Update 11/09/09

Dear Prayer Warriors,

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48b) From every demand to each plea, we count it a privilege and honor to serve our Lord Jesus in Ecuador. We know that we have been given much and entrusted with much through your prayers and giving. Our constant prayer is that we will continually be good stewards of our gifts, money, and time.

We trust that many of you have been enjoying the changing colors of fall and are reminded that Thanksgiving and Christmas are soon approaching. We should be well into our cool and rainy season here, however we are experiencing sunny skies, warm temperatures, and no rain. We are enjoying the unseasonable weather, however due to the drought here, we are beginning to have our electricity cut for 3 to 4 hours each day, and heard that it may continue for the next 60 days. This makes it a bit difficult to navigate the city without stoplights, as well as preparing supper and the kids doing their homework with candle light.

David and Jonathan finished their volleyball seasons, and both of their teams had a great year. It was a joy to watch Jonathan participate in this sport and he was a starter for every game. David was able to play in his final game after having a had serious ankle sprain a couple of weeks ago when he had jumped up and came down on another player's shoe. Basketball practice begins this week and David is very excited about playing this year since he was unable to play last year due to his head injury. Jonathan has not decided if he will try-out.

As we become increasingly active in various ministries here in Ecuador, it has become impossible to share about them all, so we'll just share a few highlights:

In honor of Día del Pastor (Day of the Pastor), on October 24 we held our first Central District Pastor's retreat at the OMS Guesthouse. The 12 pastors from this district were invited to come and bring their families so that we could spoil them and devote some time to show our appreciation. We had around 46 attend and we provided snacks, a meal, music, games, gifts, and had a great time of fellowship. The following Sunday we celebrated Día del Pastor in our local church - Iglesia Bet-el. Doug and Pastor Antonio were honored with music, special dramas by the youth and children, and a gift. Doug was also invited back to the church later that week as the church's women ministry had prepared some special events in Honor of Día del Pastor including a Mariachi Band, music, testimonies, and a great meal. (Click here for related photos)

On November 1st, we were invited by Pastor Juan Manuel to help with the baptisms of 15 new believers from his church (Iglesia Filadelfia) located in Píllaro. We left on Saturday so that we could spend the night in Píllaro and join the other 180 people as we left early Sunday morning and traveled to Shell for the baptisms. We had a great day in Shell and Pastor Juan Manuel had the opportunity to preach the gospel in the public swimming area, and their worship team had the opportunity to sing for the Lord. Many interested bystanders were actively watching and listening, and some folks came to join in on the activities. We then stayed another night in Píllaro and traveled to Ambato on Monday with Pastor Juan Manuel, his wife, son, daughter and grand baby. We enjoyed a day of shopping, visiting, and eating lunch. It was great to spend some time with our brothers and sisters in Christ outside of the normal church setting. During this time, Doug was battling a severe cold and the traffic was terrible with 2 hour trips taking 6 1/2 hours. However, it was a blessed time and well worth our temporary discomforts. (Click here for related photos)

Cindy has welcomed a student teacher, Melissa Pena, to her classroom from California. Please pray for Melissa as she adjusts to Ecuador, her students, and seeks God's will & direction in her life. The classroom is is always a highlight to Cindy's week. However, being able to participate with Doug in the events described above has been such joy. Please play for her as she leads bible study each week on Wednesdays. This Wednesday will be quite sensitive, as she teaches James 2 on favoritism and prejudice in a culture that is based on socialism.

November 22 through the 29th, we will be participating in various church activities as Iglesia Bet-el celebrates their 30th anniversary. The last few church services have been packed with not enough room for everyone. There are currently discussions of testing two services on Sundays. It is a good problem to have, however we would appreciate your prayers for wisdom and discernment on how they should handle this situation. Over the next two months, Doug and Antonio (national AIEE District Superintendent) will be traveling in an attempt to visit all of the central district churches prior to the end of the year. Doug will be preaching during some of these visits and he would appreciate your prayers. Doug also has plans to begin a series of meetings with Antonio, as they begin planning a five-year evangelism plan that will utilize many of the district church members that are currently studying within the FLET theological courses.

Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy

Update 10/02/09

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Wow, it is hard to believe that it is already October. We are expecting our rainy season to begin rolling in soon, but for now we are still enjoying our summer-like warm and dry season. It has been so dry here, that there have been many fires blazing out of control in the mountains.

It was an extremely busy and blessed month of September. School officially began on the 7th, so Cindy, David and Jonathan are busy and back to classes. Cindy has a class of 16 including 12 students that are ESL. She has also begun a new women’s bible study on the book of James. David and Jonathan both made the volleyball team (Varsity and J.V.) and are busy with evening practices and games. Both are doing well and are seeing a lot of playing time. On Wednesdays, David is again working with the CSO (Christian Service Outreach) called Guardians and is mentoring middle school boys. Please pray for David as he seeks to be used by God in the lives of these boys.

We were blessed to have Tom Sparrow here visiting and traveling with Doug over the past 3 weeks. Tom has been with OMS since 1974 and makes occasional trips to Ecuador to encourage, preach, and teach in various national OMS-AIEE affiliated churches. During Tom’s time here, they were able to visit 8 churches and make around a dozen visits with church members. It was great to see Tom catch up with some old friends and make new friends. Tom also had the opportunity to teach some very basic and needed “How to Study the Bible” classes in Ibarra and Riobamba. Click here to view photos related to Tom’s time here.

One day prior to church services, we were able to spend some time with our brothers and sisters from La Lindera. We piled (13) of us into our car (1993 Land Cruiser) and headed off to a park for a couple of hours to enjoy each other’s company and the beautiful Ecuadorian countryside.

We also enjoyed zip-lining, and watching a couple of the younger

church members corral a sheep (video). Meanwhile a few of the ladies stayed behind to prepare a great meal of soup, chicken, and potatoes for us.

On September 20, we had the opportunity to attend and participate in the AIEE’s 31^st anniversary celebration for the Central District churches. It is actually a time for the churches to all get together once a year, rather than an anniversary celebration.Psalm 133:1 was the theme…. “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” None of our churches are large enough, so the celebration was held in a theater in Salcedo where somewhere close to 400 attended. Doug was asked to participate quite a bit more this year with greeting to the churches, introductions, and scripture reading. Each church had an opportunity to perform a special and like last year, Cindy along with Kelly Chambers and Bonnie Shrode were asked to participate by singing. Their trio is known as the: "Princesses of the King". The crowd always loves them.

Towards the end of the month, Tom had the opportunity to preach in another one of the district’s local churches. This was a special time as the children, youth, and ladies performed specials in honor of our attendance. The evening was topped with a special remembrance of the persecutions that took place in the early 80’s against some of the believers. Those that had been persecuted during that time came forward and Tom was presented a special award of appreciation for his encouragement and assistance during those difficult times.

Please pray as we head to Pallatanga on Thursday to spend a couple of days with national pastors and their spouses for a retreat/seminar. We will also be celebrating Pastor Day on October 24 with a family day at the OMS guesthouse for our central district pastors and their families. We will be providing a meal and a goodie bag for each family as well as opportunity to play games and enjoy fellowship.

As always, thank you for your faithful support for us and our ministries. We are blessed to have you as partners in our ministry.

(We apologize for the unorganized look of our update. We are trying to crowd too many photos into a very small space.)

Blessings to You!

Doug and Cindy

Update 08/28/09

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Summer has come and gone so quickly.  Your prayers have sustained us, protected us, refreshed us, and allowed us to continue the work that God has called us to do here in Ecuador.  A lot has taken place during the last couple of months.  So, we'll try to provide a brief summary.

David found that working "in the real world" presented quite a few challenges, especially spiritual ones.  Please pray for him as he tries to seek ways to utilize this experience as a testimony to share with his friends.  He was greatly encouraged and spiritually blessed to spend a week traveling with his mentor in Northern California.  Thank you for your prayers as we know they protected him from so many things.  He is entering his senior year and we are beginning to search for colleges.  Please pray for direction & discernment for all of us as we select a college and seek scholarships to assist with the finances. 
 

