Tuesday, March 31, 2020

In the shadow of his wings

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! 
I look to you for protection. 
I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings 
until the danger passes by.
Psalm 57:1

Like much of the rest of the world, we are currently in lockdown in our home in Quito. We can leave to buy groceries, but that's about it. It's a good time for all of us to seek mercy from God. Whether we need protection from illness or patience while we stay in shelter, God is the refuge we must rely on. May God use this time to make our hearts more receptive to him. May he also open doors to give us more influence in the lives of others whose hearts might also be extra receptive.


Three weeks ago Alliance Academy was in the middle of Spiritual Emphasis Week. It seemed that God was doing some important ministry through the guest speakers in the lives of the students. Unfortunately, that ministry came to an abrupt end when the mayor of Quito closed all schools in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. For the first couple of days, Lindsey was able to study at home in the company of her friends.


On March 15 Ecuador closed it's borders and went on lockdown. You can read a translation of President Moreno's speech here. Since then, we have barely been out of the house. Kristi is teaching her fourth graders online. There have been a few challenges getting it to work smoothly, but we are mostly grateful for technologies that didn't even exist a few short years ago!


Early in March Scott received a visit from a Quichua man named Segundo who is looking for help to plant a new church in his community.


Segundo was planning to accompany Scott to his next workshop on Bible Study in Chimborazo. He was excited to meet some other leaders there who could help guide him in the church planting ministry. Unfortunately, all of these plans have also been put on hold due to our current reality. Pray for God's blessing on the life of Segundo and for God's perfect timing.

One of the important tasks God has laid on Scott's heart is to help promote missions in Ecuador, encouraging the national church to send out missionaries to the rest of the world. In March he began teaching a course in cooperation with Encamina, a Bible and missions training center in Quito. He taught the first class and then everything shut down. Thankfully, with a little bit of creativity and hustle they were able to move the classes to an online format with Zoom. Scott expects to continue his involvement in this ministry for the near future.


It's incredible the way life has changed so quickly for all of us. Just like you, we have had to make some pretty big adjustments. Pray that God would make this a fruitful time of ministry in the middle of a new situation. Let us know how we can pray for you. Together we can make it through this. We can all put our trust is the unchanging God of the universe. No matter what the coming weeks and months bring, we know we are under the shadow of his wings!