"If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever more. Amen" 1 Peter 4:11
Thank you for your notes of encouragement and your prayers for us. They are vital. We rely on them daily for safety, health, wisdom, discernment, and encouragement. We are so thankful for the words that God gives you and how you serve in the strength and ways that God provides. You are an incredible part of this ministry. We are so blessed!!!!
School is now underway and we have settled into the daily routine once again. Jonathan is a slow starter and we should have requested prayer prior to school starting. He's coming along, but not without some headaches and mouth ulcers from the stress of 6th grade. He has had literally
hours of homework nearly each night. As a sophomore, David has tried out for varsity soccer and has made the starting line-up. We're looking forward to his first game next week. Cindy is enjoying her class as well, most of which are ESL students (English as Second Language). It makes for some very interesting conversation. For those of you that pray by name, their names are: Pepito, Stephy, Simon, Emilia, Diego, Christa, Moises, Zachary, Yone, Aliah, Elizabeth, Yeon Joo, Justino, Francisca, & Kevin.Doug just returned from Guayaquil where he met with the other members of OMS' Field
Committee. He is now home and getting ready for our next guests that will arrive tomorrow, and additional guests this weekend. You can see by the pictures that Doug has been busy preparing breakfasts as a part of his additional responsibilities of running the OMS Guest House (watch out Julia Childs). We have enjoyed our first two groups of guests, and the pictures show them looking somewhat happy as well. The English speaking group from the 
UMC in Cumming, GA was a bit easier to communicate with than the 19 Ecuadorians, but both groups were a blessing. Our prayer is that they all feel loved and welcomed and know that we are excited to have them as guests. We trust that we can communicate this even without speaking! In the midst of Jonathan struggling through his days at school, we had the opportunity to see him shine as he served the Ecuadorians their breakfast. He has such a 
servant's heart and was willing to insure that they had everything they needed. What a blessing for us to see him in this perfectly-fitting role. Our guesthouse will begin to boom again this week. Beginning tomorrow, we will have guests every day through November 1 with the exception of 7 days (so far).We turned down the opportunity to host a couple of guests for this past weekend, in order to attend the retreat for the Alliance Academy faculty and staff. Many people throughout our school have been praying for a spirit of unity, hearts that forgive, and for the love of Jesus to shine in all of us. We felt the enemy hard at work at the beginning of the year, and after a Spirit-filled weekend and a time of communion, we can see that the enemy has been bound. Please pray for our school! The elementary is currently involved in our Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW). We have a small team from North Carolina bringing the message each day. The high school will have their SEW next week. Please pray for the students during these two weeks. With our recent accreditation by the Ecuadorian Minister of Education, we are now recognized by the Ecuadorian government as an official school. This is very exciting as it has opened our doors to many Ecuadorians. Our Korean population is growing as well. With that, our population of students that don't know the Lord is increasing. We have incredible opportunities to outreach to these students. Pray that God will work in a mighty way.
We are very excited to share that we have been approved to take some time next summer for additional Spanish studies in Costa Rica. What is even more exciting, is that we will be returning to Illinois to drop-off the boys at Grandma's before we leave for Costa Rica, and then return to Illinois when we pick them up. We have tickets to arrive in Chicago on June 17, leave for Costa Rica on June 30, return to Chicago on July 26, and return back to Ecuador on August 7th. The Spanish Institute in Costa Rica offers a four-week intensive course designed for educators to study Spanish during their summer (Cindy really needs it). During that time, we will live with a Costa Rican Spanish-speaking host family. We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as we can while we are are in Illinois.
Thank you again for all of your support and prayers for us. You are all true Blessings to us.
Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy
We are very excited to share that we have been approved to take some time next summer for additional Spanish studies in Costa Rica. What is even more exciting, is that we will be returning to Illinois to drop-off the boys at Grandma's before we leave for Costa Rica, and then return to Illinois when we pick them up. We have tickets to arrive in Chicago on June 17, leave for Costa Rica on June 30, return to Chicago on July 26, and return back to Ecuador on August 7th. The Spanish Institute in Costa Rica offers a four-week intensive course designed for educators to study Spanish during their summer (Cindy really needs it). During that time, we will live with a Costa Rican Spanish-speaking host family. We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as we can while we are are in Illinois.
Thank you again for all of your support and prayers for us. You are all true Blessings to us.
Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy
