Charles started the morning for us with a devotional from 1 Timothy 4:8-10. We are getting some physical training with the work we are doing, but we must not forget that godliness is our goal. We serve a living God and we are honored to labor with Him in Ecuador.
Two groups hitting the road for home visitations. One group visited a new family Carlos is working with. Our visit was timely as man’s bother had just been in an accident and he was headed to visit him. We prayed for the family and God’s healing for his brother. We made a couple other stops. On the way back, our new friend stopped us and told us he just got a call and his brother was okay. That gave immediate relief to our friend. Praise God for such a quick response.
The other group hit an empty house, but made a stop on the beach on the way back. Luis, our local pastor, pulled a gar fish out of the water with his bare hand. He is a good example of “Fisherman”. We didn’t get the story on film, but we did get a picture of the fish as several of us got to hold it.
Spent some time getting to know Marcello, the regional pastor. He is from Chili and has a wonderful story about his road to Christ. He is a mentor to Luis and the story of Luis’ growth is a good story to hear. We are glad to be here in support of their ministry.
Today is Josh Wilder’s 9th birthday. Stacy has confused him so he doesn’t think it is his birthday. We have a surprise party planned with the local kids at the school when they get out. FUN, FUN, FUN! The party was amazing. There were 60 kids that stayed at school for the surprise. Karen and Manuel led the kids in several fun dances and a conga line. Josh had many girls chasing him by the end of the party.
The party didn’t end there though. We re-assembled at Carlos’ house for VBS where the dancing continued. This was a different group of kids from the other community. We touched and were touched by many kids today. We can see the relationships building. It is awesome.
One special relationship was reuniting of two people who had never met. Last year at summer camp Anna choose Genesis, from San Jose, to sponsor and pray for. Anna has been praying for almost a year for Genesis. Today they got to meet. The meeting was a miracle in itself. Anna was on the playground with the kids at recess. Many girls were around her, but one girl hugged her like she knew Anna. Anna asked her name and she responded “Genesis”. As you can imagine, that blew us all away. But we should expect nothing else from our awesome God.
We ended the night with a couple of the guys and local ladies cooking burgers and fries in Carlos’ house. A bon-fire on the beach capped a wonderful night.
Today’s labor helped each of us in our godliness. What a great day!
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