Christmas and New Years!

I love the holidays!  We have been so blessed as a family.  This last month has been a special gift of time with family.  We have enjoyed my parents being here for the whole month.  They have had the opportunity to get to know Carla and Matthew and spend time with Teddy.  My Mom baked us many special treats, and helped me figure out some decorating ideas.  She also did some painting for me and my Dad did some little "fix-it" jobs, that have been needing to be done for awhile, but we just never seem to have the time to get around to them.:-)  We will be heading to Guayaquil with them tomorrow, as they fly back home on Thursday.  We are all going to miss them!

We have enjoyed the Christmas Season with the Children.  Spending time each evening during the month of Dec. reading verses and discussing different parts of the Christmas story.  It is has been so much fun to watch Carla and Matthew become more and more familiar with the story, and not just the story of Jesus but understanding that he was born so that he could die on the cross, so that we could be saved!  Teddy has also grown in his understanding of many different aspects of the Christmas Story.  On Christmas Eve we enjoyed our own Birthday Party for Jesus.  

We also had a great month at our church with high attendances of 155, 151 and 161!  The ladies enjoyed a wonderful Christmas Tea on Sunday afternoon, the 18th.  It was such a blessing to have the ladies take responsibility for so much of the tea, and follow through with it.  49 Ladies participated and had a wonderful time. We also had our children's Christmas program on the 18th.  Teddy was Joseph this year, Carla was one of the angels and Matthew was part of the "Multitude of Angels"  along with the rest of his class. :-)

On Christmas Day we had a "Birthday Party" for Jesus.  Each of the classes started out in their class rooms, playing games, doing a Christmas craft, having a snack.  (Even the adults and young people, we skipped the craft! :-)  Then we all went to the auditorium, and enjoyed singing Christmas carols, watching a puppet skit and a message from God's word.  We took a special offering for 2 of our missionaries and also collected toys, clothes and non-perishable items for a Children's Home in our area.  It was such a blessing to see our church being generous with others!

As this year comes to a close, I can't help but count all the many blessings the Lord has poured out on us and look with excitement at the coming year. I don't know what 2012 holds for the Anzalone Family, but I know the one who does and I am so glad that I can trust him to guide our family each step of the way!

Blessings and Happy New Year!

Joy

Celebrations and Blessings!

The last 2 months have been ones of celebration in the Anzalone house!   We have celebrated 3 birthdays and the kids enjoyed Halloween, and we also enjoyed celebrating the Ecuadorian Holiday, "Dia de los Muertos".  Then we had a wonderful Thanksgiving here with just our family this year.  Teddy was a little concerned at first when he realized we weren't having company, because he thought if there weren't a lot of people here we wouldn't have a "feast" as he likes to refer to it.  But we put that notion to rest! :-)  We had all of the classic dishes, and everyone was stuffed when dinner was over!  

What fun we've had celebrating the joys of life and marking special days as a family.  It is neat to see how the kids have grown and how God is continuing to mold us into a family.  A tradition of ours is to start decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving.  It has been a joy to see the kids faces light up as we pull out things that they remember from last year.  Carla mentioned the other day, that this was her 2nd Christmas.  Tonight we started our Advent Celebration.  One of the things we talked about was the giving aspect of Christmas, and that we wanted to think of people that we could give to this year.  Each of the kids thought of someone that they wanted to do something for.  It is so good to see them want to be generous to others.

The church is growing.  We had another evangelistic outreach in Jaramijo yesterday.  This one focused on the children.  There were about 40 kids that came to the program.  People from the church went and invited people and handed out about 300 tracks and invitations.  Our 4 puppet teams from the church, each presented a small skit.  In between the skits we had fun activities and music.  At the close Tony presented the plan of salvation.  At the end 12 boys and girls accepted Christ as their Savior!!  What a blessing!  Today, we had a great service.  134 attended the worship service and one man accepted Christ as his Savior at the end of the service.  

Tony has 2 Bible Institute classes going now.  Appreciate your prayers for him and for the students.  Also we are ready to get more things done on the building.  Work on the walls of the auditorium should be continuing soon and we are getting tile put in the large class on the main floor of the Education Building.  Exciting times!!

The Ladies are planning a Christmas Tea for Sunday afternoon, Dec. 18.  Appreciate your prayers for the planning and that this would be a great outreach opportunity for the Ladies Ministry.  I am very thankful for the ladies helping with the planning and organization of this program!

One more very special blessing for our family, is that my parents will be traveling down to Ecuador on Tuesday and staying for a month!  We are so excited to have them here for Christmas!  Carla and Matthew are very excited about meeting Grandpa and Grandma, and of course Teddy is excited to have them here for a visit!  Please pray for safety as they travel.

Blessings to you and yours!
Joy

There are no accidents....

Dear Pastor’s wife and Ladies,

Nothing ever happens by accident. Life is full of moments
when we have a choice to make. Will we be available or will
we be so preoccupied with ourselves that we miss the
opportunity that God places right before us. So often I’m
afraid that I fall into the latter group. I get so involved in my
life that I fail to see what the Lord has placed in front of me to do.

