Missionaries to Ecuador

Easter Sunrise Service with Other Missionary famililes at "El Refugio"

the Bond Family Spring '05 eDiary

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Deb's Ministry Update

Debbie is enjoying her art teaching position at the Alliance Academy very much. She teaches all of the elementary grades, in trade for a portion of our girls' tuition. Here is the website for the Alliance Academy if you are interested.

Her volunteer work at Casa Gabriel, a home for street boys, continues. She shared the boys with the March team that visited here.

The Casa Gabriel boys and her school outreach program, the "Spokesmen", finally finished a 5 panel wall mural on one of the main streets here in Quito as an outreach project.

Debbie also created a "crown of thorns" for the English Fellowship Church Easter service, and displayed her latest painting at the church, along with sharing her testimony. Here, she and pastor Len Kinzel pose with her painting.

Project: Great Commission Update

Please visit the PGC web page for more information and lots of pictures, including the latest community outreaches from this spring's classes on Evangelism..

Evangelism Training for Laymen
One of PGC's focuses is training the church membership in how to share your faith. Visit the "Outreach" web page for more info and pictures. We held this class with three more churches this Spring.
Starting with this outreach, I've blended a couple of our ministries by involving some of the "Casa Gabriel" boys as "stage crew" to help setup and tear down. Here is John, one of the older boys, and Jorge, both very likable young men.

Pastor and Leader Training
We continue our monthly classes in the country for pastors unable to attend seminary, led by Seminary professor and national missionary Joselito Orellana (my ministry partner in PGC). How to study the bible was this past month's topic.

Training the Trainers
Joselito and I participated in an orientation seminar for a 10 book, 520 hour pastor training course with an instructor from the international ministry "Bible Training Centre for Pastors", to try and get a more seriously accredited study program going here for those unable to attend seminary. The latest law requires accreditation for all pastors, or their churches can be closed and they face prison. Another law, states that all seminaries must be under the umbrella of an officially state recognized university or they can't award accredited diplomas (All but one University here is Catholic). I think you might see where this is going...

March Mission Team Report

A small team from Tishomingo Chapel Baptist Church came to Ecuador for one purpose; to build relationships. They recently adopted San Jose Alto Baptist church, here in Calderon, as a sister church. Having exchanged photos, letters, and the promise to pray for each other, we were thrilled to hear from the pastor of their intention to visit. It turned into a major blessing, and should be taken seriously as a short term team model. No buildings were built; no VBS's held; no projects completed; just building relationships was the goal. Along with Church services and get-togethers in the evenings, we spent the afternoons visiting 9 different families. We got to know them at home; saw how they worked (helped them in one case), learned about their families, exchanged pictures, heard their dreams, shared their food, saw their faith in the midst of poverty and suffering. We were all humbled.
Please visit the web page for lots of pictures!

Family, etc.

Rachel's friend Cami recently got baptised! Here they are in the garden beforehand. During the ceremony, Rachel gave Cami a Bible as a gift. She included Rachel in her testimony in the program they handed out.This is the little girl that Rachel led to the Lord last year...

Deb and I got to go to a Valentine's dinner at the Alliance Academy... it was very nice to be on a date with her!

Easter Sunsrise service at "El Refugio" with the Borman families and one other family was incredibly beautiful and special. This area is about an hour from our house, just at the peak of the mountains before you descend into the coastal rainforest.

Melissa recently was voted to the "National Honor Society" as a sophmore... a rare event and a great honor for all of us.

Favorite Photos

This elderly man was quite excited about getting picture taken, and he was very proud of his bible.

This elderly lady was so colorful, and her face so full of character, it captured my interest!

These two girls at the Cusubamba outreach really caught my eye as well. Believe it or not, this was NOT posed!

This is the ladder the men used at one of our outreaches... it is by far the scariest ladder I have ever seen in my life!

God Bless you all and keep you - please know that you are in our prayers!

Hasta Luego... Until next month!

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