The end of July is rapidly approaching!
1) Thank you for praying for the VBS at the dump last week. It was a wonderful week with many volunteers coming together to help us. Without them, it would have been a difficult time. The attendance averaged between 55 - 70 children and adults each day. Several ladies came faithfully with their children and participated in the activities. I will be posting photos as soon as I'm able to get them downloaded.
2) Pray for the approx 40 children and adults who made professions of faith on the last day! At the end of the Bible story, we asked those who were serious about accepting Christ as their Savior to leave to the room and go to the other area where we had volunteers lined up to share the plan of salvation in small groups. It probably would have been easier to ask the group to stay where they were because more than 1/2 of the room left to go and talk to the volunteers! What an amazing reaction to the Gospel!
3) Pray for Pastor Jose and his wife Teresa who will work to follow-up with those who accepted Christ. And as we continue to teach these dear ladies and children about God's Word through the weekly Kids Club. They just soak up the Word!
4) Praise - Santi's passport finally arrived from Chile with his Australian visa in it! It's nice to have that done and taken care of. As soon as they have definite dates from the organization in Australia for February they will be working on travel plans. Please continue to pray that the necessary funds will come in for them to be able to make the trip!
5) We are glad that Santi will get a much needed break from a long month of intensive English classes (4 hours daily plus his work at HCJB) during the month of August. He is finishing up an "extra" intensive level this next week. Pray that he will have the stamina to finish well. He has been doing well so far!
6) Pray for the services at the Hogar Betania this coming Sunday. Santi will be preaching and our friend Esther will be helping with music. We need a couple more volunteers so please pray that we will have some others come to help us. (I personally need like 2 people just to help with my very active son! ha, ha).
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
more weekly news . . .
Thanks for praying for Nathan's doctor's appointment yesterday - all went well. The doctors are pleased with his progress. . . Nathan now weighs 18 lbs/8 oz. and is 68 cm long. He seems a lot bigger than that to us - especially if you try carrying him for any length of time (or up the 3 flights of stairs in our home)! He received two vaccines yesterday and also seems like he might be cutting his upper teeth now, so he's a little fussy/feverish today, but over-all he's doing fine.
Today starts the VBS with the kids at the Quito dump in Zambiza. We were able to round up a good group of volunteers and two teams recently left us with a great bunch of supplies to use - crafts, crayons, glue, prizes, pencils, markers, etc. We were totally amazed by their generosity! And what a help as we worked to plan for the VBS. . . so nice to have the supplies available to us this week. THANK YOU TEAMS! Pray for the week as we share Jesus with the children and they hear the gospel. On Friday they will have an opportunity to make a decision about Jesus. Many of them have already made decisions, but some will be hearing for the first time. Pray for our team of volunteers.
We are waiting for Santi's passport to arrive from the Australian embassy in Chile. Please pray that it will arrive soon and safely. We are worried about it being lost out there somewhere! It was sent to us late last week via DHL.
Thanks again for your prayers - without them, we would have a hard time continuing with what we are doing! Blessings - Santi & Ruth & Nathan
Today starts the VBS with the kids at the Quito dump in Zambiza. We were able to round up a good group of volunteers and two teams recently left us with a great bunch of supplies to use - crafts, crayons, glue, prizes, pencils, markers, etc. We were totally amazed by their generosity! And what a help as we worked to plan for the VBS. . . so nice to have the supplies available to us this week. THANK YOU TEAMS! Pray for the week as we share Jesus with the children and they hear the gospel. On Friday they will have an opportunity to make a decision about Jesus. Many of them have already made decisions, but some will be hearing for the first time. Pray for our team of volunteers.
We are waiting for Santi's passport to arrive from the Australian embassy in Chile. Please pray that it will arrive soon and safely. We are worried about it being lost out there somewhere! It was sent to us late last week via DHL.
Thanks again for your prayers - without them, we would have a hard time continuing with what we are doing! Blessings - Santi & Ruth & Nathan
Monday, July 14, 2008
Weekly Update . . .
We had a good weekend and now it's on to the third week of July! Hard to believe how time flies.
1) Thank you for praying for us on Sunday. Things went well at the Hogar Betania. It seems that all the elderly residents want is just a listening ear for a few minutes and someone to give them a hug. They really don't ask for much. We have noticed a couple of ladies who have really gone down hill the past few weeks. We never know who will have passed away the next time we show up . . . certainly a reality check for all of us! We never know how much time we have here on earth . . .
2) Thank you for praying for Santi's visa application for the trip to Australia. It has been approved by the Australian embassy located in Chile. We're just anxiously awaiting the arrival of his passport back from the embassy via DHL!
3) Pray for Santi and his co-worker Brent as they now need to rearrange their travel plans to attend the Summit in February rather than September.
4) Our co-leaders for the Kids Club at the dump have decided to do a VBS for the kids THIS WEEK - Tuesday through Friday! This means a lot of scrambling to get things ready. Pray for us as Ennie & Tommy prepare the four lessons and the plan of knowing God as your personal Saviour will be given to the children on Friday!
