“But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son…”
Galatians 4:4 NIV
“…the Gospels are set in a real world of needs: wine running out at a
wedding; hungry crowds with not enough food; fruitless fishing trips;
and no money for the tax bill. Into this world quietly breaks the
mi-raculous, which seems as ordinary as the hassles. In myth,
extraordinary people in an extraordinary world do extraordinary things.
In the Gospels, the extraordinary love and compassion of a remarkable
man radiates and illuminates an ordinary world.” (
Love Walked Among Us, by Paul Miller, from the In-troduction)
During this last year of pandemic, God allowed us to BE here with the
Awa….right in the midst of the ordinary-ness of daily life.
Opportunities to rub shoulders have often been overwhelming to us as we
live among the many needy moments of our Awa friends and neighbors.
Coming home tired from an extra busy Sunday, dirty with mud and even
sensing the presence of a few extra creepy crawlies, I was reminded that
Jesus probably ended his days muddy and tired, too, having spent
Himself for the people. Maybe He got those fleas and creepy crawlies,
too! That’s what His love looked like---He was right there in daily life
among the masses, seeing and touching and sharing in their pain,
pointing them to His Heavenly Father.
How Kathy and I desire to follow His calling and be like Jesus here
among the Awa! Please pray that God will show His love and compassion
through us, as well as speak His word of truth into the darkness in
which many of our neighbors live.
Wishing you a
Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year!
In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy
A special day!
December 13th was a special day at the church in Palmira…twenty-eight
Kichwa believers from the church in Chirihuasi joined us for a special
program celebrating Paulino’s youngest son Logan. Before he died,
Paulino had asked our Kichwa believer friend Angel to be Logan’s
godfather. His wish was that Logan have the extra influence of a
God-following man in his life. With Paulino’s death and then the arrival
of the pandemic, this was put on hold until this last Sunday. What a
joyful day as we celebrated with the visiting Kichwa believers, a group
from the believers here in Rio Verde as well as the church in Palmira
along with many friends and neighbors from that community. In good Awa
and Kichwa style, food was plentiful and many went home with bags of
leftover mote (boiled white corn kernels) and fritada (fried pork).
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Picture of the month
Many children are again participating in our Sunday services! (Picture
pre-covid 😊) In this area, the children are attending school one day a
week, which leaves many hours of boredom during the rest of the week.
Our Sunday worksheets (using Bible texts with fill-in-the-blanks and
questions) are happily received and then delivered the next Sunday for
checking. We pray that these children will clearly un-derstand as we
teach them about God’s love sent to us in the form of His Son, Jesus.
Please pray also for Christmas celebrations this coming Sunday (20th)
and again on the 21st.
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