The rainy season rains are returning; our garden, including the weeds!, is quite happy to take in the moisture. The rains make it interesting as we keep working on the church construction in Palm Community....last week we had fun digging in the mud, leveling out the ground in preparation for the foundation. Working on the church has been an interesting process--progress has not happened as quickly as WE thought it ought to (our idea was to get the construction finished in the dry summer months). As we have chosen to work alongside Paulino and Gloria and Guillermo and the other Palm Community believers, we have found that the pace is going much slower than we imagined. But....as the Awa have planned a work day, we have seen many come to happily join in (even folks who don't normally come to church). Preparing for building has also provided a time of preparing hearts; thanks for praying with us that God would call out a people for Himself from this community. And we appreciate your prayers that construction would go forward on His chosen time-table!
Speaking of construction, many of you remember the Awa Center in Lita where we lived for about ten years. As the Awa ministry has moved further into the mountains, the Lita property is being used more as a camp and retreat center for the Ecuadorian churches. This summer the kitchen/dining area is getting an overhaul! Our field director, Rainer Kroger, has put much effort into this project, along with the building crew---our same Ecuadorian friends who will help us with the church in Palm Community. (
Here is a link to an email from Rainer with an interesting testimony about one of the workers, along with more pictures, if any of you is interested.)
And finally, we are writing from US soil at the moment, as we are making a quick trip to the USA to join the Bruce family for my parents' 50th anniversary celebration. It is a joy for us to help celebrate such a landmark occasion! We are thankful that each one of our children can also be there--Keilah & Jeremy are living there, Kenny & Sophia are driving up from VA, and Kimberly is flying out from WI with her friend Zach. Perhaps the next time we write we will have a family picture to share! These are special occasions for us, and we rejoice in the moments God has graciously provided for us to be able to be with our family. We fly back to Ecuador on November 8th.
In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy
