Back to "normal" ministry!

It's been good to be back in ministry in Ecuador and start to feel like we're in our normal routine.

Quichua conference

Last month I (Scott) had the privilege of presenting two sessions at a weekend Quichua conference. There were about 40 people attending, several of whom are key leaders in various parts of the country.

In one session I presented a historical and contemporary perspective of the work of Avant Ministries in Ecuador. In the other I challenged the attenders to consider their responsibility in global evangelism. The Ecuadorian church needs to take serious steps toward being a missionary sending country. It was encouraging to see their positive reaction to this message. Pray that God will continue to move them in this direction in the coming months and years.

I was also considerably encouraged by learning to know the other speakers at the conference. They were both men that I had not previously met. They are Ecuadorians involved in leadership on a national level in other organizations. They brought good quality messages and it was good to see the Quichua leaders turning to faithful servants on other fronts as well.

Elder Team

One of my responsibilities is serving as elder of our church in Quito. It feels great to be back with the team and work to help our church grow. The frustrating part is that there never seems to be an end of needs and ministry opportunities. Pray that we can prioritize the most important things and do this job well.

William

The other day I had the joy of meeting with a young man for some one-on-one training. William was really searching for a way to study the Bible that would help him catch the message the Lord has for him. I taught him some basics of inductive Bible study and he seemed truly grateful. Pray that William will learn to put good Bible study methods into practice in his personal life. Pray that God will guide me regarding follow up he might need.

Lindsey's Schooling

The first semester at Alliance ended last week. This week Kristi and Lindsey have off of school between semesters. Next week Lindsey will jump full swing into school for the first time for several weeks since she finished 1st semester in the US. For the past couple weeks she sat in on classes to help get a running start for second semester.

She was also able to get in on the beginning of the basketball season. We're proud of her for making the varsity team. We enjoyed her first game last week. It's not quite the same as basketball in Kansas, but we're definitely thankful for the opportunity Lindsey has to do something here that she loves so much.

4th Grade

Thank you for all the prayers as I (Kristi) jumped into teaching 4th grade at Alliance Academy in the middle of the year. My class had been praying for me and was excited to welcome me back. The best word to describe January was "new". New names, new classroom, new grade level, new procedures, new co-workers, etc. But God was with me and I was able to help my class finish up their 1st semester. Pray for continued strength as we begin 2nd semester on Monday.