Wow, what a busy week we had around here last week! Our trip to Quito and home went well. We enjoyed visiting with our good friends, and were thrilled that the audience with the judge went well. He signed the act, that legalizes the adoptions. Now we just have to wait for the paperwork to make it's way through the system. Our lawyer expects to have it by the 27th or 28th. Then we will need to get their new birth certificates and ID cards. Exciting times!!!
Saturday at the Children's Christmas party at church, we had about 60 kids and probably 25 helpers! What a blessing! Everything went well and everyone had a good time. Yesterday our services were a little done in attendance with 104, but we had a great morning. The children said the verse they had learned at the party Saturday and sang a Christmas song. In the afternoon, we had the Ladies Christmas Party, and had about 35 ladies present. Everyone had a great time, and the best of all, we had one lady accept Christ as her Savior!!!
This week, we have some presents to buy for our family, gifts to wrap and cookies to bake. Looking forward to a wonderful time with the kids. Everyone is happy to be "on vacation" from classes! (including Mom! :-)
I pray that each of you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Blessings,
Joy
Monday, December 20, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
It's the Middle of December....
It's the middle of December and there's excitement in the air!!!
We are gearing up for Christmas at the Anzalone house. The decorations are up. Classes are winding down. Oh and in the middle of all this excitement we received a call from our lawyer yesterday that our audience with the judge in Quito to finalize the adoptions is set for this Friday at 11:00am.
So today, we are working like crazy, to try and get the school work that needs to be completed this week finished...the candy bought for the Children's Christmas party which will be at the church this Saturday afternoon, and everything else packed up and ready to go. We plan to leave in the morning and head to Santo Domingo, where will be spend the afternoon and evening with our friends the Wells. From there we will head to Quito on Thursday, and stay Thursday night and Friday night with our friends there, Glenn and Sherri McGhee.
We really appreciate your prayers as we make this final step to finalize the adoptions. Please pray for safety as we travel. Tony still does not have a valid driver's license, but he has papers that say that he did have a valid license and that we are working on getting a new one. They told him to show those papers if we have a problem...hopefully that will do the trick. Appreciate your prayers about that, too! :-)
This Saturday afternoon from 3-5 is our Children's Christmas Party at church. Then Sunday afternoon, the ladies are going to have their Christmas Party. Please pray for both of these activities, that God will be glorified and that they will be a blessing and encouragement to others.
Blessings on you and your family as you seek to serve Christ, this week!
Joy
We are gearing up for Christmas at the Anzalone house. The decorations are up. Classes are winding down. Oh and in the middle of all this excitement we received a call from our lawyer yesterday that our audience with the judge in Quito to finalize the adoptions is set for this Friday at 11:00am.
So today, we are working like crazy, to try and get the school work that needs to be completed this week finished...the candy bought for the Children's Christmas party which will be at the church this Saturday afternoon, and everything else packed up and ready to go. We plan to leave in the morning and head to Santo Domingo, where will be spend the afternoon and evening with our friends the Wells. From there we will head to Quito on Thursday, and stay Thursday night and Friday night with our friends there, Glenn and Sherri McGhee.
We really appreciate your prayers as we make this final step to finalize the adoptions. Please pray for safety as we travel. Tony still does not have a valid driver's license, but he has papers that say that he did have a valid license and that we are working on getting a new one. They told him to show those papers if we have a problem...hopefully that will do the trick. Appreciate your prayers about that, too! :-)
This Saturday afternoon from 3-5 is our Children's Christmas Party at church. Then Sunday afternoon, the ladies are going to have their Christmas Party. Please pray for both of these activities, that God will be glorified and that they will be a blessing and encouragement to others.
Blessings on you and your family as you seek to serve Christ, this week!
Joy
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Being Knit Together...
These days I am so excited to see what the Lord is doing in our hearts and in our home. It is really amazing to see his hand at work, knitting us into a family!
The first couple weeks, I literally felt like I was just surviving the days. I would wake up and go non-stop pretty much the entire day, falling exhausted into bed at night and basically feeling like I had just accomplished the very basic things...then little by little the routines have been established, and everyone knows what the "game plan" is and that has made a huge difference.
It is a joy to hear the the children playing together, and laughing. It is a joy to hear them pray and thank God for making us a family!
Thank you for your prayers for us during this time of transition. We are seeing progress day by day, and we know that it is the result of many, many prayers being said on our behalf.
The construction on the church continues to move forward. We ask you to join us in praying that the Lord would provide the funds needed to finish this work.
Plans for the Ladies Conference is moving forward. We have invited two of our sister churches in Portaviejo. The Ladies are getting excited. Please keep this conference in your prayers. Pray for Sharon Smith, as she prepares her lessons, pray for the ladies from our church who will be helping make this conference a success. There are about 6 ladies working with me to pull off this special event. There are ladies working on organizing a nursery and child care. Others, helping to organize refreshments, music, the craft time, and ice breaker activities. It has been a huge blessing that so many have been willing to stand up and take on a responsibility to put this conference together. Please be praying that God will use this conference in the lives of the ladies in our church, and also will be an opportunity to introduce Christ to many friends and neighbors.
God Bless you has you serve him this week!
Joy
The first couple weeks, I literally felt like I was just surviving the days. I would wake up and go non-stop pretty much the entire day, falling exhausted into bed at night and basically feeling like I had just accomplished the very basic things...then little by little the routines have been established, and everyone knows what the "game plan" is and that has made a huge difference.
It is a joy to hear the the children playing together, and laughing. It is a joy to hear them pray and thank God for making us a family!
Thank you for your prayers for us during this time of transition. We are seeing progress day by day, and we know that it is the result of many, many prayers being said on our behalf.
The construction on the church continues to move forward. We ask you to join us in praying that the Lord would provide the funds needed to finish this work.
Plans for the Ladies Conference is moving forward. We have invited two of our sister churches in Portaviejo. The Ladies are getting excited. Please keep this conference in your prayers. Pray for Sharon Smith, as she prepares her lessons, pray for the ladies from our church who will be helping make this conference a success. There are about 6 ladies working with me to pull off this special event. There are ladies working on organizing a nursery and child care. Others, helping to organize refreshments, music, the craft time, and ice breaker activities. It has been a huge blessing that so many have been willing to stand up and take on a responsibility to put this conference together. Please be praying that God will use this conference in the lives of the ladies in our church, and also will be an opportunity to introduce Christ to many friends and neighbors.
God Bless you has you serve him this week!
Joy
Sunday, September 26, 2010
It's a new week!
