April 2022
Pastor Ordination in Cachisagua
25/04/22 15:50
So, thankfully, we're back on the road. Sunday, in Cachisagua, Ruben was ordained as pastor. Actually he's been functioning as pastor for many years, but didn't have the title. The Quichuas make it a BIG celebration. They rent a circle tent, invite everyone they can think of, hold the ceremony with all the bells and flowers, and then feed everyone! Quite an event! We hope and pray to continue to support Ruben in his ministry as pastor.
Maintenance
20/04/22 11:18
Seems like the past weeks have demanded maintenance. First the car needed a change of injectors, coils and spark plugs. Then I had to get my driver's license renewed. Plus our health insurance raised our premiums 30%, and I began the process of finding a more suitable coverage. Now we're looking for a family doctor who can keep us in shape and who knows all of our health problems. Feels like we had to stop our ministry travels for a short time and do some maintenance.
Teachers Retreat
11/04/22 18:30
We hosted the Sunday school teachers from "Shobol Llinllin" this weekend. This was their first "retreat" as a group. We had thought they wanted workshops on teaching methods, but we soon realized that what they needed was orientation and counseling. Not only with this group, but with other churches, I'm finding that the real problem is not the teacher's preparation, but educating the pastors to understand the importance and priority of working with the children. One of this group's complaints was that the Sunday school program is last on the list of priorities in the church. Sad, but true, in many churches we know.
Identity
03/04/22 22:40
This photo gives a summary of the course I taught every Wednesday afternoon for the past three months. (The whole course in Spanish is at www.iglesiasecuador.com ) My focus was The People of God and the Kingdom of God with an emphasis on "Identity." The idea of identity seemed to "cilck" with the students. One of the conclusions of my Ph.D. dissertation was that the indigenous folk need a theology of identity rather than our theology of doctrine. I am still working with that conclusion. Yet at the end of the course, the students asked me, "Do you have the book about the history of how the gospel first came to the indigenous people in Ecuador?" (I did.) So I'm working with the question of "Who are we as the people of God?" rather than our usual emphasis of "What do we believe?"