Weekly Update 07/04/05

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Our praises begin as we praise and thank our heavenly Father for all the freedoms we have:

• We're thankful for the freedoms that we have as Americans.
• We're thankful for the freedoms that we have as American Christians.
• We're thankful for the freedoms that we have as American Christian Missionaries.

These freedoms didn't come without a price. We're thankful for those who went before us to pay the price, who counted the cost and moved forward anyway, who had a vision of freeing people in bondage and for the many who gave of their lives so that we can have these freedoms.

We have just returned from the OMS World Outreach Celebration where hundreds of people have one common vision ~ reaching the nations for Christ. Many were foreign field missionaries, many were homeland missionaries, many were youth, many were prayer warriors and many were seasoned saints. All were people willing to GO, DO and GIVE whatever God calls them to in order to further the Kingdom. Please pray for our son David, as we witnessed the Lord convicting his heart for a lost world.

Our commissioning service a beautiful and Holy time! It was another one of those indescribable moments. We praise God for this special time.

On Sunday 7/10, we leave for 3 weeks of cross cultural training at OMS headquarters in Greenwood, IN. We believe this may be our last pre-requisite before leaving for the field of Ecuador. We praise God for this year of preparations! However, we will wait on the Lord's perfect timing as He brings in our funds that will permit us to go. There are those that the Lord desires to be a part of His work in Ecuador with us ~ pray that we open our eyes to them.

• Please pray for Ecuador and the Lord's work in that country.
• Please pray for our ability to comprehend all that we will learn over the next 3 weeks in training.
• Pray for the Coates Family (Darryl & Tina) as they seek God's leading and directing in reaching the nations for Christ.

Just as Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for His children, we thank you for interceding to Jesus on our behalf.

Blessings to you,
Doug and Cindy

Weekly Update 06/28/05

June 28, 2005

Dear Prayer Warriors,

A bouquet of Ecuadorian roses for you!

"Bloom Where You're Planted" ~ It's not a biblical quote but it does carry many spiritual connotations. I've thought much about this as we were presenting in Western Springs this weekend. We stayed with a family that shared their testimony of how God worked through their teenage son and brought an entire house to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Praise God for using Ben!! This family now has a desire to conquer their community for Christ. Ben is reading the Intercession Prayer Manual. Our presentation on Saturday night to our "camp family" was saturated with the Gospel and how the Lord has worked in our lives. Scripture tells us that God's word will not return void - Please pray for the Mills family as they "bloom where they are planted" and for those in Western Springs to have their spiritual blinders removed.

We leave on Thursday afternoon for the OMS World Outreach Celebration which will conclude on Sunday. Please pray for our time there. Last year we attended this conference with "curious" motives. It's amazing how the Lord works in a year as we now attend this conference with such "commitment" motives. We will be commissioned on Sunday ~ Please pray for our vision of service and ministry to be one with HIS! ~ For safe travels as well as good health while we're there, and that the Lord would secure ministry partners for us.

Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy

Weekly Update 06/19/05

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Happy Father's Day to those of you who are fathers! I hope this finds you all celebrating Father's Day everyday as you praise, adore, worship, and bring glory to our Heavenly Father.

Our praises begin with God's divine intervention in our lives:

1. A couple from New Jersey without employment happens upon a house in the country of central Illinois. Two months later, we are all signing documents and leaving the mortgage company with smiles on our faces. We closed on the sale of our house this past Wednesday. Praise the Lord that we are one step closer to our ministry in Ecuador.
2. Our praises continue as we are so grateful for another opportunity to share the Lord's call on our lives with brothers and sisters from the United Methodist Church. How pleasing it must be for the Lord to see different denominations working together for His glory. I read earlier in the week that Jesus doesn't need a lawyer, He needs those willing to testify on his behalf. We pray that we were an accurate testimony.
3. We received a letter from OMS stating that we are eligible to be commissioned as missionaries. This sacred and special moment will take place on July 3 at Phillippe Performing Arts Center at Indiana Wesleyan University beginning at 9:30.
4. Praise the Lord for Jonathan and the 10 wonderful years the Lord has shared him with us. We celebrated Jonathan's birthday last Sunday. Thank you for your prayers concerning his transition. He is doing much better ~ finding many benefits to in-town living (Dollar General being #1, library #2).

