December 29th about 70 of us gathered for the first time in our new church building in Rio Verde! Actually, the building started out to just be a roof to park the two trucks under….but somewhere along the way it turned into our new meeting area, mostly because we are just outgrowing our porch, where we normally meet. :-) We’ve been slowly working on the construction over the last few months. It was a lot of work to pour the cement columns by hand, one at a time, but several of our Awa friends came to help at different times. Milton donated the wood for the roof framework, cutting it by chainsaw down by his house, and one Saturday a large group of Awa friends came for a workday to haul it up to our location. Somewhere along the way, Paulino told us that his family had decided to donate the immediate land around our houses to the church. So now the little fledgling church in Rio Verde has land and a building! Even six months ago we didn’t see that one coming…we give thanks to our amazing God for His provision!
For a quick family update: KEILAH just arrived in Quito for a 3-week Christmas visit. We are so glad to have her here! She flies back to Wisconsin in early January for her senior semester at NTBI. It’s hard to believe she will be graduating in May! I know she would appreciate prayers for the Lord’s guidance for her future after graduation. At this point she plans to continue her college studies, but isn’t sure where. KENNY is in the middle of his junior year at Liberty University. He is especially enjoying having his own apartment off-campus this year, even though it means a few more bills to pay. He is working part-time for the University at their HelpDesk, giving technical help, a job that he enjoys. He spent a few days over Christmas break with his girlfriend Hannah and her family in Wisconsin. Hannah’s family is still grieving the loss of her brother Benjamin from cancer in October (although they consider it a gain for Benjamin himself and rejoice that he is in the Lord’s presence now!) KIMBERLY is in the middle of her sophomore year of highschool here in Ecuador with us. She loves her cat and her bunnies, and is an indispensable help to us as she cooks, cleans, washes all our clothes by hand, and often holds down the fort while Kathy and I are elsewhere. We are thankful we still have Kimberly for several more years before she, too, will head off for college!KATHY and I continue to thank the Lord for another year of His grace in our lives. We are thankful for His provision through many of you, our friends, and for the opportunity to participate in a small way in building His church here in this corner of the world. We are certainly blessed!
In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy
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