Immanuel - God with us!

Immanuel

We walked home in the dusk with our neighbor Pablo and his little daughter Gabriela. He was drunk, and could hardly walk up the hill, so he leaned on Gabriela as she held his hand and pulled him. Pablo was crying as he stumbled along. Not being able to see clearly in the fading light, he called out to me, “Arturo, is that you? Can you hear me? I am really sad tonight, as my wife just took off and left me. Now I’m alone with my kids and they are crying too.”

As we arrived at the top of the hill, I put my arm around Pablo, acknowledging with him that he certainly was in a sad place, and really needed God’s help. “Pablo, you used to follow God. Don’t you think you are needing him now?”

“Arturo, you’re right, I used to follow God. Maybe another day I’ll return to Him and follow again,” said Pablo. I prayed for him right there, a lost soul in need of a Savior, one so close to a knowledge of God (living next door as our neighbor!) and yet really so far away.

Immanuel, “God with us”, a truth we celebrate each Christmas. What a miracle, that God would take on flesh and come so near to us!

Sometimes at Christmas, more than ever, we sense the darkness that so many of our Awa friends and neighbors live in. They do not understand Immanuel. Just yesterday many of the Awa waited for hours for “Christmas” to arrive (meaning a group bringing bags of animal crackers and candies). But they waited to no avail, as the group stopped at another community first and ran out of the cookie bags. So as dusk descended on Christmas Eve, the people meandered home disappointed, with empty hands. Many such groups come each year, handing out cookies or small gifts; some come with plenty but others come with only a little, not enough to go around.

On Sunday we talked with the Awa who came to church, “You know, you don’t have to wait for groups to bring you “Christmas”; Christmas is Jesus being born, and that has truly happened! You can gather with your family and celebrate together. You can thank God for sending His Son to be born, to later die for us so we can be saved.” Some of the faces in the crowd nodded in agreement, but many looked at me with unbelieving eyes, thinking something along the lines of “This guy says such strange things!” :-) To so many of them, Christmas means little more than a few cookie bags that are soon gone.

There is a joy in our hearts as we celebrate Immanuel—God coming near to us in the form of a baby. There is also a sadness as we see so many who still do not understand. And yet God is not far from them, as Paul said in his sermon in Athens many years ago, “...The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things, and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;...” Acts 17:24-27 NASB

Thank you for joining us across the miles as we stand here, near to the Awa. Please pray with us that the Awa people would come to know Immanuel, the One who has come near to them.

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord...” Psalm 92:1

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to the Most High! Today, the 21^st of November, in remembering the old national holiday in Germany (the Day of Repentance and Prayer), the Liebenzell Mission has called for a day of fasting and prayer. As the day before our own country’s historic holiday of Thanksgiving, it is certainly an appropriate time to come before the throne of the Most High God. As we join together with folks from around the globe, we are finding much to be thankful for:


 

For a full church this last Sunday as we gathered both congregations together, and a good time of fellowship and food with the people.	Manuela starting to cook corn and yucca
Angel and Mesias	A special week with our Quichua friends as they finished the spackling both inside and outside of the church building in Palmira. Painting is next on the list!
An encouraging day spent with Paulino and wife and daughter attending the 40th anniversary of a Quichua church. Paulino and family were amazed: “So many Quichua wanting to follow God! Perhaps one day just as many Awa will gather to worship!”	A crowd of Quichua believers

 

Oscar invited us to pick corn	For an open door to remain here and work among the Awa; for many opportunities to interact and live alongside these people.
For each of you—our family and friends, as well as those who pray for us and the Awa, and those of you who share financially.	Ronin is now 5 months old
Sundays we are going through the book of Matthew	For the Lord’s daily grace, truth, encouragement, and strength; and the rest He gives as we bring our burdens to Him.

There are only a few American holidays that we celebrate here in Ecuador, but Thanksgiving is definitely on the top of the list! The turkey is thawing in the refrigerator, and salads and pumpkin and apple pies are on the menu. We are enjoying our last few days with our coworkers (and family!) Andy and Chrissy Shaub, and Lee and Liana, before they return to the USA for a six-month time of home assignment the first week of December. We do appreciate your prayers as we make the adjustments to a smaller ministry team (as in, just Kathy and I!) over the next months.