We had a pretty good first week of school in the Anzalone house. Teaching 3 children, 2 of them ESL with some learning differences was quiet a challenge. They did pretty well, though and I was thrilled when we took Mateo to the doctor on Tuesday, and she asked him what color a wooden bead was and he said, "Blue"....and he was right! Then he named the other ones too..."green, red, yellow"... Sometimes you think nothing you have said or done has gotten through and then something like that happens and you know it actually did! :-)
We were able to get both Mateo and Carla to our doctor this week, for a general check-up. That was good. We were also able to meet and interview a Physical Therapist, who is going to start working with Mateo tomorrow.
The construction on the auditorium is continuing. Please be praying with us, as we are trusting the Lord to supply the needed funds to finish this work.
We are also planning a Ladies Conference the end of October. Sharon Smith will be here to speak. The ladies are very excited about this.
Tony is teaching a personal evangelism course on Thursday nights. Last week was the first week, he had 19 show up.
We had 112 this morning. That is a little down from the previous weeks, but then we were thinking it is nice to have a "down" Sunday, and still have 112!!!!
I really appreciate your prayers as our family continues to make adjustments for the 2 precious children the Lord has brought to us. We received word this week that the "official assigning" as taken place, so that is a blessing. We are looking at about 30 days for our court date, at which time the adoptions will be finalized. Thank you for your prayers.
God bless you as you serve him this week!
Joy
We were able to get both Mateo and Carla to our doctor this week, for a general check-up. That was good. We were also able to meet and interview a Physical Therapist, who is going to start working with Mateo tomorrow.
The construction on the auditorium is continuing. Please be praying with us, as we are trusting the Lord to supply the needed funds to finish this work.
We are also planning a Ladies Conference the end of October. Sharon Smith will be here to speak. The ladies are very excited about this.
Tony is teaching a personal evangelism course on Thursday nights. Last week was the first week, he had 19 show up.
We had 112 this morning. That is a little down from the previous weeks, but then we were thinking it is nice to have a "down" Sunday, and still have 112!!!!
I really appreciate your prayers as our family continues to make adjustments for the 2 precious children the Lord has brought to us. We received word this week that the "official assigning" as taken place, so that is a blessing. We are looking at about 30 days for our court date, at which time the adoptions will be finalized. Thank you for your prayers.
God bless you as you serve him this week!
Joy
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Some new photos!
Dressed up and ready to go to church. 
Mateo and Carla's first trip to the beach. I think they liked it! :-)
Ready to go to church, again. This was their first Sunday here.
Our first day home, a neighbor was having a 1st birthday party for her baby...so we dressed up and went over for a little while.
What's happening now....
The last few weeks have been quiet an adventure for our family! We arrived home in Manta, on Friday evening, the 10th. The first week has been one of adjustments. We have worked on getting ourselves a little more organized.
The kids are doing great! Mateo, is a happy a little boy. He is very loving and usually very cooperative. He wants to do everything his big brother and sister do.
Carla is a sweet little girl. She is usually very happy and plays well with her brothers. She loves playing with our little dog Ellie.
Teddy is filling the role of Big Brother, with very little difficulty. He has his moments, but then every child does. He love having a brother and sister to play with.
Life has changed drastically for Tony and I, but we are loving it! We start our day early, Tony is usually up before 6:00 and I'm up between 6:00 and 6:30. Once we get the last child in bed at night, around 8:00 or 8:30, we are pretty much exhausted. I've been getting in bed at night by 10:00 and fall asleep almost immediately, but wake up bright and early and ready to start the day again. The children fill my day.
This week, we will be starting school. I appreciate your prayers as we get this underway. I have taught school for years, and had classes between 15 and 25, but the idea of homeschooling these 3 is a little overwhelming. Yet I know that nothing is impossible with God and that he will supply what I need.
Pray with us too, that the Lord would complete what he has started in us, and that the adoptions would be finalized quickly and with very little hassle.
God bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy
The kids are doing great! Mateo, is a happy a little boy. He is very loving and usually very cooperative. He wants to do everything his big brother and sister do.
Carla is a sweet little girl. She is usually very happy and plays well with her brothers. She loves playing with our little dog Ellie.
Teddy is filling the role of Big Brother, with very little difficulty. He has his moments, but then every child does. He love having a brother and sister to play with.
Life has changed drastically for Tony and I, but we are loving it! We start our day early, Tony is usually up before 6:00 and I'm up between 6:00 and 6:30. Once we get the last child in bed at night, around 8:00 or 8:30, we are pretty much exhausted. I've been getting in bed at night by 10:00 and fall asleep almost immediately, but wake up bright and early and ready to start the day again. The children fill my day.
This week, we will be starting school. I appreciate your prayers as we get this underway. I have taught school for years, and had classes between 15 and 25, but the idea of homeschooling these 3 is a little overwhelming. Yet I know that nothing is impossible with God and that he will supply what I need.
Pray with us too, that the Lord would complete what he has started in us, and that the adoptions would be finalized quickly and with very little hassle.
God bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy
On Mission from the Lord to Care for my Home...
Today in the Ladies Sunday School class we were talking about taking care of our home. We looked up many different scripture passages, but our main passage was Proverbs 31. I know, I can hear you now, "oh no, not the passage about the "perfect woman".
I think the thing that impacted me most this week as I studied, was to be reminded, that this is God's plan for my life! He wants me to take care of my home, and watch out for those living in it. When I look at it in this way, it changes everything! If I'm doing all of these things for the Lord, then I won't get "weary in well doing".
The other thing was that I was reminded that God NEVER calls us to something that He doesn't equip up and empower us to do, so if God has called me to this, He will supply what I need, He will equip me and empower me to do! Therefore the description, of the Proverbs 31 woman is not something that is unattainable, or out of reach!
Praying for you this week, as you seek to glorify the Lord and take care of your home and your loved ones!
Joy
I think the thing that impacted me most this week as I studied, was to be reminded, that this is God's plan for my life! He wants me to take care of my home, and watch out for those living in it. When I look at it in this way, it changes everything! If I'm doing all of these things for the Lord, then I won't get "weary in well doing".
The other thing was that I was reminded that God NEVER calls us to something that He doesn't equip up and empower us to do, so if God has called me to this, He will supply what I need, He will equip me and empower me to do! Therefore the description, of the Proverbs 31 woman is not something that is unattainable, or out of reach!
Praying for you this week, as you seek to glorify the Lord and take care of your home and your loved ones!
Joy
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Exciting times...
