Prayers for Ecuador

In the fall of 2015 Gene and Bonnie traveled to Ecuador to attend the wedding of their 2005 exchange student.  While there they were blessed with a tour of "Methodist" country outside Quito (the capital city) provided by Sara Flores and her husband.   One of the needs expressed by the church leadership was to find ways to connect with churches in the United States and encourage them to come and visit this new area of Methodism in a country that is predominately Catholic.  This past December 10 people from around our Jurisdiction went to Ecuador to do just that... meet and greet these new Methodist people in the mountains around Quito.  

 

Those who went to Ecuador in 2016-2017 (over Christmas Vacation)  encouraged people who are connected to the church in Ecuador to be prayer and they would do the same for a church in the US.  Bonnie Albert is the contact person for Valparaiso 1st and has sent a prayer request  for Valparaiso 1st congregation as we move through multiple staff changes in the months ahead and to pray for our new pastor who will be with us in July.  

I have just received this quarter's prayer from the Missionary in Ecuador.   Thanks for reading this prayer for the Church in Ecuador.   (They have about 23 small congregations ministering to people who are rich in their faith and are thankful for whatever needs are met each and every day.)  

 

^{The church in Ecuador asked us to pray:  
For world peace and for the stability and peaceful transition of the Government in Ecuador.
Pray that God bless the families of pastors and the congregations they serve in Ecuador and in the USA with spiritual strength.  We ask for prayer especially for pastoral couples.
For the children of the pastoral families, their education and their daily welfare, for the economy and for their studies.
For the material stability of pastor’s families, for the daily sustenance and work of the pastors and all the heads of household in the congregations.}

^{Special health situations of the families of pastors in Ecuador and the USA.}

^{Pray for the wife of pastor Daniel Garrido who is battling serious melanoma.
Pray for Pastor Fabiola and her husband who will have a baby in late June.}

^{God blesses us thru your spiritual support.   
Sara Flores, Missionary of the General Board of Global Ministries}

The needs at UBL continue to grow...

The CURTAIN for CERTAIN project is moving right along.   They just trust that we are supporting it with our April Mission donation.   As the last post reported  Nancy was busy sewing curtains for a blue room.   I think she has returned home with some of the rooms not completed so do you think Margie is going to take over the sewing machine like she does at Sager Brown?   We'll see. 

 

But in recent conversations with Margie, the curtains are but one thing that needs attention at the school.   As you can imagine, Margie is in the middle of all the excitement and further more, she sees things that need attention.   I share this to say, every penny we collect through the Mission Offering for April will go toward student care while they study at the University.   You would really have to be in her shoes to understand fully.   People come from all over Latin America to study and usually come with very little in their pocket.   They can live on a "shoe string" and if an emergency comes up, it is the difficult/nearly impossible for them to recover.  

 

We want you to know that some of the funds you give to the curtain project will not only be used for covering the windows... but it will be used for "covering the needs" of the students who are a bit short.   In the past we have assisted with medicines, travel back to their country, scholarships, and some of the little things that just make their experience at UBL at bit better.   These students never ask for a thing but are grateful for everything that comes their way.   Margie's part is she sees needs, hears about needs in her daily activities and becomes aware of the serious needs of the students.   Thanks for your contributions.   We'll find a time to share the stories she has when she arrives home next month.  

Curtains for Certain - Mission Focus for April

Dorm room/sewing room.   Notice the nice blue walls that were painted
recently from the paint we bought. 

 

Volunteer Nancy Collins, quite a fabulous and diligent seamstress is making as many of the curtains she can within the next month.  She and her husband are volunteers at UBL and their time will be up in May.  With our church's financial help, we are hopeful that EVERY SINGLE ROOM in the student residence will be looking as beautiful as you can see in the picture with the new curtains hung in this window.

  

 

 

I hope this picture will help you visualize the project, and with it comes my happy and profound gratitude to each of you and ALL of my Valparaiso Church family who are supportive of this CURTAINS FOR CERTAIN project.

By the way, the lovely NEW blue paint on the walls of this room in the picture is some of that paint provided by our Valparaiso FUMC in the donations given in 2015 (I believe that was the year).  Much love to you all.  God is good, all the time.  Margie

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT for the Mission Focus in April.   Just write Curtains for Certain on your check.  

News from "Lousia" and Gordon Graner

"Louisa" is getting the new kids connected with name tags before our VBS

begins.  Our suitcase were filled with all sorts of activities we used with

two groups of VBS students each day. 

        Ardell Graner (our missionary) goes by the name of Louisa in Dominican Republic.  When she was assigned there after serving 20 years in Bolivia, she determined those she met really struggled with her name.   Ardell was just too difficult so she changed her name to Louisa.

       Ardell and her husband Gordon were at our church in October 2014 and then we had a team go to Dominican Republic in 2015.   Our hope is to return one day and be with them churches near Samana.   We loved the people there and were so warmly greeted

So the van for 10 held 20.  How many do you see on
this motorcycle? 

