June 2016 Update

Hasta luego Ecuador! Bienvenido a Alabama! It was a bitter sweet month as we said farewell to our friends and family in Ecuador and were welcomed by our family when we arrived to our home in Alabama.  Lunch in Loja! We met Bryan and Gisella at the panaderia in Balsas and often had dinner with them before they moved to Loja city. We were so blessed to spend one more day with them in Loja before we left. Christopher and Sophie became immediate best friends and they loved playing together no matter where we were. We pray that God will put them in our path again one day.  Debriefing with our OMS Ecuador family

We spent our last few weeks traveling and debriefing with our One Mission Society family. They have done a great job in equipping and preparing us for our expedition. Please pray for them as they continue to build relationships and meet with all of our friends from Balsas while also continuing to glorify God through other ministries. CULTURE SHOCK! 1. We have a lot of stuff! Thats right, stuff. Not precious items or fancy furniture, but stuff. We lived out of a few bags for a year and came home to a storage room full of... We lived without this stuff for a year, I think we can live without it for a few more years. 2. Busy, Busy, Busy! We just arrived and are already overwhelmed by the fast pace lifestyle and too many things to do. When do people sleep or have their quiet time, or actually talk to their neighbors, or spend time with those people that we call family? 3. Church and Small groups! While we were in Ecuador, we had the opportunity to listen to our church and other Pastors through podcasts, but there is nothing like live Church in English. It was so awesome to come home and go to church and then to go to a small group and do life with others. Some culture shock is good. Debriefing with some of our mentors We had an opportunity to spend time with some of our leaders and mentors to share some of our experiences from Ecuador as well as give some insight to our future plans. Our mentor and leadership team holds us accountable and helps with all of our decision making in order to ensure that we are doing what is best to glorify God. They also comfort and affirm us through prayer and personal conversations (not social media; actual conversations).  Our experience with YUGO ministries in Mexico SOPHIE was not quite ready to talk to friends in English, so we decided to take a trip to Mexico and visit our friends from YUGO ministries.

We had a great opportunity to see how YUGO ministries is reaching out to people from the United States as well as Pastors and people from Mexico. We spent a lot of time with our good friends Adam and Melissa Williford and their two children for our first few days. They lead and coordinate all of the ministries at the Rosarito campus. Later in the week, we had the opportunity to catch up with our friends Nathan and Charity Alpert. Nathan is the president of YUGO, but this week he was also one of the leaders for a home building team. Our family had the privilege to visit his team and see the ceremony in which they hand the keys of a new home over to the new owners. It was a very special moment to see how God is working in people from the United States through short term trips and also at the same time working through people from Mexico. To find out more about YUGO ministries go to YUGO.org Final Thoughts We are so thankful for our experience in Ecuador. We are blessed to be able to call Balsas as well as Montgomery our home. We are also thankful for you all praying and encouraging us while we were in Ecuador and also for helping us get settled back in to the States.  What happens now? Lacey and I are planning to take the month of July to take care of our business things such as setting up a house, getting clothes, and organizing our finances. We are also spending time trying to readjust to this culture. We have a some great avenues to pursue for our future and want to spend time starting in August to pray and fast in order for us to hear clearly from God about which we should pursue.

May 2016 Update

Hasta luego Balsas!   On Saturday, June 4, we said farewell to our family in Balsas and started our debrief process for the remainder of our time in Ecuador. We could not speak any Spanish and did not know a single person when we first moved here 8 months ago. However, it did not take long for the people to invite us in to their homes and lives. When we moved here, we wondered if Balsas would ever feel like our home and as we left; we wondered if any other place could give us the love and joy that Balsas has brought us.   What happened this month? Visiting friends in Guayaquil