And may you also find tomorrow a day of thankfulness and blessing as you find your rest in our God Most High!

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy
 

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me...” (Matthew 19:14)

The Lita River valley is home to seven community schools and about 400 children, a majority of whom are Awa. We often find ourselves involved in these schools in different ways: last week we handed out pencils and school supplies to the children in the La Colonia school. These kids are the next generation, a generation growing up in changing times as roads, electricity, and technology make their way into these mountains. We find it easy to love these little ones, and how we long to see them growing up with a knowledge of God. Would you pray along with us that in each of our interactions we could be a part of bringing these young ones to Jesus?

We continue to hold two services most Sundays, in Rio Verde as well as in Palmira. Our goal is to have a “united Sunday” once a month where we gather both groups for the service and a lunch meal together. Attendance dropped over the summer months as many Awa spent more time at their outlying farms, but some have returned since the beginning of the school year. The regular Sunday soccer games in Palmira have resumed, creating an area of conflict for many: how hard it is to choose to attend church when a rousing soccer game is on! Paulino’s wife Manuela also finds this difficult, as she cooks and sells “empanadas” (fried breads) and other food to the hungry soccer players. This has been a source of conflict for Paulino as he would love to see his whole family in church each Sunday. “But I can’t drag them here by force!” he says. Sound familiar? Yes, this struggle seems to be the same challenge in many cultures! Please pray with Paulino that his family and friends would treasure God above all else.

Our good friends and co-workers Andreas and Donata Schiller, along with daughters Noemí and Mattea, have recently returned to Germany to investigate some serious health concerns for Donata. The Schillers work with young people in ministries in and around Ibarra, especially with college-age youth. Please pray for the Schillers as they seek to find medical help. We would love to have them return to work with the team here in Ecuador, but overall our desire is to have them right where God would have them to be.

We appreciate your prayers! Here are a few prayer updates:

• Gloria is doing much better health-wise! She has more medical exams in November, but for the moment is happy to be able to eat more of a normal diet. (The picture shows Gloria with two of her five grandchildren.)
• The new internet connection has continued (mostly!) stable and we have been very thankful for the easier access.
• Milton continues to come most weeks for Bible study and also Sundays for church, although he often struggles with discouragement. We have wanted to help him to re-connect with his extended family, so that they are able to see that he desires to walk in obedience to God. Please pray with us that he would understand how to live in honesty and transparency before them.

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

September happenings

Computers are fun!

For some time we've hoped to find a way to reach out to the youth in the community of Palmira. After thinking, praying, and talking to the community, we decided to offer a basic computer course. Over 30 young folks quickly signed up! We gathered several older laptops and bought some Spanish keyboards, loaded them up with a Linux operating system, and two weeks ago began the classes. The world of technology is new and intriguing; these young folks really want to learn! Paulino's three older sons—Salomon, Romulo, and Abram are among the students, along with several of the community leaders who need to be able to type up letters and paperwork.

    • Please pray that the classes would be a good avenue for building friendships, and a beginning step in opening hearts to consider following God.

The week of September 10th we had the joy of attending the Global Member Care Network conference just outside of Quito. There we met many folks from around the world who work in the area of missionary member care. We attended many workshops and sessions. A special emphasis of the conference this year dealt with the member care of our Latin American co-workers, a topic of special interest to us as we are privileged to work alongside a dedicated team of Ecuadorian pastors, missionaries, and young folks (many of them the children of our Ecuadorian families) who God is raising up to reach and disciple the lost in this country!

    • Our Liebenzell Ecuador team at our yearly retreat in August; please pray that we would work together in love and unity as we minister here in the different areas of northern Ecuador.

Our long-time Awa friend Gloria has joined Kathy in helping to teach the children's class on Sundays in Palmira! Gloria loves to emphasize to the kids the importance of following God, often sharing parts of her own testimony. After being hospitalized in July with complications from an auto-immune disorder (scleroderma), she is now feeling stronger but continues on a liquid-only diet. She has many doctor appointments and exams scheduled this month; through all of this her attitude has remained cheerful and upbeat as she thanks God for His daily help.

