A little funny...

This past week Teddy's Bible verse was John 15:5. "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

Well, he kept saying, "That isn't nice to say". (referring to the last part, "for without me ye can do nothing.") So I of course spent some time trying to explain the verse. I was pretty excited because we have been learning about trees in Science, and I thought, "what a great way to bring what we have been talking about in science into our Bible class!"

So I spent some time reminding him about what we had been learning about trees, and how if you had an apple tree and cut a branch off of it, that branch wouldn't be able to grow new leaves or apples, because it wasn't attached to the trunk. Then I told him that is what the verse is saying. It is saying that Jesus is like the trunk of the tree and we are like the branches.... Anyway you get the idea, I'm sure!

After spending some time explaining and talking about it, and asking questions to make sure he was understanding, we finished up Bible and started getting ready for Math. About that time Teddy says, "I'm just not believing any of it!" I said, "what are you not believing?" He replies, "I'm just not believing that, that man could have leaves and apples growing out of him!"

So much for my "great explanation!" :-p
Joy

September has arrived!

Hello everyone! Sorry for not posting sooner. We have some very exciting news around here. Tony signed the final papers on the property for our church on Monday! It has been paid for and the deed is being registered with the City of Manta! We are so excited about this. What an incredible blessing it has been to see how the Lord supplied the money for this step! Now we need to start praying that he will continue to help us raise the need funds to build.

I finished up our latest Ladies Bible Study last Friday. It seemed to be a real blessing to the ladies and I am thankful for that. I am hoping to plan a time of fellowship for the ladies in a couple of weeks.

Tony was able to meet with Nelly and Cristobal this week and they both prayed to ask Christ to be their Savior. Please pray for this family as they grow. They have 2 teenage children and an 8 year old.

9 students finished up this last Bible Institute class. They are now taking a break for a few weeks. The next class will start in October.

God is blessing the ministry here! Thank you for your prayers.

Joy

From our Family Picture Album...

Property we are in the process of purchasing for the church. We are suppose to sign on Monday, Sept. 3!

Mom and Dad in Guayaquil.

Eatting lunch at McDonalds in Guayaquil. This is a "treat" for Teddy, as there aren't any McDonalds in Manta.

Grandma, Teddy and Papaw in Guayaquil.

Tony and Teddy playing in a park in Guayaquil.

Teddy waiting for Sunday School to start.

One of our children's Sunday School classes.

Tony translating for Dad at our Sunday morning service.

Out for a walk in our neighborhood with Grandma and our dogs.

Teddy and Papaw playing at our house.

Checking out a "Honey Bee" at work in the gardens at the Malecón 2000 in Guayaquil.

August 10... Out to eat with Teddy and my parents to celebrate or 25th anniversary!

Update

My mom and dad got off . Their flight was suppose to leave Guayaquil at 1:10am Saturday morning, and it was delayed... they finally left Guayaquil about 3:50am! They were worn out by the time they finally got home to Tennessee, around 3:00pm on Saturday. We really enjoyed having them here and are so thankful that they were able to come.

Our youth group has been meeting on Sunday afternoons, but we moved that this past week to start meeting at 5:00pm on Saturdays. That seemed to work out well. This past Saturday Luis led the devotional time. He and Melanie are doing really well with the young people. Please continue to keep this minstry in your prayers.

We had a good attendance this last Sunday. There were 90 present for the preaching service. We had a family visit for the first time. They had been listening BBN here and called the office in Guayaquil to find out where a church was in Manta. They haven't accepted Christ yet, but were very interested. Please pray for the salvation of Cristobal and Nelly.

We are excited as the day to sign for the property approaches. That is September 3. God has blessed us so much. All the money for this final installment has come in! We are now asking the Lord to provide the $11,400 that we borrowed from our Mission to make the down payment. Please be praying with us that this money will come in. Once that is taken care of, the next step will be to start raising money to build! We can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do here!

Thank you everyone for your prayers for the ministry here in Manta!
God Bless!
Joy