This past week was spent preparing letters for raising our support. Please join us and pray that the Lord will touch the hearts of those He wishes to partner with us in our ministry and His work in Ecuador. Most missionaries have sending churches. These churches commit to their missionaries through prayer and financial support. We desire to have a sending community. The Lord has his hands on Gibson City and we want to take as many as we can with us to Ecuador!! We are having a blessed time as we receive the opportunity to share with our fellow community members. We receive many questions each week related to missions and our call, and strive to accurately eliminate misconceptions and misunderstandings.

Our family vacation for the past five years has been spent at Camp Highlands for Boys in Sayner, Wisconsin. On Saturday night (June 25), we will be sharing with a group from Western Springs, Illinois that also attend that camp and became a part of camp family. Please pray for our time together. Pray that the Lord would be glorified and honored by all we say and do.

Please pray for Vacation Bible School that will be taking place at the Gibson City United Methodist Church this week - That the Lord's word would go forth and that children would come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and savior.

Please note that last week we incorrectly indicated our zip code. Our correct zip code is 60936.

We hope you have a wonderful week!
Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy

Weekly Update 06/10/05

June 9, 2005

We're here!! Today makes for the first week in our apartment.

Our new address is: 211 1/2 E. 10th Street, Gibson City, IL 60936 - phone # is 217-784-4183

Please pray for Jonathan as this transition has been difficult for him.

Our respite from moving came Thursday night as we shared with the WMU from the First Baptist Church. We praise the Lord for providing many prayer warriors through these women. Our respite continued Friday night as we joined a small (12 adults & 20+ kids) group from Eastview Christian Church in the home of some very dear friends. The Lord blessed our time together as we shared about our call, the ministry the Lord has given us and His work in Ecuador. Pray that the Lord will use these women and young families for His people in Gibson City, Bloomington and Ecuador.

I've participated in VBS this week and know of one little 6 year boy who has given his heart to the Lord. Please pray for Austin and his family. His mother loves the Lord but his father has fallen away. Austin will be with his dad on Saturday. Pray that Austin's love for Jesus will penetrate his father's heart.

We met a precious couple on Wednesday night in Forrest, IL. We heard much of God's faithfulness in Ecuador from them as they have ministered there over the years through short term mission trips. They served a 6 year term about 35/40 years ago. They are heading to Quito next week with another team. We look forward to how the Lord will cultivate this new friendship for His glory.

We are preparing to speak at the United Methodist Church on Sunday during the Sunday School hour. Pray for hearts to be open, satan to be bound and that the God's word on obedience and a relationship with Him would go forth. Continue to pray that we would be accurate testimonies to God's call on our lives.

What a powerful privilege and tool we have in prayer. Thank you for joining with us.
"… as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." 2 Corinthians 1:11

Blessings to you,
Cindy for The Tankersleys

Weekly Update 06/02/05

June 2, 2005

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Throwing, sorting, wrapping, packing, moving, storing, selling ~ guess what we've been doing??? We received word that we will close on the house on June 15.

This had been an overwhelming experience!! Where in the world did we get all this "stuff"? As overwhelming as this may be ~ we can't imagine attempting any of this without prayer support. God has been so faithful! There is such a contentment and peace that overcomes us as we gaze around our "little" apartment. It must be from knowing that we are one step closer to the work He has for us in Ecuador.

Cindy wrapped up another school year last week. Thank you for your prayers ~ the Lord really used one little fellow to teach her about Christ's work in a humble spirit.

Tonight, we will be sharing with the Missionary Fellowship Union at the First Baptist Church in Gibson City. Tomorrow night we will be sharing with a small group from Eastview Christian Church in the home of Kevin and Vonda Rodgers. Please pray that we continue to be an accurate testimony to God's mighty work in our lives and that all we say and do would be pleasing to HIM!

We are praying for you, too! Please let us know how we can better pray for you.