Jonathan truly enjoyed his time in Gibson City, IL for a couple of weeks.  However, due to airline restrictions and unforeseeable issues, he was not able to utilize his scholarship to Camp Highlands.  Unknowingly, Jesus had other plans for him when he was able to assist with the setup and distribution of 130 wheelchairs with a short-term team from Houston, Texas.  He met many new friends this summer from short-term teams.  Thanks to electronic technology, he is able to keep in touch with many.  He will be starting 8th grade and can't seem to think of much outside girls and Gibson City.  Needless to say, he is very excited about our upcoming year of furlough in the States beginning next summer.

 
Thank you for your prayers for Cindy's mom and her broken heel.  Cindy arrived in Chicago the day her mom came home from the hospital (She had purchased her airline tickets 4 months prior to the accident).  God's timing is always perfect. Their time together was so precious.  Her mom has since healed quite quickly (thanks to your prayers) and has returned to work while undergoing routine physical therapy.  Cindy continued with Spanish classes this summer which went very well for 8 hour days of Spanish.  She's already been working in her classroom and anticipating the arrival of her 15 students.  Her Bible study will continue this Fall with the ladies as they study the book of James.  Her preparation has been refining her in some areas.
 

This past July was a busy time working with the churches.  Doug had the honor to participate in the baptisms of three new believers in Bet-el in south Quito, and in speaking during the first church service in Riobamba's new (but unfinished) church building. (click here for more photos)

 

It was great to see how much they had accomplished (If you are interested in bringing a team to help with further construction, please let us know).  

Later in July we had the blessing to help the team from Houston distribute wheel chairs in a Nursing home in Calderon and in two churches located in Píllaro and Santo Domingo.  It was wonderful to see so many happy and smiling faces on those that received the desperately needed chairs, as well as on the faces of those helping with the distribution and adjustments of each chair.  It was a blessing for all.  (Click here for more photos)  

Towards the end of July, we were asked to film the church of Píllaro's participation in their city's annual city anniversary celebration (Cantonización).  For the first time in the 158 years of history for this town, some of the Evangelical Christian churches participated in this event.  This was a huge milestone as the churches participated in the parade with a float, marching, dancing, performing music, and conducting an evangelical service in the local coliseum.  The churches have since received some strong criticism from local city officials, but it was wonderful to see Christ represented in this heavily oppressed community.  (Click here for more photos)

This summer, we have also had the opportunity to attend church picnics and visit many of the churches located within our central district.  Doug continues to make many church visits and Cindy has been busy building relationships with the women of the churches including teaching how to bake deserts and snacks.

In early August, we enjoyed four days with our Ecuador mission family at Camp Pallatanga for our annual retreat and meetings.  We had some great teachings through a Biblical dinner and a Biblical wedding feast with Jay McCarl. Jay walked us step by step through the rich significance of Biblical meals and their amazing spiritual application in modern everyday life. The Biblical Wedding brought fresh insight to our glorious future... that radiant day when the Bride is united with the Bridegroom for all eternity.  We highly recommend these dinners for their in-depth teaching. (Click here for more info)

On September 10, Tom Sparrow (with OMS) will arrive in Quito, and he will be visiting many of our central district churches and teaching on how to study the bible.  He and Doug will be traveling from the 11th to the 27th and visiting 8 churches.  Cindy began her first day of this school today, and the boys will begin on Sept. 7.  The sports calendar has changed a bit here, and David will beginning volleyball as soon as school starts.  We would appreciate your prayers during this very busy month of September. 

Just as we are repeatedly reminded in the scriptures to "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever", we too are reminded to give thanks for YOU... for your faithfulness in prayer and and support for us.

Blessings to You!

Doug & Cindy

Update 06/27/09

Dear Prayer Warriors,

It's our 3rd Anniversary, and today we are celebrating...
3 years of ministry in Ecuador!

Our last update was over 2 months ago. We have been terribly negligent to testify to God's incredible goodness and faithfulness in our lives and ministry. So, we will do our best to bring you up to date with the fewest words possible, so we can keep this to one page.

Ministries:
Doug continues to travel a great deal with the national District Superintendent, working with the central district churches. He has also been attending district pastor meetings and has been visiting with a Pastor that is interested in joining the AIEE church association. Thank you for your prayers for new church construction in Riobamba. Construction for the church continues to progress, however they have a long way to go. You can view some of the latest photos by clicking HERE. For those of you that have asked about the latest status of the "Wall" blocking the church, there has been no change at this time, however the church members are demonstrating their faith by constructing the new church with the front door facing the wall. Please continue to pray that the Lord will move that wall so that the church will be visible to the community.

