Happy Birthday America!

Well, it is almost July 4th. We will probably have a quiet day here at home. I am thinking we will grill hot dogs and hamburgers. Not really sure what else. There aren't any firework shows to go to but maybe we will see some on TV. :-)

We had a great day at church Sunday. There were 65 in Sunday School and 84 in the church service. We had 7 first time visitors in church! It was very exciting to see people so happy because their friends that they had invited came to church! We also had 2 teen girls come to church that we had met at the park while the group from KC was here.

There are a lot of things planned for the coming weeks. Next Sunday evening we will be having a meeting for all our Sunday School Teachers and those interested in working with the children. We are also going to be celebrating the Lord's Supper on the 8th. Lexi and Jonathan will be here until the 13th. We will be taking them to Quito to fly out. We hope to get the Sunday evening Youth Group started up again on the 15th.

We are also in the process of raising money to purchase the property for our church. We will be making that purchase in mid-August. Please be praying with us as this time draws closer.

Here at home, I am staying busy too. I started Home Schooling Teddy this morning. I know it is early, but we decided to go ahead and get started because we have several trips planned this year, and by starting now, we not have to be so pressured to get finished by May next year. I really do enjoy working with him. We are working hard to get into a structured schedule and stick to it as much as possible. I have also promised Lexi that I would help her make a "duvet cover" before she leaves, so that will be something we will get to work on this week.

Today, Tony took Lexi and Jonathan to Guayaquil, to see some of the sights. They left here about 7:30 this morning, and Teddy and I expect them to get back home around 6:30. I have heard from the 3 times already. They seem to have been having a really good time.

I pray that each of you have a great week, serving the Lord, where he has placed you!
Joy

Saying Goodbye...

I am sitting here this afternoon, we have just said "Good bye!" to the group that came to visit us from Kansas City. It always amazes me, how people who are total strangers can become such special friends in such a short time! That is the Lord. When you are all part of the same family, it is just amazing how the Lord can knit your hearts together.

We have had a wonderful time with the group that came to visit us. They were so sweet and wonderful to us... They brought in many, many "goodies" for our family, but also it was such a great time of fellowship! We really do love our life and ministry here in Manta, but it sometimes becomes very lonely. What a blessing it has been to me, to just spend some "girl time" with these sweet Christian ladies! ( I also enjoyed the time with Pastor Boren and the guys too, but there is just something about having some "girl time!" :-)

I have to admit it was sad to say "goodbye" to my new friends, but what a joy to know that someday in the future when we go to their church, I already have some special friends there!

We had great services and special meetings this past week. Many tracts were given out and the gospel seed was sown... Please be praying with us, that the Holy Spirit will work in the lives of those who have heard the gospel message. We have 4 people Friday night at our "video night" raise their hands to say that they had prayed to accept Christ as their Savior. Pray for these new believers.

Please continue to keep our daughter Mandie in your prayers. At this time, things seem to be progressing fine. They are suppose to be moving into another apartment sometime in the next week, so just be praying with us that she doesn't "over do" it. We all know how easy that is when faced with the task of moving!

Please keep our daughter Ashley in your prayers. She is making the adjustment back to the US after 6 months with us. She has been able to get back on at the nursing home, full time! Not only that, but they are giving her every Sunday and Wednesday off! She was thrilled. This week my parents are making the trip to Springfield, to take her a truck of furniture for her apartment. Please pray for a safe trip there and back to Tennessee for them.

We are enjoying a few more weeks of having Lexi here at home. Her boyfriend Jonathan has joined her now.

Have a great week serving the Lord, wherever he has placed you!
love, Joy

Time is flying by...

Can you believe that it is already the middle of June?! The last weeks have been a whirlwind for the Anzalone family.

Lexi arrived in Quito on June 1. We are so excited and happy to have her "home" for a few weeks. Ashley enjoyed getting to show Shane around Quito. I enjoyed visiting with some special friends that I used to teach with at the Alliance Academy.

We all got back home on Saturday, the 2nd. We had great services on that Sunday. The Lord blessed, we had some first time visitors too.