Blessings to you,
Doug and Cindy

Weekly Update 05/24/05

May 24, 2005

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Like the weather in Central Illinois, this week has "blown" by. On Saturday, we headed to Assumption, IL to stay with our missionary cheerleaders: Verne and Janet Tankersley. (Verne is Doug's Dad's cousin) We worshipped with them at Fame Evangelical Church in Moweaqua. This church opened their doors and hearts to us.

During the Sunday School hour, Cindy spoke with the younger ones about her salvation and the power of prayer. Doug spoke to the older ones about his salvation, the Lord's path for his life and His perfect timing. We both spoke during the worship hour about the Lord's call on our lives, his mighty work this past year in our lives and the ministry He has made available to us in Ecuador. We concluded our time together with a potluck. We were greatly blessed and encouraged.

AMAZINGLY ~ There were so many connections with this church:

1. Generations of Tankersleys have attended this little country church ~ yet, it was our first time.
2. They are huge supporters of our mission board - OMS International, many OMS missionaries and missionaries that our church in Gibson City supports. (Dick & Lou Hohulin and Kent Eller)
3. They had a group from their church that teamed with a group from our church for a short term mission trip to Haiti two years ago.
4. We met Paul Jones, who was an integral part of a Penetration '79 church in Quito, Ecuador. Doug and I attended a church service there in March. If you remember our very first update ~ it was the church where we were greatly blessed. The Church of Bethal with a congregation of 100+. Praise the Lord for Paul Jones and the others that went before us to lay a foundation in Christ Jesus. Much fruit is evident in this church.

Our prayer requests this week are on behalf of these precious saints in Central Illinois. Join us as we pray for:
1. Holly as she is expecting and cramping at 30 weeks.
2. Bill P. as his heart has hardened due to the loss of his wife.
3. Chuck as he goes to the doctor on Thurs.
4. Brady B - a 6 year old diagnosed with leukemia.
5. Teresa - mother of 3, soon to be 4 and found she has a torn esophagus.
6. Pastor Tom as he is at a pastor's conference all week.
7. Candy has tests on Tuesday.
8. Bill's mom is still in hospital.
9. VBS planning
10. Fame Evangelical Church - that God will continue to use them in a mighty way.

These are all God's children who have asked us to pray. Thank you for standing in prayer with us.

Have a great week.
Blessings to you,
Doug and Cindy

Weekly Update 05/17/05

May 17, 2005

Dear Prayer Warriors,
Can you hear us singing? Okay ~ maybe it does sound a little more like shouting. None the less ~ we are praising the Lord!! So much goodness and grace has been showered upon us and we praise the Lord but we also thank you. God hears prayers!! God answers prayers!! We thank you for praying for us!!

Our praises begin:

1. A beautiful Mother's Day ~ both our mother's joined us for worship. What a blessing they are! A great weekend with Cindy's mom and a wonderful afternoon with Doug's mom.
2. We heard of a small upstairs apartment for rent. We went to check it out… 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, living room and kitchen. It's partially furnished (appliances, couch, chair, table, lamp and breakfast table) The rent is reasonable and there is no lease. The boys loved it!! They will learn much, living above someone else in town. We're sure it will prove to be a good transition to city life with 2.5 million people. Hee/hee!
3. All last week was spent preparing for the City-Wide Garage Sale on Saturday. We opened our house to church family and work friends on Monday and by Friday all the large items were gone. Saturday was another blessing as we had many buyers that lightened our load tremendously.
4. David ran in the State track meet on Saturday and placed 4th in the State in the 4x200m. (800 meter) relay. Hurray for David!!
5. We are now the parents of a teenager (maybe this should be on the prayer request) David turned 13 on May 16th. We are so thankful for him! He loves the Lord and seeks to honor him.
6. Our local FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) had a competition last week at the high school. The challenge was to all 8th hour classes: See who could raise the most money for the Tankersley's ministry in Ecuador. They made flyers with our prayer card and put them up all around school. One of the high schoolers met with Cindy to get information about the ministry in order to help their class obtain a substantial donation. In 4 days, the 8th hour classes at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School raised $740.00 for our ministry. Cindy went over on Friday and spoke with a few of the 8th hour classes to thank them for their support and share about our ministry. It's truly AMAZING that all of this could be done in a public school. Cindy has also been invited to share at the last FCA meeting tomorrow morning.
   

