I will not attempt to add all the information shared by the eNewsletter, but to supplement it by these pictures.
Please email me if you want to receive the eNewsletter as well. It is a more detailed text-only version of our adventures for the Lord in Ecuador.
Also, a sad note of warning that I am adding in 2005: Manuel Pumisacho, the pastor mentioned here and in other places, is a professional "confidence man" and is not to be trusted.
Mountain Tops:We continue visiting different Ecuadorian churches with Manuel Pumisacho, an Indigenous Baptist pastor here in Quito, and another Ecuadorian, Joselito. At Manuel's church "Belin de Cocotog" in a small village north of Quito, I again had the opportunity to speak for 10 or 15 minutes (in Spanish of course), and be a part of an incredible service where 12 people made professions of faith... We also went to the small mission that meets in a storage shed in the outskirts of a poor pueblo name "Calderón" where witchcraft is prevalent. They are a new group, hungry for the Lord, and it is a real blessing to be a part of their experience. The dimly-lit little room was stuffed with people of all ages, and we were praising the Lord complete with an animal skin drum! At the end, 9 people prayed to receive Christ on their knees (on the hard cement) through tears of joy. Other, more traditional churches have been part of our lives as well so that we can hopefully asimiliate the culture and language faster. (read our eNewsletter for all the details, and see pictures below)
Valleys:We are faced with the reality that, for the most part, we are targets of opportunity here... Opportunities for money, and things. It is a culture that has been trained to seek, and abuse relationships with missionaries (Gringos) for the sake of money. We are trying to become savvy to this new environment without developing hard hearts; a very dificult thing to do we are finding. We are facing this reality over and over, sometimes in a very personal way, and even from the "Christian" community. Please pray for us in this regard.
Inbetween: We continue with school, but our classes are at our house now. NO MORE RIOTS to deal with! Praise the Lord. The girls continue doing fine in their school as well. Christmas break is approaching rapidly, and we are about to spend our first Christmas in Ecuador. My parents will be coming for a visit after Christmas for a couple of weeks, which helps, but it is very strange being so far from home and friends during this season. We have found some new missionary friends as well; other families with kids of similar age to relax with... a real treat!
Early in the month, we attended "Day of the Dead" celebration in a cemetary in Calderón... a Catholic tradition that has been mixed with the indigenous customs here to produce this most interesting practice.
We also attended a festival called "Mama Negra", a colorful event which unfortunately turned out to be a huge drinking party for the entire community. (read our eNewsletter for all the details, and see pictures below)
Photos
Our newest mission to visit, and the newest mission I am aware of, is "Victoriosos en Cristo" Baptist Mission in Calderón. It is a smaller community north of Quito (about 30 minutes) and is famous for witchcraft. Although very close, the environment is more like Arizona. These folks are new Christians meeting in an old storage shed behind a poor home in the country. We were able to provide bibles for the adults, and Christian comic books for the kids.
Before church, we toured the area, and Manuel noticed a group of youth outside their house. He stopped his truck and shared the Gospel with them right then and there for about a half an hour.
Earlier, during the service, we are all packed in the building out back where the people are praising the Lord.
Here, Deb is with a few of the ladies, including the host family's mother. Rachel is with Paula, Manuel's daughter, with the new glasses we were able to get her (when we first met her she was wearing horribly cracked lenses due to no money).
Belin de Cocotog: Manuel Pumisacho's church, built in cooperation with the Baptist's in the States. This special day, a group of 12 people pray for salvation. Later, we attended a post-wedding fiesta under an old parachute, where we heard a message from Manuel, and also special music from the ladies in the church.
Day of the Dead: is held in cemetaries all over the country, and we visited the cemetary in Calderón. As are most of the cemetaries here, it is packed with every kind of grave above and below ground that can be imagined. They are much more elaborate and imaginative than ours in the States. On this day, it is tradition to eat "pan wawa" (in the shape of a baby, and representing the dead) and drink "colada morada" (representing the blood). It is the day of the year to visit your dead relatives, fix up the graves, and eat a favorite meal of the deceased with them, and leave some behind for them.
Mama Negra: A colorful festival/parade with many different native costumes, including spirits of nature and downright silly creations. It is a famous annual event, complete with a statue of the ficticious character Mama Negra in the middle of the town of "Latacunga". Here are a number of examples of colorful costumes in this parade, which unfortunately, turned out to be a huge drinking fest. Deb is trapped by some "spirits" and some strange ceremony was performed over her (please read the complete story in our eNewsletter from a couple of weeks ago). Within a half hour, we told our host we needed to leave as it was not appropriate for us, not to mention is was very sad for me to see so many people so lost!
Favorite Photos: here are some photos of some street vendors which I hope you will enjoy, showing the character of the people here.
God Bless you all and keep you - please know that you are in our prayers!
Hasta Luego... Until next month!
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