One Week Down!
Hey everyone,
We have had a busy first week in Ecuador! Much of it was spent getting to know the cities and people that we will be working in/with for the rest of our time here. We spent time exploring the downtown area of Cuenca, went to a few malls and college campuses, sat in on language school, participated in a youth Bible study, visited some Incan ruins, and ate at some good restaurants (lots of chicken and rice). We also spent a day with each of the three the missionary families here. These days were very informative in helping us understand what normal, everyday missionary life is like. Everyday life as a family in foreign country is similar in many ways to life in the states (you take your kids to school, have friends over for dinner, go to church, etc.). However, we have already seen that living in a foreign culture is full of difficulties and inefficiencies because of the culture and language gap. Some days, all of your time is spent dealing with simple problems that would be easy in the states but are complicated here. This can be exhausting at times and make one feel as if they are not getting enough done. However, it also helps you rely on God to direct the details of your life and to bear fruit by His power!
We also traveled to three other Ecuadorian cities this past week--Guayquil (the biggest city in Ecaudor), Ausoges, and Tambo. Traveling here is slow because of the difficult mountain roads--it took us 4 hours to go 70 miles! The weather also changes quickly--it was 90 degrees in Guayaquil and in the 40's in Tambo! The missionaries we are working with spend much of their time traveling throughout the country to different pastoral training sites they have set up. As we traveled, we had the privilege to get to know faithful Christians who are hungry for the word of God, some of whom were the first in their communities to become Christians and were persecuted for their faith.
Over the next few weeks we will be traveling a good bit and I will have opportunities to teach/preach on a variety of topics--Esther, discipleship, dating, and church history! Please be praying that I would be a faithful and effective teacher of God's word and that the Holy Spirit would use my words to lead others closer to Jesus. Also pray for Christina--she had a bad case of food poisoning today but she seems to be getting better quickly.
Thanks so much for your prayers and support! As I prepare to teach on Esther (which is an incredible story--go read it!) I am reminded of God's sovereignty over every detail of our lives, even when we can't see Him. Charles Spurgeon said that “every child of God is where God has placed him for some purpose." Pray for us that we would carry out the purposes of God here in Ecuador and let God use you for His purposes today wherever you are!
In Christ,
Russell and Christina
We have had a busy first week in Ecuador! Much of it was spent getting to know the cities and people that we will be working in/with for the rest of our time here. We spent time exploring the downtown area of Cuenca, went to a few malls and college campuses, sat in on language school, participated in a youth Bible study, visited some Incan ruins, and ate at some good restaurants (lots of chicken and rice). We also spent a day with each of the three the missionary families here. These days were very informative in helping us understand what normal, everyday missionary life is like. Everyday life as a family in foreign country is similar in many ways to life in the states (you take your kids to school, have friends over for dinner, go to church, etc.). However, we have already seen that living in a foreign culture is full of difficulties and inefficiencies because of the culture and language gap. Some days, all of your time is spent dealing with simple problems that would be easy in the states but are complicated here. This can be exhausting at times and make one feel as if they are not getting enough done. However, it also helps you rely on God to direct the details of your life and to bear fruit by His power!
We also traveled to three other Ecuadorian cities this past week--Guayquil (the biggest city in Ecaudor), Ausoges, and Tambo. Traveling here is slow because of the difficult mountain roads--it took us 4 hours to go 70 miles! The weather also changes quickly--it was 90 degrees in Guayaquil and in the 40's in Tambo! The missionaries we are working with spend much of their time traveling throughout the country to different pastoral training sites they have set up. As we traveled, we had the privilege to get to know faithful Christians who are hungry for the word of God, some of whom were the first in their communities to become Christians and were persecuted for their faith.
Over the next few weeks we will be traveling a good bit and I will have opportunities to teach/preach on a variety of topics--Esther, discipleship, dating, and church history! Please be praying that I would be a faithful and effective teacher of God's word and that the Holy Spirit would use my words to lead others closer to Jesus. Also pray for Christina--she had a bad case of food poisoning today but she seems to be getting better quickly.
Thanks so much for your prayers and support! As I prepare to teach on Esther (which is an incredible story--go read it!) I am reminded of God's sovereignty over every detail of our lives, even when we can't see Him. Charles Spurgeon said that “every child of God is where God has placed him for some purpose." Pray for us that we would carry out the purposes of God here in Ecuador and let God use you for His purposes today wherever you are!
In Christ,
Russell and Christina
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| The Cajas--right outside Cuenca. A beautiful display of God's glory! |
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| The Incan ruins! |
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| A flyer for the conference I will be a part of next month (they almost got my name right!) |
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| Us with some of the young pastors-in-training in Guayquil. |
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| There are llamas everywhere here! |
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| Some of the believers we met in Guayaquil |
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| Overlooking the city of Cuenca, where we are staying. |
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| Pretty good view for a basketball game! |
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| We were above the clouds at around 14,000 feet! |
Beautiful pictures! Ruins remind me of Machu Picchu in Peru. I remember getting very cold when I spent summer of ‘68 in Peru. I kind of didn’t prepare for winter season:) love to both of you.
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