This month, I had the opportunity to travel to the US, to have
some medical check-ups and while I was there, I was able to
be involved in the wonderful Missions Revival at Battlefield
Baptist Church in Gainsville, VA. It was an incredible weekend
full of encouragement and blessings. When I got to the
airport for my return flight, I will admit that I was a little
nervous and unsure of things, since it was the first time I had
ever flown into and out of Dulles. Making my way to security,
I was waiting in line, and I heard the TSA lady ask, “Does
anyone speak Spanish?” I hesitated a moment thinking that
another officer would approach, but when they didn’t I said, “I
do”. Then I spent a few minutes trying to explain to 2 guys
from El Salvador that they could not both get through security
and on to a plane with only 1 boarding pass, even if they
were both flying together! I started back to my place in line
and was told to just stay there, so after she checked my
papers, another officer said, “I’ll be right back, I’m moving her
up to the front of the line because she was so helpful.” I
thought that was nice, but not really necessary since I had
plenty of time before my flight. I proceeded to my gate, and
after getting settled, a young lady sitting across from me
asked if I flew often…we started talking, and I asked if she
attended church. Long story short, I was able to share the
gospel with her and she prayed and accepted Christ as her
Savior! This experience made me stop and think, I wonder
how many other opportunities I have let slip by because I
was so preoccupied with myself? Oh that we would see this
world through the eyes of Christ!

God bless you as you serve where you are!

Blessings,  
Joy

Prayer Requests...

I want to thank each of you who take the time to read my updates and pray for our family and the ministry here in Manta!  You are all an incredible blessing to our family and we don't take that lightly.

Tomorrow after the services Tony, the kids and I will be traveling to Guayaquil.  We appreciate your prayers for a safe journey there.  Monday morning, I will be flying to the US for 3 weeks.  Yes, you read that correctly, 3 weeks!   Most of the first week will be spent with one of our faithful supporting churches in their Missions Conference.  This wasn't something that I actively sought out, but it is a special door that the Lord opened for me, and I am excited about going and praying that God would use me to be a blessing and an encouragement.  After that, I will return to TN and spend 2 weeks at my Mom and Dads.  I have medical exams and check-ups schedule, and I appreciate your prayers as I take care of all of that.  Also we are going to try and clean out a storage unit that we have there, and maybe have a "garage sale".  :-)  (it doesn't seem to matter where I go, I have "stuff" waiting for me to sort and clean out!  Why is that do you think?!  Maybe because I'm a "pack rat" and want to hold on to EVERYTHING!...well, I am, but I have to say, after seeing some of those shows on tv, I'm not really that bad! LOL!!)

I am grateful that the Lord is giving me the opportunity to see 2 of the girls and their families.  Jonathan, Lexi and Ren will be at the Missions Conference in VA. and Mike, Mandie, Ioan and Saranna are planning to come to my parents the last week-end I am there!

While I'm away, I really would appreciate your prayers for Tony and the kids, here in Manta.  Also for the Ladies Ministry at our church.  The leaders wives will be organizing the October Ladies which is the 2nd Saturday of the month.  They will also be organizing a baby shower for one of our faithful ladies.   It is really exciting to see how much these ladies have grown and their willingness to take on responsibility for the ministry.

One other special request is that the Lord would open the doors and that Tony would find favor with those in authority and that we would be able to get our "new" car registered.  I would explain the situation to you, but it wouldn't make any sense...truth is it doesn't make any sense to us! LOL!    It just seems that for some reason the "computers" aren't "talking" to each other between the different agencies, or for that matter cities...even though they are suppose to be all "networked" together now.   Anyway, we know that God has not been surprised by any of this.  Thank you for your prayers.  

I am praying that each of you receive blessings beyond your imaginations, and that in each of your lives, your homes and your ministries, God is glorified!

Joy

In the End, God Wins!

Tomorrow morning we will be finishing our study on Esther in the Ladies Sunday School class.  What an incredible study it has been.  I don't know why it continues to amaze me, that no matter how familiar a story or Bible passage is, there is always something new to learn!  That is what it means when it says in Hebrews 4:12, 

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  

The Word of God is living and active. That is just the neatest thing!  Every week, when I prepare the lesson, it has just been such an incredible thing to see how God has used it in my own life.   

