Feliz Navidad y Feliz Ano Nuevo

We hosted a Christmas party celebration for the workers here at El Refugio. One thing we learned was that not many Ecuadorians have their pictures taken. Danielle took each of the workers and their families pictures when they arrived, and then while they were eating she printed copies of the pictures and put them in frames; the workers were thrilled.
As with many of you our workers have seen both blessing and tragedy this past year. From left to right of the panorama: Don Victor is our eldest worker at 78 and is really such a steady presence. Next is Enrique and his wife Alicia with two of their nieces. Alicia is waiting for a kidney transplant and travels in each week for kidney dialysis. The money has been donated for the transplant procedure, and they now are waiting for a kidney donor. The next family picture is Holgar, our head worker, and his wife Angelica, our head cook, with their twin boys Vladimir and Kenard. They are expecting a baby girl around the first week of February. Holgar and Angelica both have been very instrumental in working with Howard and I on our Spanish. Pedro is next in the picture lineup. This last year saw tragedy for him as one of his granddaughters died of cancer at the age of 5. We bought a tree as a memorial to her and planted it on the property; we see him there each day paying his respects. Finally, there is Andres and Marlena with their new baby girl Katerine, who was born mid November, along with Marlena's mom Panchita, who is visiting from Peru. This baby girl will be exposed to four languages through her family: Spanish, Kofan, Quinchua and English. I have written frequently about this dear family; you remember Andres is our guard and Marlena is a cook with Angelica.
All the men work with Howard on the operations side of El Refugio and I work with Angelica and Marlena. My proudest moment this last year was seeing both the women receive contracts that allowed for them to be blessed with three months off, with pay, after their babies are born.
These are the people Howard and I work with on a day to day basis. We thought you would enjoy seeing pictures of them and their families and learn a little bit about their lives.
We pray you had a blessed Christmas and our prayers are for a New Year filled with hope.

Time Out of our Regularly Scheduled Post

With Thanksgiving approaching, I wanted to take time to say how much we appreciate each one of you who make it possible for us to serve here at El Refugio. Each day we are reminded we could not be here with out your faithful support.
I wanted to share with you about God's faithfulness to us. I know the economy is bad and we pray for you as you weather the storm surrounding all the financial issues. I want to encourage you to remember God knows each and every one of our needs and is ready and willing to meet those needs. I share this testimony to encourage you.
Last spring we received a substantial amount from one of our supporters. Then a couple of months later, from the same supporter we received another large donation. To be honest, at first we entertained the idea of purchasing a piano. We went and looked at pianos, in Ecuador they are very expensive. Pretty much like a car, they not only hold their value, they increase in value. Anyway, we did not purchase a piano and the money has just sat in our account at International Teams. This month, we had to have our car worked on so we could get it "Matriculated" (equivalent to DMV tags). Much to our dismay, the bill grew larger and larger. Something about the head and valve guides. When all was said and done, do you know the amount it cost for us to get our car repaired was exactly the amount of the two donations we received "last spring". God knew and had prepared in advance for our needs.
I hope this encourages you. We feel privileged to see God work through each one of you.
Happy Thanksgiving

Summer Tour 2008 "El Reto"

Just when you thought you could basically figure out what ministry looks like at El Refugio, we'll throw a twist into the mix. Right in the middle of summer we hosted one of the Ecuadorian adventure races called "El Reto". The race consisted of three parts, the first was literally running up and around our mountain (quite an achievement when you remember we are at 10,000 ft.) bicycle riding and then orienteering. We hosted the event to develop some good community relationships. Even with all the craziness with the racers, every once in a while it's fun to have a change in pace. Below racers take off from the starting line.

Loved the contrast in this picture

Racers poised against the horse backdrop

Summer Tour 2008 "Father Son Team"

Program Director Juan Carlos Cevellos

Each year the emphasis for the Father/Son Team shifts from climbing to jungle adventure. The cool thing this year was the group included three generations, Grandfather, father and son. The time was spent reconnecting with each other, but more importantly with God. Juan Carlos is shown above chatting with the Grandfather from the three generation group. Plans are already underway for the Father Son Climb for the summer of 2009. Any Father and Son combos interested can contact us and we will get you signed up.

Summer Tour 2008 "Southern Baptist Kids"

"Southern Baptist Retreat"

The next group to arrive for the summer was the Southern Baptist kids from all over Latin America. Once a year the Southern Baptist Convention treats the adult missionaries to a time of rest and refreshing in Quito, while the kids spend their time here at El Refugio. Since this was a retreat group, we basically provided housing, food and most importantly programing. The leaders of this group always go way over the top to really make the kids feel love and cared for during their time here.
This would be a good time to mention Israel, an Ecuadorian who worked as an intern under my position for the summer. Wow, what a blessing he was to me and the ministry over and over again. He exhibited a true servants heart as he served in any capacity required. Israel was completing his internship for the University here at El Refugio, and we hope in the near future to find a position for him here full time. Pray for God's leading and provision in his life for this to happen.
The reason I mention him now, is he attended one of the sessions provided by the Southern Baptist leaders. The speaker spoke on how each of us has a different love language, and the next day Israel was so animated about the session, he had never heard of such a thing. What a privilege to be a part of his life as he testified how this message really impacted his life. Later in the summer I also witnessed him patiently talking with one of our bus drivers and delivering the Gospel message with wisdom beyond his years.