Hi Friends! Things have been very busy and exciting the last few days for the Anzalone family. We have spent the last week in Latacunga, where we have gone through the adaptation time with our son, Mateo. Yesterday we signed papers that make us his legal guardian until the adoption is finalized.
We will leave here tomorrow and go to Quito, where we will start the entire process over with our daughter, Carla.
I really appreciate your prayers for our family at this time!
The church is going well, and they are getting ready to start construction on the auditorium building.
Have great week!
Blessings,
Joy
We will leave here tomorrow and go to Quito, where we will start the entire process over with our daughter, Carla.
I really appreciate your prayers for our family at this time!
The church is going well, and they are getting ready to start construction on the auditorium building.
Have great week!
Blessings,
Joy
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
We arrived in the US on Wednesday morning, July20th. We had an uneventful trip, which is ALWAYS nice.
Tony and I both had doctors check-ups on Friday, the 23rd. That all went well. I have a couple appointments at the end of August, right before we head back to Ecuador.
Saturday we drove over to Knoxville, and enjoyed spending the night and visiting with good friends, Pete and Sonya Wright. It was fun to catch up with them. Teddy really enjoyed having time to play with Megan, who is also 8. Sunday morning we were at West Park Baptist Church. It was great to be in one of the Adult Bible Fellowships for the 9:30 service and in the 11:00 Worship service. It was good to see old friends! We had a WONDERFUL lunch at the Chop House, with Mark and Carol Weaver. What's not to love about giant sweet potatoes and Prime Rib?! :-)
Yesterday, we made the trip from Crossville to Springfield. We left really early in the morning, and made great time. It was so fun to get here and be able to see and hold the babies! We are sooo very blessed.
I pray that each of you enjoys the blessings of the Lord this week!
God Bless,
Joy
Tony and I both had doctors check-ups on Friday, the 23rd. That all went well. I have a couple appointments at the end of August, right before we head back to Ecuador.
Saturday we drove over to Knoxville, and enjoyed spending the night and visiting with good friends, Pete and Sonya Wright. It was fun to catch up with them. Teddy really enjoyed having time to play with Megan, who is also 8. Sunday morning we were at West Park Baptist Church. It was great to be in one of the Adult Bible Fellowships for the 9:30 service and in the 11:00 Worship service. It was good to see old friends! We had a WONDERFUL lunch at the Chop House, with Mark and Carol Weaver. What's not to love about giant sweet potatoes and Prime Rib?! :-)
Yesterday, we made the trip from Crossville to Springfield. We left really early in the morning, and made great time. It was so fun to get here and be able to see and hold the babies! We are sooo very blessed.
I pray that each of you enjoys the blessings of the Lord this week!
God Bless,
Joy
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Friends
It is such a wonderful blessing to be part of the family of God! It makes it possible to meet people that you've never known before and after spending just a little bit of time with them, you feel like you have a friend for life.
Last Monday afternoon, Tony, Teddy and I took a bus trip to Guayaquil. We went there to meet a team of 5 people coming in from Knoxville, TN. They were all part of mission team from West Park Baptist Church. Of the 5 people Tony and I had the opportunity to meet 2 of them about a year and a half ago, for an evening meal.
Now after spending the week with them, we feel like each one of them is a very special friend, and we really do hope that they will be able to return and that we will be able to visit with them when we make a trip back to the US.
I am so thankful for each one of our supporting churches. For the friends we have been able to make in each one. For the impact many of you have made on our lives, on the lives of our children and on the lives of many people here in Ecuador.
This week, not only did these very special people minister to our church family and community, they also blessed our family and ministered to us.
Last Monday afternoon, Tony, Teddy and I took a bus trip to Guayaquil. We went there to meet a team of 5 people coming in from Knoxville, TN. They were all part of mission team from West Park Baptist Church. Of the 5 people Tony and I had the opportunity to meet 2 of them about a year and a half ago, for an evening meal.
Now after spending the week with them, we feel like each one of them is a very special friend, and we really do hope that they will be able to return and that we will be able to visit with them when we make a trip back to the US.
I am so thankful for each one of our supporting churches. For the friends we have been able to make in each one. For the impact many of you have made on our lives, on the lives of our children and on the lives of many people here in Ecuador.
This week, not only did these very special people minister to our church family and community, they also blessed our family and ministered to us.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
July is here!
Happy 4th July!!!! Hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends.
We are doing well here in Manta, Ecuador. The weather has finally cooled off a little bit and that has been really nice.
We had great services Sunday. The ladies are studying Elizabeth George's Bible Study, "A Woman After God's Own Heart". I have been so excited to see how many ladies are making the effort to attend the 10:00 Bible Study time. Please pray with me that this makes an impact in the lives of these precious ladies.
Tony met with the Architect for our church building this week. We now have an amount of steel and cement to purchase, and are on track to start the auditorium building in 3 weeks. William told Tony that it will take about 10 weeks! Please continue to pray as we work forward to get this building built. We have funds for the next step, but then we are just trusting the Lord to continue to provide.
We are scheduled to have our Home Study tomorrow. Please keep this in your prayers. We are excited to be moving on to this next step, which is the last big step for us to take, yet at the same time it makes us nervous. Teddy's questions today, indicated that he too is nervous about the process. He asked us today, if something could happen that would mean the children couldn't come live with us? Thank you for your prayers for us as we continue to walk through this process. We are trusting the Lord to do all things right.
Enjoy the rest of the week and have a wonderful week-end!
God Bless!
Joy
We are doing well here in Manta, Ecuador. The weather has finally cooled off a little bit and that has been really nice.
We had great services Sunday. The ladies are studying Elizabeth George's Bible Study, "A Woman After God's Own Heart". I have been so excited to see how many ladies are making the effort to attend the 10:00 Bible Study time. Please pray with me that this makes an impact in the lives of these precious ladies.
Tony met with the Architect for our church building this week. We now have an amount of steel and cement to purchase, and are on track to start the auditorium building in 3 weeks. William told Tony that it will take about 10 weeks! Please continue to pray as we work forward to get this building built. We have funds for the next step, but then we are just trusting the Lord to continue to provide.
We are scheduled to have our Home Study tomorrow. Please keep this in your prayers. We are excited to be moving on to this next step, which is the last big step for us to take, yet at the same time it makes us nervous. Teddy's questions today, indicated that he too is nervous about the process. He asked us today, if something could happen that would mean the children couldn't come live with us? Thank you for your prayers for us as we continue to walk through this process. We are trusting the Lord to do all things right.
Enjoy the rest of the week and have a wonderful week-end!
God Bless!