As we finish up the story of Esther, we are reminded that in the end God really does win!  It doesn't really matter what is happening at this very moment.  God will turn our sorrow into joy and mourning into laughter!  The other thing that really stuck out to me in the end of the book, was just how very important it is for us to make monuments of remembrance.  This month, has been the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  All of us I'm sure can remember exactly where we were, and when we heard the news.   Because of that, it is almost inconceivable to us, that anyone could ever forget or not know what happened on that fateful day.  Yet, the truth is, there are children that have been born during this last 10 years, that have no idea what 9/11 is.  And without monuments of remembrance they will grow up and have no idea.  So just as it is important for us to have memorials and monuments in our country, it is also important to have them in our lives too.  I'm not talking about shrines here.  We are talking about monuments that teach our children and those after us, from our failings.  We aren't enshrining our failures, we are praising God for the victories that he brought about.   In Esther, after the enemies of the Jews were vanquished there was a celebration!  Before Esther walked off the scene and let Mordecai and King Ahasuerus, get back to business, she made sure that the days of Purim would be observed at their appointed seasons.   Esther 9:29-32  Why was this important?  Because, each year at the feast of Purim from the time of Esther to this present day, the Jews recounted the story of how Haman tried to destroy them, but how Almighty God saved them.  Every child grew up knowing what happened.   

That has made me stop to think...am I living at a shrine to my past failures and shortcomings?  Do I spend time thinking about what might have been or should have been or could have been if only?  Or have I made a monument of remembrance for the incredible victories God has brought about in my life?  Do I celebrate the joy of my salvation and the freedom I have been given in Christ?   Keeping my eyes on Him?  

What an incredible blessing to know that in the end, God wins!  2 Timothy 4:7-8,

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Sometimes God is silent...

Sometimes God is silent.  That doesn't mean he isn't there.  I may not always see or hear God working, but I can always trust that he is there.  He has promised to never leave me!  In the Ladies Sunday School class we are continuing our study on the book of Esther.  The last two weeks we have looked at the Sovereignty of God. As I was preparing for the lesson last week, I was thinking about Job.  We read the book of Job, and see the whole story from God's perspective.  But if you stop and think about it.  Job didn't know any of the things that we know.  He went from one day being on top of the world, to having his whole world come crashing in on top of him.  While he was dealing with the grief and pain of his losses, and then the physical pain of his illness, he couldn't see the end.  He didn't know about the conversation God and Satan were having.  He didn't know that God was going to bless him more than he could ever imagine in the not too distant future.   

It is so easy for me to get stuck in the present.  About 10 days ago, Tony and Teddy took our daughter, Lexi, and her family to Guayaquil to catch their plane back to the US.  We had talked about all of us going, but there is no way that we could all fit in our car, and we decided that the expense of all going in a rented van, and then the hotel and meals out, were just going to be more than we felt we could spend.  So Carla, Matthew and I stayed home.  I have to admit that I was a little resentful...wondering why God would do this to me!  (I know I sound like one of my kids! ;-)  Well, Tuesday morning, we got up and I fixed breakfast for the kids and me. After breakfast, I read a passage from the Bible, and was talking to Carla and Matthew about it.  In the course of the conversation, I asked each of them if they had asked Jesus to forgive them of their sins and be their Savior.  We've asked this many times, and the answer was always the same.  Carla always told us, "no", and when we ask if she would like to, she always responded, "no".  So imagine my surprise when on this morning, I asked her, and she said, "Yes, Mommy, I want to ask Jesus to be my Savior!"  What joy filled my heart, as I was able to tenderly lead her to Christ!  Later, while I was washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, God spoke to my heart.  "If you had gone to Guayaquil, Carla would not have accepted me as her Savior, this morning!"   For me this was the Lord, gently showing me that although, I may not always understand what is happening, or not always enjoy what I'm going though, He has a plan!  He is my loving Heavenly Father, and he is always working things for my good.  I may not enjoy the process, (I never did enjoy getting a shot when I was a kid, but my parents always took me to the doctor anyway! :-) but he is at work, making me into the image of his son. 

This morning we had 119 in the Worship service.  2 precious adults accepted Christ as their Savior.  Then on the way home in the car, Matthew pops up and says, Mommy today in my class, I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins.  We aren't sure if he understands, but we are so thankful for his tender heart, and are trusting God to continue to draw him to himself.

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta.  God continues to work in the lives and hearts of people.  Please continue to pray for my friend, Marti.  I had the opportunity of leading her to Christ about 3 weeks ago.  She made it to church once, but the last couple weeks Satan has been working overtime to keep her out of God's house! Please pray that she would be able to grow and learn to trust God. Please pray for Lexi's friend, Gaby.  She was able to see her a couple times while they were here, and even got Gaby to visit the church.  Pray that she would come to know Christ as her Savior.   Continue to pray for young families in our church.  Many are facing family problems.  

I pray that you have a week full of blessings from the Lord as you serve him, where he has placed you!

Joy 

Pain and Life...

We have been studying Esther in the Ladies Sunday School class.  This morning the lesson was "An Interlude with Evil".   Not very encouraging! :-)  You know pain is part of life.  There's no getting around it.   Bad things happen...be it natural disasters or horrible accidents or children born with birth defects or disease or just plain wickedness.   Often times, when there has been a terrible event...accident that takes the lives of children, or a natural disaster, people often ask, How could God let this happen?  Well, I think it is important, to remember that all of this is a result of the fact that we live in a fallen world.  I mean sin entered and with it all the consequences we see today. 

