The summer has been a bit of a whirlwind for us, although definitely an enjoyable one! Our two weeks in the USA for Kenny and Sophia's wedding were full of good moments with family and friends--what a blessing to us! We were grateful for God's gracious help in allowing almost every day to go as planned! We are thankful for good health and safety in all the miles we travelled. It was very special to have most of our days there with Kimberly and Keilah and husband Jeremy. We asked God to stretch the few days we had with Kenny and Sophia, and He did just that--we had a lovely time with them. Meeting Sophia's family was a highlight for us; we appreciated all the hard work they put into organizing a beautiful wedding and reception!
Literacy...
Returning to Ecuador we jumped into a literacy workshop with the Shaubs and Jerry and Joyce McDaniels, Ethnos 360 literacy consultants. What an intense time of working with the Awa language! We learned much, not just about literacy but also as we finalized many syllable breaks and spellings; trying to regularize the way we spell many words. Working with the most commonly occurring syllables, and slowly adding in more, we created four Awa literacy primers, four short practice readers, and many worksheets. Marco Antonio, Andy Shaub's language helper, was quite faithful in creating and checking short stories, and translating the teacher's manual. He had to put up with much English conversations going on around him as we worked with understanding the literacy computer program and what came next each day! Again and again Marco expressed his appreciation that books were being made to teach his people to read and write their own language; this is a desire he has had for many years.
And what's ahead?
The church construction in Palmira is finally forming into a reality: several dump-truck loads of gravel were delivered while we were gone and we have begun to have regular work days to gather rocks from the river for the foundation. Paulino and the other believers in Palmira are excited to see progress being made! Also, the end of August we are planning a field conference for the Liebenzell missionaries and pastors in Lita. We pray it will be a time of fellowship and refreshment for all.
In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy
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