Happy Thanksgiving!

 

November 2022 Thanksgiving is just around the corner! We have a fat turkey residing in the freezer and plans to celebrate with some of our fellow co-workers later this month. And our hearts are thankful for a faithful God who daily walks with us in the ups and downs of life and sees both our discouragements and our joys in life and ministry.   The last few weeks have given us much to be thankful for: A good visit in the USA in September and the first part of October! God blessed us with a wonderful time with our families; we greatly enjoyed catching up face to face with my family in NH, our son Kenny & Sophia in VA, our daughter Kimberly & Zach in MO, and Kathy’s family in OK! A highlight of the trip was spending several days with our grandson Miles, who at almost 1 ½ years old is a happy and loveable little guy!

   With Kenny & Sofia and Miles in VA              With Kimberly and Zach in MO

• Faithful coworkers Andy & Chrissy who kept things going while we were gone! It isn’t easy dealing with the daily Awa visits and requests for help, as well as managing Sundays with a large crowd of energetic children. 😁
• For a safe return to AwaLand! Arriving back meant clearing out the cobwebs in our house, wrapping our tongues around Awa words and phrases again, and pulling many weeds in our garden! But seeing the faces of our Awa friends brought smiles to our faces, we do miss them when we are away.
• Three young folks who are getting baptized this coming Saturday: Christian and wife Ana Patricia, and Jeison. Both Christian and Jeison are Paulino’s nephews and have been greatly impacted by his testimony. Two years ago we shared with you how Christian & Ana Patricia had a fight, and Ana drank poison in the night….since then they have had a great hunger for God’s word and have shown a good understanding of salvation. Fifteen-year-old Jeison has come faithfully to the Bible teacher training days, and recently asked for guitar and cajón lessons so he could help with singing on Sundays. We appreciate your prayers for these three young folks for a faithfulness in seeking God in the coming days.
• And another fruitful Bible teacher (& helper) class on the 22^nd of October! Two couples and four young folks joined us and soaked in the extra Bible teaching. We had asked the adults to begin teaching the lessons they have heard with someone else. Humberto has begun teaching his whole family while Gloria has found a large family in the community of San Francisco that wants the Bible teaching (Gloria’s older sister and clan). We are very excited to see their desire to teach others!

 

And we’d like to end with a special prayer request: Today our dear Awa friend Gloria is in the hospital in Ibarra as she is struggling with a flare-up of her medical condition (scleroderma). For the second time she lost a part of a finger to infection. For many months she has been struggling with her hands being stiff and has not been able to do many household chores. She’s been through a hard month with this latest infection, and yet has faithfully come to church each Sunday to teach the children with a big smile on her face. Thanks for praying for her as she recovers from her surgery today!

 
“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story--those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands….Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for mankind, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” (Psalm 107:2,3,8,9 NIV)
 
In His grip,
Kevin & Kathy