandie got a great report from the doctor last week, and we are very thankful for that. Mike has been able to take this week as vacation time, and they are enjoying the change of pace. They are staying very involved in their church there, and enjoying ministry opportunities that the Lord has given them, along with times for fellowship.

Teddy is growing and we are enjoying our homeschooling. We started our 3rd week today. It has been a real adventure for us. Last week while were in Quito we were able to take the tram up the mountian, which is actually a volcano. It was really neat because just that week we had discussed volcanos in Science. We were able to pick up a few rocks and then bring them home and see if any of them would float. Teddy was so excited when we did have one that floated... (Mom was relieved that we actually did pick up the right thing! :-) Saturday we went for a walk around our neighborhood, and looked for different "seeds". He really got into it and we ended up bringing a pretty good selection of seeds home with us.

We had good services, Sunday... we had 60 in Sunday School and 76 in Church. There were a few first time visitors and that is always an encouragment. One of the young ladies that I mentor, had to leave her job this week, because in her words, "my boss made an indecent proposition." Please pray for Lorena as she looks for a new job. Also please keep Letty in your prayers. She and Juan Carlos are expecting their second child, and she has been put on 6 weeks of bedrest.

This week we have the opportunity of hosting the Pullugando Family from Quito. Carlos and Monica were just starting their first church, when Tony and I arrived back in 1991. We are enjoying having them visit us along with their 2 teenage daughters.

Please continue to pray that the money would come in for the property. We are getting very close to the deadline. We are so excited to see what the Lord is going to do in this place. Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta!

Praying you have wonderful week!
Joy

From our Family Picture Album...

Group from Blue Ridge Baptist Temple singing at one of the area schools. What a blessing they were to us!

Group from the church seeing the property for the first time. How excited everyone was. One day there will be church on this corner!

Joy, Lexi, Tony and Teddy... Father's Day.

Teddy, Joy, and Lexi all dressed up to go to Luis and Melanie's wedding, June 15th.

Teddy's first day of kindergarten, July 2nd.

Sunday

Hello Everyone! I hope you had a wonderful week-end and a great Sunday!

We had a wonderful Sunday School and Church service this morning. There were 22 ladies in class this morning. It was exciting to see this class start to build up again. We had 64 total in our School School hour and 80 in the church service.

Alfredo and Wilda Paredes invited us over for Dinner today after church. That was a great experience for Jonathan, who has been visiting us. I know that it had to be a little uncomfortable for him at times since he can't understand Spanish, but he did a great job of letting them know that he enjoyed himself! When you think about it during the week, please pray for Alfredo and Wilda's children, Lorena, Gabriel, and Javier. They are all great kids, but not really interested in spiritual things, or maybe it would be better put, "too busy" to be concerned about spiritual things.

This evening we had a teacher's meeting for those who have been teaching and those who would be interested in teaching in our children's classes at church. Please be praying with me, as we have several people who would like to work with our older children's class and others interested in working in the "nursery" but no one that would like to work with our 4 year olds - 1st graders. This is our largest class at this time, and the lady who has been working with them does an excellent job, but is expecting a baby in Oct, and has been having a few problems, so she needs to have a break from teaching for awhile. I really appreciate your prayers. I know that the Lord has someone that he is preparing for this this task.

Yesterday we took some time to do some "sight seeing" with Lexi and Jonathan. We drove a couple hours down the coast and stopped for lunch at a really neat "hosteria". Everyone really enjoyed the different scenery and the day out... well everyone except Teddy. He thought we were crazy for taking a drive, with no destination in mind! He told us about an hour into it, that he didn't know why we had to get in the car and drive so far, when the beach was really close to our house! :-)

Wednesday evening we will be flying up to Quito. We want to do a little sight seeing there with Jonathan before he and Lexi fly back to the US on Friday morning. Tony, Teddy and I will be flying back to Manta Friday afternoon. Please pray for safety as we travel and for grace as we say our "goodbyes".

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

Happy Birthday America!

Well, it is almost July 4th. We will probably have a quiet day here at home. I am thinking we will grill hot dogs and hamburgers. Not really sure what else. There aren't any firework shows to go to but maybe we will see some on TV. :-)

We had a great day at church Sunday. There were 65 in Sunday School and 84 in the church service. We had 7 first time visitors in church! It was very exciting to see people so happy because their friends that they had invited came to church! We also had 2 teen girls come to church that we had met at the park while the group from KC was here.