As a child of God, I know that God is working in my life to mold me into the image of His Son.   That means everything that he allows to come into my life, he is using to do that work.  I also know that He will never leave me and that his grace is always sufficient.  Wow!  That means that no matter what comes my way, my loving Heavenly Father, knows all about it.  He is using it to form me into the image of Jesus.   It will all bring Glory to Him.   He also is right there with me, and filling me with his grace and strength.   He has promised to always give me what I need for today.  I've not been promised grace for tomorrow.  That will come tomorrow.

God is working in the hearts and lives of people here in Manta!  This week Tony was able to lead two precious souls to Christ.  Two new young couples are now on the road to building Christian homes that will honor Christ.   There are many road blocks and obstacles for each of them to overcome, but with God's help and grace, they can be victorious!

It has been so exciting to see people getting involved and taking ownership of the new puppet ministry.  All 4 teams, have been working really hard.  The first month, they all worked on skits and programs that had been provided for them.  This month, they have each one had to come up with their own.  It has been such an encouragement to me to see them excited and really creative.   God is blessing their efforts.  Today we had 47 in the Children's Church.

This morning, Cristian and Monica dedicated their precious baby girl, Abbey.   This is a young couple who a year ago, we weren't sure were going to make it, and this morning, they were able to stand in front of the church and promise that they were going to do everything in their power to make sure that their precious daughter would grow up in a home that honored the Lord!   Please keep this precious family in your prayers.  God is doing a work in their lives.

Please pray with us for continued growth in the lives of the baby Christians in our church.  Pray for the Lord to supply the funds needed to finish the church building.  Pray for the Sunday School teachers, and those working in our Children's ministry. 

Also please pray for safety as our son-in-law and daughter, Jonathan and Lexi travel to Ecuador this coming Tuesday, with our precious grand baby, Adrienne.   We are looking forward to our visit with them.  They are excited not only to be coming to visit with us, but to get a vision about what God might have in store for them in the ministry here in Ecuador.  

I want to thank each one of you for your support and prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta, Ecuador.  I pray that God would bless each one of you as  you serve him this week.

Life has been quite exciting for the Anzalone Family.  Teddy and I enjoyed spending 3 weeks in the US during the month of May.  It was a wonderful blessing to be present for the birth of our 5th grandchild.   We were also able to be there to see Jonathan and Lexi recognized as BBFI Team missionaries to Ecuador.   

We arrived back in Ecuador and hit the ground running.   That first week-end we were back, we had a special workshop to introduce those involved in our Sunday School to the puppet ministry.   We had 30 people sign up and attend the Friday evening and Saturday workshops.   We are very thankful to Jenny Carpenter for coming down and spending the week-end with us and doing such a great job with the workshops.   We were able to form 4 groups, and each one has taken a turn during our Children's Church.  This Sunday, we started the rotation again.  It has been great to see how excited and involved the groups have been.   

Last week, our family went to visit Joe and Sylvia Wells in Santo Domingo.  We had a great time with them.  Our children love to visit with Uncle Joe and Aunt Sylvia.   On Saturday we traveled on up to Quito and spent time with Glenn and Sherri McGhee.  It was really good to be in the services of the Iglesia Biblica Bautista, La Victoria, last Sunday.  While in Quito we were able to get Carla and Matthew's national ID cards.  We were also able to take Carla to see a pediatric cardiologist. She was also able to have have a few tests done, which gave us a better picture of what we are facing.  We would appreciate your prayers as we seek God's plan in all of this.  At this time it looks like Carla is going to need to have a procedure done to repair a defect in her heart.   We are trusting God to open the doors he has for us, and show us exactly When, Where and How this is to be done. 

We returned back to Manta on Wednesday.   Wednesday evening at prayer meeting and then Thurday at Institute class we were greeted with a torn up street around the church, and a horrible smell...they were putting in sewer lines!  It was a great blessing to get to the church this morning, and although the streets are still a mess there was no horrible smell!  

This week the kids and I will finish up our school year.  It has been extra long, because we didn't start until the middle of September last year, after Carla and Matthew joined our family.   We are all looking forward to our "summer vacation!"  Tony will be making the trip back to Santo Domingo on Thursday to preach at a Pastor's Retreat.  

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta!  God is working and lives are being changed.   

April is coming to a close....

We have had a great month!  It is amazing to see how the Lord keeps opening doors and opportunities.  I appreciate so much your prayers for our ministry and family!!

We started this month, with a short vacation.  This was the first time that we have taken our "new family" for a vacation.  We went down the coast a couple hours, and stayed at a very nice place right on the ocean.  It was great to get away.  We all had a wonderful time, even though Carla and Matthew weren't quite sure what was going on, and many times through out the 2 days we were there, they would ask, where are we going to eat...where are we going to sleep...what are we going to do next?  ;-)

While we were away for those couple of days, Teddy celebrated his 9th birthday!  It is hard for me to believe that he is already 9 years old!!!  What an incredible blessing he has been to our family!