The beginning of last week, satan tried to attack. We got some discouraging information from headquarters on our financials, as well as a call saying that we were unable to participate in the July cross training that we were planning to attend. We know God is in control and all of our faith is in HIM! If we weren't suppose to attend training in July ~ then we have to trust in God's perfect timing.

1. OMS called today and they have made special arrangements for us to attend the training in July. There wasn't enough room for us to stay in guest housing but a couple that have served 15 years in Ecuador offered for us to stay with them in their home on the OMS campus. God works through His people!
2. We had to have several tests in order to sell our house. Septic, being the one that was concerning to us as our house is 26 years old. IT PASSED!!

We have so much to be thankful for, including prayer warriors that stand in prayer for us.

This week we are preparing to speak at Fame Evangelical Church in Moweaqua on Sunday. Please pray that the Lord would prepare our hearts and go before us as we share of His call on our lives and the support we need in order to go to Ecuador. Cindy is also wrapping up another school year and would like to finish well.

As you pray for us, we are praying for you! Have a great week!

Blessings to you,
Doug and Cindy

Weekly Update (05/06/05) & MFMI Prayer Initiative in ECUADOR

May 9, 2004

Dear Prayer Warriors~

Below is an email that arrived on Saturday night. After we read it, we received another confirmation of our call to Ecuador. The confirmation turned to blessing as we were so thankful that God is allowing us to be a part of His work. The blessing was humbling as we can't believe that God would call us to be a part of His mighty work in Ecuador. We hold to the scripture found in Ephesians 2:10, "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ to do His work that He planned beforehand that we should do." This email has also challenged us to accept the invitations that Jerry gives to us in his email below.

Invitation #1 - Prayer Manual
Remember, when we were praising the Lord for our ABF Bible study on Prayer ~ guess what? We began invitation #1 four weeks ago.

Invitation #2 - adopting a church
Doug will be working with the central district churches. There are 13 churches in the central district. We met and prayed for five of them while we were in Quito. It's amazing to see God orchestrating events right before our very eyes.

Invitation #3 - District Prayer Leader
Our ABF prayed for a leader to rise up from the GCBC.

We can't explain it ~ but we are assured that it's GOD! May you be blessed and challenged as we were!

Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy

-----Original Message-----
From: Jerry Mattocks
Sent: Saturday, May 07, 2005 9:27 AM
To: "Undisclosed-Recipient
Subject: The MFMI Prayer Initiative in ECUADOR

The MFMI Prayer Initiative in ECUADOR

Assisting those who DO pray for Ecuador
Enlisting those who WILL pray for Ecuador.

Operation Saturation in Haiti has been MFMI’s main project over the last five years. In addition to saturating Haiti with the Gospel through fixed-tuned, solar powered radios, Haiti has also been saturated with Tactical and Strategic prayer. God is moving in powerful ways in Haiti through the prayers of His people.

MFMI believes that God is asking us to implement the principles of tactical/strategic spiritual warfare prayer learned in Haiti in all the OMS countries. The plan for 2005 is to continue the prayer initiative in Haiti and target four additional countries. Ecuador is one of those four targeted countries. (The others are, Japan, Mozambique and Spain).

In April I accompanied an intercessory prayer team to Saraguro. As we visited and prayed with missionaries and national leaders from Guayaquil to Saraguro, I was encouraged and challenged by the universal acceptance and hunger for prayer support. I believe that only as we prevail against Satan’s strongholds in Ecuador, can the Gospel message be clearly heard and understood.

You have been receiving the Prayer Digest and faithfully praying for Ecuador and its needs. I THANK YOU!!! Keep Praying for Ecuador and remember that God is Sovereign, Satan is limited and God answers prayer! As the Ecuador prayer champion, I’d like to extend three invitations for you to become more involved in the Prayer Initiative. Please ask God how he would direct you to respond.