There are a lot of things planned for the coming weeks. Next Sunday evening we will be having a meeting for all our Sunday School Teachers and those interested in working with the children. We are also going to be celebrating the Lord's Supper on the 8th. Lexi and Jonathan will be here until the 13th. We will be taking them to Quito to fly out. We hope to get the Sunday evening Youth Group started up again on the 15th.

We are also in the process of raising money to purchase the property for our church. We will be making that purchase in mid-August. Please be praying with us as this time draws closer.

Here at home, I am staying busy too. I started Home Schooling Teddy this morning. I know it is early, but we decided to go ahead and get started because we have several trips planned this year, and by starting now, we not have to be so pressured to get finished by May next year. I really do enjoy working with him. We are working hard to get into a structured schedule and stick to it as much as possible. I have also promised Lexi that I would help her make a "duvet cover" before she leaves, so that will be something we will get to work on this week.

Today, Tony took Lexi and Jonathan to Guayaquil, to see some of the sights. They left here about 7:30 this morning, and Teddy and I expect them to get back home around 6:30. I have heard from the 3 times already. They seem to have been having a really good time.

I pray that each of you have a great week, serving the Lord, where he has placed you!
Joy

Saying Goodbye...

I am sitting here this afternoon, we have just said "Good bye!" to the group that came to visit us from Kansas City. It always amazes me, how people who are total strangers can become such special friends in such a short time! That is the Lord. When you are all part of the same family, it is just amazing how the Lord can knit your hearts together.

We have had a wonderful time with the group that came to visit us. They were so sweet and wonderful to us... They brought in many, many "goodies" for our family, but also it was such a great time of fellowship! We really do love our life and ministry here in Manta, but it sometimes becomes very lonely. What a blessing it has been to me, to just spend some "girl time" with these sweet Christian ladies! ( I also enjoyed the time with Pastor Boren and the guys too, but there is just something about having some "girl time!" :-)

I have to admit it was sad to say "goodbye" to my new friends, but what a joy to know that someday in the future when we go to their church, I already have some special friends there!

We had great services and special meetings this past week. Many tracts were given out and the gospel seed was sown... Please be praying with us, that the Holy Spirit will work in the lives of those who have heard the gospel message. We have 4 people Friday night at our "video night" raise their hands to say that they had prayed to accept Christ as their Savior. Pray for these new believers.

Please continue to keep our daughter Mandie in your prayers. At this time, things seem to be progressing fine. They are suppose to be moving into another apartment sometime in the next week, so just be praying with us that she doesn't "over do" it. We all know how easy that is when faced with the task of moving!

Please keep our daughter Ashley in your prayers. She is making the adjustment back to the US after 6 months with us. She has been able to get back on at the nursing home, full time! Not only that, but they are giving her every Sunday and Wednesday off! She was thrilled. This week my parents are making the trip to Springfield, to take her a truck of furniture for her apartment. Please pray for a safe trip there and back to Tennessee for them.

We are enjoying a few more weeks of having Lexi here at home. Her boyfriend Jonathan has joined her now.

Have a great week serving the Lord, wherever he has placed you!
love, Joy

Time is flying by...

Can you believe that it is already the middle of June?! The last weeks have been a whirlwind for the Anzalone family.

Lexi arrived in Quito on June 1. We are so excited and happy to have her "home" for a few weeks. Ashley enjoyed getting to show Shane around Quito. I enjoyed visiting with some special friends that I used to teach with at the Alliance Academy.

We all got back home on Saturday, the 2nd. We had great services on that Sunday. The Lord blessed, we had some first time visitors too.

Then on Wednesday we all celebrated Lexi's birthday. She chose to have pie instead of cake, so we went out for a birthday lunch and then home for pie and ice cream. We made apple and cherry pie. They were both yummy! (one side note of living in another country... I was so excited when I found canned cherries at the grocery store! I heated them up on the stove, added a little sugar and cornstarch to thicken them up to make a pie filling. One thing I forget to check was to see if they were pitted or not! :-) You got it... the cherry pie had pits in it! Made from some "delicate" eating! )

On Saturday morning, Ashley, Shane, Lexi, Teddy and I headed to Guayaquil in van service that runs between the city and Manta. We arrived in the early afternoon, checked into the hotel, and went over to one of the big malls for lunch. That evening, Ashley and Shane returned to the US. Their flight left Guayaquil about 11:30pm. We are very thankful that they arrived back the the States safely. We will really miss having Ashley around here! She worked really hard helping me get the Sunday School curriculum organized and in place. She worked with the Sunday School teachers at the church and also took a Bible Institute Class at the church. She was a great help around the house and a wonderful big sister to Teddy. I will miss her companionship. It was great to have the opportunity to get to know her as a young adult.

