Totally decked out beetle!

 

Translation Checking

Doug and Dorcas Williams arrived to visit this week. Although they are now living in the USA, Doug continues to translate portions of the O.T. as he is able. This week here on the mountain we are in the midst of several days of checking O.T. portions. In the past we have found it difficult to find Awa folks who were willing to help us do this—for such active people, the hours of sitting down doing such painstaking literary work discourage many would-be helpers! But we are thankful for 8 helpers who have showed up to help—both Milton and Paulino among them, and two brothers who come for the first time—Marco and Edwin. There is good camaraderie around the table as they discuss what the best way to say a certain phrase. Questions arise—what would the Awa call a ‘threshing floor’? The answer: a dried grain shelling/husking place (pippa kilpu k+hshmukin). (At the moment they are working on the last verses of Genesis 50, where Jacob dies and is greatly mourned by Joseph at the threshing floor of Atad.)

Kimberly and her cousin Elena also arrived on the same flight from Atlanta with the Williams. We were glad they had someone to travel with for the last leg of their trip home. It is nice to have our Kimberly back! She is enjoying a few weeks of vacation before digging into homeschool for her sophomore year of high school.

Thanks for standing with us as we continue to bring God’s Word to the Awa,

Kevin and Kathy

July 2013 update

Part of the work here includes much rejoicing in seeing hearts softening towards the Lord, while at the same time sorrowing when we see other hearts seeming to harden and move away from Him. We thank you for joining with us in praying that many will respond to His call by desiring to listen to the Bible teaching. Understanding the Gospel is often a slow process for the Awa, as they have very little concept of who God is to start with. As they begin to listen, there is much to think on! Recently Carlos and his wife Maria have shown a beginning interest in joining us on Sundays, along with their 3 youngest kids. Maria is very talkative, and especially seems to enjoy the kids’ lesson that Milton teaches. As he teaches, she interacts by repeating phrases, making comments, doing her best to follow along. We have also seen some changes in the teacher from Paulino’s community, Andrew, and his family. They are faithful attendees when we teach in their community, and are following the OT lessons with great fascination (on our last trip up there Kevin taught about Moses and the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea).

The government has been installing computers in each of the community schools, bringing modern technology to the Awa. However, there are very few who know how to use the computers (although we’ve noticed that, as in every culture, there are teenage boys on hand, just hankering to get those machines figured out!) Kevin has been asked by three Awa communities to teach them how to make use of these computers in the schools—a task he thoroughly enjoys! We pray that helping in this way will help to open new doors in the future to be able to share the ‘bigger’ reason that we are here. We’ve made two trips to a new community in the last few weeks—a community we had not felt welcome in before.

In the last month a situation arose in which one of the believers owed another believer a large sum of money. (We’ll call them Hector and Victor.)  Victor had been planning to sell Hector a piece of land, but the deal fell thru when his grown children changed their minds and decided that the land shouldn’t leave their family. Our hearts were fearful that this situation could cause a huge tear in the fellowship of the believers, as many were taking sides and beginning to talk negatively. On two occasions Hector travelled many hours to meet with Victor and clear up the issue, but Victor didn’t show up. Two Sundays ago we sat with Hector with heavy hearts, as it seemed that no progress was being made. At the same time Hector shared with us that he had been tempted to make a big fuss in the community, talking about the problem Victor had caused him. But because Victor is a brother in Christ, Hector said he realized that he didn’t want to try to settle the problem in that way, but to rather work it out in good fellowship, the way that God’s Word teaches. Our hearts were blessed by his Godly attitude, especially when he stands to lose so much in an economic sense. This past Sunday, Hector and Victor both came to the Sunday service, and were able to talk about the issue calmly, and Victor returned about one-third of the funds that he owed, while promising to continue to return the remaining funds as he is able. Kathy and I were gone to Palm community to teach (but praying!) and were so thankful to hear this good news from Andy and Chrissy when we returned. Andy said he mostly just sat and listened while the believers openly talked and worked out the issue! We were so thrilled to see the believers putting what they have learned into practice in a difficult situation. Amen…the Lord is able!!

Thankful hearts…
• The Lord gave us 3 excellent days with our friends Shelia, Dr. Tim, Dr. Kim, and the rest of the medical caravan folks. We were able to see over 400 Awa from at least seven different communities. Milton and Paulino had chosen the story of Jonah to teach to the waiting crowd, and Kevin took turns with the two of them teaching those who gathered around. The Awa thoroughly enjoyed the teaching, making comments and repeating key phrases---at times it was hard to pull them away when it was their turn in the doctor’s office! Since then we have heard many comments that the medical help was greatly appreciated (especially the parasite medicine!)
• Due to someone dropping out, Kenny was able to go back to work at Liberty U. 5 days/week over the summer at the IT Help-Desk position---a job he thoroughly enjoys; while still working weekends at J.Crew. He was glad to get a couple of days off for July 4th! Keilah and Kimberly are doing well at camp in Missouri—there are pictures posted on Facebook at Whispering Winds Bible Camp if you are interested in checking them out!