INVITATION #1: READ THE "LAYMAN’S GUIDE FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE"

1. This manual documents the Prayer Strategy that was formulated by experience in Haiti and is being applied in Ecuador and beyond. Personally, It has challenged me to become more intentional in my own prayer life.
2. Available from MFMI Greenwood, contact: Dick McLeish, MFMI Prayer Director at: 317-881-6752

INVITATION #2: ADOPT A CHURCH

1. The AIEE (Associacion de Iglesias Evangelicas Ecuatorianas) has 91 member churches in five districts throughout Ecuador. These Evangelical churches are the fruit of OMS and ECC ministries, and many of the pastors are graduates of the OMS Seminaries in Guayaquil and Cuenca. The vision for the Ecuador Prayer Initiative includes enrolling prayer partners* for each of the Association churches. Partners* will "adopt" a church, and commit to pray for its pastor, congregation and ministry. Partners* can be a Church, MFM Council, cell group, Sunday School Class, family or etc.
2. (*Partner is minimum of three persons -. I.e. Moses, Aaron & Hur in Exodus 17 and prayer manual p. 1-14 )
3. Is God calling you to adopt an Ecuadorian Church and partner with them in prayer? Contact me for information so you can begin immediately.

INVITATION #3: Become a DISTRICT PRAYER LEADER

• The AIEE has five administrative districts that cover the entire country.

1. North Coastal – Costa Norte
2. South Coastal – Costa Sur
3. Central - Central
4. Southern - Austral
5. Eastern - Oriental

• To facilitate information flow, the Ecuador Prayer Initiative needs a DISTRICT PRAYER LEADER for each of these districts who will:

1. Visit Ecuador, survey their district and claim it for Christ.
2. Recruit intercessors and organize them into cells to pray for specific needs in each district.
3. Communicate warfare prayer information received from Ecuador to the prayer cells.

• If you feel God might be challenging you to be involved as a District Prayer Leader, please contact me for more information.
  
  THE THREE INVITATIONS ABOVE ARE BEING SENT TO EVERYONE, ARE THEY MEANT FOR YOU?

Please talk to God about it and respond according to His will.
Thanks for praying for Ecuador
Jerry Mattocks ,
Ecuador Prayer Champion

Weekly Update 05/02/05

May 2, 2005

Dear Prayer Warriors,
Amazing ~ This word has been repeated over and over again this week in our lives. God is AMAZING!! This week, we've been amazed at how God has spoken to people before we have. It's amazing to see His people being obedient on our behalves ~ but what's more amazing is that it isn't about us at all!! It's all about HIM!! His purposes in Gibson City and the world. We thank each of you for your participation in what God has led you to do ~ we are blessed by your obedience!!

Our praises begin as we thank the Lord for:

1. Konstruction Kids and their excitement for missions. Their financial giving to Guatemala this year was $1,002.00. Their prayer support continues.
2. Our opportunity to share with Restoration Christian Church in Bloomington. IT WAS AMAZING! We also had a dear Christian Brother attend with us.
3. The two adults that accepted Christ at Restoration Christian Church on Sunday night.
4. Friends in Christ who encourage us and care about us.
5. 20% of our required funds have been received, and are ready for ministry.

Our prayers begin as we ask the Lord to:

1. Encourage these new believers at Restoration Christian and their congregation. Bring people into their lives to disciple them.
2. Restore our health as Doug has been fighting a cold and fatigue, and Cindy is suffering from headaches.
3. Continue to go before us and open doors for us to share about His AMAZING grace.
4. Bless our mothers.
5. We have so much to do, it can be very overwhelming. But the Lord has been speaking to us through this passage: Isa. 41:13 ~ "For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, "Fear not, I will help you."

Have a joyful week. As you pray for us, we are praying for you!