5) Nathan has his 6 month check-up and vaccines today at the pediatricians. We're anxious to find out how much he weighs - he seems to be growing like a weed! And of course, now with his two front bottom teeth, he looks like a grown up boy! He's still chewing and drooling, so maybe more teeth are on the way.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement! It's so much fun to hear from all of you. We are also grateful to our teams of supporters who make it possible for us to be here serving with HCJB Global and Extreme Response International. We continue to adjust to a family life with a 6 month old. Pray for us to be wise parents and to help Nathan know the Lord in all that we do and say.
1) Thank you for praying for us on Sunday. Things went well at the Hogar Betania. It seems that all the elderly residents want is just a listening ear for a few minutes and someone to give them a hug. They really don't ask for much. We have noticed a couple of ladies who have really gone down hill the past few weeks. We never know who will have passed away the next time we show up . . . certainly a reality check for all of us! We never know how much time we have here on earth . . .
2) Thank you for praying for Santi's visa application for the trip to Australia. It has been approved by the Australian embassy located in Chile. We're just anxiously awaiting the arrival of his passport back from the embassy via DHL!
3) Pray for Santi and his co-worker Brent as they now need to rearrange their travel plans to attend the Summit in February rather than September.
4) Our co-leaders for the Kids Club at the dump have decided to do a VBS for the kids THIS WEEK - Tuesday through Friday! This means a lot of scrambling to get things ready. Pray for us as Ennie & Tommy prepare the four lessons and the plan of knowing God as your personal Saviour will be given to the children on Friday!
5) Nathan has his 6 month check-up and vaccines today at the pediatricians. We're anxious to find out how much he weighs - he seems to be growing like a weed! And of course, now with his two front bottom teeth, he looks like a grown up boy! He's still chewing and drooling, so maybe more teeth are on the way.
Thank you for your prayers and encouragement! It's so much fun to hear from all of you. We are also grateful to our teams of supporters who make it possible for us to be here serving with HCJB Global and Extreme Response International. We continue to adjust to a family life with a 6 month old. Pray for us to be wise parents and to help Nathan know the Lord in all that we do and say.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Answered Prayer!
We just found out today that the Australian embassy in Chile approved Santi's visa application and gave him a visa that is good for one year. So it will still be valid for the Summit that has been postponed until February!
Thank you for praying!
Thank you for praying!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Weekly Update
I failed to post a weekly update last week. I guess time got away from me. . . .
1) We are grateful that funds have come in to help with Nathan's medical expenses. God has really supplied our needs through many people who have sacrificially and generously given. THANK YOU!
2) Santi's proposed trip to Australia in September has been postponed to February 2009 by the organization that is putting on the seminar for the new software to be used by HCJB Radio. Pray as they continue to plan for the trip. Also, Santi's visa application is at the Australian embassy in Santiago, Chile. Pray that a visa will be granted for him to be able to go.
3) Praise that things are going well with the change of location for our Weds Kids Club at the dump. You can see a photo below - it's a much nicer location with better lighting - its great to have electricity! And the children seem to be happier in a cleaner, nicer environment and are responding very well. It appears that even though we have more space, we may already start running out of space during the summer months when our attendance goes way up.
4) Today we have a team from Woodside Bible Church coming to do the Kids Club! They have come for several years in a row - we are excited to have them again - they always plan some fun things for the kids.
5) Pray for the organization that I work with - Extreme Response - donations have been lower so far this year and so we're struggling to keep up with helping out our partners around the work like we normally do - helping them with funding to help those in extreme situations - orphans, AIDS patients, medical clinics and other dump ministries. Pray that God will give us wisdom in finding ways to help in spite of lower donations and that God would provide more funding.
6) Pray for our service this coming Sunday at the Hogar Betania (Bethany Home for the elderly). Our friends Roger & Lois Reimer are back in Quito for the summer and will be helping. We hope we can be an encouragement to these elderly people who have so little.
Thanks for praying and coming along this journey with us!
Santi & Ruth
1) We are grateful that funds have come in to help with Nathan's medical expenses. God has really supplied our needs through many people who have sacrificially and generously given. THANK YOU!
2) Santi's proposed trip to Australia in September has been postponed to February 2009 by the organization that is putting on the seminar for the new software to be used by HCJB Radio. Pray as they continue to plan for the trip. Also, Santi's visa application is at the Australian embassy in Santiago, Chile. Pray that a visa will be granted for him to be able to go.
3) Praise that things are going well with the change of location for our Weds Kids Club at the dump. You can see a photo below - it's a much nicer location with better lighting - its great to have electricity! And the children seem to be happier in a cleaner, nicer environment and are responding very well. It appears that even though we have more space, we may already start running out of space during the summer months when our attendance goes way up.
4) Today we have a team from Woodside Bible Church coming to do the Kids Club! They have come for several years in a row - we are excited to have them again - they always plan some fun things for the kids.