Last Sunday, Tony informed us that they had a good service, but he was unable to get a count... Just too many things for one person to keep track of!

Yesterday we started a new Ladies Bible Study. There are 14 ladies signed up. 11 of them were there yesterday. Please be praying with me that these ladies would make this a priority during the next 8 weeks.

Today is Luis and Melanea's wedding. I made 12 pew bows on Thursday and a few other things. This morning, I met Melanea's mother at the church to help with some decorating. I am pleased to say that everything looked very nice when we left.

Thank you all so much for praying for our daughter and son-in-law, Mandie and Mike. Mandie is no longer on bed rest. She is to continue to take it easy, but was of course thrilled to not be confined to bed anymore! The baby is doing very well. We were excited to get to see a copy of her latest ultrasound. It is just amazing what they can do now! (we had ultrasound when I was expecting the girls, but it wasn't so common place... Mandie gets an ultrasound every time she goes in for a check-up!) The doctor told them that the place where the placenta was tearing away, has healed, and seems to be fine at the present time.

We are gearing up for a group to visit us this coming week from Blue Ridge Baptist Temple, in Kansas City. They are presently visiting the McGhee's work in Quito and will be flying down to Manta on Wednesday afternoon. They will be with us until Monday afternoon. Lexi's boyfriend is coming with the group and then will be spending about 10 days longer to give us the opportunity to get to know him! (I know sounds scary to me! :-) ) I guess it is all a part of life... they are all grown up now!

Lexi brought in Teddy's homeschooling stuff. I have spent a little time getting it organized and we are planning to get started the first week in July... That will give us some time for the trips we have planned during the year.

Well, now that I have written a book, I'm sure you are exhausted from reading! Have a wonderful week serving the Lord! Thank you so much for praying for our family and the ministry here in Manta, Ecuador!

Joy

update

Hope everyone is having a good start to your week. We had a great day yesterday. There were 76, and 84 in Church. There were 3 first time adult visitors. Our children's classes are starting to build back up and we are happy about that.

Several people from our church have been going to the little village of La Travesia every Saturday. Last week there were 60 present and they were waiting for the group to arrive. It is such a blessing to see how the people from our church are growing and stepping out to serve.

Thank you for your prayers for our daughter Mandie. She is still on bedrest and at present that seems to be "indefinite". I know that she and Mike really appreciate your prayers for them and the baby, as do Tony and I.

This week we have a full house. Ashley is still here along with her boyfriend. They will both be returning to the states this week-end. Our youngest daughter Lexi arrived on Friday night and we are very happy to have her visiting for about 6 weeks. Then today, Matthew Blanton, who is like a nephew to us, came in for a few days. We became really close friends with the Blantons our first year in Ecuador and have remained very close over the years. They returned to minister in the US about 7 years ago. It is a blessing to have Matthew visiting for a few days.

I pray that you have a great week serving the Lord!
Joy

Prayer please...

Our daughter, Mandie, has had some more problems and is in the hospital at this time...

I appreciate you keeping her, Mike and the baby in your prayers. I know that God is taking care of them!

Joy

Update

Hello everyone! Hope you are doing well. It is a nice bright sunny day here in Manta.

Because of my fall in Guayaquil last week and my banged up knee, I didn't get to go to church Sunday, but Tony said we had a great service! There were 83 in the preaching service. Afterwards there was a baptism at the beach. 3 precious people were baptized. Tony always asks them to give a short testimony before the baptism... and Barbara shared that it was her husbands testimony that brought her to Christ.

Thank you for praying for Mandie, Mike and the baby. So far things seem to be going well. She will return to the doctor on June 8. Please continue to keep them in your prayers. Thank you too for praying for me... I am healing up and can get around already, a lot better now than even on the week-end.

Our daughter Alexis will be coming in this week! We are excited to have her home for a little while. We will be traveling up to Quito to pick her up. Thank you for your prayers for safety as we travel.

Have a great week!
Joy

Heart to Heart

Do you ever have times when you realize that the ability to do the little, everyday, mundane things of life is truly a blessing? These last couple days have been an adventure to say the least. One moment I was walking across the sidewalk to get into a taxi and the next minute I was lying flat on my face in the street...