Joy
Stepping out by Faith...
I may have mentioned this on here before, because this is something that I thought about before, but was reminded of it again today while reading through the gospel of Luke.
I was reading today about Jesus feeding the 5,000 with the 5 loaves and 2 fish. You know, after he was handed the lunch, he turned and told them to have everyone sit down in groups...still just holding 5 loaves and 2 fish...then he lifted his eyes up to heaven and blessed the food...still just holding 5 loaves and 2 fish...then he broke the bread, and started passing it out.
Now I know that he was/is God, but he was also man. Think about it...there he was in front of over 5,000 people, basically telling them to get ready for lunch, and all he had in his hands was 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Yet he had such communion and faith and God to take that step...prepare everyone to eat, and thanked God in heaven for what he was going to do.
We are called to act on faith. To step out, before we can see the end result. That's not always easy. Sometimes it just involves me and maybe a few people close to me, but sometimes it's out there in front of a lot of people.
So what do you think? Are you ready to step out by faith? Trusting the outcome to the Lord?
I was reading today about Jesus feeding the 5,000 with the 5 loaves and 2 fish. You know, after he was handed the lunch, he turned and told them to have everyone sit down in groups...still just holding 5 loaves and 2 fish...then he lifted his eyes up to heaven and blessed the food...still just holding 5 loaves and 2 fish...then he broke the bread, and started passing it out.
Now I know that he was/is God, but he was also man. Think about it...there he was in front of over 5,000 people, basically telling them to get ready for lunch, and all he had in his hands was 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Yet he had such communion and faith and God to take that step...prepare everyone to eat, and thanked God in heaven for what he was going to do.
We are called to act on faith. To step out, before we can see the end result. That's not always easy. Sometimes it just involves me and maybe a few people close to me, but sometimes it's out there in front of a lot of people.
So what do you think? Are you ready to step out by faith? Trusting the outcome to the Lord?
Friday, June 25, 2010
"Hope is patience with the lamp lit." That has been on my desk top for the month of June. The idea of having the "lamp lit"...gives me the picture of someone waiting expectantly. I thought about the times when I have waited for Tony to return from a trip. How I would maybe bake his favorite cookies, and have things cleaned up and just making sure that everything said, "Welcome Home, we missed you!"
As we go through these months, we are waiting patiently, for the Lord to work and open doors. At the same time we aren't being idle. We are working on getting things organized around here...I have spent time cleaning out, closets and storage rooms. throwing away tons of stuff, and getting ready for a "garage sale". This morning was the first day for that, and it went amazingly well. I really was blown away, at how well we did, and I know it is just the Lord blessing us! :-)
We needed to get a bed made for Teddy's room, to make room for 2 boys in there. That is being done now and should be finished sometime this coming week. We also got the "guest room" painted, and are in the process of turning it into a little girl's room. That is fun! It has been quite a while since we had a little girl's room around here. So that is exciting, too! :-)
I have been working on figuring out what and how we are going to do school next year, and have ordered the curriculum we will use. Have just about got that figured out as much as possible, at this time. Tony is going to build 3 new small tables for our school room.
So that is a little of what has been going on around our house. We got all the Sunday School material packed into some trunks and taken to the church. So the ladies that help me with the Children's ministry is working on getting it organized and ready to go. We are using material that I organized in a 3 year cycle. That is all good, but for the 1st two years, we only had 2 classes and now we have 3, so I am working on getting material for ready for our "primary class", so that it will follow the plan also.
Besides working on Children's ministry stuff, I am also teaching the Ladies Sunday School class. We are presently using Elizabeth George's study, "A Woman After God's Own Heart". The women are really enjoying the study. We have had a good turn out for the first 4 weeks of this study...averaging about 30 ladies.
I appreciate your prayers for Tony, Teddy and I as we have our home study, this coming Thursday. (hopefully, that is when it is scheduled to be, but they haven't confirmed that.) Pray with us, that we actually have it, as there isn't a lot of wiggle room in the schedule. Also pray that the meeting goes well.
Please be praying for a team from West Park Baptist Church that will be visiting us from July 5-12. They will be in our services on Wednesday night, and we are having an outreach on Thursday in a new neighborhood, where we would like to start a new work. The plan now is to hand out fliers and show a movie. Then on Friday and Saturday we are having our first Family Retreat. Pray we have a good turn out and for the team as they work with us. Teaching classes for the children, teens, and adults.
Please be praying for me as I work on getting the material together for the primary class and also as I prepare the lessons for the Ladies Sunday School class.
God Bless you as you serve him wherever he has placed you!
Joy
As we go through these months, we are waiting patiently, for the Lord to work and open doors. At the same time we aren't being idle. We are working on getting things organized around here...I have spent time cleaning out, closets and storage rooms. throwing away tons of stuff, and getting ready for a "garage sale". This morning was the first day for that, and it went amazingly well. I really was blown away, at how well we did, and I know it is just the Lord blessing us! :-)
We needed to get a bed made for Teddy's room, to make room for 2 boys in there. That is being done now and should be finished sometime this coming week. We also got the "guest room" painted, and are in the process of turning it into a little girl's room. That is fun! It has been quite a while since we had a little girl's room around here. So that is exciting, too! :-)
I have been working on figuring out what and how we are going to do school next year, and have ordered the curriculum we will use. Have just about got that figured out as much as possible, at this time. Tony is going to build 3 new small tables for our school room.
So that is a little of what has been going on around our house. We got all the Sunday School material packed into some trunks and taken to the church. So the ladies that help me with the Children's ministry is working on getting it organized and ready to go. We are using material that I organized in a 3 year cycle. That is all good, but for the 1st two years, we only had 2 classes and now we have 3, so I am working on getting material for ready for our "primary class", so that it will follow the plan also.
Besides working on Children's ministry stuff, I am also teaching the Ladies Sunday School class. We are presently using Elizabeth George's study, "A Woman After God's Own Heart". The women are really enjoying the study. We have had a good turn out for the first 4 weeks of this study...averaging about 30 ladies.
I appreciate your prayers for Tony, Teddy and I as we have our home study, this coming Thursday. (hopefully, that is when it is scheduled to be, but they haven't confirmed that.) Pray with us, that we actually have it, as there isn't a lot of wiggle room in the schedule. Also pray that the meeting goes well.
Please be praying for a team from West Park Baptist Church that will be visiting us from July 5-12. They will be in our services on Wednesday night, and we are having an outreach on Thursday in a new neighborhood, where we would like to start a new work. The plan now is to hand out fliers and show a movie. Then on Friday and Saturday we are having our first Family Retreat. Pray we have a good turn out and for the team as they work with us. Teaching classes for the children, teens, and adults.
