We arrived back at my parents house in Crossville, TN today. God was very good to us as we traveled all around the last 17 days. We have been blessed everywhere we went. It was so great to visit with family and friends. To meet new friends.

This past Sunday we enjoyed being at Blue Ridge Baptist Temple in Kansas City. It was great to see some of the people that had made the trip to Ecuador last summer. We also had the privilege of meeting the Taylor family. (They are Lexi's fiancee, Jonathan's family) I also had the opportunity to attend a bridal shower for Ashley and Shane that his family gave them. That was a lot of fun!

We are now looking forward to Mandie and baby Ioan arriving in the US next Thursday! Nana and Papa are getting very excited!

There are about 6 weeks left before we return to Ecuador. We have 5 more churches scheduled during this trip. Please pray as we travel during these next weeks. Also be praying as we prepare for Ashley and Shane's wedding the end of June. We are very thankful that all the details have come together.

The church in Manta, is in the process of looking for a new meeting place. Please be praying with us that God would lead them to the right place.

God Bless You!
Joy

Special Prayer Request

Hello everyone! We are in Kansas, visiting with our family.

Over the last couple weeks, we have heard from the church in Manta, that the owner of the apartment and terrace that we rent for the church has been giving them fits. Last Sunday morning after the service, he, along with some of his relatives wanted to meet with some of the men in the church. The short of it all, is that he wants us out...

We are very thankful to the Lord for giving us such a great place to meet for the last 3 1/2 years. We are also very pleased with the attitude of the church. While the owner is not doing right, they have a wonderful attitude and have agreed with Tony that they want to do everything right, and not do anything that would reflect bad on the churches testimony. At this point they are checking out for some places to meet. Pray for them, that the Lord would lead them to just the right place. They are checking into hotels that might have a "conference room" or something like that, where they would just meet on Sundays and then meet in homes during the week.

All of this makes it even more important for us to raise the money and return in July ready to get started on the new building. At this time we are hoping to be able to get back and get a storage room, and bathrooms built, then we hope to buy a large tent and start meeting on the property, while we are in the process of building the main building.

Thank you for your prayers for the ministry in Manta, and for our family as we travel.

God Bless you as you serve Him!
Joy

This September Tony and I will have been missionaries 20 years. You would think in all that time that one thing we would be used to is "goodbyes". I can't even begin to tell you how many "good-byes" we have said. When we left for the field, there were all the "good-byes" to our families and friends in the States. Then since we've been in Ecuador, we have said "good-bye" to many family members who have gone on to be with the Lord. A few years ago, we started saying "good-bye" to our daughters as they came back to the US for college.

I'm sure those are all "good-byes" you might think of, but we have another set of "good-byes". You see, people are always coming and going from the Mission Field. So you make friends, and then God moves them and you are saying "good-bye" to them again. These are people that because you are living in a foreign country become even closer to you than your own family. Your children call them aunts and uncles, and the truth is that they feel closer to them than they have ever felt to their "real" relatives.

We have some friends that we spent many holidays with... She and I would bake together at Christmas... We took turns hosting Easter Dinner. About 10 years ago, the Lord moved them back to the US. Every Christmas, I remember how much fun we had baking together. My girls still call them "Uncle and Aunt", and we try to pass their way for a day or two every time we are back in the US.

Today our middle daughter Ashley graduated from college. It was a wonderful service. We have enjoyed a great week... time visiting with her and seeing many people during the week, that we haven't seen in years and years. Ashley will be getting married at the end of June. I am very happy for her and the young man that the Lord has brought into her life. It will help some to know that she is not alone, when we say our next "good-bye" but I know it still won't be easy...

As I type this I am reminded that one day we will not have to say anymore "good-byes"! What a wonderful time that will be! Until then, would you please pray for us and for your other missionaries, as they say "good-bye."

God Bless you!
Joy

Springfield, MO

We arrived in Springfield, MO on Saturday afternoon. We have enjoyed spending time with our daughter, Ashley. Sunday we went to church with her and Shane, and I got another special surprise... Lexi and Jonathan were there! So we had a WONDERFUL Mother's Day. After church we went out to lunch and then everyone came back to Ashley's apartment for alittle while. Lexi and Jonathan had to drive back to Kansas City, in the afternoon, but was a very special "gift" to have time with them too.

I have spent the day helping Ashley get alittle more settled into the "new" apartment. That has been fun!

This evening was the first night of "Fellowship Week" here at the college. There will be special services tomorrow evening, and Wednesday evening. Also some meetings in the mornings. Graduation is Thursday morning. We are enjoying this time with Ashley and Shane.

The news we are hearing from Ecuador is mostly good. The landlord at the apartment we rent for the church, has been giving them some trouble, but over all things are going well.

Praying you have a wonderful week!
Joy

Webster's says a friend is "someone whom one knows and likes." That seems to fall so short of the description I would give to Tim and Debbie Gunter, friends from Bible College. After getting married just a month a part, having each of our children within a few months of each other (except for the last couple!) both working on staffs at churches in the same city early in our ministries, and then God called Tony and I to Ecuador, and Tim and Debbie to Florida to start a church. From that time, Tim as been one of our "supporting pastors".

We have enjoyed a few days of just "hanging out" and fellowshiping with them. They also made it possible for us to take Teddy to Disney World's Magic Kingdom. What a "magical" day that was! We had so much fun seeing it all through Teddy's eyes!

This morning we participated in the service here at "Crown Point Baptist Church". God is blessing and we had a great time getting to know some of the people that God has allowed Tim and Debbie to minister to here.

This evening we are heading back over to Altamonte Springs, where we will have the opportunity to present our work to the "Palm Springs Drive Baptist Church". We have so many friends there! That is where Tony and I worked right out of Bible College. They took us in, and became our "family!" Loving us and ministering to us. We have many special memories from those days.

Tomorrow morning we will be packing up our car and heading back north. Our plans at this point are to stop in Tennessee at my parents for a few days... unpack, do laundry, re-pack... then we suppose to be heading to Springfield, MO. There we will be spending Mother's Day with our daughter, Ashley, and have the opportunity to be present for her graduation from Baptist Bible College.

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family as we travel around the US, and also for the work in Manta. We continue to hear great updates from the church there. God is blessing! The young people are becoming more involved. The ladies are enjoying fellowship time together, and we have 5 men who made the trip to Santo Domingo last week to attend a Men's Retreat.

Have a wonderful week, as you serve the Lord where he has placed you!
God Bless!
Joy