Dear Prayer Warriors,
Do you ever get to busy to pray? We are continually haunted by a question that we heard during our missionary training: "Is your prayer life adequate enough to become a missionary?" If it were not for you, we should return to the states! Even when we are too busy to put out a plea for prayer, we feel that you are still praying for us. Thank you for all you give and do for this ministry. I hope that we never become to busy to be grateful!!!
The school year is off to a good start. Jonathan is really enjoying some independence that comes with being a 7th grader in the secondary education of the AAI. David entered his junior year with varsity soccer right around the corner. Cindy has her hands full with 16 first graders - 80% which are ESL learners. Two of them do not speak any English. The countries that are represented in her class this year are South Korea, Guatemala, Uruguay, United States and Ecuador. Cindy will 
provide an additional detailed update with names and prayer requests for her students. Please continue to pray for the new elementary principal. He's doing an incredible job, but we know all to well the transitions that come your first year on the field. He has a wife and two young elementary boys.
The secondary students have been in SEW (Spiritual Emphasis Week) this week. Pray that the word of the Lord will not return void and that the students will continue to be transformed by all that they have heard. Cindy will be starting her bible study next week. She will lead the ladies through the book, Captivating. Her prayer is that each one realizes how captivating they are to God and how He desires to be captivating to them.
There have been robberies all around our neighborhood. One block away, three guys dressed in suits robbed a "gringo's" apartment. When a nearby maid checked on the disturbance, they held a knife to her throat until they were finished. The fear of becoming a victim increases daily. Please pray not only for our safety but that we would not be paralyzed by this fear.
Since our return to Ecuador, Doug has been busy attending multiple mission and national church association meetings, as well as completing 11 church visits. His visits include meetings with Pastors, leaders and staff, as well as visiting and sharing during their various church services. This morning he returned from visiting a very remote village called Sucre, where a house church meets on Thursday nights. An existing and remote church in Galpón has many members that come from Sucre, which is about a 30+ minute mountainous hike. Most of the members are farmers (manually) and many are indigenous. The church of 
Galpón has started a house church there, and it is being lead by Galpón's Pastor Rafael. This is a poor area, but this church is rich in their love of the Lord. They love to worship the Lord in music, including multiple guitars, accordions, and a violin. During his time in Sucre, Doug was reminded of the verse in Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Please pray for the house church of Sucre, as they are praying about constructing a church building, and that they would be the light of Jesus Christ in this village. Doug would loved to have included some photos to share, but felt taking photos at this time was inappropriate. They are not used to seeing white skin and blue eyes. Maybe next time.
Our OMS-Ecuador Field Treasurer and Field Director have left for the states on furlough, and will return in January. During this time, Rebecca Pazmiño has assumed the responsibilities of the Field Treasurer job, and Doug has assumed the responsibilities of interim Field Director. They would both appreciate your prayers, and specifically that things would be rather quite during this time. Please pray that Kathy Coon and Tom & Susan Stiles would be able to quickly raise their needed support so they can return in January.
As the end of the month draws near, tensions and conflicts will begin to surface a bit more as the people of Ecuador will accept or decline a new constitution. Please pray for our Christian brothers and sisters as they prepare to vote, and that there would be a limited amount of protests and demonstrations during these times.
If you are interested in putting together a short term mission team this spring or summer, we have many needs to be filled. The OMS guesthouse is looking for a team to do some painting and maintenance. Many of our churches are interested in evangelistic outreach activities. A couple of our churches have several maintenance projects. Let us know if the Lord is leading you to Ecuador.
Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy
After living here in Ecuador for more than 2 years, I (Doug) finally had the opportunity to take Jonathan (and myself) fishing this weekend. The first task, was to locate and purchase fishing gear. That was a challenge in itself, as it took shopping here and there during a three-week span. I picked Jonathan up on Friday after school and we headed out. We joined Ebert (Pastor of a church in Ibarra) and a friend of his - Fabian. We picked them up in Otavalo (2 hours north of Quito), then headed up the mountain - Volcano Mojanda. At the top of this volcano, is a lake, which is crystal clear, very deep, and very cold. The lake is located at 12,300 feet, so you will see in the photos, we dressed warmly. 
Unfortunately we did not catch any fish, however Ebert can testify that he has caught many Trout in this lake. Despite the fact that we never caught a thing, it was a great time to get out of the city and enjoy soaking up the beauty of God's creations. We are a bit tired, as this trip involved a good deal of hiking some extremely steep hills, not to mention the altitude. Jonathan and I had an extra tent, but since we were told that Ebert's borrowed tent was a 6-man tent, we left ours in the truck. However, upon setting up the tent, it was more like a 3-man tent. Sleeping conditions were a bit cramped and uncomfortable on rocks and tree roots. However, it was great to spend time with Jonathan out of the city and also encourage Pastor Ebert. Jonathan also had the opportunity to openly use his pellet gun.