Please be praying for me as I work on getting the material together for the primary class and also as I prepare the lessons for the Ladies Sunday School class.
God Bless you as you serve him wherever he has placed you!
Joy
Monday, May 31, 2010
June is here...
I am so thankful for the service and sacrifice that so many have given to make and keep America free. What a blessing that we have to be part of such a wonderful country. I know that there are many problems, but it is still the greatest country in the world.
God Bless America!
Things are going well here in Manta, Ecuador. We are working on getting things organized for a Family Retreat in July. We have a group of 5 from West Park Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN coming to help us with this and we are very excited about it!
Last week the Tuesday night Bible Institute Class had their exam. It was extra long, so they will be finishing it this week. The Thursday night class started their new course, Life of Paul 3.
Friday I hosted the Young Ladies from the church for their monthly meeting. It was a great time together. 7 ladies were able to attend.
Sunday morning we started a new study, using Elizabeth George's book, "A Woman After God's Own Heart". We have been having a great attendance for this class. So many of the women are new Christians. Please be praying that the Lord will use this as they learn what it means to be a Christian woman, wife, mother...
Last week we received the last document we need for our adoption folder. We heard from our lawyer today, that we need to call the office in Guayaquil and make an appointment, so Tony was able to do that. We will be traveling to Guayaquil Wednesday afternoon, for a meeting Thursday morning. Thank you for your prayers as we travel there and please be praying that our meeting goes well.
Praying each of you experience the blessings of the Lord on your life this week.
Joy
God Bless America!
Things are going well here in Manta, Ecuador. We are working on getting things organized for a Family Retreat in July. We have a group of 5 from West Park Baptist Church in Knoxville, TN coming to help us with this and we are very excited about it!
Last week the Tuesday night Bible Institute Class had their exam. It was extra long, so they will be finishing it this week. The Thursday night class started their new course, Life of Paul 3.
Friday I hosted the Young Ladies from the church for their monthly meeting. It was a great time together. 7 ladies were able to attend.
Sunday morning we started a new study, using Elizabeth George's book, "A Woman After God's Own Heart". We have been having a great attendance for this class. So many of the women are new Christians. Please be praying that the Lord will use this as they learn what it means to be a Christian woman, wife, mother...
Last week we received the last document we need for our adoption folder. We heard from our lawyer today, that we need to call the office in Guayaquil and make an appointment, so Tony was able to do that. We will be traveling to Guayaquil Wednesday afternoon, for a meeting Thursday morning. Thank you for your prayers as we travel there and please be praying that our meeting goes well.
Praying each of you experience the blessings of the Lord on your life this week.
Joy
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Hi Everyone! Hope you are enjoying the blessings of the Lord in your life this week!
We had a good week-end here in Manta! Sunday morning we had a great attendance again, with 124 present. A great blessing was that Mirian's husband, Fernando came to church. Fernando accepted the Lord many years ago, and was instrumental in bringing his whole family to Christ, but then he got away from the Lord, and has been out of church and not interested in the things of the Lord. We understand that the Lord still has a lot to do in his heart to bring him back, but we were thrilled with the victory of seeing him in God's house!!!
I enjoyed a couple days away last week. I had the opportunity to make a trip to Guayaquil with my friend, Mirian. We enjoyed shopping, visiting, and just the fun of having a couple "girl days". :-)
Sunday evening we had a Teacher's meeting. There was a good attendance, and we feel that we were able to address a few things. Please keep our Sunday School ministry in your prayers. We are really a young church, and the majority of our workers are very young in Christ. We are trying to figure out how to have the best ministry for our children, and at the same time give everyone an opportunity to continue to grow in Christ.
Our nursery is working out really well. I was very "hands on" the first couple of weeks. I had spent so much time and energy, to get it set up, and it was hard to just turn it over, but the last couple weeks, I have stayed out of the way, and let the ladies in charge, do their job, and they are doing a great job, getting it all figured out! :-)
This week, I have been working on trying to sort out and organize the school room and the office. I have made quite a bit of progress and that is a great feeling!!!
We are awaiting the last document to arrive from the US, so that our adoption file is complete and we can take it to Guayaquil. It is suppose to arrive this week! Thank you for your prayers with us about this. The last time we checked, it had arrived in Quito and been released from customs!
Friday afternoon, the young women, (35 and under) are suppose to meet at my house. I appreciate your prayers for me, as I work on the devotion to share with them. This is a great group of ladies. All are new wives and young mothers. Most of the are very young in the Lord. There are about 6 of them that have been very faithful to get together once a month, and they are forming great friendships.
I pray that you have a wonderful week and that you sense the presence of the Lord in your ministry and work.
God Bless,
Joy
We had a good week-end here in Manta! Sunday morning we had a great attendance again, with 124 present. A great blessing was that Mirian's husband, Fernando came to church. Fernando accepted the Lord many years ago, and was instrumental in bringing his whole family to Christ, but then he got away from the Lord, and has been out of church and not interested in the things of the Lord. We understand that the Lord still has a lot to do in his heart to bring him back, but we were thrilled with the victory of seeing him in God's house!!!
I enjoyed a couple days away last week. I had the opportunity to make a trip to Guayaquil with my friend, Mirian. We enjoyed shopping, visiting, and just the fun of having a couple "girl days". :-)
Sunday evening we had a Teacher's meeting. There was a good attendance, and we feel that we were able to address a few things. Please keep our Sunday School ministry in your prayers. We are really a young church, and the majority of our workers are very young in Christ. We are trying to figure out how to have the best ministry for our children, and at the same time give everyone an opportunity to continue to grow in Christ.
Our nursery is working out really well. I was very "hands on" the first couple of weeks. I had spent so much time and energy, to get it set up, and it was hard to just turn it over, but the last couple weeks, I have stayed out of the way, and let the ladies in charge, do their job, and they are doing a great job, getting it all figured out! :-)
This week, I have been working on trying to sort out and organize the school room and the office. I have made quite a bit of progress and that is a great feeling!!!
We are awaiting the last document to arrive from the US, so that our adoption file is complete and we can take it to Guayaquil. It is suppose to arrive this week! Thank you for your prayers with us about this. The last time we checked, it had arrived in Quito and been released from customs!
Friday afternoon, the young women, (35 and under) are suppose to meet at my house. I appreciate your prayers for me, as I work on the devotion to share with them. This is a great group of ladies. All are new wives and young mothers. Most of the are very young in the Lord. There are about 6 of them that have been very faithful to get together once a month, and they are forming great friendships.
