April 18 prayer letter

Happy Springtime Family and Friends in Christ!        This past Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I love the words shared by Matthew, "And the angel answered and said unto the women, 'Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead. . .' "(28:5-7). 

      Imagine the excitement Jesus' followers felt to know that their Savior had vanquished Satan and his power over death. We serve a Majestic, Living and Wonderful Savior and Lord! And because He lives we also have the hope of eternity to praise Him and exalt His name. One of the blessings this year was to introduce to our believers a sunrise service, with a time of fellowship and we served breakfast. We suggested a seven o'clock meeting where Dave and I would serve them breakfast and then we would have a special Sunday morning service celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus and then a time of celebrating the Lord's Supper. We doubted that many would attend because of the hour and it being a holiday. Praise the Lord the church was full and we had just enough food. They loved it, and they want to do it again. The most exciting part of the morning was the attendance of Gustavo and Santiago. Gustavo is the unsaved husband of Inez (believer in the church), and her son Santiago and his wife and son. Santiago is also unsaved. Inez has been praying faithfully for years for their salvation. We are hoping and praying this is a beginning for them. Please keep them in your prayers that God will do a work in their hearts to bring them to salvation. God is also working in other unsaved family members of people in the church.           For the last several years we have had a team come from southern Ohio with a group called Jeremiah 38. This coming August they will be coming again but with a new ministry. We are going to try medical clinics in the morning in Chambo, Riobamba and Alausi; then, in the afternoons have a VBS in Chambo and Alausi. With the medical clinic we are going to have to have contact with some medical personnel. Mayte (believer in the church) is married to a anesthesiologist, Alfredo, who is an unbeliever. Dave has been in contact with him to help us get medicine for the team. They have met twice and Dave is hoping to get a bible study started with him. There will continue to be contact with preparations for the team. He has also volunteered to help with the clinics. Pray for his salvation. Mayte and Alfredo are separated. She would love to see him come to know the Lord. A side note, if anyone is interested in coming to Ecuador with the team they are looking for "servants." You can contact the coordinator, Tim Mootz, at twmootz@msn.com. Please be praying for the all the preparations that need to done before August. There will be a lot of new contacts being made for setting up the clinics. We are excited about trying this new outreach, but it will include a lot of work. 

      Along with Jeremiah 38 coming to Ecuador, they have invited Dave and I to accompany them to Peru again this year to help with the medical clinics there. However, I have decided to stay put in Ecuador and Dave is going to introduce two of our Ecuadorian believers to the jungle of Peru, Iquitos. Klever, pastor in Alausi, and Angel, member of the Riobamba church, have been selected to go and see the ministry of Jeremiah 38 in Iquitos. They will be part of the counselling team at the clinics. They are beyond excited! This will give them an opportunity to see how the clinics are run so that when August comes they will help head up the ones here in Ecuador. Keep Angel and Klever in your prayers that God will used them mightily as they see and minister in a new part of the world. God is opening doors, as we have been praying. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. They truly are appreciated.       We have some prayer requests for our family. Lori has had some medical tests done and is waiting for the results. Pray that they will all turn out good according to God's will. Daniel and Melissa will be starting his paperwork soon for nationalization. They are anxious to return to Ecuador, but in God's time. They want to join a mission and raise support to return as full time missionaries. Keep that in your prayers. As well, Tim also hopes to one day be a full time missionary here in Ecuador. We can certainly use some younger laborers here in Ecuador. Hannah is finishing up her last quarter of the school year. And, Nate is headed to Ecuador on May 11 to visit with us as one of his week vacations from the bank. He is looking forward to being with his friends and mom and dad for 10 days. We always covet your prayers for health and safety. God has been so good to us! Enjoy your spring! We love you all!

Together in the King’s Service, Dave and Cindy