Thankfully, I must have strong bones, because nothing seems to be broken, but I have to say that I am very sore. One knee is stiff and my arms hurt... Getting around and just doing the simple things like getting dressed have taken quite a bit of thought. My the swelling in my knee is going down, and today was better than yesterday, but this has made me think... so often I take these little things for granted... I never stop to think how much the Lord has blessed me that I can walk around today, or that I can get dressed without thinking a lot about it, or walk upstairs, or even cook dinner.

My son, Teddy, is always saying, "Thanks for cooking dinner, Mom!" "Thanks for fixing drinks, Dad!" He usually goes around the table and finds something to thank everyone for. We spend so much time trying to teach our children to be grateful, but I wonder if sometimes I forget to express my gratitude to the Lord? I mean, I seem to remember to do that for the "big answers", but what about for just the blessings of the everyday? Thank you, Lord for a bed to sleep in. Thank you Lord, that I can walk without pain. Thank you Lord, that there are flowers growing in my yard. Thank you Lord, for nice clothes to wear. Thank you Lord, for food to cook. Thank you Lord, for clean air to breathe.

Please pray...

We received word this morning that our daughter, Mandie, who is expecting our first grandchild, has had some complications, and has been put on complete bedrest for 2 weeks. She was able to see her doctor yesterday, and at this time the baby is fine. Please keep Mandie, Mike and the baby in your prayers at this time.

Thank you for praying with us!
Joy

Update

Hello everyone! Hope you are each having a great week. We had a good service Sunday. The attendance was down alittle from the week before. We had 78 in church.

Sunday afternoon we had our first Wedding shower. It went really well. We had 33 ladies attend! Everyone had a great time. I was so excited to see how generous everyone was. The only negative was that the bride was an hour late! Of course here that was not as big a faux pas as it would have been in the US, but of course to me, it seemed rude in the extreme! I even had a few ladies make comments about it. It was certianly a relief when she did show up! I had played all the games that I had planned and was just trying to decide what to do next! :-) Oh well, never a dull moment! I told Tony the next time, I am going to take the "guest of honor" with me for the afternoon, to be sure she gets there on time! :-)

We went to Guayaquil yesterday to pick up Ashley's boyfriend, Shane. He will be visiting us for a couple weeks, and then Ashley will be flying back to the US with him. That will leave a huge hole in our life. We have certianly enjoyed having her home these last months.

A busy week...

Well, we have another busy week planned. I appreciate your prayers for the ministry here and our family.

Tomorrow afternoon, Tony and I will be flying up to Quito to attend the 20th anniversary celebration of the Bible Institute, a ministry of Jim and Sharon Smith. Tony taught in the Institute for many years while we were in Quito. We will return home on Wednesday, evening. I am looking forward to visiting with friends while we are there.

This coming Sunday we are starting a new tradition in our church. We are having our first Bridal Shower. Although we have had to be creative in the name, since the word "shower" here is only used in association with a "Baby Shower". The only thing they have close to what we would consider a Bridal Shower is more like a "Bachlorette Party" and it has a very worldly conotation. So we are calling ours a "Party to Celebrate the Bride". I am really happy at the amount of excitement there has been among our ladies. Just about everyone has signed up to bring a gift, even those that I was concerned about having the money to get a gift have signed up! We are having the party Sunday afternoon. I would appreciate your prayers as I work on this during the week and get everything pulled together.

Thank you for your prayers and support for the ministry here in Manta and for our family. God bless you as you serve Him this week!

Love, Joy

Happy Mother's Day!

I pray that each of you Moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day! I got a beautiful e-card from Mandie, a very sweet email from Lexi, and Ashley and Teddy brought me breakfast in bed, I got a special "homemade" card from Teddy and a nice present from them.

Last week, was very busy as I prepared for the special Reception for all the ladies at 9:30 yesterday morning. We had 42 ladies present for the reception. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. It was a blessing to see their enjoyment! It made all the effort worth it! :-) I served, fresh fruit salad, mini cinamon rolls and mocha bars. We also had tea, coffee or juice to drink. Ashley helped me make the mocha bars. We did all the baking Saturday morning, so things would be fresh. Ashley was also a big help at the reception, keeping all the serving platters full and hot water and juice ready. I am so thankful for her and her hard work.

