July 18 prayer letter

Summer Greetings Family and Friends,       This letter is such a testimony to God's faithfulness and goodness to his children. It might be a little longer than our monthly letters, but we hope you will read it and praise God with us for all that He has done and all that He is going to do. Psalm 105:1-5a describes our joy; "O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk of all his wondrous works. Glory in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore. Remember his marvelous works that he hath done. . ."        We are in the final days of planning before the Jeremiah 38 team arrives on August 4. This is where God has opened so many doors and done so many wondrous things. Jeremiah 38 has brought a team for the past three years focusing on doing VBS. This year they will be doingmedical clinics along with VBS, both in Alausi and in Chambo. The medical clinics will be held in the mornings and the VBS in the afternoons. Praise the Lord for providing a team of about 40 individuals! Hearing about how strict the laws are concerning medical teams, Dave decided to work through the mayors' office both in Chambo and Alausi. The warm reception that he received was amazing. Both mayors, when hearing that the medical clinics would be free, with medicine being offered free, joined right in with helping us in so many ways. The most important issue, which was being able to share the Gospel with each individual, was accepted. It was shared with the mayor in Chambo, that our hope and desire for the future is to establish a church in the town. So, our prayer for having the clinics in Chambo and the surrounding communities is to make contacts for starting new Bible studies, where we hope to see people saved. The mayors have also helped with getting permission for the doctors and the nurses, that are coming on the team, to be able to work here. They will also be providing one or two Ecuadorian doctors who will work at the clinics for free. The clinics will be held Monday through Friday. Please remember us in your prayers those days for safety and for many opportunities to share God's love with the people. The mayor in Alausi was so excited to have Jeremiah 38 come that he wanted to sign a working agreement with them for future years. So, during the festival days of Alausi the mayor invited Dave to attend the opening session to sign the agreement before the assembly. It was quite a testimony! Our hope and desire in all of this is that God will receive the glory and honor, and that lives will be brought to Him. 

      Please be praying also for the VBS in the afternoons. This will touch many children's lives as well. Both the church family in Alausi and here in Riobamba will be involved in the VBS. The days are going to be full and busy, but we are all excited to see how God is going to open doors. The first clinic will be held in our church in Riobamba on August 5th. The church is located is in a new community with new houses being built. It is not a large community, but we do want to reach out to the homes nearby. We will be passing out fliers next week to invite them to the clinic. Pray that this will bring about new contacts for the church. No one in the neighborhood attends the church. All that attend live in other neighborhoods. One important thing to be praying for is paperwork that is being done for customs as the team brings in some of the medicine. We were able to get a large portion of the medicine here in the country; however, vitamins and some other types of medicine are cheaper in the US. Pray that God will touch just the right person(s) so there will be no problem in getting through customs. The mayor of Alausi is going to send a letter to the custom agency to let them know about the clinics being held asking for permission for the medicine. So, as you go through the week of August 5 - 11 lift up the Jeremiah 38 team in your prayers. Just the prep work alone has been exciting, cannot wait to see what God is going to do during the week of and afterwards! 

        We would appreciate your prayers for God's provision as we have several costly matters to be taken care of. It is time to get our visas renewed. We have decided to stay with our residency visa instead of becoming citizens. But pray with us that the process will go without any problems and that they will accept all the paperwork that we present. When we get the visa, it will be necessary to renew our passports and then put the visa in the new passports. When all that is accomplished we then have to get a new cedula (equivalent of social security card). All along the way we have to pick up new copies of birth certificates and marriage certificate and the boys birth certificate, etc. In order to get the visa renewed we have to have health insurance here in Ecuador. So now we are paying health insurance in two countries. Praise the Lord He knows our needs and He will provide.Dave and I always appreciate your prayers for our family. The exciting news is that Daniel, Melissa and the grandchildren are coming next Monday, July 16, for a visit. They were asked by Jeremiah 38 to come and help on the team that is going to Alausi. So, Daniel's boss graciously gave him time off so they could come early and visit with his family and friends. Pray for their travels next week. He has been in the United States nearly two years now working on getting his citizenship. He is going to surprise his family next week. 

       Lori, Hannah, Tim and Nathan stay busy working and keeping house. Pray for God's guidance in each of their lives. We especially desire your prayers for Nathan. It is hard not to worry about our children, especially being thousands of miles away. But we know that God is in control and we have to leave them in His hands. Just a word of praise, last week a strong wind, hit the house and did damage to the roof. By what Melissa shared with us, it sounded like what a tornado would do. It came and went in ten minutes time. Did damage to the trees and garden and tore off the roofing. But everyone was safe. God takes care of His children. There is nothing more special than your prayers. So, Thank You! Looking forward to sharing next month with you all the awesome things that God did in the clinics and VBS! Enjoy your summer.

Together in the King's Service, Dave and Cindy