Thanking God for This Opportunity

In July, Emil and I had been praying about what the Lord would have us do next in ministry.  Different ideas arose, but the Lord seemed to close the door on each one.  Then He laid the idea of joining the Ecuador team on Emil’s heart.  The purpose of the trip was to upgrade the skills and equipment of the GRN recordists in the Americas.  We aren’t recordists or trainers and were not exactly sure how we might be of use to the team, but we offered our services nonetheless.  We were told that the team needed help with food preparation, childcare and accounting and we could fill those needs.  We love to serve and serving others as a family is especially sweet, but I had a difficult time believing the Lord would send us all the way to Ecuador for something so simple.  So we prayed that He would use us for His glory.

As I, Stacy, write this letter I am sitting in an airplane, headed for home, after 6 ½ weeks in Shell, Ecuador.  I can’t believe the time has already come to a close.  The Lord is so gracious.  He had so much planned for our family and it was through our obedience in going, that we were blessed.  Yes, we prepared food and took care of the accounting, which ended up to be a blessing for those on the team who already had so much to do.  And yes, we had the privilege of watching Hannah (age 6) and Keisi (1 ½) while their parents (GRN recordists in Shell) participated in the course.  Our girls fell in love with these girls and bonded quickly as sisters.

But the Lord didn’t have us there for just that, we were there to connect and grow.  Over the course of 6 ½ weeks there were a total of 25 people on our team working in eleven different countries.  All 25 work with GRN, all serving the least reached people with unique and varied ministries, all with a heart of obedient service to the Lord.  To learn about their lives, their work, their burdens and their love for those without Jesus Christ was certainly the highlight of our experience.  Connecting with each brother and sister not only encouraged us, but allowed our vision for our ministry to grow.  We saw what the Lord was doing around the world and how we, working in distribution for the USA, could join together to further this work.  We learned new distribution strategies and of new opportunities.  And as a result, the Lord has already begun to open doors to new adventures.

Praise the Lord for His grace and mercy in our lives.  We are so humbled that He has given us the privilege to be a part of such an amazing experience.  We sincerely thank each one of you who prayed for us, encouraged us and supported us.  The Lord opened the door and you supplied us with the tools.  We are deeply moved by the love of you, our ministry team, and look forward to the next step in our ministry together.

For future local outreach opportunities or short-term mission trips check out the pages to the right!

Adios y Una Sopresa (surprise)!

Tonight we met for dinner before saying goodbye to part of our team who is headed in the opposite direction.  We've gotten to know so many beautiful hearts here and look forward to working alongside each of them in the future.  Saying goodbye is never easy, but looking ahead to the work the Lord is preparing for us is very exciting.

We are leaving Shell in the morning and heading up to Quito.  We will spend the night there, then fly out Saturday morning.  Please pray for all the members of our team as they are headed to about 10 different countries and have items that are crucial to their work that need to make it through customs.

As we were leaving the restaurant tonight the Lord blessed us with a little surprise.  Mincaye (one of the Waorani men responsible for killing Nate Saint and the 5 missionaries in the jungle over 50 years ago) was walking up to the restaurant with his wife and grandson.  He and his wife were extremely gracious and greeted each of us warmly.  If you haven't heard the story of his life and the missionaries that were killed you need to watch "End of the Spear."  It is an incredible example of how the Lord uses everything for good for those called according to his purpose.

We appreciate all of your prayers and support and look forward to seeing you soon!

Mincaye is in the white shirt and his wife is to the left of him.

Growing Your Vision

We have been blessed with such an amazing opportunity to be here in Shell, Ecuador.  We have a team that is compiled of GRN recordists and staff from Peru, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Thailand, USA and France.  Think for a minute how awesome it is to build friendships with those serving the Lord in 10 different countries, throughout one experience! Each of them are involved in unique ministries and are touching the lives of various unreached people groups in their part of the world.

 The Lord is at work in mighty ways around the globe.  Osmani, a brother on the team, shared one day how our vision grows when we leave our country.  That is so true; I have experienced that personally.  But for many, you don't need to leave your country, you first need to leave your seat or your home and reach out to your neighbors.  Others of you need to leave your town or your state.  And many of you are ready to leave your country.  Which are you?  If you want to see what the Lord is doing, you have to leave... leave your comfort zone and check out the view.  The Lord is at work around the world; don't wait for Him to send you an invitation to be a part; just jump aboard and enjoy the view!  I promise you, your vision is going to grow!

Our team had the privilege of sharing in church on Sunday.  The idea of growing your vision is what I shared.  The Lord has really impressed this on my heart to share with others.  I want to challenge you to pray about what the Lord wants you to do to increase your vision of His work around the world.  Then, watch for the door to open!

We are grateful for all of  you who have joined our ministry team through prayer and/or financial support.  We pray that the Lord uses this team to increase your vision for His work around the world.

Gustavo, our teammate living in Ecuador, preached on Sunday at church.  

Our team sharing in church.

The other part of the team (Emil and Becca were home sick).

After church we burned CDs to distribute in the market.  Stacy and Ines.

Our team divided up and went to the market to hand out CDs of the Gospel message in specific languages of the indigenous people.  Ines sharing that we have a free CD in this lady's Quichua language.

This is Eduardo.  He and I were on a distribution team in the market.  We gave out  CDs to the local indigenous people.  This man is listening to see that he understands the message in his language.

Here are your Words of Life!  People were very pleased to get the gift.  Here are Jon, Ines and Eduardo.

People are a bit skeptical when they see two gringas giving something out.  It gave me a chance to practice more Spanish.  (Tate and me)

Shell, Ecuador

Here are a few pictures taken around Shell to give you an idea of what it looks like

Walking through the neighborhood in the morning.

Main street of town

Nate Saint Memorial Park - The Center of Town

One of the two hanging bridges in town.

The girls walking Hannah to classes.

Panaderia (bakery) where we buy fresh rolls almost daily.  Notice how the house is upstairs and the store down below.  That is how all the businesses are here in town.  Many of them have a restaurant right in their kitchen!

Karen's Supermercado (grocery) where we get daily things.