I pray that you have a wonderful week and that you sense the presence of the Lord in your ministry and work.
God Bless,
Joy
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Good Morning!!!
Good Morning, Friends! I have lost track of time, and keep thinking about posting on here, but then things happen, and it just hasn't gotten done! So sorry about that!
I will try to catch you up with our life, without writing a book, which I know no one has time to read, or even that much interest! :-)
My trip to the US with Teddy was wonderful! I got great reports from my doctors, and we were able to see all 3 girls and the 3 wonderful grandchildren!!! Spending time with my Mom and Dad was a treat too. Teddy also got to celebrate his birthday a week early, on the Monday before we returned, and had a great time at the "Bounce House" with his cousins Evan and Estella Jane.
While we were gone, Tony continued with the work here. The Youth Retreat was a great blessing. One young person accepted Christ and many other decisions were made. VBS went well too, with many children attending, and hearing the gospel.
Since we returned we have made a trip to Quito, which had 2 purposes. 1st we went to pick up some things donated for our church nursery. These are things that Stacey Smith had stored, since closing her home for abandoned babies. I can't even begin to express how grateful we are to have all of this wonderful stuff! We would have never been able to afford to purchase all of this, or even this quality of furniture and toys! The 2nd reason that brought us to Quito, was to meet with the director of "For His Children" and with our lawyer, (and theirs) about adopting 2 precious children. We returned home to Manta, with the news...
We are adopting Carla, age 6 and Mateo, age 5. They should be joining our family around September 1st!!!! We are very excited about this news, and praising the Lord, for the way he has led and guided each step in this process.
Here in Manta, we have been working at church. We got they Nursery set up and running. Sunday was our 3rd week to have it operating and it is going great!!! We have also had a Mini Missions Conference, where our church was challenged, and hearts were touched. Please pray for those who feel that the Lord is calling them into full time ministry.
On May 8th, we had a special Ladies event, in honor of Mother's Day. 28 ladies attended and had a wonderful time! Sunday, May 9th, we had a great service with over 30 mothers in attendance.
Last week, we had 124!!!! There were no first time visitors, which was sad, BUT to have 124 without visitors, WOW!!!!
Please be praying as we get the next part of the building underway. Pray for the different ministries in our church. Pray for workers, we are desperately in need of someone to come along side of Tony, full time to take on some of the pastoral responsibilities of the church. We know that God is in control and he has to right plan and the perfect family picked out already!
On a personal note, our good friends, Jim and Sharon Smith, have suffered a great blow, in the lost of their son Zac to cancer. Zac was only 33 years old, but God used him to touch many lives. He had an amazing testimony. I would ask you to please lift up Jim, Sharon and Stacey Smith in your prayers, along with Zac's wife Mandy, and their 3 precious children, Lizzy, Jake and Luke.
Thank you for your support and prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta, Ecuador!
God Bless,
Joy
I will try to catch you up with our life, without writing a book, which I know no one has time to read, or even that much interest! :-)
My trip to the US with Teddy was wonderful! I got great reports from my doctors, and we were able to see all 3 girls and the 3 wonderful grandchildren!!! Spending time with my Mom and Dad was a treat too. Teddy also got to celebrate his birthday a week early, on the Monday before we returned, and had a great time at the "Bounce House" with his cousins Evan and Estella Jane.
While we were gone, Tony continued with the work here. The Youth Retreat was a great blessing. One young person accepted Christ and many other decisions were made. VBS went well too, with many children attending, and hearing the gospel.
Since we returned we have made a trip to Quito, which had 2 purposes. 1st we went to pick up some things donated for our church nursery. These are things that Stacey Smith had stored, since closing her home for abandoned babies. I can't even begin to express how grateful we are to have all of this wonderful stuff! We would have never been able to afford to purchase all of this, or even this quality of furniture and toys! The 2nd reason that brought us to Quito, was to meet with the director of "For His Children" and with our lawyer, (and theirs) about adopting 2 precious children. We returned home to Manta, with the news...
We are adopting Carla, age 6 and Mateo, age 5. They should be joining our family around September 1st!!!! We are very excited about this news, and praising the Lord, for the way he has led and guided each step in this process.
Here in Manta, we have been working at church. We got they Nursery set up and running. Sunday was our 3rd week to have it operating and it is going great!!! We have also had a Mini Missions Conference, where our church was challenged, and hearts were touched. Please pray for those who feel that the Lord is calling them into full time ministry.
On May 8th, we had a special Ladies event, in honor of Mother's Day. 28 ladies attended and had a wonderful time! Sunday, May 9th, we had a great service with over 30 mothers in attendance.
Last week, we had 124!!!! There were no first time visitors, which was sad, BUT to have 124 without visitors, WOW!!!!
Please be praying as we get the next part of the building underway. Pray for the different ministries in our church. Pray for workers, we are desperately in need of someone to come along side of Tony, full time to take on some of the pastoral responsibilities of the church. We know that God is in control and he has to right plan and the perfect family picked out already!
On a personal note, our good friends, Jim and Sharon Smith, have suffered a great blow, in the lost of their son Zac to cancer. Zac was only 33 years old, but God used him to touch many lives. He had an amazing testimony. I would ask you to please lift up Jim, Sharon and Stacey Smith in your prayers, along with Zac's wife Mandy, and their 3 precious children, Lizzy, Jake and Luke.
Thank you for your support and prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta, Ecuador!
God Bless,
Joy
Saturday, March 6, 2010
In the US
Teddy and I are enjoying a trip to the US. My doctors wanted me to come back for a check-up, and we decided if I needed to do that, we would take a little extra time to visit the girls and their families.
Before we left Ecuador, Teddy kept asking me if there was going to be any snow at Grandpa's house. I kept telling him, I didn't think so, because it was March, and they live in Tennessee. It is the beginning of Spring there. Well, wouldn't you know. Tuesday before we arrived, they had 3 inches of snow. A lot of it had melted, but there was enough left in Mom and Dad's yard for him to have a wonderful time playing on Thursday morning! He managed to make 2 small snowmen.
Yesterday, I had my first doctor's appointment. That went pretty well. My blood pressure is a little high, but he thinks since it was doing well in Ecuador, that it might be the "stress" of traveling and just everything that we are trying to do in the next few weeks. So we will see what happens. I appreciate your prayers concerning this.