We got back home on 6th and on the 8th was the 2nd meeting with the deacon's wives.  We started our Bible study at this meeting.  We are using the book, "Lies Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free".  We were also able to organize a Baby Shower, get some ideas going for our next Ladies Meeting and start making plans for a special Mother's Day Breakfast.

Last week, we attended a new Bible Study with some retired Americans who are now living in Manta.  Also had another meeting with the Deacon's wives, and continued to make plans for the upcoming events.

Easter Sunday, we had 139 for church, and 4 precious believers followed their Lord in Baptism after the service!

This week, I would appreciate your prayers as I prepare the devotion for our Ladies meeting Saturday at 4:00pm.  We are also starting a new music ministry, and will be meeting with those who want to be involved Saturday at 6:00pm.  Also please be in prayer for our special Mother's Day Breakfast.  We are planning on and praying for 50 ladies to attend.  It is open to all the ladies of the church and their friends and family.  We have encouraged them to invite their unsaved friends and family members.

I pray that God blesses you as you serve him in the place where he has planted you!
Blessings,
Joy

Life is certainly never boring, is it?  This we I had the opportunity of having the deacon's wives over for a Tea on Friday afternoon.  That was a lot of fun.  I enjoyed preparing for it and hosting it.  It was also a great time to just share and get them to start thinking and dreaming about ministry opportunities that we have.  Please keep this a matter of prayer as we work together to get some new ministries off the ground.   You know it is always easy to dream, but it becomes more difficult to put you feet to your dreams. ;-)

Yesterday afternoon was our monthly Ladies meeting.  We had about 24 attend and had a wonderful time of fellowship and prayer together.   It was encouraging to see one of our ladies give the devotion for the first time.  Nelly was very nervous, but she did a good job.   It was also neat to hear all the ladies praying when broke off into groups of 2 and shared our concerns and hearts with one another and took those to the throne of grace. 

It always amazes me how God can take imperfect people and use them to bring and honor and glory to him if they are just willing to surrender to him.   This morning we had about 30 ladies attend the morning Bible Study.  We were studying lesson 4 in our series of Biblical Principals of Discipline.   We ended up with 121 in church this morning.  We are looking forward to moving down to the auditorium space soon!

I have a special request for you this week.  It has come to our attention that the behavior and attitude of the wife of our "care taker" at the church, has not been what it should be.  Tony talked with her yesterday and her response was not one of repentance and acceptance of responsibility for any of the words or actions.  This evening Tony has a deacon's meeting and afterward  will be talking to both the caretaker and his wife.  I would ask you to be praying for wisdom and discernment on Tony's part and on the part of our leaders.  Also that God would soften her heart.  Above all please pray with us, that this would not harm God's work here. 

Thank you so much for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta!  We are so thankful that we have the opportunity to serve God here. 

Blessings,
Joy

"I just want to thank you for coming to Manta!"

Little Dominica was playing around an exercise machine at her house, and somehow got a metal rod stuck in her foot.   She yelled for her Mom and said, "Mommy pray for me, that I would have faith that Jesus would save me from this!  I don't want to have a little faith like Peter!" (Dominica had been to our VBS a week ago, where we studied Peter) Dominica's Daddy is not a believer.  He was very worried and scared about what to do for his daughter.  He told his wife, if I cut the rod, it is going to hurt her foot and she'll move it.  But Dominica responded to her Daddy, to just cut the rod, Jesus was going to save her and he would give her the strength to not move her foot.  So he did, but it took him over an hour to cut through the metal rod.  The whole time, he kept saying to his wife, pray for me, to have strength to do this!  

Once they had cut the rod and got her foot loose, they took her to the hospital.  Her mother said, they were sure there was damage to the tendons and nerves.   At the hospital, the doctor said, you'll have to hold her down, I'll have to give her a shot and then sew it up.  But little Dominica replied, you can do whatever you have to do doctor, because Jesus is with me and he will give me the strength I need!   The doctor looked at her mother and said, you are Christians.  

This morning as Alexander was telling me this, tears were rolling down her face.  She said, "Thank you, so much for coming to Manta, and for starting this church!  Thank you so much for teaching the Word of God to my daughter in the Sunday School!  God is using her to strengthen my faith, and God is using her to soften the heart of my husband.   She said, "this week, my husband said, I need to start going to church!"   He also told Alexander that they would get legally married, so that she could get baptized!   They have an appointment to do that on Tuesday!

While she was talking to me, little Dominica ran up.  She was wearing some cute little sandals and she had a small bandage in the middle of her foot.   We are praising the Lord that there was no serious damage done to her foot!   Please pray for John that he would come to know Christ as his personal Savior! 

Praise the Lord with Us!

This week 14 teens gathered at a local camp for our youth retreat.  It went Thursday afternoon - Saturday afternoon.  It was a great time of growing for them.  We are so thankful the young people that God has brought to our church and for those that have been willing to work with them. 

This morning we continued our Sunday School lessons on Biblical Principals of Discipline.   It has been exciting to see how well the ladies are receiving these lessons.  Pray with us that they will be able to apply these principals in their homes.