Cindy and the boys wrapped up another school year on June 12. All of her students left first grade having professed Jesus Christ as their savior at some point in their little lives. After teaching a lesson on heaven and having prayer time, Jung Woo was found weeping in the corner. He was deeply burdened for his father who doesn't know Jesus. Jung Woo prayed for his father everyday in first grade, please join him. During my first year of teaching at AAI, I asked you to pray for Ryan whose Korean family did not know Jesus. This year, his two older sisters have accepted Christ. Please continue to pray for his parents as well.

Cindy and the gals finished their study on end times. The ladies have an unquenchable thirst for learning God's word. Please pray that they will take initiative and study throughout the summer. They want to continue with bible study in the fall. Please pray for God's leading on the material that we should use. Cindy spent a great deal of time mentoring and counseling many women. Her classroom was utilized in many different ways this year all to the glory of God.

Visitors:
We were blessed to have had Doug's mom arrive here for her 3rd visit on June 7. She witnessed first hand the craziness of the final week of school. We spent last week enjoying some of our favorite spots in Ecuador. Her health and safety were blessed, despite her having to eat a fish meal that was a little outside of her comfort zone.

Summer Plans:
David is working as a CIT (Counselor in Training) at Camp Highlands for the summer. His head continues to heal, and we thank you for your prayers. He was released from the doctor with some restrictions of avoiding any activities with impact. After camp he has been invited by his Alliance Academy mentor, for a week of touring Northern California and Southern Oregon, while also jointly studying the book of Proverbs at the same time. Please pray for his bold stance for Christ in his first job, as well as a rich spiritual time with Greg, his mentor.

Jonathan has once again been blessed with a scholarship to attend Camp Highlands for 4 weeks. An additional blessing for him is to be able to spend a week in Gibson City prior to his camp experience. He will fly into the US with Cindy, but will be flying back by himself. Please pray for him on August 9th. He will make a connection in Miami around 5:00pm.

Cindy is attending a 3 day teacher's conference in Chicago. She planned a few days before and after the conference to spend time with family. Upon her return, she will spend 3 weeks in another intensive Spanish course in Quito.

Doug will remain in Ecuador and continue to work with the national churches. Through his multiple visits to the various churches, he has developed relationships with the Pastors and many of the church members. There are many events planned for this summer, and he will be helping with those as well.

Please pray for us as we begin our 4th year of ministry here in Ecuador. Next year at this time we will be arriving home for our first year of furlough. It just doesn't seem possible - time has flown by. Thank you for your continued support to this ministry and to us. Your prayers continue to keep us safe, healthy and serving the King of Kings! Your giving continues to keep us in the black during these tough economic times. GOD IS FAITHFUL AND WE ARE BLESSED!!

"May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord..." Ruth 2:12 NIV

Blessings to You!

Doug & Cindy

Update 04/17/09

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Thank you so much for your recent prayers. We had a wonderful time of ministry with the team of 11 that came from Ovid Community Church in Anderson, Indiana. The team was here from March 27 to April 4. While they were here, we visited 6 churches. However, during the majority of our time - our team was divided into two teams. Half of the team ministered in Salcedo and Cusubamba by evangelizing door to door and in open markets, while the other half of the team helped with new church construction in Riobamba. Doug helped with the evangelism team, while Darryl and Kelly Chambers helped with the construction team.

The evangelism team was active in visiting door to door, sharing the gospel, and handing out tracts. The afternoons included singing, performing a powerful drama, and sharing testimonies in one of the local market areas. Evenings included showing movies in the local market. The team also had the opportunity to witness in the same public market, and door to door in Cusubamba which is a remote and poverty stricken community. During this time, 30 people accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and another 40 asked for follow-up by the local church. Please pray for these new believers, their discipleship, and for the local church members to be able to visit with those that are open to learn more. The construction team was able to complete a lot of tedious, but well needed work. Their work included creating the rebar structures that will fit inside the columns of the church. This team also had an opportunity to share testimonies in evening small groups. You can view some photos from the trip by clicking HERE.

During the kids (and Cindy’s) recent 4 days off for Spring Break, we stayed in Quito but found time to participate in a game of bowling, eat fondue, and spend an afternoon in a nearby park doing some hiking.