We had the wonderful opportunity to visit with missionaries Pablo and Rebecca and their three children in Guayaquil. They have recently started a new Church in a small community called Chongon and we had the pleasure of visiting a few families while walking through the neighborhoods. We were inspired with their ministry and hearts for the community. We also visited Iguana park and the beautiful riverfront walk. Guayaquil is the most populated city in Ecuador and also one of the hottest cities.     Our visit to Camp Pallatanga   The next stop on our journey was visiting the beautiful camp in Pallatanga ran by missionaries Guido and Kim Orellana and their three daughters. Sophie loved the animals and free space to run and play! The Orellana's have a daughter (Sophia) and is Sophie's age. They both got to experience their first sleep over and they had a great time playing together. In addition to the camp, The Orellana's have also started a church plant in town. Their vision is to create an environment in which the whole community will feel loved and welcomed to come and grow in their faith. We were able to join with them in some of their outreach events and also take part in their Mother's Day service. We were also invited to the High school from one of the Orellana's friends to have a question and answer session and assist the students in their English pronunciation. We really enjoyed spending at the camp and can see ourselves running a camp one day.     We visited Manta with our friends from Pallatanga Manta Our last stop on our travels was Manta. Manta is the largest city that was affected by the earthquake in April. OMS works with a Church in Manta and  has set up a soup kitchen in which we were able to help serve over 100 meals a day to families who were affected by the earthquake. It was a great experience to prepare food and watch the young members of this Church step up by going out and sharing the love of Christ with their community. Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." John 4 The real gift was not the food, but giving hundreds of people an opportunity to have peace through their worse moments while receiving eternal fulfillment and never having to thirst again.   Who wants cookies? With help from our friends (the Beasley's) from Loja, we baked and packaged over 250 cookies to share with our friends in Balsas. We attached a note of gratitude for their friendship as a small token of our appreciation for everyone who made our stay in this wonderful community so special. We could never give them enough cookies to share our gratitude for the way they have accepted us.   Despedida (farewell dinner)   We threw a farewell gathering for many of our friends we have made over our time in Balsas. We were able to share with them why we chose to move to Ecuador and thank them for how much they have meant to us during our time here. God thank you for these people that you have placed in our lives. We will pray for them just like we pray for our family in the States.   Last trip to our favorite pool in Ecuador   We took a trip to the pool in Marcabeli to say goodbye to some dear friends. Sophie throughly enjoyed playing with her friend and Lacey went out in style by almost dying when she went down the water slide and banging up her head pretty good on the way down. It is probably the best picture of the year. Samulito decided not to to go down. These people were some of the first to meet here. They always cook for us and take care of us. We love you and miss you.     Dinner with our family   A special good bye dinner with some very special friends! This wonderful family took us in as one of their own, they invited us over for Christmas dinner, taught Lacey how to cook authentic Ecuadorian meals, and have helped us out greatly with our Spanish. They cooked us some amazing food for our farewell dinner! We will miss them terribly and hope to be able to come back and visit them one day!

Farm life with Sophie's best friend and her family There is nothing like eating pig while being surrounded by  his family! All home schooler's are invited to Balsas for a trip to the pig farm!   I think this trip could count as a field trip for Sophie (but Clint and I too). We went to their family pig farm and got an up close and personal tour. Afterwards we enjoyed a wonderful meal consisting of (of course) one the pigs. Sophie and Leslie became fast friends in school and have remained close. It is a precious thing to see how well they get along despite the language barrier. Now the whole family is precious to us and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with them and getting to know them better!   Family Photo   We had one last get together with this wonderful, welcoming family. They initially invited us into their home for Christmas and have since remained wonderful friends! We went to their "finca" or farm land and made empanadas for our final farewell. Señora Laura is Sophie's abuela (Grandmother) in Ecuador. She has seven grandsons, so she did not mind spoiling her only grand daughter. They own two tiendas (small grocery stores) and we will deeply miss them as we stand in line at Walmart.   Final Thoughts In many ways this is not the end of our journey, but the beginning of something even bigger that we can not explain right now. We do not know what will happen after this year, but we do know that God has done something amazing and we will never forget it. At this point, Lacey and I do not feel led to come back to Ecuador as full term missionaries. However, we cannot overlook the reality that is in our hearts. We have family here! We have built real relationships! It will be a huge priority to keep in touch with our family here and visit them when God will allow it. This will not change because our location changes. I say these last words in tears as I look at all of the pictures of our family from Balsas. Thank You God! Thank You for inspiring our family to want to GO. Thank You for surrounding us with the right people in the States who encouraged us, prayed for us, equipped us, prepared us and invested in us so that we could come here. Thank You God for placing us in Balsas. Thank You for introducing us to our new family. Thank You for being there when we did not think that we could do this. You have used us to  prove that you do exist. We are nothing without you and can be anything with you. We cannot reach people in our own language without you, but can witness to other cultures with different languages with You. I pray that you use  and inspire others to do the same. I pray that you raise up people from Balsas who will be inspired to GO and reach out to other places in Ecuador and around the world. We will risk everything we have to see your name be glorified and to witness people who love You and change their life to live for You. We did not come here to help average Christians, but to inspire and equip extraordinary Christ followers to GO an DO amazing things in your name.