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

<click here for a printable version>

Do your eyes cry for the lost?

Some random shots from the recent Medical Caravan in Rio Verde!

The free haircuts were a big hit! 

 Paulino sharing using an EvangeCube

The dentist worked very hard, and was very patient with the scared children!

Milton teaching the story of Jonah to a crowd in the "waiting room" :-)

Kathy directing with a smile the people to the right doctor room

time laps video in RV

June 2013

We thoroughly enjoyed our daughter Keilah’s two week visit! She arrived one day late on May 18th (a delayed flight left her staying overnight in Atlanta) AND without her suitcases (she got them a week later)….but we still managed to sneak in a few days at the beach, a week in the mountains, and even a day shopping at the Quichua market in Otavalo. Keilah just finished her first year at Bible School (NTBI) in Wisconsin, and is looking forward to going back in early August. On Monday we dropped Keilah, Kimberly, and cousin, Elena Shaub off at the airport to fly to Missouri to work at Whispering Winds Bible Camp for the summer. This will be Keilah’s fourth summer at the camp, and Kimberly’s first. WWBC has been a great place for the girls to work hard, serve the Lord, learn new skills, and also broaden their USA experience. We are already missing the girls---our house is sure quiet with just the two of us! (If you are interested to read either or both of their camp letters, click on their picture to download it. Keilah especially is seeking to raise some support to help her pay for her initial fees for NTBI for the fall semester, as the camp doesn’t pay her a salary, but only matches funds that come in her name. If you are interested in supporting either of the girls, checks should be made out to Bible Impact Ministries, and should mention Keilah or Kimberly's name in the memo; and sent to Whispering Winds Bible Camp - POBox 9 - St. James, MO 65559-0009. Thanks!)

The rains continued right through the month of May. We are thankful for the Lord’s protection and provision for an open road when we have needed to travel. Last week we heard the sad news that a local Ecuadorian fellow had died while trying to go across a landslide in the dark and rain. Apparently a mudslide or flashflood carried him and his motorcycle down into a swollen creek. The local folks are still looking to determine if he had a passenger with him or not. On Sunday Milton reminded the other believers that God holds our lives in His hands, and we can trust Him to protect us until He calls us home to be with Him forever. Normally such occasions fill the Awa’s hearts with fear—so it was a blessing to see these small seeds of faith growing in their hearts!

Thanks for praying for the meeting in Palmira! On Sunday I was able again to teach there to a group of about 20 Awa. Paulino had (on his own initiative) asked the teachers for permission to meet in the school building, and we stayed in the downstairs area, carefully sweeping and arranging the desks when we finished. This is just a temporary reprieve, however, so conversations continue about building our own church building. Pray for Paulino and the other believers to have clear minds as they think thru this issue—the church will be much more effective if it stems out of their own desire and initiative! The community had allotted one tract of ground for an evangelical church, and another tract for a future Catholic church, but Paulino told me that recently the tract for our church was taken back and is no longer available. “But I’ll give some of my own land for a church if needed!” Paulino assured me.

On June 21st we will say goodbye to our coworkers German and LuzMarina Millan, who have staffed our Lita camp property for the last seven years. They are returning to a church ministry in their native Colombia in order to be closer to their daughters and to medical help for LuzMarina, as she struggles with several health issues. A big prayer request is for new staff for the Lita camp—and for future direction for how to best use this beautiful property. In the past it functioned as our Awa Center, but the local road has greatly lessened the need for hospitality for the Awa. In recent years the property has been used more as a camp retreat center for the national churches. For the moment we have hired a short-term caretaker family to watch the property, but if you know of someone who might be interested in such a ministry, we are looking for applicants! Being ministry-minded, having some experience with Latin culture, and knowing Spanish would be several key qualifications.

Prayer requests:
---Kathy has been asked to speak at a ladies’ one-day retreat in Ibarra on June 15th. She’d appreciate your prayers as she prepares to speak on the topic of being beautiful in God’s eyes.
---Our friends from Kentucky will be here mid-June for the annual medical caravan. We’d appreciate your prayers for these three days as we seek to work with the local government health system to provide good help for the Awa.
---We are thankful for God’s provision for Kenny--he is settled into his summer apartment in Virginia, and is now busily gathering furniture and kitchen items so that he and his roommates can eat something other than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. ? Although he didn’t get the summer internship job he hoped for, the Lord has provided him a job at J.Crew which he will begin soon.

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

<CLICK HERE FOR PRINT COPY>