We had a great attendance of 140 this morning for our church service and 2 precious young people accepted Christ!  We also had several 1st time visitors.  It is so exciting to see Christ working in people's lives!

Thank you so much for your prayers for the ministry here in Manta!  Thank you for your prayers for our family!

Blessings!
Joy

Let the Little Children Come....

We've had an incredibly full week, but then most weeks are, right?!  On Wednesday night we started our VBS.  We had a good number of kids turn out and more adults to help than we knew what to do with.  What an awesome problem to have.  I had helped organize it and get the material, etc.  but when it came to running the program, my only job was taking pictures!  It's really neat to see the people take ownership of things and put them into action!    We averaged about 50 children each evening.   Our main Sunday School teachers took the responsibility of teaching their classes, with some extra help.  Tony handled the opening, which included a song, and usually a little game or something that involved the kids.  Then after their classes they came back upstairs and for the closing time, about 6 men in the church had worked the class time, with Tony to put together a skit that dramatized the story they had that night.  The guys did a great job.  They had a lot of fun and the kids remembered the lessons! 

We had word that a few children accepted Christ.  On a personal note Matthew prayed to ask Jesus to forgive him of his sins and save him, in his class, Wednesday night!   We have talked to him about it a few different times, and he always tells us the same thing, so I think he really did understand what he was doing.  I would ask you to pray with us that Carla would come to know Jesus as her Savior.  I asked her when I was putting her to bed, if she had ever prayed and asked Jesus to forgive her of her sins and be her Savior and she told me, No.  She wasn't ready to do it yet.  So just pray with us, that as she keeps learning more and more, that she would understand her need for Christ.  

We had a great day yesterday!  All the Children were in the service, for the opening.  Each class presented a song and a verse for the parents.  Then we sang all the songs we had song during our VBS week.  It was fun. The guys who had helped with the skits and music all week,  helped with the music. 

Thank you for your prayers for our ministry and for our family.  It is exciting to see what the Lord is doing here in Manta, Ecuador! 

God Bless!
Joy

Showers of Blessings always seem to bring on the Storms!

Have you ever noticed how when there are blessings pouring down there are always storm clouds brewing? It seems to me that Satan is always ready to try and steal away our joy.

We had a fantastic day, today!  157 in church!  That is one of the best attendances we have had, and it wasn't a "special" day!  No meals served, no holiday, nothing!  Then after church we had our first Baptism Service using our baptistery, (unfinished though it may be! :-)  17 people were baptized this morning!!!  What an incredible blessing.  Right before the baptism, we had a couple stop us and tell us they had been working to get everything straighten out so they could get married and they were getting married this Friday!  They asked if Tony and I would come to the court house to be their witnesses.  In this culture we have so many people living in what they refer to as "Free Union", that it is a huge victory when they make the decision to get married. Right after church another couple told Tony that they were getting prepared and they wanted to be baptized the next time, we have a baptismal service!!

Yesterday, we had 30 ladies show up for our ladies meeting and 1 lady accepted Christ as her Savior after the meeting!  

So you say, WOW!!! what could possibly go wrong after 2 days full of blessings?!?!?!

This evening we went back to church for an organizational meeting for our VBS.   When everyone broke up into their small groups to go over some things, I went down stairs to check on the kids.  One of our sweet ladies was down there, and she wanted to talk to me.  Then she started crying...Well, you don't need to know all the details of our conversation, but it boils down to another lady in the church, allowing herself to be Satan's instrument to tear down and try to hurt another.   After we got home, I sent the kids upstairs to play so Tony and I could talk.  First thing Tony said, was, well, we've had a great day, so Satan is trying to steal our joy!

Well, it's not going to happen!   Yes, we will have to deal with the situation, but this has been an incredible day of victory and blessing, and I am going to bask in it just a little bit more! :-)

So I invite you to bask in it with me!  Praise the Lord with us for all of these blessings.  Pray with us for wisdom to gently guide and council those the Lord places in our care.  Pray for a great VBS this week, too!  It will be Wednesday-Sunday.

Have a wonderful week!
Blessings,
Joy

 Here's a picture of the 17 people that were baptized this morning with Tony.

Valentine's Dinner Menu

I did a fancy 4 course dinner...It was a lot of fun! 

Course #1- simple green salad served with Italian Herb bread

Course #2- Strawberry gelatin fruit cup

Course #3- Chicken Alfredo

Recipe adapted from Todd Wilbur's book, Top Secret Restaurant Recipes. 

1/2 cup butter/margarine
2 cups of evaporated milk
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 12 oz package of fettuccine pasta
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 a chicken breast, cooked and shredded
4 slices of bacon chopped

Put water on to boil for Pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add the evaporated milk, garlic powder, and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.  While sauce is simmering, cook the chopped bacon.  When bacon is cooked add shredded chicken breast and saute until chicken is heated through.   Add chicken and bacon to sauce, along with Parmesan cheese.  When ready to serve pour sauce over cooked pasta.  Garnish with a little more Parmesan cheese.  