Next week, I have another appointment with my surgeon, just to make sure everything has healed properly, from my surgery last fall. That will be on Tuesday and then on Thursday we are heading to Springfield, MO. to visit with Ashley, Lexi and their families. Thank you for praying for our travels.
While we are away, Tony is continuing with 2 Bible Institute classes. One meeting on Tuesday evening, and one on Thursday. Also the construction on building continues. March 12-14, we will be having a Youth Retreat. Please pray that we have a good turn out from our church. Pray for Tony as he works on organizing everything, also.
Then on March 24-28, they will be having VBS. We have already done quite a bit of planning for this, but as you know there is always more to do, and of course just the last minute stuff involved.
We are excited to see how the Lord continues to bless the ministry in Manta! Thank you so much for your prayers. God bless you as you serve him.
Joy
Before we left Ecuador, Teddy kept asking me if there was going to be any snow at Grandpa's house. I kept telling him, I didn't think so, because it was March, and they live in Tennessee. It is the beginning of Spring there. Well, wouldn't you know. Tuesday before we arrived, they had 3 inches of snow. A lot of it had melted, but there was enough left in Mom and Dad's yard for him to have a wonderful time playing on Thursday morning! He managed to make 2 small snowmen.
Yesterday, I had my first doctor's appointment. That went pretty well. My blood pressure is a little high, but he thinks since it was doing well in Ecuador, that it might be the "stress" of traveling and just everything that we are trying to do in the next few weeks. So we will see what happens. I appreciate your prayers concerning this.
Next week, I have another appointment with my surgeon, just to make sure everything has healed properly, from my surgery last fall. That will be on Tuesday and then on Thursday we are heading to Springfield, MO. to visit with Ashley, Lexi and their families. Thank you for praying for our travels.
While we are away, Tony is continuing with 2 Bible Institute classes. One meeting on Tuesday evening, and one on Thursday. Also the construction on building continues. March 12-14, we will be having a Youth Retreat. Please pray that we have a good turn out from our church. Pray for Tony as he works on organizing everything, also.
Then on March 24-28, they will be having VBS. We have already done quite a bit of planning for this, but as you know there is always more to do, and of course just the last minute stuff involved.
We are excited to see how the Lord continues to bless the ministry in Manta! Thank you so much for your prayers. God bless you as you serve him.
Joy
Friday, February 26, 2010
Where did February go?
I can't believe the month of February has gone by. We have been very busy around here! On the 7th our church celebrated it's 5th anniversary. We had over 135! Cliff McGhee came down from Quito and was our special speaker for the day. We recognized 17 people that had been baptized this past year! God has been so good to our church and ministry here.
After the service we had a great lunch that the ladies had prepared! Everyone had a wonderful time.
Tony, Teddy and I made a trip to Quito this month too. We left Sunday afternoon the 14th and drove to Santo Domingo, where we spent the night with our friends, Joe and Sylvia Wells, and then drove on to Quito on Monday morning, the 15th. While there we stayed with Cliff and Neoma McGhee. It was nice to visit the capital again, and we had good meetings while we were there!
On our return from Quito, Tony started Bible Insitute classes again. They will be meeting on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with our weekly prayer meeting in between on Wednesdays. Last Saturday was our monthly Ladies meeting at the church. We had about 25 ladies attend.
This afternoon our younger women had their monthly get together. They take turns hosting this meeting and always enjoy the fellowship. Today it was my privilege to bring the devotion.
On Wednesday morning, Teddy and I will be flying to the US. We will be in the States from the 3rd to the 30th. I have 2 doctor's appointments, and I appreciate your prayers about that. Everything seems to be going very well with my health and I am thankful for that. Because of the problem I had with my blood pressure before we left, my doctor told me he wanted to see me again so here I go....Also it will be 6 months since my surgery and my surgeon wanted to see me again too. :-) (I'm just a very popular person these days! )
We are looking forward to having some time visiting with my parents, and are planning a couple trips to visit the girls and the grand babies! You didn't think I would make a trip all the way back to the US and not see my grand babies did you? :-)
Appreciate your prayers for us as we travel. Also for Tony as he is here. During the month of March there is a planned Youth Retreat and a VBS...(I know it seems weird, but here on the coast of Ecuador, we are actually in the middle of our "Summer Vacation"!)
Have a wonderful week!
God Bless,
Joy
After the service we had a great lunch that the ladies had prepared! Everyone had a wonderful time.
Tony, Teddy and I made a trip to Quito this month too. We left Sunday afternoon the 14th and drove to Santo Domingo, where we spent the night with our friends, Joe and Sylvia Wells, and then drove on to Quito on Monday morning, the 15th. While there we stayed with Cliff and Neoma McGhee. It was nice to visit the capital again, and we had good meetings while we were there!
On our return from Quito, Tony started Bible Insitute classes again. They will be meeting on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with our weekly prayer meeting in between on Wednesdays. Last Saturday was our monthly Ladies meeting at the church. We had about 25 ladies attend.
This afternoon our younger women had their monthly get together. They take turns hosting this meeting and always enjoy the fellowship. Today it was my privilege to bring the devotion.
On Wednesday morning, Teddy and I will be flying to the US. We will be in the States from the 3rd to the 30th. I have 2 doctor's appointments, and I appreciate your prayers about that. Everything seems to be going very well with my health and I am thankful for that. Because of the problem I had with my blood pressure before we left, my doctor told me he wanted to see me again so here I go....Also it will be 6 months since my surgery and my surgeon wanted to see me again too. :-) (I'm just a very popular person these days! )
We are looking forward to having some time visiting with my parents, and are planning a couple trips to visit the girls and the grand babies! You didn't think I would make a trip all the way back to the US and not see my grand babies did you? :-)
Appreciate your prayers for us as we travel. Also for Tony as he is here. During the month of March there is a planned Youth Retreat and a VBS...(I know it seems weird, but here on the coast of Ecuador, we are actually in the middle of our "Summer Vacation"!)
Have a wonderful week!
God Bless,
Joy
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Every Sunday when we go to church, it amazes me to see how the Lord is working! We are thrilled to see people growing and serving the Lord.
This morning after the sermon, Tony asked everyone who wanted to make a public commitment to discipleship, to take up their cross and follow Christ. We had about 10 people go forward to pray. What an impact just those 10 people could make if they are sold out to the Lord, not to mention those already sold out!
I have a couple specific prayer requests for you today,
1. Please pray for Cristian and Monica. They are a young couple whose marriage started out in the not the best circumstances, and they are struggling right now. Pray that the Lord would be glorified in their marriage, and that they would work together to establish a Christian home in which to raise their baby boy, Ismael.