5) Pray for the organization that I work with - Extreme Response - donations have been lower so far this year and so we're struggling to keep up with helping out our partners around the work like we normally do - helping them with funding to help those in extreme situations - orphans, AIDS patients, medical clinics and other dump ministries. Pray that God will give us wisdom in finding ways to help in spite of lower donations and that God would provide more funding.
6) Pray for our service this coming Sunday at the Hogar Betania (Bethany Home for the elderly). Our friends Roger & Lois Reimer are back in Quito for the summer and will be helping. We hope we can be an encouragement to these elderly people who have so little.
Thanks for praying and coming along this journey with us!
Santi & Ruth
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Beach Trip
Nathan loved the ocean!
He was also fascinated by the sand!
Playing with Sarah in the waves
And the pool was pretty fun too!
We celebrated the 4th with some sparklers! Here is Jacob with his . . .
Nathan had tons of fun with the Kooistra kids - Jacob, Emma and Sarah!
The view was incredible from our ocean front place
What a view!
And here we all are in the pool! We had a great time with the Kooistras
We had the privilege of taking a road trip to the coast of Ecuador this past weekend and spending some time with some missionary friends at the beach! We left Quito early Thursday morning and got there around 1 p.m. and stayed until 1 p.m. on Sunday.
It was great to get away and to see a part of the country that we haven't seen in a while. It was also fun to give Nathan his first taste of the coast - a different climate, a lower altitude, the ocean, a swimming pool and the sand! He loved every minute of it and traveled very well.
He also enjoyed being with our friends' children - Jacob, Emma and Sarah. I'm afraid that he's probably bored now being at home with just mom.
Probably the main thing that happened while we were at the beach was that Nathan's two bottom teeth came in! He was having trouble going to sleep the first night we were there - we thought it was the heat or all the excitement of traveling . . . and maybe it was a combination of all that, but we also discovered that between the drooling and chewing on everything within reach, he was actually working on his two bottom teeth!
Thankfully I remembered to bring some baby tylenol along - that did the trick - and he slept like a baby (no pun intended!). And other than having trouble going to sleep at night, he slept well (once he fell asleep) and really didn't seem to be too bothered by his teeth coming in. He mostly enjoyed being in the pool as you can see by the photos.
We did our own little celebration of July 4th with some sparklers at dusk. We managed not to burn any holes in anyone's clothes. (for those of you who were at the fireworks display at the end of our wedding reception two years ago, you know what I'm referring to!).
All in all, it was a great trip - we enjoyed the fellowship with our friends the Kooistras and we were able to get some relaxing time in as well. Now, it's back home to the busy Quito schedule - hopefully we'll stay re-fueled for a while.
If you're interested in seeing more photos, please click on these links.
Photo Link 1
Photo Link 2
Photo Link 3
Photo Link 4
He was also fascinated by the sand!
Playing with Sarah in the waves
And the pool was pretty fun too!
We celebrated the 4th with some sparklers! Here is Jacob with his . . .
Nathan had tons of fun with the Kooistra kids - Jacob, Emma and Sarah!
The view was incredible from our ocean front place
What a view!
And here we all are in the pool! We had a great time with the Kooistras
We had the privilege of taking a road trip to the coast of Ecuador this past weekend and spending some time with some missionary friends at the beach! We left Quito early Thursday morning and got there around 1 p.m. and stayed until 1 p.m. on Sunday.
It was great to get away and to see a part of the country that we haven't seen in a while. It was also fun to give Nathan his first taste of the coast - a different climate, a lower altitude, the ocean, a swimming pool and the sand! He loved every minute of it and traveled very well.
He also enjoyed being with our friends' children - Jacob, Emma and Sarah. I'm afraid that he's probably bored now being at home with just mom.
Probably the main thing that happened while we were at the beach was that Nathan's two bottom teeth came in! He was having trouble going to sleep the first night we were there - we thought it was the heat or all the excitement of traveling . . . and maybe it was a combination of all that, but we also discovered that between the drooling and chewing on everything within reach, he was actually working on his two bottom teeth!
Thankfully I remembered to bring some baby tylenol along - that did the trick - and he slept like a baby (no pun intended!). And other than having trouble going to sleep at night, he slept well (once he fell asleep) and really didn't seem to be too bothered by his teeth coming in. He mostly enjoyed being in the pool as you can see by the photos.
We did our own little celebration of July 4th with some sparklers at dusk. We managed not to burn any holes in anyone's clothes. (for those of you who were at the fireworks display at the end of our wedding reception two years ago, you know what I'm referring to!).
All in all, it was a great trip - we enjoyed the fellowship with our friends the Kooistras and we were able to get some relaxing time in as well. Now, it's back home to the busy Quito schedule - hopefully we'll stay re-fueled for a while.
If you're interested in seeing more photos, please click on these links.
Photo Link 1
Photo Link 2
Photo Link 3
Photo Link 4
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