Course #4- Strawberry Cordial Pie


This recipe comes from the website of a local Knoxville, Tennessee television station.  www.wbir.com

Crust-
1/2 cup margarine-softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups flour

Mix will, and press into a 9 inch pie plate.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 400F.  Cool.
(Special note:  Next time I will cut the amount down, as I personally thought the crust was a little bit too thick.)

Filling: 
1 package of Chocolate Chips, (I used 2 cups).
1/2 Cup of milk

Place in a microwave safe mixing bowl, and melt, stirring every minute or so, until smooth.   Pour into crust.  Chill 1 hour or more.  

Top with Sliced strawberries

(Tony was wondering where I put his fork! LOL!!)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

We are on "School Break" this week.  We finished up our first semester last week!  I can't tell you what a great feeling that was!   Everyone was more than ready for a break, too, so this all worked out great! :-)

Our first day off, has been pretty laid back.  I have been working on getting things ready for a special Valentine's dinner tonight.  Actually it was going to be a special lunch, but I got a little behind, and Teddy has tennis class from 3 to 4, so we just decided it would work out better to make it a dinner.

We are having Chicken Alfredo with salad, homemade Italian Herb bread, strawberry jello salad, and "Strawberry Cordial Pie".  (recipes will follow in another post, for those of you interested. :-)

On Saturday, the kids made valentines for each other and for Tony and I.   They also decorated lunch bags, for "mail boxes".  I also found a lot of ideas for valentines on FamilyFun.com, and I made several different things to stick in their bags.  One of the neat things I found, was "coupons and checks", which I printed out and put together in a little book for each of them.   I never went quite this far when Mandie, Ashley and Lexi were little.  We would usually have a special dinner or breakfast, and cards and a little gift for each other.   They always had a Valentine's Party at school, so there really wasn't any reason to do all of that at home.  This year, I decided, since Teddy, Carla and Matthew, have never had a Valentine's Party at school, we would try to do something kind of like that at home, along with our special dinner.   Thus, the "mail boxes" and the little "valentines" for everyone.

Well, it's time to go finish up dinner and get things moving.  I hope each of you have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

God Bless!
Joy 

What's cooking around here?

We usually always make cookies around the holidays. In recent years I have been just making cut-out sugar cookies, that Teddy enjoyed decorating. This year, with homeschooling 3 kids and just trying to keep us all on track, I haven't really had time for much baking or much of anything "extra".

The other day, when I was cleaning out some stuff, I came across my cookie press. I haven't used it in a long time. I was talking to my Mom, who mentioned using her cookie press and how much easier it was, so I thought I would give it a try. I also remembered that years ago, my Mom used to make "jello cookies" with her cookie press. So I got on-line and I found this recipe at the Kraft website, yesterday.

This afternoon, while the kids were in the pool, I went in the kitchen and baked some cookies. They came out so good and were really pretty easy. I think I will definitely be using my cookie press more often! :-)

"Jello" cookies

31/2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 1/2 Cups butter or margarine
1 Cup of sugar
2 3oz. packages of jello, (same flavor)
1 egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix the flour and baking powder and set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat until creamy, the butter, sugar and egg. Add 1 package of jello and vanilla and beat well. Slowly add the flour and beat until well mixed. (Can mix by hand. I have a Kitchen Aid and use it for everything! ;-)

Fill your cookie press and press out whatever design you want on to greased cookie sheets. They don't spread very much, so you can place them pretty close together. Sprinkle with the other box of dry "jello". Bake in a hot oven, 400F, for 5 to 6 minutes. Check, you might need to bake them a minute or 2 more, but watch them close because they can burn fast. I lost 1 1/2 pans today.

Special note: Instead of using a 2nd box of gelatin, I sprinkled my cookies with pink sugar. ;-) Also today, for our heart shaped cookies, I used Cherry gelatin. If you don't have a cookie press, you can let the cookie dough chill a little bit, and then form into balls and press with a fork, (like for peanut butter cookies) or with a glass. The recipe on the Kraft website said to bake them 6 to 8 minutes, but the one pan I left in there 8 minutes is the one I burned.

In my shoes....

Today, has been hot, overcast and very muggy in Manta. Not the kind of day, you would expect to be anything out of the ordinary. It's a day, you would like to stay inside with the air conditioner on full blast and just enjoy the cool with a tall glass of iced tea!

But it is Sunday. So that means, getting up, reviewing your Sunday School lesson one last time. Fixing breakfast for the family, making sure the kids have their clothes out and are getting ready for church. Then fixing your hair, putting on your make-up, that you know will be "melting off" in a matter of minutes after you walk out the door, but you do it anyway, because you can't imagine heading to church with your hair not fixed and your make-up not on! ;-)

Driving to church, you review the kids Bible verses with them, remind them that you are going to be talking to their teachers after church to see how they behaved, so you expect them to be good, no matter what the other kids might do! About half way to church, it starts to rain...and you think about all the mess that can cause, and hope that it doesn't last long!