April 2016 Update

ONE MORE MONTH IN BALSAS!!   We are cleaning all of the mold off of our bags (literally), and gearing up to finish out our last month in Balsas. However, before we talk about the future, lets look back at our experiences in April. We do want to start off by sharing our appreciation for all of you praying for Ecuador as they are recovering from a massive earthquake. It means a lot to us when you all check on us from the States to see how we are doing. It also means a lot to our friends from Ecuador as we have shared with them about you all praying.

Sophie's Birthday Party 5 Years Old! Wow, how time flies! We celebrated with a fun little party and invited her friends here in the community. We played games, did crafts, and a piñata. We sang Happy Birthday in Spanish and English and enjoyed some yummy cake and ice cream.   Sophie's Birthday Part 2   We celebrated Sophie's birthday one more time in Loja! We took her to Parque Jiropiro and some fellow missionaries helped make the day more special by cooking her dinner.   Adventure in Saracay! This precious family invited us to a pool in a town about 30 minutes away. We arrived to beautiful scenery, a fun playground, a pool, and a zip-line across the river to a pen of ostrich. But even better than the atmosphere was the company! We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know their family better and have since continued the friendship with eating meals together. The hospitality we have been shown during our time in Ecuador is overwhelming!    Men's Retreat Saumlito(Clint's nick-name) had an opportunity to to travel with the rest of the OMS men to Banós in Ambato. It was about a 12 hour drive from Balsas, but worth it. We spent time doing fun guy things like zip-lining over waterfalls, riding 4-wheelers up mountains, and seeing some of the most amazing scenery in the world, like active volcanos. We also watched some videos by Ray Vander Laan and then discussed them as a group. These were some awesome videos and I would recommend them to everyone.

Chaguarpamba Kid's Club   While Clint Was away at men's retreat Sophie and Lacey traveled to Chaguarpamaba to take part in the Kids Club where kids color, play, and hear a Bible story. Of course we also did fun girly activities such as having a tea party and painting our nails too! We enjoyed this special time together, but were reminded daily of how important Clint is in our lives! Our family truly functions as a team and when one member is missing their absence is felt. Sophie and I began to make a list everyday when Clint's absence was most apparent and how much we missed him!   Kitchen Skills  We have made some wonderful friends in Balsas who are willing to teach us a thing or two! It started with one friend teaching us to make empanadas queso and ended with another precious family teaching us to make a traditional chicken and rice dish. This gives us a great opportunity to learn Spanish, share our faith and actually eat real food!   VBS The church in Marcabeli held it's annual VBS (Yes, it is summer break here in the coastal communities in Ecuador. The new school year begins in May.) The VBS hosted approximately 50 kids from Marcabeli, Bellamaria, and Balsas! This event was another great opportunity for Sophie to check something off of her bucket list: only gringo to attend VBS in Marcabeli. She has done really well with making friends even though there are huge cultural and language barriers. I pray that we can have her same perspective and just do life with others trusting that God will work through every situation if we let Him.   Shoeboxes in Catamayo   We were blessed to be able to take part in the Samaritans Purse shoe box distribution hosted by the church in Catamayo. The day included songs, lessons, and games (led by Lacey), and snacks all leading up to the kids receiving these precious gifts. It was a wonderful time to see the other side of such a wonderful ministry! We want to thank our missionary friends from Catayamo ( Jennifer Riggs and Susan Stiles) for letting us help out and be apart of this event. Final Thoughts "Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10 "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart; Do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all that you do, and He will show you which path to take". Proverbs 3:5   Question: How do we manage our time and stress level when we have only one month left to try to accomplish so many things before saying good bye (possibly forever) to our new family; WHILE trying to prepare for our re-entry into our old life; WHILE trying to prepare and discern for our future; WHILE trying to manage all of the business stuff that needs to be done when we return.  WHILE continuing to be in God's word every day and putting our priorities first. Be still and listen to God WHILE trusting with all of our hearts that he will show us what to do. We are a little overwhelmed by all that we want to accomplish both here in Balsas and when we return to Alabama in July and if we are not careful, we could take on too much and loose focus of our priorities and purpose. We pray that we will be still and listen to God and that we will trust Him.

