Happy New Year!

God has graciously allowed progress to continue on God's House of Prayer in Palmira community! This last week our Quichua friend Angel, his son Samuel, and friend Carlos (also a Quichua believer) worked hard to 'enlucir' (cement stucco) the walls, both inside and out. Just the back and sides of the outside of the building lack! In God's economy (which can run according to different rules than man's) :-) we were happy to use up the original funds--thus giving the Awa a chance to do their part and not just expect that funds will come from elsewhere to pay for everything. In talking with Guillermo, he offered to donate wood for free to build the benches and other furniture needed. "That's something I can give!" Guillermo said. Paulino also is ready to organize workers to build an Awa-style kitchen and an outhouse on the property. "I don't know how to do the stucco-ing, but I can certainly dig!" was his response.

And God is continuing to provide: A gift from a friend who came to visit helped finish up the last two weeks of cement work and materials; and our home church has offered a donation for the electric wiring, metal window frames and doors, a front porch, as well as the ceramic tiles for the floors. Last year at this time we hoped to build in time for Awa Conference---that didn't happen. But, Lord willing, the believers are excitedly planning this year's Conference to be held here at God's House of Prayer in Palmira! We will keep you updated on the progress as the weeks go by!

One area of struggle for us over the last year, since our source from the RV school was shut down, has been a connection to the Internet. We have some data access on our cell phones, but the Lita tower system is overloaded and we are too far away to connect well. We are thankful to be able to communicate with our kids via WhatsApp, a chat program that is used across Ecuador. But for most of our email and other Internet business we rely on our days we are out in the city of Ibarra twice a month. Along with our tech-savvy friend Miguel, I am working on a system of repeater antennas to try to get us better Internet access. The antenna here at our house is up and running; the one on our property in Lita is in place; now we just lack the one in the middle! That one is a bit more complicated: as we must make arrangements with the land owner, put up an antenna in just the right place, install a power source, and protect the equipment from theft.....just a few challenges! We'll see how the project unfolds, and we are thankful for your patience in the meantime as we have been rather behind in communications.

Many of you are taking part with us from afar in Milton's life, as he turns his heart and his life back in a God-ward direction. We recently passed the year-mark of the day when Milton pledged to return to faithfulness to his wife. We are thankful for a God who has been faithful over this year, not only in Milton's life, but also in the hearts of the rest of the church. For those who are interested in a longer update, click here.

As we move into this new year, we are also thankful for a faithful God. May you also find Him faithful in the weeks and months to come!

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy