Life is good. Teddy and I are still in Tennessee. Teddy has learned to sing "Rocky Top Tennessee". We have been enjoying our time with my parents. This week, Teddy and Papaw went fishing. I went along for the "ride". This time we just fished off the bank. We tried a couple different lakes, and finally he was able to catch a little brim that we were able to admire and then threw back in the lake, "for another day". This week, Papaw is planning on renting a paddle boat and we will actually go out onto the lake. Teddy is really looking forward to that. He is sure that we will have much better luck fishing if we go out to the middle of the lake, because "that is where the fishes live!" LOL
Last Sunday night I had the opportunity to share my testimony at the Gospel Baptist Tabernacle here in Crossville. Then on Wednesday night they showed our DVD of the ministry in Manta. This coming Saturday we will be going to Knoxville to participate in the Missions Conference at Southside Baptist Church. This is a first for me to be in a conference without Tony, so I really appreciate your prayers.
I was able to talk to Tony a couple times today. (I just love modern technology! Thanks to our Vonage phone we are able to talk a few times a day.) He reported that they had great services this morning. There were 90 in attendance! 4 first time visitors. This afternoon they had 4 men show up for a "work day" at the new property. Another group went to minister in La Travesia.
This last week, I was able to send a letter out that Tony sent with me to all of our supporting churches. We are trying to schedule visits to our churches during the months of March - June. Please pray with us that the Lord would open doors and that we would be able to fill up our calendar.
Please continue to pray that the Lord would supply the money we need to build.
Pray for Dina and Marco as they plan their wedding and seek God's will for their life.
Pray for the new believers in the church, as they grow.
Pray for the Missions Conference at Southside Baptist Church this week.
Have a great week!
Joy
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Saturday, October 6, 2007
October is Here!
I must start out and apologize for the delay in posting! Things have been crazy for me the last couple weeks.
The ladies fellowship we had at the church went really well. We had over 40 ladies attend! There were about 7 first time visitors. The ladies did a great job organizing the food, decorations and even the clean-up! Thank you for your prayers.
Our church services have been very good this last few weeks. Last week was the National Election for the assembly men who will be writing in the new Ecuadorian Constitution. In Ecuador voting is mandatory and a large number of people living in Manta have to go back to their home towns to vote... but even with that, Tony told me that we still had 50!
Another really neat blessing is that our "Faith Promise Building Fund" offering at the church exceeded our goal of $300 for the month of September!
Teddy and I are enjoying a visit in the US! All those airline miles we have earned over the years are paying off! :-) This past week we have been at a small reunion with my Mom and 4 of my cousins in Charlotte, NC. This morning we will be heading back over to Tennesee, where we will be staying with my parents for a few weeks in Crossville.
Thank you for your prayers for our ministry in Ecuador. Thank you for your prayers for Teddy and I as we travel and visit with family. Thank you for praying for each of our girls. Thank you for praying for Tony as he continues in Manta, with out us this month.
Praying God's blessings on you!
Joy
The ladies fellowship we had at the church went really well. We had over 40 ladies attend! There were about 7 first time visitors. The ladies did a great job organizing the food, decorations and even the clean-up! Thank you for your prayers.
Our church services have been very good this last few weeks. Last week was the National Election for the assembly men who will be writing in the new Ecuadorian Constitution. In Ecuador voting is mandatory and a large number of people living in Manta have to go back to their home towns to vote... but even with that, Tony told me that we still had 50!
Another really neat blessing is that our "Faith Promise Building Fund" offering at the church exceeded our goal of $300 for the month of September!
Teddy and I are enjoying a visit in the US! All those airline miles we have earned over the years are paying off! :-) This past week we have been at a small reunion with my Mom and 4 of my cousins in Charlotte, NC. This morning we will be heading back over to Tennesee, where we will be staying with my parents for a few weeks in Crossville.
Thank you for your prayers for our ministry in Ecuador. Thank you for your prayers for Teddy and I as we travel and visit with family. Thank you for praying for each of our girls. Thank you for praying for Tony as he continues in Manta, with out us this month.
Praying God's blessings on you!
Joy
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
It's all a matter of perspective...
One little thing that Tony and I have enjoyed the last few months, is the ability to watch "Fox News" in English. It helps us feel connected to what is happening back in the US. Yesterday morning we watched the memorial services and the footage from 9/11.
This is something that really affects Tony and I. Teddy, who is very sensitive to our moods and emotions, of course caught on right away. So in our school time yesterday when we talked about what day it was and marked the date on the calendar. Tony came into the school room, and together we tried to explain to our kindergarten in language that he could understand, what people were talking about when they said, 9/11. He had several questions, but then we went on with our day, and he seemed fine with everything.
