In Korea...

My trip to Korea went very well. My luggage was about a day behind me, but other than that I experienced no mishaps. I was very thankful that my luggage arrived and nothing was missing, although they had been a pretty big rip in one of the duffle bags that had been taped up.

I have enjoyed being with the kids and seeing where they live and meeting their friends. Their apartment is pretty old and very small. There are definitely some cultural issues that would be hard to adjust too, if you lived here all the time, but I am very proud of Mandie and Mike and how well they have adjusted to life here. It has been fun to learn my way around their neighborhood...actually I'm still working on that, and just to go out and see what is involved in their everyday life.

I am trying to learn some Korean... have "thank you" down pretty well, and I'm learning some other basic phrases to be able to get around some on my own... and also just to know... it is all very interesting. My husband is so good at languages, I'm sure he would be trying to read everything by now... I think I will stick to learning some basic polite phrases :-)

Sunday I enjoyed going to church with the kids. Mandie teaches the preschool Sunday School class and it was fun to help her out in her class. I also enjoyed the church service. It is such a blessing that no matter where in the world you go, you can feel at home and know that you are with brothers and sisters in Christ, worshiping God together.

We are still awaiting the arrival of baby Ioan. Please be praying for Mandie and the baby at this time. We all appreciate your prayers. Please keep Tony and Teddy in your prayers and the work in Manta. I miss them very much, but I'm so thankful for the opportunity the Lord has given me to be able to be here in Korea with Mike and Mandie at this time.

God Bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy

Bags are Packed

Well, my bags are packed, and I'm about ready to go! My flight for Quito leaves Manta tomorrow about 2:00pm. That will be the start of my trip to get to Seoul, Korea. I am suppose to finally arrive in Seoul, Friday evening, (their time) around 8:40. I appreciate your prayers for my trip and for Mandie and baby Ioan. The reports from the doctor these days are that he could come anytime!

We had wonderful Thanksgiving. Full house and that is always fun! We enjoyed all the traditional favorites and even were able to enjoy "real" pumpkin pie (many years I make it out of carrots) "real sweet potato casserole" (that too has been made out of carrots in the past! LOL ) It was a great day of fellowship and sharing in the blessings that the Lord has given us.

Saturday afternoon, 17 ladies gathered at my house for an early Christmas party. We had a lot of fun. They made 2 Christmas ornaments, and I showed them how to make sugar cookies. Then Jane Mock, from Cayambe, shared a devotional with us that was a wonderful blessing to everyone. Of course not party would be complete without refreshments, and the ladies did a great job with that too.

Sunday was a good service at the church. Ben Mock preached and that was a blessing. We had 89 in church. I really did look for that "extra" person to make it 90, but I just couldn't find them, no matter how many times I did the count! ;-) Please be praying for those that will be stepping in and teaching while I'm away.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for the ministry here in Manta and for our family.

Love, Joy

Well, here it is Sunday afternoon again! We had a very good service this morning. We had 70 in Sunday School and 86 in Church. We had 3 visitors. It is exciting to see how the Lord is working in the lives of the believers here.

Everyone was very happy to have Tony back at church this morning. This coming Saturday we are having a ladies meeting. Please be praying with us that this is a blessing to the Ladies here and that the Lord is honored and glorified.

This week is Thanksgiving! Can you believe it? We are looking forward to a big turkey dinner and sharing some time with good friends.

Have a wonderful week.
Joy

Retreat

I made the trip to Quito Thursday to participate in a retreat for Missionary Ladies. What an incredible blessing it was to be with all these other ladies who are serving the Lord around Ecuador. The time of fellowship with them was very sweet, but the times of teaching and praying together was just wonderful.

There were 15 ladies who came from the US to minister to us and that is exactly what they did. They showered us with love, gifts and special treats,(among which was lots of chocolate!) I am so thankful for all the sacrifices that they made to be here in Ecuador and bless us with this special time.