    • Thanks for praying for Gloria's health, as the doctors are considering the possibility of a surgery to widen her esophagus.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support! We appreciate your standing with us as we work here among the Awa.

(helping a friend move his sugar cane on our way home from church)
 

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

August update

This last week Oso brought his son Stalin for a haircut. It was a hot day, and Stalin's thick mop of hair was making him sweat in the hot sun. As I finished up the haircut, Oso´s parting words were: “I'll be here for church on Sunday!”

Over the years we have learned that befriending the Awa is often the first step towards encouraging them to open their hearts to God. Building relationships here in the mountains can mean changing a motorcycle tire, making a photocopy, mending a torn pair of pants, repairing a chainsaw, or driving a sick Awa to the health center in a nearby town. Often lending a hand in time of need is the best method we have for being able to show God's love and compassion. Some of the saddest moments we have experienced are when we find that a friend or neighbor desperately needed help, perhaps with a sick family member, but chose not to ask. And likewise, it brings our hearts joy when an Awa friend comes to us seeking help, because very often that asking also shows a willingness to turn towards God.

As we interact with the Awa our desire is that we would be a visual of God's love and compassion...like an arrow that points them in God's direction. Please pray with us that as our friends recognize their neediness, they would also open their hearts to accept the Help and Hope that our amazing God offers. Two couples come quickly to our minds. David and his wife are a young couple with two children who are struggling in their marriage; we were thankful for a good opportunity that God provided to talk with them this last week. Our friend Teacher Andrew has been drinking and hitting his wife; their five children are caught in the middle of much unhappiness. Neither of these couples is yet willing to seek God in the midst of their struggles, but we are praying that will change.

We are happy to say that we have finally been able to get internet access here on the mountain! This last week I was able to get a repeater antenna system set up on a mountain between here and Lita, and so far it is working well. We are thankful not to have to make the long drive to the city for internet access. Now we just hope that no-one steals the antenna, solar panels, or batteries from the short tower I set up! :-)

Thank you for joining us in “holding forth the word of Life” to the Awa people here in Ecuador!

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy

July Happenings

Yes, we are now officially grandparents! Ronin Kai was born on June 28th, weighing in at 8 ½ lbs. He is a handsome and delightful little fellow :-) and has already captured the hearts of his grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunts and uncles! Keilah & Jeremy are doing a great job at working through the transition of being parents: the joys and the responsibilities alike (like those sleepless nights!) They are also in the midst of packing as they begin missionary training in August in Missouri.

Our hearts are thankful not just for God’s gift of little Ronin, but also for the special time He gave us with our family. Kenny & Sophia joined us from Virginia for a week, and we were even able to sneak away for a few days in Maine with them. We helped Kimberly get her driver’s license and to pack up for her coming move to Missouri (where she will be working in childcare at the same place Keilah & Jeremy will be students, the Ethnos 360 Missionary Training Center.) God graciously allowed us a few minutes with my (Kevin’s) beloved Grandma Natalie Bruce before she passed into the presence of our Savior this week. Good-byes are difficult, but our hearts are comforted in knowing that God is in control and we look forward to an eternity in Heaven together!

We appreciate our co-workers Andy & Chrissy Shaub holding down the fort in Ecuador while we were gone. It was not a time without difficulty: Paulino’s newest grand-baby (just 2 months old!) died, and Gloria was hospitalized with an esophageal obstruction. Keeping the two church services going each week was an extra challenge as well. As we return and jump back into the ministry, we’d appreciate your prayers for God’s grace as we walk alongside the Awa believers as they go through such times of suffering.

 Thank you for your prayers!
    • Seeing God’s faithfulness in each of our kids’ lives has been such a special blessing; how thankful we are for the opportunity to spend time with them and welcome baby Ronin.
    • Roughly fifty Awa were able to be seen by the medical caravan just before we left.
    • As we head back to living among the Awa we are relying on God’s provision of strength for each day. How we need His help and His wisdom!
    • A steady presence in the ministry has been an important need in this time. In 2019 we face a special challenge as we work toward a time of furlough for both the Shaubs and us; thanks for joining with us in prayer that God would work this out while still allowing the Awa church to grow and mature.

