Christmas Letter from the Bond family

We thank God with every rememberance of you, and pray for you always. Without friends and supporters such as you, it would be impossible to be here. That's why the Lord put us together, as a team, to reach the people here in Quito, Ecuador!

It is so hard to believe it's Christmas already - it seems like only yesterday we were leaving our home in Mississippi in the summertime. But it's six months later already, and here we are! Learning a second language is a difficult task at best, but the Lord is aiding us.

We would like to share some of our Christmas "moments" with you all, so that you can get an idea of what it is like here. Just click on the photos to see a larger version if you would like. Feel free to print out the family picture for your refrigerator as a reminder to pray for us. Enjoy the photos!

Ecuadorian Christmas Trivia:
First of all, it's really wierd to have Christmas with spring weather... just for starters. Secondly, they have a strange custom here that lasts the whole month. Kids by the thousands go around asking for candy, just like "Fall Festival" or Halloween. Ecuadorians celebrate Christmas as we know it with gifts, family, and a big meal on Christmas eve.

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We had some Carolers visit us complete with jingle bells (other missionary kids making the rounds in the neighborhood). It is a little different here since the weather is always spring; bet you never saw carolers wearing flip-flops before!



The girls got a new puppy for Christmas, doubling the animal population here at the house. Oreo is our pet rabbit, and here they are together on Andrea's lap.The puppy's name is "Arena" (sand color or sandy).






Just before school was out for the girls, we went to their Christmas program (right). It was wonderful and very touching. Orchestra, choirs, and Christmas characters filled the gym for this great program.

(left photo) Here is Rachel with her little Ecuadorian friend, Camilla, who she led to the Lord.







We had a Christmas party here for our Language teachers and school owner. It was wonderful to share some of our culture with them, as well as learn about their traditions. They have their big meal with family and exchange gifts on Christmas Eve. My teacher, Luis, and his wife had their new baby son the very night of our party (she is the very pregnant one in the center of the picture).








I also wanted to share a group photo of "Mission San Carlos" with you. This is about two thirds of them, wishing you all a Merry Christmas! Saturday is their Christmas party at the church. This is the mission I have spent the most time at, and where I have had the opportunity to preach, give out bibles and tracts, as well as make some good friends.
Hermano Juan (Brother John), the elderly man on the right, is proudly holding his new large-letter bible we were able to get him since his eyes are very bad.






Christmas Day for us started out a little late, as we were at a Christmas eve party with the Wymore family. They are Wycliffe missionaries, and the father is helping create a bible for a people group in the Columbian jungle that does not have the bible in their language yet. Our first moments were spent on the "teraza" where I read the Christmas story out of Luke for the family. Notice that the weather here is a little different than at home.

The girls got some regular gifts, but because of the difficulty of getting packages here, they got money from home.







We had a get together for the Global Outreach Missionaries here in the Quito area on Christmas day at our house. Sara Riser is the senior missionary here, with 40 years service in Ecuador. Alan and Fabi Gordon have been here fo 15 years, and she is Ecuadorian. We had a nice ham dinner, some great dessert, coffee and a great game of Dominos! We also prayed and sang worship songs together for the Lord. We are so blessed and thankful for all He has done in our lives and what he will do!

We also are blessed by the opportunity to take a couple of orphan girls who have no family to visit over the holidays. Their names are Maria and Stefania, and they are from the orphanage "Jardin de Eden".

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We hope you enjoyed this little clip of our holiday here. What a blessing to live for the Lord, even when He takes you to foreign lands He also provides comfort and joy! Most of all He has given us the light of the world, and His name is Jesus.

Thank you all for being part of our lives, for your cards and emails that helped keep our spirits up during this first Christmas away from home, and your prayers & support that make it possible for us to be here where the Lord has called us!


Christian Love,


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Rod, Deb, Melissa, Andrea, & Rachel Bond
Global Outreach Missionaries to Ecuador
rodbond@christianemail.com
http://www.rodbond.com

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II Cor 5:7 -"For we walk by faith, not by sight."