Cindy continues teaching and leading her weekly Bible study, however she is currently on an OMS Women’s 3-day retreat in Las Playas (south of Guayaquil). They are having a wonderful time of fellowship, devotion and testimony time, and a chance to get to know each other better since they all serve in different parts of Ecuador. She did call to say that it is extremely hot and humid, and has sweat running down her face. Unlike living here in the Andes Mountains.

David will be working this summer as a Counselor in Training at Camp Highlands for Boys in Sayner, Wisconsin. He will be leaving here on June 12 and pre-camp for staff begins on June 14. We have been blessed again this year as Jonathan has once again received a scholarship to attend Camp Highlands during the second-term (July 12 – August 8). David had two additional MRI’s last week, and the Dr. said that David is progressing, but that he doesn't want to jeopardize the healing that has take place so far. He requested David to maintain the same “lack-of” activity level for the remainder of the school year. David is very disappointed, and we are too. Monday, David will have another MRI which will allow the Dr. to put the three sets of images together to have a more comprehensive 3-D view. At this point the Dr. does not see any reason that he will not be able to be back to normal activities by the end of the school year. Thank you for your past prayers, but please continue to pray for his complete healing.

Doug recently attended another meeting of FESOMS (Fundación Microempresarial el Sembrador OMS Internacional) which is a micro-enterprise foundation founded in 2001 by OMS missionaries to provide small loans to needy church leaders and pastors wanting to begin a small business. Their committee sees a need to focus on training as well as completely restructuring the foundation, including a new vision and mission. Please pray for the FESOMS foundation committee as they work towards revamping the program so that it might better provide a helping hand to Ecuadorians that are dedicated to spreading the Gospel and yet are constrained by the need to earn a living.

This Sunday Doug will be sharing in Iglesia Betel, about the importance of churches being active in supporting missions and how we could not be here in Ecuador without the churches’ support. He plans to share about you, and how without the support of faithful prayer warriors like you, we could never have the privilege of serving the Lord here in Ecuador. We are very blessed to have your prayer and financial support. "From the fullness of His grace, we have all received one blessing after another." (John 1:12) Thank You!

Blessings to You!

Doug & Cindy

Update 04/05/09 - Ovid Community Church

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Thank you so much for your recent prayers. We had a wonderful time of ministry with the team of 11 that came from Ovid Community Church in Anderson, Indiana.


The team was here from March 27 to April 4. While they were here, we visited 6 churches. However, during the majority of our time our team was split. Half of the team ministered in Salcedo and Cusubamba in evangelizing door to door and in open markets, while the other half of the team helped with new church construction in Riobamba. We will be providing a more in-depth update soon. So please check back soon for an update. For now, you can look at photos from the trip by clicking HERE.

Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy

Prayer Request - 03/09/09 - "The Wall"

Dear Prayer Warriors,

This past Sunday, we participated in a ground breaking ceremony for one of our churches in Riobamba. The church purchased land over 8 years ago, and has been renting a building that is in very poor conditions, on a very busy road, and with no classrooms or areas for children's activities. The church has saved $2,500, and a supporting church in Indiana is also providing funds so that they can begin construction. HALLELUJAH!!!!! Please pray as the construction is to begin on March 16th. This same church from Indiana, will also be sending a team later this month to help with some of the construction.

However, there is a physical wall (pictured below) that is owned by a neighbor, and is a major obstacle to maximizing this location and outreach effect on the community. On the other side of this wall, there is a major street and a very nice park. Without having access to this main street, the church building will not be visible to the public, and the children will not be able to walk out the front door to play in the park. The church will be virtually unseen by the community. With this wall in place, access to the church will be similar to an alley or easement between other buildings. The owner of the wall, has offered to sell it to the church for $2,000. The removal of this wall would create the perfect entrance to the church, and the front door would be visible to all who pass by.

We pray that the owner would be more reasonable in her selling price and be willing to work with the church. We also pray that the owner would become a Christian and a member of the church, even offering to donate the wall. This may seem like a stretch, but "....With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matt 19:26)

Would you please join us in praying for the Lord's will for this wall and the relationship with the neighbor?