Then in the preaching service we had one of the men give a special reading in honor of Mother's day and another sang 2 specials. We also recognized all the mothers, (there were 35 present in the church service). After church we took pictures of each of the mothers with her family. Next week we will hand out the pictures.

The children also made special cards for their mothers during Sunday School. We ended up with 90 in Sunday School and 99 in church.

Pictures from our April photo album...

Teddy's Superman Birthday. April 5
Teddy and his friend Samy at his Birthday Dinner.


Terrilyn Kadle and Barb Tooley came to visit us for Easter. It was great fun to have them with us for a few days.

The table is set for Easter Dinner. We enjoyed having a houseful of company Easter Sunday.



The Ecuadorian Pastor's Wives Retreat is always a highlight of my year. Here I am teaching Friday evening.


Here is a group picture of all the ladies that participated in the retreat. April 26-28


Here (l to r) Lois Tignor, myself, Sharon Smith and Sylvia Wells are showing off our new bags that the Ladies gave us to say, "Thank you for the retreat!"


Teddy enjoyed helping gather oranges for the ladies at the retreat.


Here Teddy is sitting in front of the property we are in the process of purchasing for the church here in Manta. April 30

Prayer Please...

We woke up yesterday morning to emails, telling us that our son-in-law, Mike Lewis, had an emergency apendectomy Monday, which was Sunday night for us...(I still have a hard time keeping the days and times straight between us and Korea!) He is doing fine now, recovering in the hospital. Please pray for his continued recovery and for our daughter Mandie.

Weekly Update

How are each of you this fine week? We had a great week-end. After working a couple days to get the downstairs apartment cleaned up and set up, we were able to use it Sunday morning for the Ladies Class and our youngest children's class. This week we will be starting a new class for children, in which the youngest children, through age 3 will be separted from our 4 to 6 year olds. That should help those teachers a great deal! Please pray as this means that we are having to add 3 more workers to our children's ministry. It is exciting to see how the Lord is blessing this work though!

Sunday morning we had 69 in Sunday School and 76 in church. We had a young family visit for the first time. Please pray for Xavier and Cecila.

This week we are gearing up for a special Mother's Day reception, that we will have for all the ladies at 9:30, Sunday morning, and then of course we will be doing special things to honor all the mothers present in the church service. Then on the 20th in the afternoon, we will be having our first Wedding Shower! Melanie and Luis will be getting married on June 15th. This is the first young couple to be getting married from our church.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support of our ministry here in Manta!
Joy

Busy Week... (aren't they all?)

Good Monday morning to each of you! The last week was pretty much a whirlwind for our family, but we are so excited at all the Lord did and allowed us to do!

Wednesday afternoon, as Tony was taking me to the doctor, he got a phone call and the owner of the apartment we rent for church had decided that they would like to rent the first floor apartment to us after all. This was after getting word from him earlier that they weren't interested in renting it to us for the price we could afford to pay. So now we have some more rooms to use for Sunday School and will be spending time over there this week to get it cleaned up and ready for at least 2 classes to move into this coming Sunday and hopfully we will be able to add a nursery starting the 2nd Sunday in May.

The annual Ecuadorian Pastor's wives retreat was a great blessing this year. There were 32 Ecuadorian ladies that participated and we had 7 US missionary ladies attend. It was a great time of fellowship and studying God's word together. I will try and post some pictures later on today.

We had good services yesterday. There were 53 in Sunday School and 73 in church. We had 2 first time visitors. After the service we celebrated the Lord's Supper. Teddy was sitting by me and after the "bread" had been passed out, he was looking very intenting at the little piece I was holding in my hand and then he looked up at me and whispered, "That's a piece of his body?!" :-)

In the afternoon, I had the ladies that have been participating in our Ladies Bible Study, "Jesus the One and Only", over to the house. We had our last study and then just enjoyed a special time of fellowship together. It is always so humbling to me to hear the testimonies of what the Bible Study has meant to each of the ladies. So often I feel that I have just failed miserably to communicate in Spanish, and then to hear how the Lord was able to take my feeble attempts to teach in Spanish and use it to work in their hearts! It is such a blessing.

We hope to actually sign the contract to buy the property for the church this week. Tony will be putting down a 1/3 of the cost and then we will hae 90 days to raise the rest of the money. Please be praying with us that the Lord would touch the hearts of our churches to make this a reality. The people at the church are very excited as we take this next step.

God bless you as you serve him this week, wherever he has placed you!
Love,
Joy