2. Please pray for the leaders in our church to be unified and to work out differences that they have with one another.
Have a wonderful week.
Joy
This morning after the sermon, Tony asked everyone who wanted to make a public commitment to discipleship, to take up their cross and follow Christ. We had about 10 people go forward to pray. What an impact just those 10 people could make if they are sold out to the Lord, not to mention those already sold out!
I have a couple specific prayer requests for you today,
1. Please pray for Cristian and Monica. They are a young couple whose marriage started out in the not the best circumstances, and they are struggling right now. Pray that the Lord would be glorified in their marriage, and that they would work together to establish a Christian home in which to raise their baby boy, Ismael.
2. Please pray for the leaders in our church to be unified and to work out differences that they have with one another.
Have a wonderful week.
Joy
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Off and Running!
We are approaching the end of January! I know I'm always saying I can't believe how fast time is flying by...that must mean I'm getting old! :-) I remember as a kid, thinking time just stood still!
We have had a great start to the New Year! The church is growing. We've had some new families coming and are excited to see what the Lord is going to do this year. We are praising the Lord for a special offering from Battlefield Baptist Church toward the construction of our building. At this time we are meeting in the unfinished 2nd floor of the education building. Our contractor is working this week on getting the electricity in up there... then we hope to get the small bathroom put in the "nursery" and that room tiled, and our other bathrooms and small kitchen in the ed. building tiled. After that we are planning on starting the main auditorium! Goal for getting that under way is March! Thank you for your prayers as we continue with this.
We are also in the process of planning our VBS which will be the last week in March, and because of the cost of youth camp this year, have decided to do our own thing near by...so that is also in the works. You ask, how much youth camp is costing this year...well it's $50 a camper, plus about $10 in transportation. I know you are thinking that is a really good price, but when you consider that that average salary is $300 a month, you realize that it is a lot of money for the people here, especially those with more than 1 teen! So we have found a few alternatives that will make it more reasonable, closer to $25 a camper. Please make this a matter of prayer as we iron out the details.
At this time Tony is meeting with 2 different families for discipleship classes. We are also getting ready to start Bible Institute classes up in February. There will be classes on Tuesday night and Thursday night. We have been having a Wednesday night Prayer meeting, that although not as well attended as we would like, is steadily growing. I think we had about 20 out last week.
This Saturday afternoon we will be having our monthly Ladies meeting. I appreciate your prayers as we get ready for this.
On February 7th the church will celebrate it's 5th anniversary! Cliff and Neoma McGhee are coming down to be our special guests. The women are planning a meal to serve after the service. God has been so good to us! What a blessing to see the work He has established in the last 5 years here in Manta!!!!
On February 14th, we will be adding our Sunday School hour again to our Sunday Morning Schedule. I have been working on getting the worksheets ready for the adult classes. So far I have the first 9 weeks done! YAY!!!!! We are using some basic discipleship lessons. This book, is called "Fundamentals of the Faith". Also on the 14th, we are planning to have an adult fellowship that evening. Still working on the details for that. :-)
I appreciate your prayers for me this week. I have meetings every afternoon we different ladies. Yesterday, the meeting was about our plans for VBS. Today, I'm not sure what it's about, :-)...Tomorrow, will be meeting with the director of a children's home in our area to find out some ways that the ladies and the church could be more involved in this ministry. We would like to be a blessing to them, but not cause them more work! Also tomorrow we will be meeting with a young single mom. Then on Thursday or Friday, I will be meeting with our Children's Ministry leader to discuss some things with the Sunday School....plans and problems. :-)
Well, I should post this. It is getting late, and I need to get breakfast on the table and school started with Teddy.
Thank you so much for your interest in our ministry and for your prayers!
God Bless you and you serve Him this week!
Joy
We have had a great start to the New Year! The church is growing. We've had some new families coming and are excited to see what the Lord is going to do this year. We are praising the Lord for a special offering from Battlefield Baptist Church toward the construction of our building. At this time we are meeting in the unfinished 2nd floor of the education building. Our contractor is working this week on getting the electricity in up there... then we hope to get the small bathroom put in the "nursery" and that room tiled, and our other bathrooms and small kitchen in the ed. building tiled. After that we are planning on starting the main auditorium! Goal for getting that under way is March! Thank you for your prayers as we continue with this.
We are also in the process of planning our VBS which will be the last week in March, and because of the cost of youth camp this year, have decided to do our own thing near by...so that is also in the works. You ask, how much youth camp is costing this year...well it's $50 a camper, plus about $10 in transportation. I know you are thinking that is a really good price, but when you consider that that average salary is $300 a month, you realize that it is a lot of money for the people here, especially those with more than 1 teen! So we have found a few alternatives that will make it more reasonable, closer to $25 a camper. Please make this a matter of prayer as we iron out the details.
At this time Tony is meeting with 2 different families for discipleship classes. We are also getting ready to start Bible Institute classes up in February. There will be classes on Tuesday night and Thursday night. We have been having a Wednesday night Prayer meeting, that although not as well attended as we would like, is steadily growing. I think we had about 20 out last week.
This Saturday afternoon we will be having our monthly Ladies meeting. I appreciate your prayers as we get ready for this.
On February 7th the church will celebrate it's 5th anniversary! Cliff and Neoma McGhee are coming down to be our special guests. The women are planning a meal to serve after the service. God has been so good to us! What a blessing to see the work He has established in the last 5 years here in Manta!!!!
On February 14th, we will be adding our Sunday School hour again to our Sunday Morning Schedule. I have been working on getting the worksheets ready for the adult classes. So far I have the first 9 weeks done! YAY!!!!! We are using some basic discipleship lessons. This book, is called "Fundamentals of the Faith". Also on the 14th, we are planning to have an adult fellowship that evening. Still working on the details for that. :-)
I appreciate your prayers for me this week. I have meetings every afternoon we different ladies. Yesterday, the meeting was about our plans for VBS. Today, I'm not sure what it's about, :-)...Tomorrow, will be meeting with the director of a children's home in our area to find out some ways that the ladies and the church could be more involved in this ministry. We would like to be a blessing to them, but not cause them more work! Also tomorrow we will be meeting with a young single mom. Then on Thursday or Friday, I will be meeting with our Children's Ministry leader to discuss some things with the Sunday School....plans and problems. :-)
Well, I should post this. It is getting late, and I need to get breakfast on the table and school started with Teddy.
Thank you so much for your interest in our ministry and for your prayers!
God Bless you and you serve Him this week!
Joy
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