       You can read about their ministry and the people they serve by clicking here.  You'll love the story about riding from the interior of Dominican Republic to the peninsula in the north where we served in a transport built for 10 but took 20 people.  

       

 

Our team in Monte Rojo, Dominican Republic June 2015 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In February our missionaries received funds for their ministries... Ardell's is called Lost and Found Children of Dominican Republic and Clara's (in Cambodia) is called Street Children Ministry.   Our church has sent $421 to each of these projects from the February  Mission Offering.  The United Methodist Women sent $1,000 to each of them at the end of the year.   It is so important for the churches who support these missionaries to also support their projects.  Without these funds, they have little to work with for ministry and programming.  THANKS FOR YOUR GENEROSITY.     

A big THANK YOU from Costa Rica

At last, the internet strength is strong enough to post letter from Elisabeth Cook, Rector at UBL (Bible University where Margie Miller volunteers). 

 

Valparaiso 1st UMC received a letter today thanking us for our support of UBL - specifically $200 for the scholarship fund and $1,550 for the new "Moving Ahead, Moving Online".    Through individual donations on Giving Tuesday,  our National/International Mission team, the Monthly Mission Focus, and United Methodist Women we have been a great support for the place Margie Miller calls home about 1/2 of the year.

 

Scholarships are such an important part of the school's ability to serve the students who come at great sacrifice to their families; a bit of assistance is essential for them to get this certification/degree to be used in their home country.   Video conferencing is now offered which will keep the student expenses as low as possible and the stress on the family much reduced.   Our funds have helped in both areas.   Thanks Margie for being there.   We look forward to working through you in the future. 

 

Partnering in Prayer with the church in Ecuador



Iglesia Evangélica Metodista Unida del Ecuador has invited us to be in prayer with them.   Let me share a bit about this new Methodist presence in Ecuador.  As you may remember, we (Gene and Bonnie Albert) were in Ecuador in 2015 and visited Sara Flores, UM Missionary in Ecuador.   Sara introduced to several pastors (2 of 20) and the non-paid Bishop.   Bishop Cevallos was most gracious in his meeting with us.   Sara and I have maintained contact since our return.   

Pastor Freddie, Bishop Cevallo, and Sara Flores met us in the Bishop's office in Quito, Ecuador.

I serve on the North Central Jurisdiction United Methodist Volunteers in Mission leadership team.   A program under NCJ UMVIM is Mission Discovery.   Long story short is, we have just had a team of 10 youth and young people going to be with the churches and their young people in Ecuador.   The beginning planning for this journey began in that office in September 2015.   While none of our Valparaiso youth  participated, we had one young person from Chesterton and two from Dyer be part of that team.  They returned in early January 2017 with a plan to find some churches to enter into a prayer partner relationship.  On January 29th all their churches in Ecuador will be in prayer for the USA Churches who are partnering with them.

 

Hear their prayers: 

PRAYING TOGETHER     UMC USA  –  IEMUE ECUADOR

January 29^TH, 2017

We thank God for all the United Methodist churches in the USA that are in partnership with the Church in Ecuador. We give thanks for your prayers, offerings and your presence in Ecuador in God’s mission in Ecuador.  Our Church is a young Methodist Church very passionate in carrying the mission to new places, new lives and new communities. It is a growing Church with 20 congregations and 7 new mission initiatives.

From the warmth of fellowship between sisters, brothers and friends from Ecuador and the USA, an initiative has begun to pray for each other on the last Sunday of every third month. We will start next Sunday, January 29^th, with the prayer request of our Bishop, Rev. Silvio Cevallos:

 

 

Starting a new year of work, pray for the pastors in Ecuador and the USA, putting their lives, ministry and families in the hands of our Lord.  “Please God, help our pastors with the needs in their lives, ministries and families, fill them with your love and peace and with your power, because you are our Lord and your mercies never come to an end”.

 

We give thanks to God for the pastors, lay pastors and leaders, women and men who give their lives to share and proclaim the transforming love of God. We ask prayers for the pastoral corps, the bishop and the superintendents. Currently we have 19 pastors (3 women pastors, 16 men pastors; 11 are full ordained pastors, and 8 are lay pastors).

 

I have sent a prayer for our congregation to them to also pray for us. 

Please pray for a renewed commitment and our spiritual leadership within this amazing congregation under the guidance of the One most powerful.   Lift up our leadership as they come together to find solutions to the decrease in worship participation, to find ways to reconnect with those who are leaving the church, and to be the church in our community.  Amen.

Sager Brown Mission

We have 18 special people...all leaders in our church at UMCOR Sager Brown in Baldwin, LA once again this week.   As their week winds down,  let us pray for these volunteers and all the activities they have done for the least of these.  Much of the thanks for this annual event go to Marlene and Eldon Versteeg who went there as volunteers maybe 13 years ago and have returned year after year taking new volunteers with them. 

 

Pray also as this team of 18 begin their trek back across the country on Friday or Saturday.  Safe travels team.   Sager Brown team, we are missing you.