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy
 

Jeremy, Keilah (with Ronin), Kevin, Kathy, Kenny, Kimberly, Sophia, Nancy & Irvin (Kevin’s parents)

June Update

On May 19th, Kimberly graduated with honors from Ethnos 360 Bible Institute! We were sad not to be with her that day, but glad that both Kevin's parents and Kenny & Sophia were there! Just after graduation, Kimberly got engaged to Zach Burt, a fellow MK and Ethnos 360 graduating student whose parents are missionaries in Thailand. :-) For the two years Kimberly has been at the Bible Institute, one of our prayers for her was for God's guidance for her future. She considered many options over the last few months, and has decided to take a job offered to her working in childcare at the Missionary Training Center of Ethnos 360 in Missouri. It seems like a good fit for her---she will be close to Keilah & Jeremy (who will be students there this coming year), as well as somewhat close to Zach (studying in Springfield, MO). We are thankful to see God's faithfulness in guiding her each step at a time!

It was a disappointment to have to cancel the visit from our friend Shelia and the medical caravan to our area this year, due to the local security concerns. Instead we are working out a plan to take a busload of Awa out to the city of Otavalo, so they can be attended there on June 15th. We pray the day is a blessing to many of the believers, as well as the other Awa with health needs they are inviting to come along.

Back in November we asked you to pray for our coworkers, Jorge and Mercedes Vera, and their daughter Angie who had been diagnosed with cancer. Over these last months, the Veras have maintained a steady testimony of a strong faith in God as Angie went thru six chemotherapy treatments. Jorge and Mercedes juggled their work with the small church in the village of San Pedro with helping Angie with her treatments in Quito. Angie's testimony remained cheerful and strong: "I believe this cancer is God's answer to my prayer that He would give me more opportunities to share about Him.” And she did share: in front of youth groups, with doctors and nurses, at her college. When Mercedes and Angie travelled to Quito recently for Angie's first radiation treatment, the doctor in charge was taken by surprise as she reviewed Angie's latest test results. "There is no cancer showing up here at all!" was the doctor's amazed pronouncement. "Well, Angie, just go and enjoy life!"

[ Jorge & Mercedes sharing at our Awa conference earlier this year ]

Mercedes shared a few days later in one of our Mission meetings: "We used to go to a church where we claimed miracles from God. But when God brought us to Puente de Amor (the Liebenzell church in Ibarra) we learned a new way of learning to trust and submit to God, not demanding of Him what we thought would be good, but bringing our troubles to Him and learning to trust in His provision. Some people said to us that Angie would be cured if we just had enough faith. And yes, we did pray for her healing, but mostly we just prayed that God would uphold us during the trial and supply the tools that we needed to stay strong in following Him through the trial. We trusted that He knew what was best for Angie, and we submitted ourselves to Him. So it really surprised us that God healed her in this way! When Angie first heard that her cancer was gone, her prayer in tears to God was: 'God, thank You. I never even asked you to heal me; I just asked that You would help me to faithfully trust You and to bear testimony of You to many people.'”

We are blessed to be able to work alongside Jorge and Mercedes and Angie and other Ecuadorians who have caught the vision of Who our God is, and desire to share His love with others!

Kathy and I are super excited to be making a trip to the USA June 19th - July 17th to welcome our first grandchild into our family! Keilah and husband Jeremy are expecting their first child (due June 25th) and then will be transitioning to study at the Missionary Training Center (Ethnos 360) in Missouri for the next two years. While there in New England, we will also be with Kimberly, before she also takes off for Missouri, and Kenny & Sophia hope to travel up from Virginia to see us for a few days as well. We feel quite blessed! Being a continent away from our kids is not always where we would like to be, but God has been faithful to answer our prayer that we could see them at least once a year! We are thankful!

In HIS grip,
Kevin & Kathy