For more photos of the ground-breaking service, click: "Photos"

Thankful Blessings for You!
Doug & Cindy

Update 02/26/09

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Thank you for praying as Cindy's ministers. She continues to be active in leading her weekly bible study, and recently had the opportunity to help coordinate and lead a Women’s Retreat for 5 of our central district’s indigenous churches. The response from the retreat indicates a huge need for women to be encouraged and blessed. A supporter, Darlene Schertz, provided lotion for one of the most beautiful moments Cindy has seen in Ecuador. In pairs, the ladies rubbed lotion into each other’s very dry and damaged hands, while praying for their needs. The weeping and tender massaging was testimony to how God was healing and touching their lives. We hope to provide at least one type of retreat annually to each of our 14 churches (additional photos are included below).

Thank you for your prayers while Daniel Schertz of Gibson City was here to serve in various ways. Daniel's arrival was delayed by one day in Miami due to flight connections, and again in Chicago during his return trip home. Daniel arrived last Friday night, along with many of the needed "goods" that had been ordered and were going to be utilized during the Women's Retreat in Píllaro. Saturday morning we were off to Píllaro and Daniel helped with setting up and taking down for the women's event. He also had the opportunity to experience life in a community highly populated with indigenous people, as well as partake in some of Ecuador's finest local cuisine: Cuy (Guinea Pig). Sunday, Daniel had the opportunity to share his testimony in a church in south Quito, and do some shopping in a park and markets. Monday, Daniel and Doug traveled to Latacunga for a few days to complete some various and urgently needed repairs on Pastor Daniel and Veronica's house. This was made possible by the sacrificial giving by Daniel's parents and sister who donated money for the expenses. Doug & Daniel worked on sealing their cement roof since it had been leaking all over inside their house, and also replaced their Califon (instant water heater), as they had been without hot water for over a year. Daniel also had the opportunity to share his testimony during an evening service and they showed the movie "A Thief in the Night". Daniel's servants heart and willingness to be out of his comfort zone were a genuine blessing to the the people of Ecuador and to us. Thank you for coming Daniel!

On Thursday a team of 28 arrived, and Doug is busy helping to facilitate and translate for them over the next couple of weeks. They will be serving in various ways including hosting a medical and eye clinic, giving out shoes, witnessing in parks, passing out tracts, hosting a VBS children's program, serving in a prison, leading chapel at the Alliance Academy, serving in an orphanage, participating in church services, as well as working in some various tourist activities. Just today, the team handed out tracts and led people to the Lord while shopping for shoes to be distributed. Please pray for all of the logistics that need to take place in coordinating this team, the team's health and safety, that they would be accurate testimonies for Christ, and for Darryl & Kelly Chambers as they help to lead, and host the group in the OMS Guesthouse.

March 8 we will be traveling to Riobamba and participating in a special, activity-packed ground breaking service. Ovid Community Church in Anderson, Indiana has donated money that will compliment the money that the church in Riobamba has raised, and construction will finally begin on the property that the church purchased over 8 years ago. The service will include special guests, video recording, communion, music, a meal, and inauguration of their FLET (Theological Studies) students. Then on March 15, we will head to Latacunga where we will be participating in a special off-site Baptism service and inauguration of their FLET students.

David had what was thought to be his final doctor visit today along with a MRI. The doctor said there is still evidence of a head trauma (blood that has yet to be absorbed) as well as some swelling on the front part of the brain that was still visible. David continues to have restricted physical activities and will return in a month for another MRI and doctor's appointment. Again, thank you so much for your prayers for him. It has been such a wonderful blessing to know that so many of you have been praying for him. We also give God all the Glory for healing David so quickly, and attribute that to your prayers.

Thank you for your prayers during Spiritual Emphasis Week at the Alliance Academy. We don't have "big news" to report, but trust that the Word of the Lord will not return void!!

Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy

Update 02/11/09

Dear Prayer Warriors,

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

There are many wonderful ministry opportunities that await us this next week: some we know of and many that we do not. Your prayers are an enormous part of the success that we have in anything we do.

