We Have Arrived!

Hola fam and friends,

 Thank you so much for your support and prayers for us over the last few months! We have been so humbled by everyone who has supported us as we have prepared for this trip and want you to know that you are a vital part of our ministry efforts this summer. We are excited to let you know that we have arrived in Cuenca, Ecuador safe and sound! It took us 4 flights, over 24 hours, and one mile-long sprint through the Miami airport to get here, but we are excited to finally be in the place that God has led us to for the next 6 weeks. We flew into Cuenca yesterday morning and met the missionary family that will be hosting us. They have 5 kids and are a fun bunch! We are excited to learn from them this summer. There are 4 missionary families in Cuenca, which is the third-largest city in Ecuador that is known for its Panama hats (as made famous by Teddy Roosevelt), great weather (highs every day are in the 60's), and universities. These missionaries focus primarily on offering theological training to native church leaders throughout the country. Over 80% of pastors around the world have little to no access to any kind of Bible training because of their location, time constraints, or economic difficulties. This is certainly true here in Ecuador, where most pastors are bi-vocational and in rural areas. In a country full of nominal Catholicism, rising secularization, and animistic beliefs, these pastors often need training to know how to keep their flocks rooted in grace of Jesus. So, the missionaries here (who work with the organization Reaching and Teaching: https://reachingandteaching.org/) have the goal of training current and future pastors from all over the country with the Bible knowledge they need to be faithful ministers of the gospel. So, how will Christina and I fit into all this? Over the next 6 weeks, we will be going to language school for a few days to practice our Spanish (well, Christina doesn't need practice), helping the missionaries train pastors in different cities across the country and teach the youth in their congregations (I will be teaching seminars on discipleship, the book of Esther, and relationships), doing evangelism on the college campuses, translating for short-term mission teams (all Christina), and learning from the experienced missionaries here what life is like as we discern what God is calling us to do in the future. We are excited and nervous about all of this and need your prayers please! Right now, please pray that God would open doors for us to share and show the gospel and that I would improve in my Spanish. I want to close with a quote by Elisabeth Eliot, a former missionary to Ecuador (if you don't know her story, its incredible: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Elliot). She says "Next to the Incarnation, I know of no more staggering and humbling truth than that a sovereign God has ordained my participation in His purposes." May we all reflect on this amazing fact today, let it astound us, and then let it propel us into the world with confidence that wherever we are and whatever we are doing, God wants to work through us to show Jesus' sacrificial love to the world.

 God bless, we love all of you!

 Russell and Christina

The entire family greeted us at the airport!


Our view from our apartment balcony!


Comments

  1. CharlotteJune 18, 2019 at 11:01 AM

    It makes me very happy to read this post. What a joy to see you both serving in an area where you are both so gifted. I know God is going to bless both you and the lives you touch this summer. I will be praying for you.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One Week Down!

Image
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...
Read more

The Home Stretch

Image
Hola everyone, We love and miss you! As we wind down our time in Ecuador, we are getting excited about returning to the States and getting to see y'all. Thanks so much for your support this summer. We are humbled by how many of you have checked in on us and prayed for us during our time here. We can't do enough to thank you! The past few weeks have been a little crazy, as Christina was sick for a week and had to stay in bed. Thankfully, a doctor from the church came and took care of her and now she is better! On a few of the nights when she was sick, I had to go teach pastors in a small town around 45 minutes away, but thankfully some of the college students from the church came and kept her company. Christina has continued to build relationships with these students the past few weeks. She has learned so much from their faith and they love to spend time with her and look up to her! We have also had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the missionary families and le...
Read more

We're Halfway There!

Image
Hola familia y amigos! Our past few weeks have been full of traveling, new relationships, and opportunities to minister to believers here in Ecuador. Last week, we traveled to Riobamba, a small city in the middle of Ecuador, to help with a week-long theological training for pastors. There were 80 pastors there who were taught the entire Old Testament over the course of the week. These pastors have no other opportunity for theological training. I admire and desire their hunger to grow in their knowledge of God's word so that they can pass it on to others! Most of these pastors' 1st language is Quichua and their second language is Spanish. Worshipping and learning with people from a different culture and language is such a blessing and a foretaste of heaven! I had the opportunity to teach the book of Esther to them. I encouraged them to trust in God's sovereignty over every detail of their lives and to have courage because God is using them and their ministry to deliver peo...
Read more