Blessings to you!
Doug and Cindy

Weekly Update 04/25/05

April 25, 2005 (Revised)

Dear Prayer Warriors,

We recently received a reminder that we had not provided an update regarding Doug's sharing with his co-workers during the lunch hour last Tuesday (04/19) at State Farm. Doug had previously sent out a "Lunch & Discovery" invite to the roughly 125 employees in his particular building. They were invited to bring their lunch and hear about our recent Prayer Trip, see slides of Quito, Ecuador and surrounding areas. About 25 or so attended, and for most, this was the first time they have ever been exposed to missions. Those that attended continue to ask questions, and it provides Doug with excellent opportunities to share about our call to serve the Lord in Ecuador.

Blessings to You!
Doug & Cindy

-----Original Message-----
From: Doug & Cindy Tankersley
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2005 8:36 PM
Subject: Weekly Update

April 25,

Dear Prayers Warriors,

It's been a great week!! Your prayers have been felt as it should have been an exhausting week but the Lord has given us strength and stamina. These are truly amazing times. Our praises begin with:

1. David doing very well with his braces. He was sore for a couple of days but it didn't slow him down.
2. We signed a contract on Wednesday to sell our house. This Christian New Jersey couple is such a blessing!
3. Opportunity to pray with a co-worker.
4. ABF Bible study on prayer ~ WOW!
5. Participation in a 1 year celebration at the Restoration Christian Church on Sunday evening. (Bilingual church in Bloomington)

As we prepare for the week, we need God's leading in:

1. Our final week with Konstruction Kids ~ Wednesday night mission project.
2. Our preparations to present our calling and prayer trip to the Restoration Christian Church next Sunday evening. It will be interpreted.
3. Our ABF Bible Study on prayer.
4. The need for a home to rent.

Our financial support is coming in. Again ~ it's amazing to watch God work. Many of you are praying specifically for our funds to come in. They are being answered! We are 18.5% funded. We rejoice and trust in the ministry of support raising.

This week, the Lord touched Cindy's heart with something very special ~ she hasn't felt as though she was leaving Gibson City. This lack of "mourning" or feeling sad concerned her to some degree. She knew in her head that she is leaving soon and with all the things that remind her daily of her leaving, she has never felt a void coming on. Assurance came this week when she realized that she doesn't feel like she is leaving because she is taking so many of you with us. Thank you so much for your partnership.

As you pray for us, we pray for you! Please don't ever hesitate to reply to these emails and share your praises and prayers with us.

Blessings to you,
Doug and Cindy

Weekly Update 04/17/05

April 17,

Dear Prayer Warriors

Let us be the first to testify that the Lord is hearing your prayers. We have been so blessed this week. Our praises begin:

1. We shared with the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) this past Sunday evening. The 12 teens listened attentively. Later in the week, we heard that the HS leaders had met and agreed to take us on as prayer partners and hold a bake sale in which the proceeds would go to our ministry. GO TEENS!!!
2. Tuesday night Cindy attended a Premiere Jewelry party. The Christian consultant felt the Lord leading her to start this business with a mission vision. Part of her profits will be used to partner in our ministry. The company itself is founded on biblical principals and supports missions.
3. On Thursday afternoon, Cindy had the opportunity to share with her co-workers. Many received clarity to her calling.
4. Saturday morning was spent with a New Jersey couple interested in buying our house ~ A totally God orchestrated event!
5. Sunday morning we began teaching a class on Intercession Prayer - 13 participants (so far)
6. Tonight was a special reflection as we shared our prayer trip to Quito with our church family. God is so FAITHFUL!!!!

As we look forward to the week… We pray that the Lord would:

1. Go before Doug as he shares with his co-workers on Tuesday beginning at 11:30
2. Guide us in the selling of our house.
3. Be with David as he gets his braces on his teeth. Tuesday
4. Heal Maggie Bruehl ~ Campus Crusade of Christ, from cancer in her spine.
5. Be present at three Premiere Jewelry parties this week.

Have a great week!
Blessings to you,
Doug and Cindy

PS - For many of you ~ this is your first update from us. It happens to be our 4th update. We apologize to you but we didn't have our "prayer warriors" contact list updated on this computer. If you would like the previous 3 updates, just let us know. We'd be happy to share as it's proof of God's goodness, faithfulness, and answers to your prayers.