Earthquake Update

You are probably aware of the recent 7.8 earthquake that has devastated Ecuador a week ago on April 16th and Lacey and I would like to take a moment and share about how it has affected our community. We are hours away from the epicenter of the quake and were able to still feel the shaking from our apartment. The total loss of life and damage is still unknown as workers are still looking for survivors. As of Thursday, the death toll was at 587 and is expected to continue to rise. There has also been hundreds of tremors since Saturday including a 6.1 aftershock Wednesday morning and there has also been new earthquakes with one having a magnitude of 6.0 on Thursday. It is still a very dangerous situation due to the threats of more tremors and the possibility of a tsunami. It is also very difficult for support aid to get to these areas due to damage of the roads and mudslides in surrounding areas. The roads in Ecuador are always challenging with mudslides and falling boulders being normal; the quake has just magnified these problems.  How does OMS intend to help out? OMS works with a Church one of the communities that was devastated by the Earthquake and our leaders left Thursday morning to bring supplies to the community and they will also be talking with the local authorities and Pastors to determine our most effective way to help out. Our hope is to use the Church as a hub for helpers and volunteers to work out of while also serving food and suppling the community with other necessities and shelter. What are we currently doing to help out? Although we are hours away, our community as with all communities in Ecuador have been affected in some way by the quake. Everyone has friends and family from these areas and are not sure of the status of their loved ones. Most people that we talk to are living in fear not knowing what to expect with the possibility of more quakes and tremors. As for Lacey and I, our hearts want to go and help out wherever we are needed. We currently have the opportunity to comfort and pray with our friends here in our community. Our community also has several different ways to help out, such as by sending supplies to the devastated areas. We will also have an opportunity to go and work with the Church that our leadership team is visiting today and help out with them in any way possible when the time is appropriate.  How can we all help out? You can visit onemissionsociety.org to learn about how OMS as an organization is helping out and also how you can give. Or click the link below.  Our biggest need is prayer. It will always be prayer. We all need prayer right now. Pray for the people of Ecuador as they deal with: Loss of loved ones, injuries, fear, loss of homes and communities, loss of jobs, and lack of basic needs such as food and water. Pray for OMS and all other organizations as they are working on plans to help out. Pray for the people of Japan as they have dealt with yet another earthquake and are in a similar situation. Pray for the United States as they are dealing with flooding and many different types of crisis themselves. Pray for the World. Every country is going through some kind of trial: Natural disasters, financial crisis, political turmoil, persecution, poverty, disease, war, terrorism, Etc. Pray for us and all Christians that we may be a light and can encourage and give comfort to people who have been effected by these disasters. We pray that God will be lifted up through these obstacles that are surrounding us and more people will know Him so that they can have real peace in life and not have to worry about things that can harm our bodies. We cannot guarantee safety from the trials of this world, but we can guarantee peace and hope during these trials through our faith in Jesus and understanding of our eternal destination. Donate to the OMS Earthquake Relief Fund

