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