Weekly Update 04/10/05

April 10

Hello Prayer Warriors,

If you are located in central Illinois, you know that we have enjoyed a beautiful Spring weekend. We rejoice that we have a SON that always shines!!

Our praises begin with the contacts that we've had this week. These were special times as we shared about God's goodness and faithfulness in each other's lives. We can now look forward to what God will do with our partnerships that we've made for HIS glory.

1. Praise the Lord for our Wednesday night contact that at 50+ years old, they are excited to be involved in missions. Hallelujah!!
2. Praise the Lord for a fairly new believer who came Friday night to look at Doug's motorcycle - stayed for dinner and 3 hours of fellowship. He said that was the best dinner he's had in a long time. (Not Cindy's cooking ~ He was spiritual fed and we were encouraged!)
3. Praise the Lord for Jonathan as he has been witnessing to the kids in his neighborhood.

On Thursday, Cindy will share with her colleagues at GCMS Elementary about her call to missions and ministry in Ecuador. Her principal is one our ministry partners and we are so thankful for that.

1. Pray for hearts to be opened
2. Pray for satan to be bound during that time.

We will join with our Quito prayer trip team and share about that trip Sunday evening, April 17th at GCBC (6pm).

1. Please pray for Kent Eller as he will be traveling from IN.
2. Pray that the we can give an accurate testimony to the Lord's work in and while we were in Quito.

We are so thankful to have you standing in prayer for us. Please know that we pray for you also.

Have a great week!!
Blessings to you,
Doug and Cindy

Weekly Update 04/03/05

April 3, 2005

Dear Prayer Warriors,

Hope this finds you all enjoying this beautiful day that the Lord has made. I enjoy sitting at the computer on Sunday looking back on the week and rejoicing in all that God has done. Thank you so much for your willingness to join us.

Our praises begin with:

1. The restoration of strength that the Lord provided mid-week from our travels to Ecuador. We worked harder than we realized! Hee/hee.

2. We have a couple wanting a contract on our house contingent upon the selling of their house.
They really wanted an inspection. Many of you prayed for that inspector and his work. The Lord brough Scott Dalbey from Master Spec in Champaign. We haven't met him but we will as we found out that he is a Christian. God is already orchestrating something as our paths have now crossed!! His report was extremely favorable and for that we are grateful and sing our praises. We see the lawyer tomorrow to draw up the contract.

3. We met with a new couple in our church this afternoon for lunch. We shared about missions and our desires to serve Him. They are very interested in joining with us as financial partners. We look forward to how the Lord will work in this for His glory.

Prayers for the week:
1. We have created a 13 page packet about us, our call and our future ministry in Ecuador. We will be sending that out to the churches in Gibson City this week and surrounding communities next week. Please pray that the Lord will go before us preparing the hearts of those we will be speaking with.

2. We are scheduled to speak to our local FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) next Sunday. Please pray now that the Lord will prepare us and give us the words to speak.

Have a great week.
Blessings to you,
Cindy and Doug

Mucho Gracias (Weekly Update 03/27/05)

Dear Prayer Warriors,

If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then an experience is worth 1000 pictures. I apologize in advance for the lengthy email but there is no other way...

Your prayers were answered!! God showed His faithfulness over and over again while we were in Quito, Ecuador. He kept us safe and healthy. He watched over our children and the children of our team members. He bound our team with unity. We all arrived home with a deeper dedication for praying.

Our week was richly scheduled…We met with 4 of the 13 pastors that Doug will be working with. We attended two church services and visited the school where Cindy will teach. We met with the national director of Ecuador for OMS as well as the national director of ECC (Every Community for Christ). We met with 3 of 7 eXtreme Walkers. eXtreme Walkers is a pilot program through OMS for young men (20-30 yrs). After listening to each person/group share about God's faithfulness in their ministry as well as the vision they have, we prayed for their specifics requests.

