Hello from the Bond Family in Quito, Ecuador

We are a Missionary family serving the Lord here since July 2003.
Welcome to those of you who are new to this eNewletter, as well as our "family" who is already a part of our lives.

 

 

Acts 1:8 - But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:
and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

 

 

Short Version

  • Our first short term mission team was a wonderful success, praise the Lord! A team of 8 came to work with us, from Corinth, MS... our home church association representing 4 of the churches. We participated in services here in the mountains at 3 indigenous churches, introduced the team to a number of associated ministries that are a part of our lives, and saw some of the cultural sights to introduce everyone to this area. Then we went down to the coastal rainforest (jungle) halfway to the coast, where we participated in and held services, showed the "Jesus Movie for Children" outdoors on a 10 foot wide screen for the village, held a "Kids night" crafts and fun time, and put a second floor on a church building. It was rewarding, hard work! We are putting together a pictorial account on a web page, so "stay tuned" for that! The details of the trip are in the "Long Version" below.


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  • "Project: Great Commission" is in full swing again. We just started our spring training classes for "How to share your testimony and the Gospel" this week, with 3 new churches. Our pastor training classes started the first weekend in February, where the pastors and leaders of the poorer indigenous churches outside the city are receiving free seminary-level training. In January, we held a Sunday School teacher training seminar, and a class on how to use the Pastor Library books (Commentary, Dictionary, study Bible, and concordance) in personal Bible study or Sermon preparation.


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  • Deb's work at the Alliance Academy School, and at "Casa Gabriel" (the street boy's ministry) continues. They recently combined the school outreach and the Casa Gabriel boys in a wall mural project near the school in an area of heavy traffic.


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  • Melissa is doing well in school, and enjoying basketball. She is still struggling a bit with self-image.
  • Andrea is enjoying flute, and doing well in school except that she is having a hard time with Spanish.
  • Rachel is enjoying piano, and doing well in school. She is still the happy-go-lucky one. Please pray for all three girls as you can with their struggles.


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  • Luis Lopez, the "honey man" still brings by honey for us once every couple of weeks, and he is growing in the Lord steadily! Pray for him, as he is facing a very sick and possibly dying mother... and he has never married or had children to be with. He is struggling spiritually with this, but we talk and pray about it regularly. He is still miserably poor and in ill health himself.


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  • Pray for Freddy and San Carlos Baptist church. I am really pushing him to start being a part of the Pastor training classes so he can help his little church get on track. They are very few and struggling to survive.


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  • Pray for our Spanish to continue to grow, for the girls' lives as missionary kids, and our ministries here.


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    Long Version: the Mission Team

    We hosted our first mission team in mid January and what a major blessing! After months of planning and preparation, praying and researching, it was finally here. It is hard to relate how excited I was to be involved in this event, and for a team of 8 from my home church area! Some of them were already close Christian brothers and Sisters... and as you might imagine, all of us got closer by the end of the 10 days. I have been involved in a "Short term mission team users group" over the past year, and had a good deal of help from some very seasoned missionaries in preparation for this time. But most of all, I give God the glory for seeing it all come together as it did. We had one team member not be permitted to leave the airport in New Jersey due to an obscure "90 day rule" which amounts to this: if your passport is within 90 days of expiring, you cannot travel abroad. How depressing for our 9th member, and for the others. But God pulled us together, and we had closure on it after we found out that he had gone home and was at peace with it.

    Everything came together as planned; from the bus (and wonderful driver) to our fabulous interpreter (for Kenny's preaching) to the different church services we attended. We spent 3 days here in the Quito area (in the mountains) doing a combination of cultural sight seeing, visiting local ministries that we are a part of, and participating nightly in different indigenous church services. The team shared their testimonies, and Kenny Digby preached each night. They got a good taste of the type of people we are working with through "Project: Great Commission" as well as getting to see and meet some of the people we have been sharing with you all in our past eNewsletters. Casa Gabriel and the street boys, Luis my teacher, 3 of the churches and the congregations we work with, Joselito my ministry partner, the school where Deb works and the girls attend, and much more!
    Sunday's service was especially moving, as the Holy Spirit was really using Kenny and those who shared their testimonies to reach people. A large group came forward during the invitation in a sincere desire to secure their salvation. Here we picked up our other translator/missionary, Ralph Kurtenbach. He was a wonderful addition to the team.
    Sunday afternoon saw us heading for Toachi village in the Coastal Rainforest, winding down through the Andes mountains towards the coast. It is really spectacular, and words are somewhat useless in describing it. But one of our members said, "It is so clearly obvious that these awesome wonders of nature are from a creator; from an almighty God! Being here and seeing this brings it all into sharp focus! God is manifest to all through his wondrous creations".