When you arrive, you greet everyone, and make sure the Sunday School teachers have what they need, and the Nursery workers are all set, then you head upstairs to your class, which is at one end of the "auditorium" and the Men's class is at the other, with the older children's class behind you separated by a curtain. You start out with the 10 ladies that are there, and after greeting them, ask if anyone has anything for which they are thankful for this week? Blank stares greet you. You think, oh yeah, I can tell this is going to be a good one! Then finally a few ladies start to raise their hands, and share some blessings. Then you take some prayer requests, and get ready to start the class. By this time you are facing about 15 to 20 ladies. While you are listening to the opening prayer, the kids behind you are singing and you are straining really hard to hear the prayer, so you can start talking after the "amen" and not before, or not keep your head bowed for an extended period of time either. It is so hot that sweat is rolling down your back and dripping off your face. You try to ignore it.

After class, (which ended up being about 30 ladies!) you go and check again with the Sunday School teachers and Nursery workers, to make sure their replacements have shown up. The nursery is short a worker so you see what you can do about finding someone for them. The other classes are fine, so you head back up stairs and get to your seat in the middle of opening prayer. You started sitting up front with the Pastor because that way you aren't distracted, by the kids/people going in and out. Which just aggravates you and makes you want to yell at someone!

The song service starts, and you notice, that they are still having problems getting the bulletin printed so it folds up right...I know probably not that big of a deal, but it is an "irritant." The music starts. They are introducing not just one new song, but 2...but they are good songs and the messages are good. One song talks about how in heaven the Sun won't be there, giving it's light or it's heat, and you are thinking, how wonderful that will be to be without this unbearable stifling mugginess! The kid that handles the sound equipment keeps messing with buttons, but you just decide to ignore him. After all, he doesn't cause any major problem this morning! After the music, they are giving the announcements and you notice that for some reason they have erased the announcement for the next ladies meeting at the end of the month, so thankfully you are sitting by the Pastor, and he can add that announcement later! There are definitely some "perks" in having the Pastor's ear! ;-) Then it's time to welcome 1st time visitors...Viviana gets up and introduces her brother, Emilio who you have been praying for the past several months! She says, Emilio accepted Christ this week! Then Neiger introduces a friend of his and he says, He accepted Christ this week and would appreciate your prayers as he starts his Christian walk! Then Consuelo introduces a family of 4 and says, "They have all recently accepted Christ!" OK, so suddenly, the heat, the dirt, the lack of nursery workers, the kid messing around with the sound equipment, the crooked printed bulletin...None of it really matters! You have just been introduced to 6 people who have given testimony that they have accepted Christ!!

After church you find out that another man, Javier, Paola's husband, that you have been praying for during the past 3 years, has accepted Christ as his savior, too! We had 125 in attendance this morning. No we aren't a perfect church, but by God's grace he is using this work to impact the hearts and lives of people in this city! God is good! All the time! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Anniversary

This past week-end marked the 6th anniversary of the church here in Manta! In some ways it is hard to believe that it has been 6 years since that Sunday morning that we met in Wilson and Rosalena's living room for our 1st service. That morning about 30 people gathered together. Lexi and I took the children downstairs and met for Sunday School in what was the Gonzalez's little stationary store.

Many things have happened since that first Sunday morning. We met in two rented locations in that neighborhood. The Lord blessed us with a pieces of property and about a year and half ago we moved to start meeting in our own buildings, rough and unfinished though they may be. :-)

Besides the changes in our meeting facilities, the biggest changes have been in the lives of people! We have watched the church grow from around 30 people that first Sunday to consistently averaging 120 for our morning worship services. While some people have come and gone, it is such a blessing to see the Lord work in the lives of people that have given their life to Him. Isn't it wonderful to know that God will take us and use us in his work, so long as we are willing to just turn it all over to Him!

This month also marks a special time in the Anzalone's ministry in Ecuador. 20 years ago, this month, we arrived in Quito, Ecuador with 3 little girls and small mountain of suitcases. What an incredible adventure the last 20 years have been! We are praising God for allowing us to be a part of his work here.

I want to thank each one of you that have supported us over the years with your prayers and your money!

God Bless!
Joy

Here is a link to the pictures of our church's story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Yr8N7h_S4

Are you looking to see what God is preparing?

1 Corinthians 2:9

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

I don't know where you are right now. Maybe out in the ice and snow trying to get to work, or home from work. Maybe at home, snug and warm, praying that God keeps the power on and your loved ones safe.

Maybe you are miles away, (a continent perhaps, ;-) from your loved ones, and praying that God keeps his hand of protection upon them.

Wherever you are right now, God has the same promise for you if you love him. He has prepared incredible things for you! Way beyond your wildest imagination. God is at work right now!

I pray that God pours out blessings upon your life today, and that you are in tune with him, so that you can actually recognize them! How many times do I miss God's wonderful blessings because my eyes are focused on some little problem (or big problem!) I'm dealing with instead of just turning it all over to him, and trusting him to work it out for his glory!