Answered Prayers:
Thank you for your prayers while Doug was attending the annual AIEE national church association business assembly in Cuenca. He had a great time visiting with the many pastors and representatives from churches all over Ecuador. Many reports were given and each District had time to work on their plans for the coming year. They were also given time to pray for the pastors and their plans for 2009. On the last evening a fiesta was held (complete with a cake) and many of the pastors were chosen to complete some very funny and embarrassing activities. During his time in Cuenca, Doug was asked to attend and share some counseling in a wedding for the daughter of one of the Pastors that he works with. So as soon as he returned from Cuenca, he began preparing what he planned to share, and was off to the wedding in Yatchil (2 1/2 hours away). Once again, it was a very new cultural experience for Doug.

Doug has also began serving as the OMS rep. with the Fundación Microempresarial el Sembrador OMS Internacional (FESOMS). This is the microenterprise foundation that is functioning here in Ecuador since 2001. They have provided small loans to needy church leaders and pastors who had a desire to begin a small business of some type. This is also the foundation that assisted with providing loans for the Guinea Pig project that is currently in operation. They are now looking to re-vamp the program, and focus more on training. For example: training ladies how to sew so that they can make clothes to sell, or training men how to raise and care for hogs. Once training is completed satisfactorily, they would be offered small loans to purchase sewing machines, baby hogs, etc. Doug is currently in Riobamba (4 hours away) meeting with the church leaders, and he will also challenge the new FLET theological students during the special church service tonight.

Prayer Needs:
Please remember Cindy, Kelly, Bonnie and Liduvina this Saturday as they lead a women's retreat to their indigenous sisters from 5 churches on God's Extravagant Love. We are expecting many materials to arrive from the states with our short termer, Daniel Schertz. Please pray for the arrival of his luggage.

Tomorrow night, Daniel Schertz from Gibson City Bible Church arrives for a week of ministry. Doug and Daniel will be helping with the women's ministry on Saturday, and also plan to spend a few days helping Pastor Daniel and Veronica in Latacunga, completing various repairs on the pastoral house. Daniel will have opportunities to share his testimony this Sunday in Bet-el and then again in Latacunga. We would appreciate your prayers for Daniel and Doug as they travel and for their safety.

Please pray for David, Jonathan and all the secondary students at the Alliance Academy as they will be involved in Spiritual Emphasis Week February 16 - 20. David has another doctor's appointment on February 27 in which we are all praying for a full release.

Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy

Update 01/26/09

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Thank you for the many prayers on David's behalf. He continues to improve daily. He recently had an EEG (electroencephalogram) and after the review, David's doctor was concerned with some abnormal results. He sent us to see a neurologist that specializes in epilepsy. The neurologist reviewed his results and agreed there were some abnormalities, but said that at this time we should not be concerned unless David begins having seizures in the future. David had had another (and hopefully final) CT scan today, and tomorrow he will have another follow up with his regular doctor. We asked the doctor about his headache pain and he said that David can expect pain for 3 months. Please pray that David will receive a good report from the doctor tomorrow.

Thank you for your prayers during our annual OMS Ecuador business meetings held in Pallatanga. Doug had a great time of fellowship with our fellow OMS missionaries, and the field was updated through the many reports of this past year's ministries. It was exciting to hear how the Lord is continuing to advance His kingdom throughout Ecuador.

This evening, Doug will be traveling 10 hours via bus to Cuenca, where this week he will attend the annual AIEE national church association business assembly. Please pray for good attendance on behalf of the national churches, and for the discussion of several issues related to the organization. We also ask you pray for unity and that relations will be strengthen.

This Wednesday, Cindy's Bible study group will continue with a new study. They are studying Dr. David Jeremiah's new book: What In The World Is Going On? Bernarda is rejoining the group since the birth of her baby. A new gal, Carmen, will be joining the group. Please pray for all the gals as this book is only available in English. Please pray for Cindy as she feels extremely inadequate to teach on this topic. Pray that she would be diligent to do her part and willing to leave the rest to the Lord.

Cindy, Kelly Chambers, Bonnie Shrode, and Liduvina (wife of Pastor Antonio), are planning and preparing a special women's retreat for 5 of our indigenous churches. The event will be held on February 14 with the theme of "Extravagant Love: The Alabaster Jar". We are also busy making plans and preparations for short-term teams that are planning to be here soon:

• Daniel Schertz from Saybrook will be here February 12 - 20,
• A team of 26+ from Pennsylvania will be here 2/26 - 3/12,
• A team from Indiana is working on plans to be here 3/27 - 4/5.

