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