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| Joy and I have changed the location and the look of our public blogs. Please add the new sites to your favorites and bookmarks:
http://tonyanzalone.blogspot.com
http://joyanzalone.blogspot.com
Please stay connected to our family and ministry updates. Thank you.
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| Sunday's attendance was a little bit lower than those of the past few
Sunday's. We have hit a definite downturn in attendance. This is a
little bit discouraging. I guess the fact is that we have all we can
handle in our current space. Also, this is school vacation season
around here.
One of the good things is the initiative of some to make our ministry
in Travesía more frequent. This is good. Another good thing is that
more of the believers are sharing their faith. Also, we see more
evidence of community among a number of the people who are becoming
involved in friendships and being a part of each other's daily lives,
not just at church. The CODA groups continue this week. They have been
a blessing.
Thank you for your prayers on our behalf.
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| We spent most of last week in Quito shopping for a car. We also enjoyed
visiting with missionary friends Glenn and Sherri McGhee, their son
Alex, Glenn's dad Cliff (also a missionary) and Jenny Carpenter (also a
BBFI missionary working with the McGhees). It was great to see how the
ministries in Sangolquí have developed in recent years. Besides
preaching in the main church on Tuesday night, I got to visit a new
work in Conocoto on Thursday and preached there. Some of our supporters
may remember the money raised four or five years ago for property for a
new work in Mushuñan. Well, now there is a congregation meeting at that
property and they have just begun using the first permanent church
building on the site. That's a blessing! Even better is that Jose
Cumbál, one of the first workers-in-training from our time of
partnership with the McGhees from 2000 to 2003, is the pastor of that
church. Below see the photo of the church building in Mushuñán.
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| Somone brought their nephew; someone else brought their sister; and
another brought a neighbor. That is exciting isn't it. I enjoy it when
we have visitors and church and when there is evidence that people are
happy enough with what God is doing in their lives that they want to
share it with those who are close to them.
Saturday night Joy and I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours
with a young couple who plan to be married in June. They asked last
Sunday if we would meet with them for some pre-marital counseling. I'm
extremely thankful for this for a few reasons. First, because they want
to start their marriage well. They are doing things right and want some
guidance. Second, because they have seen enough of us to think that we
might have some wisdom to share. Third, because it gives us another
opportunity for mentoring disciples who will soon be considered leaders
in this church.
There are lots of things to pray about. Pray for Ecuador's political
and social situation. This country's institutions are cannibalizing one
another. A house divided can not stand.
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| After the high attendance point of my last posting, we have dropped
back down to earth. Vacation time, Carnaval, and an awful flu virus
took their toll. Still, we have some blessings to report. The
class for young teens has begun on Sunday mornings. We have had several
teens show up and a few have even come back for another helping! That's
good. Darwin (one of the teachers) was extremely sick Sunday, but he
was determined to be there for his class. He came and taught, then
went back home to rest. I was so proud of him. (Darwin shocked me again
in the afternoon--showing up for the CODA leaders meeting at 5 PM. May
God increase his tribe!) Please pray for Darwin and Dina. It would be
great to develop a nucleus of young teens. Our family (at least
the part of us in Manta) has been battling a virus for the past few
weeks. Joy has had the most stubborn case. We took the two days of
Carnaval vacation to rest. That helped a little bit but we were still
sick. More than a week has passed since then and Joy is still coughing.
Please pray for her. Carnaval results in an extra-long weekend in
Ecuador. People who can afford to do so, take family trips. Most
people celebrate it by throwing, spraying, and dumping water on
one-another. Don't ask me to explain that, but it seems like an
improvement over the rotten orange throwing that I saw on the news from
some town in Peru. My kids always took the opportunity to have a
huge water fight. | | |
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