Easter is just around the corner!

Here at the Outpost that means that it’s time to begin plans for our annual Awa Believers’ Conference coming up the last week of March. Many organizations and NGO’s in this country, when putting on an event for the native people here, are careful to do everything for them—planning, providing meals, transporting those who attend, choosing topics, and teaching. This method has given the Awa certain expectations for such occasions. In contrast, our desire for the Conference is that the Awa believers take possession of it—‘It’s our Conference!’ we want them to say. We want them to be involved in every aspect of it, and we even hope that one day they will be able to carry on the conferences without us! As you might imagine, this change in attitude from being ‘attendees’ and ‘receivers’  to being ‘possessors’ and ‘providers’ does not necessarily come easily.

But we are thanking the Lord for a good start in the right direction this year! Last Sunday the elders called the believers together in order to plan for the Conference. Milton and Paulino had already decided that it would be held in this community. We rejoiced to hear different ones planning to participate in paying for a pig, re-building the wooden shed the ladies use for their cooking-fire place, and giving promises of food for the meals. Milton enthusiastically rattled off a list of names of those whom he has invited to join us. There was only one discouraging moment, as we talked about who could give hospitality to those coming from further communities. Meregildo hung his head as he explained that he doesn’t have much money right now. “Last time I spent $100 to buy a young cow so that we’d have lots of meat at my house for the company,” he shared with a downcast face, “but I don’t have money like that this year.” Kevin reminded him how many times God has stretched what food we had to be enough---“Remember, at Christmas, all those people came, and we didn’t think there would be enough? And God helped us—there was enough for a full plate for everyone! And there were enough cookie bags, too! God can help us!” And then we prayed all together, that God will provide all that we need.

Please pray with us that this Conference will be a time when each of the believers not only shoulders his part in the load, but also learns to rely on God for His help in every aspect. We are excited to have this chance to prove that God is well able to show Himself mighty on behalf of His people!

Other news:  

• Kathy’s niece Deborah Burnham arrived safely for a two-month visit on February 20th, the very first night the new airport opened outside of Quito. We thanked the Lord for clear skies as the big passenger jets landed for the first time on the new, longer, airstrip near the town of Quinche. The old airport in Quito will soon be retired and turned into a city park!
• We are thankful that our road has remained stable during the heaviest part of rainy season. The provincial government spent many thousands of dollars to put small bridges and culverts in at each creek along the road, and then graveled the whole road. It’s been a great blessing! 
• Kenny and Keilah are both doing well at their schools. Keilah now has a regular job waitressing at a Golden Corral restaurant, while Kenny has been doing some math tutoring there at Liberty. Here in Ecuador, Kimberly continues to valiantly plow through Geometry, Geography, and Biology (among other subjects) in her effort to finish her 9th grade studies by early May. Her goal is to join Keilah this summer working at Whispering Winds Bible Camp in Missouri.  Kenny plans to spend his summer working in New Hampshire.

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

<for a printable version click here>

picks 4 u

Our group on Monday practicing their memory verse. 

Knocking the wall down so Kimberly gets a bigger room.

January 2013

January 2013

Yummy smoked 'fatty'

Kathy, Kimberly, and I spent a wonderfully quiet Christmas week here on the mountain! I tried out my new 'smoker' barrel on Christmas lunch with delicious results, while Kathy and Kimberly added more yummy dishes to the menu. We also put together a puzzle, as we do each Christmas, and enjoyed chatting long-distance with Kenny and Keilah.  These days were especially relaxing since the week before, and the week after, were both a bit crazy for us....

The week before Christmas Kathy had an allergic reaction to something here at the Outpost. After  suffering with hives and itching off and on for two days, and finding little help from Benadryl, she went out to Ibarra with the Shaub family on December 16th. That night she woke up around midnight with her tongue and throat swelling, so Andy and Chrissy took her to the emergency room. At that point, we were all thankful she was in the city! The (very!) young doctor there, as well as the doctor she saw the next day, attributed the allergy to a local plant that is known to give strong reactions. Kathy hadn't been outside at the time she started with the hives, but I had been weed-whacking in the yard for several days prior to that, which might have been the source of her trouble. After several days on stronger medication, Kathy returned to the Outpost on the 20th, not without feeling a bit wary of the local herbage! We thank the Lord that by His grace she has been fine since then.

porch getting a bit crowded!

After Christmas, I spent several days in the city with our Mission co-workers going over our goals for the coming year. I came home just in time for a special Sunday with the Awa December 30th, celebrating both Christmas and the end of the year. While expecting around 80 people, we were happily surprised to have about 150 folks show up! (At one point there were over 100 people squeezed on our porch, while the rest sat on blankets on the hill just behind.) It did give us and the believers a few tense moments wondering if the food for lunch would be enough! But we had an especially good service with both Milton and Paulino sharing with the crowd; games; a feast of boiled pork, beans, yucca, rice and plantains; and the giving of the traditional animal cracker and candy bags. The Lord graciously stretched what we had and there was enough for all. Everyone left with a smile! It was an excellent opportunity to invite those who are interested to join us each Sunday. One couple, Silvio (a fellow who tried to commit suicide about a year ago) and his wife Pastora, as well as a 12-year-old neighbor boy, Edison, have joined us for several Sundays since. Please join us in praying that their present interest will turn into a lasting understanding of God's love for them.