The second semester at the Alliance Academy will begin on this Wednesday. Jonathan is excited about being released from his guided study hall and placed in beginning Spanish. Please pray for him as this will greatly increase his workload.

With the many Christmas activities and David's accident, we were unable to get our update sent out explaining Lucas' recent visit here. However, we have posted it below in on Blog, 12/21/08.

Blessings to You!

Doug & Cindy

Update 01/12/09 - Doctor's Report on David

Dear Prayer Warriors,

David went to the doctor this morning for another checkup. The doctor did another EKG and found that David's heart readings are back to normal. We don't quite understand what got his heart "out of order" but we can officially report that it is back to normal. David has been released to attend school all day beginning Wednesday. He continues to have some restrictions as far as caffeine and physical activity for the next two months. He is scheduled for an EEG on January 20 to check for any possible brain damage. He will have another CT scan at the end of the month and see his neurologist. The doctor concluded his visit with a big hug for David and was quite proud and amazed in how far he has come in two weeks.

This week Doug is attending the OMS-Ecuador annual Field Council meetings in Pallatanga which is about 6 hours south. Cindy feels it is necessary to stay in Quito with the boys while David continues to recover, so she will not be attending the meetings. This week is also the week before semester finals. Please pray that David & Jonathan will be able to focus on their studies and do well on their exams. Pray also for the Field Council meetings, as all the OMS-Ecuador missionaries come together to give their annual reports, and discuss plans for 2009. It's a great time of rejoicing as we witness all that God has been doing in Ecuador.

Thank you for standing with us. We have felt completely covered in prayer - what a wonderful security that is!!!! We stand in awe.

Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy

Update 01/04/09

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Happy New Year - 2009!!

"Security is not found in the absence of danger but in the presence of Jesus"

A brief summary of David's accident:
While at the beach on Dec. 31 about 1:00 pm, David fainted and fell down several concrete steps. After he regained consciences, he was screaming with extreme head pain. Our vacation house was filled with missionary doctors, nurses, pilots, and praying saints (all of which we know very well). The doctors there, felt that David's condition would escalate & worsen if we tried to drive back to Quito which could have taken 7-10 hours of driving on a rough, 2-way winding road through the Andes Mountains on New Years Eve. Quito is the closest city with a CT scan which was the only way to find out what was wrong. One of the pilots secured a plane to meet us in Esmeraldas which was an hour from the beach house. The owners of the house, own a 12 passenger van which was quickly turned into an ambulance with red cross signs made by others in the house. We arrived in Esmeraldas they air-lifted David to Quito. When we arrived in Quito, an ambulance was waiting for us at the airport, and they transported David to the hospital ER where doctors were waiting to take him for a CT scan. A neurologist was on stand by and found that David had a bleeding contusion and had fractured his skull. No surgery was necessary but close observations were vital.

A brief update on David's health:
David was released from the hospital on Saturday afternoon, January 3. He continues to have severe head pain that is being managed with medicine. He has an appointment tomorrow with the doctor and will see the neurologist again in February. His physical activity will be eliminated for the next couple of months. For this very athletic and active 16 year old boy, that is going to be the challenge to recovery.

A brief glimpse of God's incredible goodness:
David has been and will continue to be a part of God's perfect plan. Prayers were lifted from the onset of the accident asking God for healing and wisdom on how to treat. I (Cindy) remember looking around the room where David laid moaning with excruciating pain. I saw a group of women and children praying on the stairs. I saw a grandma crying with fear. I saw 3 doctors over David. I saw a group of people waiting for the opportunity to run for what was needed: ice, sheets, duct tape, etc. I saw several men on the telephone contacting people they thought could help. We feel incredibly blessed to have witnessed God's work in action through his obedient people. Ultimately, we witnessed God's divine healing power and favor towards our son. We can begin to understand the sovereignty of our almighty God, but we can recognize His abundant goodness in our lives and give Him the glory and honor for every good and perfect gift.

Whatever is before us in 2009, we have the security that Jesus will be there. "We don't know what our future holds. But WE KNOW WHO HOLDS OUR FUTURE!!" Hallelujah!!

Blessings to You!

Doug & Cindy