We had friends visit for lunch, and Teddy was sitting with the children. He said, "Hey, today is a special day. Years ago, before I was even born, bad men took over some airplanes and ran them into big buildings. A lot of people died, and we need to remember it today."
The " years ago, before I was even born," caught my attention. In many ways it seems like yesterday to me, but here we are 6 years later, and to my little boy, it was very long ago.
This is something that really affects Tony and I. Teddy, who is very sensitive to our moods and emotions, of course caught on right away. So in our school time yesterday when we talked about what day it was and marked the date on the calendar. Tony came into the school room, and together we tried to explain to our kindergarten in language that he could understand, what people were talking about when they said, 9/11. He had several questions, but then we went on with our day, and he seemed fine with everything.
We had friends visit for lunch, and Teddy was sitting with the children. He said, "Hey, today is a special day. Years ago, before I was even born, bad men took over some airplanes and ran them into big buildings. A lot of people died, and we need to remember it today."
The " years ago, before I was even born," caught my attention. In many ways it seems like yesterday to me, but here we are 6 years later, and to my little boy, it was very long ago.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Another sign of Fall...
Football season has arrived, even to our house in Ecuador! This means the same thing here in our house that it means for the rest of you, who are married to big football fans. :-) We may not have fall leaves, or any of the other things that you associate with "fall" here in our "tropical paradise" but thanks to "Direct tv" we have the NFL.
We had a good service this morning. Each month we have a "theme" and a memory verse to go along with it. This morning during the church service, after going over the verse again with everyone, Tony asked if we had some who were ready to say the verse. After 5 people had said it, Nelly raised her hand, but she said, "We have learned it together as a family". Then they all stood up and recited the verse together! What a blessing. After church they were asking us if they could get some Cd's of the music we sing, because they don't know any of the songs and they would like to learn them and sing them at home! Please keep these new Christians in your prayers.
The congregation is very excited about the new property. They agreed today, to start making the payment on the loan that we had to get from the Missions Office to pay the down payment, until we have raised the money to pay that off. They also are excited about having some "work days" to get the property cleared off, and having some places to play volleyball and just have some fellowship times there.
We are planning a "Ladies Tea" for Saturday, September 5. The ladies have divided up the work. I had 3 ladies volunteer to lead 3 different groups. 1 group is in charge of organizing and get the food, 1 group will take care of setting up and decorating and 1 group will be in charge of cleaning up and getting everything set up for the Sunday Service. It was neat to see them all excited and willing to get involved.
This week the Tignor family from Puerto Viejo is coming over for dinner. We are looking forward to a good time visiting and playing games with them. Teddy is always very excited to have friends to play with!
One more prayer request for you... Tony will be sending our new US passports to Quito this week, so that our visas can be transferred. Please pray that this goes through without any problems. It should just take a week. But of course you never know... ;-)
Thank you for praying for our family and the ministry here in Manta!
God Bless,
Joy
We had a good service this morning. Each month we have a "theme" and a memory verse to go along with it. This morning during the church service, after going over the verse again with everyone, Tony asked if we had some who were ready to say the verse. After 5 people had said it, Nelly raised her hand, but she said, "We have learned it together as a family". Then they all stood up and recited the verse together! What a blessing. After church they were asking us if they could get some Cd's of the music we sing, because they don't know any of the songs and they would like to learn them and sing them at home! Please keep these new Christians in your prayers.
The congregation is very excited about the new property. They agreed today, to start making the payment on the loan that we had to get from the Missions Office to pay the down payment, until we have raised the money to pay that off. They also are excited about having some "work days" to get the property cleared off, and having some places to play volleyball and just have some fellowship times there.
We are planning a "Ladies Tea" for Saturday, September 5. The ladies have divided up the work. I had 3 ladies volunteer to lead 3 different groups. 1 group is in charge of organizing and get the food, 1 group will take care of setting up and decorating and 1 group will be in charge of cleaning up and getting everything set up for the Sunday Service. It was neat to see them all excited and willing to get involved.
This week the Tignor family from Puerto Viejo is coming over for dinner. We are looking forward to a good time visiting and playing games with them. Teddy is always very excited to have friends to play with!
One more prayer request for you... Tony will be sending our new US passports to Quito this week, so that our visas can be transferred. Please pray that this goes through without any problems. It should just take a week. But of course you never know... ;-)
Thank you for praying for our family and the ministry here in Manta!
God Bless,
Joy
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