What a privilege is was to partner with these people in prayer!!! Our culminating prayer opportunity was when we were asked to stand in front of a congregation of about 100. The pastor asked for different groups to come for prayer. First, he asked for those who needed healing, then for those that needed work and physical things, then he asked for those desiring to serve in the church and finally he asked for the leadership of the church. We anointed each individual with oil and prayed for them individually. The entire congregation formed a circle around the interior of the church and prayed for us. We were then greeted by each member. They love to hug and kiss!!! There aren't enough words to adequately describe this experience.

God prevailed over satan's attacks:
*Saturday - Our plane was hit by lightening during take off from Indy.
*Tuesday - Visited a church in a very dangerous area of Quito. We had to be locked inside the church
*Wednesday - Cindy accidentally drank some of the local water.
*Friday - 1 hour of extreme turbulence
*Daily - Many meals were local cuisine.

We celebrated our 18th anniversary in Quito - our team presented us with an Ecuadorian "staple" - 24 roses. This team was and will continue to be a huge support to us as we are on the field. We are so thankful for them and our prayer warriors. Your prayers were very evident this past week.

As you can see, we have many reasons to be thankful and rejoice in the goodness of our Lord and Savior.

This week, we will begin making contacts with those that may be interested in partnering with us in ministry. Our prayer request is that the Lord will go before us preparing the hearts of those He is calling. We see support raising as opportunities to share how the Lord changed our hearts and share of the mighty work that the Lord is doing in our lives. Please pray that we all we say and do would be pleasing to HIM.

Have a great week!

Blessings to you,
Doug and Cindy

Cindy and Kerrie enjoy Fresh fish

OMS Missionaries - Mike and Bonnie Shrode

Merry Christmas 2004

Here's a copy of our recent Christmas letter that many of you received:

Greetings Family and Friends,

This seems to be a Christmas letter year for the Tankersleys! It’s been a year full of blessings and we would like to share some of them with you! Our biggest and most challenging blessing came in March when we answered the call to serve as full-time missionaries. After much prayer and evaluations, we have been accepted by OMS International (www.omsinternational.org) to serve on the field in Quito, Ecuador. Doug will be serving as a District Liaison ministering to local pastors and Cindy will be teaching at the Alliance Academy (www.alliance.k12.ec), which is an international K-12 missionary school. Our journey will continue as we begin our Friend Raising after the holidays. You will be hearing from us again, in the very near future.!!

We did some traveling in 2004. Our first trip was to Panama City Beach during our Spring Break to visit Doug’s mom and dad. Doug was also able to complete his certification for scuba diving. In June, our travels continued as we went to Indiana Beach to celebrate the boy’s birthdays. This has been a great alternative to the typical parties!! We weren’t home long, and David was off to Camp Good News in Washington, IL. At the same time, Doug and Cindy were off to Guatemala to visit our missionary friends (John & Rita Pappa) and the village where Doug had been the previous year. In August we headed back to Camp Highlands in Sayner, Wisconsin for our 5th and likely final year of family camp.

The boys are doing great and continue to be our most precious blessings. David turned 12 years old in May and entered 7th grade. He continues to love the sport of soccer and is now on the basketball team. He works hard at school and received all A’s and one B+ on his report card. He’s hoping to learn some new soccer moves from the Ecuadorians. Jonathan turned 9 years old in June and entered 3rd grade. He played soccer but his passion is for fishing and the outdoors. He’s looking forward to all the new bugs and reptiles in Ecuador. Both boys will attend the Alliance Academy in Quito.

In April, Doug moved to the MSRF – a printing division of State Farm. He now supervises 16 folks. He found out a few weeks ago, that his division and job will be dissolving in 14 months as they begin to outsource their printing needs to external vendors. The Lord’s timing is always perfect. Cindy began her 5th year of teaching first grade at GCMS and also hit the big 40 this year. We celebrated with an overnight visit to Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, IL where we first met. Pagliai's Pizza and Lake Charleston was a perfect way to celebrate.

We pray that this letter finds you feeling blessed this holiday season and always. Only the Lord knows how long we will remain here in the states, but we’d love an opportunity to see you before we head to Quito. Please let us hear from you!

Blessings to you & Merry Christmas!

The Tankersleys - Summer 2004