Then on Wednesday we all celebrated Lexi's birthday. She chose to have pie instead of cake, so we went out for a birthday lunch and then home for pie and ice cream. We made apple and cherry pie. They were both yummy! (one side note of living in another country... I was so excited when I found canned cherries at the grocery store! I heated them up on the stove, added a little sugar and cornstarch to thicken them up to make a pie filling. One thing I forget to check was to see if they were pitted or not! :-) You got it... the cherry pie had pits in it! Made from some "delicate" eating! )

On Saturday morning, Ashley, Shane, Lexi, Teddy and I headed to Guayaquil in van service that runs between the city and Manta. We arrived in the early afternoon, checked into the hotel, and went over to one of the big malls for lunch. That evening, Ashley and Shane returned to the US. Their flight left Guayaquil about 11:30pm. We are very thankful that they arrived back the the States safely. We will really miss having Ashley around here! She worked really hard helping me get the Sunday School curriculum organized and in place. She worked with the Sunday School teachers at the church and also took a Bible Institute Class at the church. She was a great help around the house and a wonderful big sister to Teddy. I will miss her companionship. It was great to have the opportunity to get to know her as a young adult.

Last Sunday, Tony informed us that they had a good service, but he was unable to get a count... Just too many things for one person to keep track of!

Yesterday we started a new Ladies Bible Study. There are 14 ladies signed up. 11 of them were there yesterday. Please be praying with me that these ladies would make this a priority during the next 8 weeks.

Today is Luis and Melanea's wedding. I made 12 pew bows on Thursday and a few other things. This morning, I met Melanea's mother at the church to help with some decorating. I am pleased to say that everything looked very nice when we left.

Thank you all so much for praying for our daughter and son-in-law, Mandie and Mike. Mandie is no longer on bed rest. She is to continue to take it easy, but was of course thrilled to not be confined to bed anymore! The baby is doing very well. We were excited to get to see a copy of her latest ultrasound. It is just amazing what they can do now! (we had ultrasound when I was expecting the girls, but it wasn't so common place... Mandie gets an ultrasound every time she goes in for a check-up!) The doctor told them that the place where the placenta was tearing away, has healed, and seems to be fine at the present time.

We are gearing up for a group to visit us this coming week from Blue Ridge Baptist Temple, in Kansas City. They are presently visiting the McGhee's work in Quito and will be flying down to Manta on Wednesday afternoon. They will be with us until Monday afternoon. Lexi's boyfriend is coming with the group and then will be spending about 10 days longer to give us the opportunity to get to know him! (I know sounds scary to me! :-) ) I guess it is all a part of life... they are all grown up now!

Lexi brought in Teddy's homeschooling stuff. I have spent a little time getting it organized and we are planning to get started the first week in July... That will give us some time for the trips we have planned during the year.

Well, now that I have written a book, I'm sure you are exhausted from reading! Have a wonderful week serving the Lord! Thank you so much for praying for our family and the ministry here in Manta, Ecuador!

Joy

update

Hope everyone is having a good start to your week. We had a great day yesterday. There were 76, and 84 in Church. There were 3 first time adult visitors. Our children's classes are starting to build back up and we are happy about that.

Several people from our church have been going to the little village of La Travesia every Saturday. Last week there were 60 present and they were waiting for the group to arrive. It is such a blessing to see how the people from our church are growing and stepping out to serve.

Thank you for your prayers for our daughter Mandie. She is still on bedrest and at present that seems to be "indefinite". I know that she and Mike really appreciate your prayers for them and the baby, as do Tony and I.

This week we have a full house. Ashley is still here along with her boyfriend. They will both be returning to the states this week-end. Our youngest daughter Lexi arrived on Friday night and we are very happy to have her visiting for about 6 weeks. Then today, Matthew Blanton, who is like a nephew to us, came in for a few days. We became really close friends with the Blantons our first year in Ecuador and have remained very close over the years. They returned to minister in the US about 7 years ago. It is a blessing to have Matthew visiting for a few days.

I pray that you have a great week serving the Lord!
Joy