MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season to each of you!

"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son..." Galatians 4:4 reminds us that God chose just the moment that He wanted for His Son to come and live among us. As a coworker reminded us this week, it was anything but an easy time for Mary and Joseph, and later on for Jesus as He lived out His mission of love and sacrifice for us here on earth. But how thankful we are for God's gift to us!

December was perhaps not the month we would have chosen to be building a church! And yet this has been the time that God allowed all the pieces to come together so that we were able to finally move ahead with the construction of "God's House of Prayer" in Palmira community. Although the building process has not been easy with much rain and mud and slippery roads, we have watched God work and are thankful for His help in the whole process.

So yes, there were definitely less Christmas decorations and glitter around our house this year, and alot more mud and mess! And 'making our lists, and checking them twice' was more along the line of 50 bags of cement, five truckloads of sand and gravel, and 1200 cement blocks....! But God has blessed us with much Christmas cheer :-) as we rejoice to see the construction taking shape. Working with the cement 'maestros' has also been a joy, as each of them are not just friends, but also fellow believers.

Our family was a bit scattered for the holiday season this year, with Kimberly staying at school to work over break, Kenny & Sophia in Virginia with Sophia's family, and Keilah & Jeremy happily traveling to West Virginia to spend a special Christmas with Jeremy's family (who are usually in Paraguay). But we certainly enjoyed opportunities to chat with each of them! As we look to the new year, and the new challenges that are to come we can rest in the fact that His grace is sufficient, and His power unlimited. We trust you also find this to be abundantly evident in your own lives in 2018!

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

November update

We are all reminded to give thanks at this time of year--thanks to God for His grace and mercy to us; thanks to each other for sharing together in this life God has given us. We have many blessings to be thankful for:

Time with our family....My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on November 4th. What a blessing their faithfulness in setting a Godly example has been to us. We were also  thankful to see each of us our kids at the family celebration, for the second time this year! (In the picture: Kathy & I; Keilah & Jeremy; Kimberly; my brother Keith and nephew Alex; my parents Irvin & Nancy; Kenny & Sophia; my sister Gretchen and husband Rick and nephew Brian.)

Ready for building a foundation....with the help of the believers, the ground is all prepared in Palm Community for beginning to construct the "House of Prayer" that has been on Paulino's heart for more than twenty years. It's been a journey to get to this place! Lord willing, the actual construction will begin December 11th.

Our coworkers...God has graced us with a team of coworkers, both from Germany and from Ecuador, that stand beside us as we face the great needs here in northern Ecuador. Meetings together each month are often of much encouragement to us as we share our struggles. One of those families is the Vera family--Jorge and Mercedes are the Liebenzell Mission church planters in the little town of San Pedro. Their daughter Angie (in the middle) was recently diagnosed with advanced cancer. Over the last few weeks, Angie has maintained a cheerful outlook, saying that in a certain sense, God has allowed the cancer in answer to her prayer that He would allow her more opportunities to share about Him. Angie's mother Mercedes commented this week that their daughter's medical diagnosis is 'malignant lymphoma,' but the Divine Diagnosis is 'the greater the trial, the greater the provision of God.' We are reminded of the great hymn by Annie J. Flint:

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater,

He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;

To added afflictions He addeth His mercy,

To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

Would you join us in praying for Angie and her family; especially that God would give them great courage and boldness to continue in spite of this great trial that they are experiencing.

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy