Continuing Ministry in Ecuador

Some of the children at Guadalupe mission in front of the partially completed new classroom addition.

The children at Guadalupe enjoyed some fun activities during the community-wide Christmas outreach program.

The students at Chol with their new school uniforms.

Here we are in a new year already and I realize that it has been some 5 months since our last blog.   A lot has happened in that time as we have been readjusting to life in the U.S. since mid-September.  At this point, we are continuing to pray about and seek ministry opportunities here in Tennessee.  However, in November God allowed us to begin a weekly Bible study with a group of Hispanics in nearby Savannah.  We are grateful to Bro. Jason Martindale and Northside Baptist Church, who have helped make this possible, and for Nardo at El Rodeo Restaurant, who allows us to meet in a back room each Monday night.  We are praying about starting Bible studies with Hispanics in other nearby towns.

I (Lynn) have accepted a part-time secular job, but would welcome more ministry opportunities.  I have enjoyed the opportunity to do pulpit supply from time to time.  Cathy has been able to pick up a few hours of work occasionally.  Eli did a great job of transitioning to public school, as he began attending Adamsville High School last August as a junior.  Olivia continued her homeschool education until last week, when she joined Eli at AHS as a sophomore.  We enjoyed the fall colors, high school football, deer hunting, spending the holidays with our families, and the general small town America life since we’ve been back.

Although we have lost most of our support through Global Outreach since we’ve been back, we want to remind you that our ministry in Ecuador continues.  The weeks before leaving Ecuador were spent not only selling furniture, but planning projects and making arrangements to perpetuate our work there.  We continue to provide resources for Guadalupe mission, which was the center of our ministry in Ecuador.  The short-term group from FBC Wellston, OK helped us do a lot of construction there in July, as we were adding 2 classrooms and a restroom.  Since we left, the folks that attend the mission have completed a good deal more work on the facilities. Through our Ecuadorian ministry partners, the Salcedos, we were able to help provide a Christmas community outreach program at Guadalupe on December 17th.  The Salcedos also manufactured (in the small family-run factory in their home) and delivered school uniforms for all of the school students in the isolated village of Chol near Alausi.  The uniforms are required by law, but most of the folks in the remote rural areas cannot afford them.  These were presented along with candy for the children, at a community-wide Christmas program in Chol.

Of course, we still have plans to return to Ecuador, leading short-term teams to train pastors, minister to local churches and communities through medical and evangelistic programs.  If you are interested in taking part in one of these short-term trips, please contact us at 731-439-4573 or e-mail us at pratherl@globaloutreach.org.

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