Happy New Year!

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

<FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION CLICK HERE>

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

December Bruce Brief

María Luisa, along with her two boys, elderly parents, and a young niece, stayed with us for ten days in November. The Lord gave many opportunities to teach, help, and encourage this needy family. During these days we were encouraged to see Maria taking more of an interest in life, as she chatted with Paulino’s teenage daughter, made bead necklaces with Kathy, and even went on several short hikes. The believers in this area were very friendly to the family, bringing gifts of food, inviting them to a cow butchering, and even helping them with a financial loan! Paulino spent time encouraging them to trust in the Lord, and not live in helpless fear of their foes—María’s angry husband, the evil spirits, and the reputed hex from the shaman. It was a special blessing to us to hear the gentle and loving way he counseled and prayed with them--not discarding the validity of what they have faced, but reminding them that God is bigger.

María’s family really struggles with feeling hopeless in the face of the size of the struggles they are experiencing. As we sat down with them each day to go through the Exodus account of Moses’ life, our prayer was that God would ‘grow’ in their minds. He is the Almighty God---He was certainly able to handle mighty Pharoah and the army of Egypt! While the family listened carefully with many nods and comments of agreement, we found it hard to know if they were truly taking it all to heart for their own situation. The true test for them will come as they head back home and face the difficulties again. As they packed up to leave, however, it did seem like their overall perspective was a bit more encouraged. Please pray with us that they will be reminded daily that HE IS ABLE!

There are several colds and viruses going around our area as the cold winds and rain settle in for the rainy season. Many Awa have been sick, and we’ve taken our turn as well! Thankfully, we are now feeling much better, and pray that our friends will, also.

Thanks for joining us in prayer!

• We are missing our two college kids! But we are thankful to see how God is working out their plans for the Christmas break. Keilah is making plans to stay at NTBI over most of Christmas, as she has a house-sitting job for part of the break. Kenny is hoping to travel northwest to spend a few days with Keilah, as well as with his girlfriend’s family, the Meyers. The Meyer family, good friends of ours since Bible School days, continue to seek the Lord as they deal with their son Benjamin’s cancer. 
• Humberto is trying to buy land in our area, in order to live closer to us and the fellowship of the other believers. Sadly, his first deal to buy land has now fallen through. Milton is quite determined to help Humberto out, in spite of some opposition from folks in our area. Please pray that Humberto will lean on God’s strength during this difficult time, and that he’ll be able to find a good piece of land to buy.

Because He is able,

Kevin & Kathy

<for a printable version click here>

New additions to the Bruce funny farm ;-)

Joshua & Jezebel

Bruce Brief - Nov

Thanks for your prayers for Maria Luisa! We have seen God’s hand working in their lives. This week, after hearing rumors from several relatives that Maria’s family was moving her closer to our location, we did some searching and finally located Maria and her parents staying in the common house of a small Awa community north of us. It was so good to see them face to face, after weeks of just passing messages and hearing news from afar! Maria began to talk as Kathy perched on the edge of the bed beside her, and she kept talking and crying for almost two hours straight as she told and re-told all that she’s been going through. I sat on another bed with Maria’s father Alfonso, while he also shared with me the difficulties they are passing through. Their story is full of fear---fear that Maria will die; fear of her husband and his family, who supposedly want to kill them; fear of the hex and the shaman; fear of losing their house and land, as a family of squatters have moved in. At the same time, we saw signs that they are being reminded to turn to the Lord in this difficult time. Maria’s sister Gloria had visited the week before and encouraged them to ask God for help. After going to many different ‘curers’, some of which used marijuana and other remedies that ‘made me worse’, Maria said, they are now going each week to the government health center in Lita. Maria is under treatment for an ulcer, and feels like her stomach, where she feels the ‘snake’, is getting better.
“My father says I need to have faith in God,” Maria told Kathy. “But I’m sick, and for weeks I haven’t been getting better. I don’t know if God is remembering me.” We were so thankful for the chance to encourage them that God never ‘throws us away’ (as Maria’s husband is doing to her), but sees us in our struggles, and is present with us at all times. We prayed together with Maria, and invited the family to come up to stay with us next week for several days. Please pray that we can use the time of their visit to encourage them with God’s truth in many different ways. And pray that the believers in our community will also rally around them!
In other notes of news:
• After a long summer break, we have started up the adult literacy program again! Each Monday we gather with the students to study reading, math, and now something new---an hour of Bible School! Adapting some materials from our national churches called ‘The Good Servant’, we are presently studying the basics of salvation, and memorizing Romans 3:23-24 together. This is an excellent opportunity to work on spiritual terms in Awa, as we begin by talking about such concepts as ‘sin’ and ‘justification’. Last week it brought us great joy to see a new level of understanding dawning in Jaime’s eyes as we talked about how sin separates us from God. As a new believer, there is much that is new to him!
• I was thrilled to finish editing and formatting the portions of Exodus that our co-worker Doug has translated. What a joy to print out an updated version, all ready for use! At this point, the next step will be to read over the portions several times with the Awa, revising any mistakes or misunderstandings that we find.
• Holiday separations as a family are not our favorite thing. But we have seen the Lord’s provision in many ways for Kenny and Keilah as they both are learning and growing in their studies. We are thankful for the many ways to shorten the miles between us—email, Facebook, phone texts, and Skype, to name a few!
In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy