Like the Kids

Doug, Kim, and Gaby in front of the wall of kids drawings

The kids love to use the crayons to draw

This past week we had a great time with the kids at our kids club.  Since it was Gaby's last week to teach before she heads down to Bolivia we all got to share some tasty chocolate cake.  Yumm.  But before that we each painted a little picture for Gaby to put together in a book using water colors and we got to hear another story about King David.  Watercolors are amazing!  I love watching kids paint because they come up with some of the coolest stuff.  And when you have something that always looks great, like watercolors it is even better.  The story we listened to was about Mephibosheth and how David had made a promise to Jonathan.  It is an amazing story of grace that gives us a taste of things to come for us.  We, like Mephibosheth, are the lame outcast people and Christ is the one that comes and searches for us.  He invites us into His presence and has us eat at the table with him.  He blesses us with gifts beyond our imagination.  How great is our God.

Story time with Gaby, notice the three way hug here

 Likewise Semilla de Mostaza donated some boxes with gifts that had been donated from children abroad to give to the children here.  Gaby got to share the basic message of the gift of Christ before handing out the boxes to the kids.  It is amazing to see how much these little kids retain from week to week about the stories that they hear at our club.  Of course once the kids got their gifts they were more than ecstatic.  They were running around screaming, checking out their new stuff.  I was ready for an outbreak of tears of jealousy, but to my surprise all were happy with what they got and were actually sharing things with the other kids.  One kid was so happy that he was running around and then he ran up to me, wrapped his arms around my knees and gave me a great big hug with such force almost to the point where he was shaking.  Hugs are not custom here so it was quite a treat.  All of this reminded me of what Christ said about the children, remember?  "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 18:3.  Christ wants us to come to Him like little kids running around screaming our heads off with a great big hug for him, because of the gift He has given us.  Sometimes life can be so draining or get you bogged down.  That sucks but Christ is always there ready to lift you up, waiting for that special moment where He can bless you with His gifts.  I hope this message finds you at a time where you can run around and scream your head off and tell Christ thanks for all that He has done for you.

Just as the kids were getting their gifts, thanks to all those other kids who donated

  Our moms are coming down for a visit tomorrow and will be here for two weeks.  Kim and I are really excited about getting the chance to see them and spend some time showing them around Ecuador.  For those that are praying please pray for a new Ecuadorian to step in and fill the void for teaching the kids club.  Likewise please pray for the working of the English ministry here and the people that are in our bible studies.  I feel truly blessed to be in a place where I can share the word and teach some of the things God has taught me about his loving grace.

This girl is great, she always wants her picture taken

May God richly bless you beloved,

Love
Douglas and Kim

2011

Dear Family and friends,

  It has been a while since we have given an update so I just wanted to let you all know what has been going on. We tried to send out a more detailed newsletter about a week ago, so if you didn't get it or want a resend just let us know.

The Cow in Gonzanama

  So the month of December was SUPER busy.  The beginning of December started with a trip to Gonzanama to see the ministries that are happening out there.  Gonzanama is about 2 hours away from Loja and is a smaller town than the one we are in.  SIM has 3 missionaries out there now helping to fill in on the needs that are there.  While there we were able to help with a bible study, kids club, youth group planning, church planning, and attend the church service.  It is always fun to go to a service where you are one of the 10 people in the room.  Quite a difference from our church back home!

5 year El Sendero

  Kim, Dustan, Becka and myself were filling in for the manager position while at the same time we decided to start serving almuerzos (lunch).  Lunch is the main meal here in Ecuador as it is in many Latin countries.  So it naturally made sense to open our food business to lunch customers.  Of course, there were plenty of things lacking, such as a proper stove to cook sufficient amounts of food on for our customers at lunch.  Most of December was spent working nearly 12 hour days and solving problems left and right.  Now that we are in January things are starting to smooth out and Kim and I are back focused on our specific tasks of having bible studies and sharing the gospel.  We also planned a part for the 5-year anniversary of the founding of El Sendero, 3 special Christmas dinners, and a special Christmas eve lunch for some of the homeless people in connection with our church down here.  Watching them eat and enjoy their food was amazing, and to see the smiles on the kids faces was quite a blessing in our lives.  We ended up running out of food and had to squeeze the last little bit for all the people. The special meal here for Christmas is turkey.  Everyone was looking forward to it, and it sure was tasty.  Another blessing in Christmas was getting the chance to have a team meeting with the workers at El Sendero and hear the Christmas story once again.  We had a great time enjoying an all-you-can-eat dessert buffet (courtesy of El Sendero) and encouraging one another.

Christmas Kids Club

 We spent Christmas Eve and New Years Eve with our family here.  It is safe to say that this is the first time I have danced in the house to salsa music at midnight on Christmas Eve.  The tradition here is to stay up until midnight on Christmas eve and exchange gifts then.  Pablo Issac, the 2 year old grandson of the family we live with, was quite excited about the toy truck and shovel that he got.  Of course he also had his cup of coffee at midnight as well with the rest of the family.  Kim and I got a bunch of candy, including some delicious belgian chocolates, and also had the chance to hang our with our missionary team on Christmas day.  It was a great blessing to have friends here to celebrate with and have a little bit of home with us.  New years eve was no different with dancing and hanging out in the streets until midnight.  While there was no real countdown to midnight there were a lot of fireworks and people burning cardboard dolls out in the middle of the street.  More of a tradition than anything else, these are supposed to signify getting rid of the bad things in the past year.

Christmas Eve with Family

  Now that January has started and we have a little more time we are looking forward to keeping you all more up to date.  We want to wish you all a happy new year and blessings in the Lord.  Remember to keep your eyes up and focused on what Christ is doing in your life.

Love Douglas and Kim

Dancing at midnight!