    We were in the jungle! What a change from the high mountain country... there were strange and exotic birds, insects, vegetation, and trees of all types. In a way it was like the garden of Eden, with all sorts of wonderful fruits growing wild in the forest... banana trees everywhere you looked, and the weather was warm and muggy. Toachi is a small, poor village of about 500 people. We stayed at a hotel that is very nice for this area (in the middle of nowhere!). We were treated to local foods, juices, and customs. The main theme was to put on a second floor to the Baptist church building of Toachi that had been "on the back burner" for 10 years! The plan is to use it for Sunday school rooms, pastor conferences, and for visitors to stay in. We also held some kind of service or event each night. Monday night we showed the "Jesus Movie for Children" outside on a 10 foot wide screen for the village. Even though it was raining on and off, tons of people (and kids) came out and enjoyed it. Tuesday night we held the service and shared our worship and message with the people there. Wednesday night we were treated to their worship service. Thursday night the two ladies (Becky Digby and Melissa Cook) from the team held a "Crafts night for Kids" that was a real hit. During the days as the work was going on, we had time to play games of all sorts with the local school kids as well. There was also time for some exploring in the jungle, and passing out tracts and sharing the gospel all throughout the small village. It was a wonderful and completely exhausting time for all. Thursday was especially tough as some of the men worked until 8pm at night to get the second floor done. It hard to describe exactly how tired and worn out we were that night.

    Friday, We treated the team to a tour of a rainforest village; more a living history setting, but very interesting. The Colorado Indians were a stoneage people until not to long ago, and we enjoyed learning about their culture. That afternoon we were on our way back to Quito (a 4 hour drive from the village), with our last glimpses of the Coastal rain forest, and the majesty of climbing up through the Andes mountains.

    Our final evening was spent in reflection over the trip; sharing our thoughts and experiences, and praying together. We also treated the team to Domino's Pizza which turned out to be quite a big hit after a week of Ecuadorian food! By the way, many of us (including me and the Ecuadorian interpreter) took turns being very queazy and dealing with diarrhea at one point or another over the 10 days, but thank God not all at the same time! Yes, living in a third world country is an adventure, even with the water and food!

    What an amazing time it was. Of reflection. Of ministry. Of testing. Of growth. We (the Bond family) were and are tremendously encouraged by the team and their love for us. The Ecuadorian people we worked with were and are tremendously encouraged by the team's love for them. God was pleased, I know, as well. A sweet incense was sent heavenward that week; a humble and unselfish group of people 3000 miles from their home, sharing the love of Jesus with others less fortunate. The family of God, cross-culturally, worshipping and encouraging one another. The lost hearing the Gospel. Physical needs being met. How wonderful it is to serve the Lord!

    We pray for you all every day, and cherish your emails. If you have a prayer request please let us know. We print out emails and read them for "family altar" and pray for those requests made known to us each evening. News from home is great too, as it is a way to remain a part of you all. Thanks to those of you who have sent snail mail as well!

    Don't forget to visit our website for a pictorial update in the eDiary area or more info about us & our ministry! If God is nudging you to be a part of our ministry, please visit our web page for complete information on how. Also visit our web page http://www.rodbond.com for opportunities of service or ministry here (from your living room chair or by coming here), as well as prayer requests.

    You can subscribe or unsubscribe to this eNewsletter list at the following page: http://online.rodbond.com/public/subscribe_rodbondlist.htm

    Until next time....

    Christian Love,

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

    Bobadilla 144 y Villalengua
    Quito, Ecuador
    South America

    Tel. 011-593-2-224-5280
    Cell 011-593-9-730-7943
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    II Cor 5:7 -"For we walk by faith, not by sight."