March 2016 Update

We only have two more months to enjoy this view before we have  to say goodbye to our Balsas family. God has been great to us over the past few months as we have started digging deeper into our relationships with people. We truly feel like we are a part of the family here!  How do we spend our nights in Balsas? When we are not having dinner with other families, we enjoy going out after dinner for a walk through the community sharing with people. The streets are always filled with people to talk to and kids to play with. (Well, except in this picture)

We tried fanesca for Good Friday.  There is a Catholic tradition in Ecuador on Good Friday in which the community goes on a walk together throughout the town to honor the death of Jesus. They also serve a special dish called fanesca. It consists of pretty much every type of fish and vegetable that exists in Ecuador. It is the only thing you can find to eat in restaurants on Good Friday. Easter in Marcabeli There were not any bunny rabbits, Easter baskets, chocolate bunnies, or even hard boiled eggs to decorate (Lacey did attempt to boil and color some, however we lost power for two days and they did not make it). We still had a great time going to church in Marabeli. This is the only Christian Church in our area. We found it about two months ago and have actually found a family from Balsas that attends it. This family lived in Spain for 10 years and became Christians through missionaries serving over there. The Church in Marcabeli has about 50 members and has been a huge blessing to our family. This is also the only place near us that celebrated Easter. Therefore we had a great time celebrating with them and also being able to share our faith with all of our friends in Balsas while explaining why we celebrate this day. We also had a great time as a family focusing on the real reason for this special day.  Women's retreat The ladies serving with OMS in Ecuador took a couple days to relax and grow closer together and closer to God. We enjoyed several different spa activities and ate lots of yummy food. We prayed for each other and enjoyed going through a study on Nehemiah. It was a wonderful time to step back and refocus and also to get to know some of the women serving in different parts of Ecuador that we do not get to see often! ~Lacey   Daddy and Sophie week I had a great time bonding with Sophie while Lacey was away for a few days at the women's retreat. I used to get to do this in the States when Lacey would go on short term mission trips and I have really missed this quality time. This time reminds me of how much Lacey does for us and also how blessed I am to have such a wonderful daughter. I pray that all fathers can have this type of time with their children.  We had a great time going with one of our favorite families in Balsas to their farm. We got to catch and cook a chicken, eat a lot of watermelon (sandia), shuck and pluck corn to make a dish in Ecuador called huma (it is similar to a tamale or cornbread), and share a lot of stories.  Family fun day in Marcabeli We spent a few days at our friends farm in Marcabeli. This is one of the first families that we met when we moved to Balsas. We went swimming at their water park, rode dirt bikes, and spent the evening sharing with them while eating some really good Ecuadorian cuisine.  We never know where we are going to end up when we get in to somebody's vehicle. We actually ended up in Peru one day.  On this particular trip (pictured below), we went to a beautiful swimming spot with waterfalls. Final thoughts and Prayer Requests   February was probably our toughest spiritual month as we were trying to find new ways to share the Gospel in Balsas. We wrestled with a lot of new ideas from door to door evangelism to kids Bible studies. One of our biggest fears is that we are not doing enough to reach the community. This is also one of our biggest weaknesses because it could hurt our established relationships by forcing our beliefs on people while trying to rush the process. However, this is also a good battle because it challenges us to be accountable for ourselves and to ensure that we are doing everything that we can to spread the Good News. We do not have anyone near us to hold us accountable so we have to rely on each other. We truly believe that if we have and keep our priorities in order, and that our hearts focused on loving and living for God, we will be successful. We pray and prepare for each conversation that we are ready at any moment to share our faith in a loving and encouraging way. Prayer Requests    We pray that we maximize our time for the last two months here. We also pray for the Church in Marcabeli and that it will continue to grow and reach out to the communities like Balsas. We pray for the future of Balsas. We are uncertain of the future plans for OMS in Balsas and how the seeds that we have planted will continue to be strengthened.  We want to thank you all for your continued prayers and support. It was easy to overlook people praying for us when we were in the States because we were always surrounded by your support. However, now that we are here, we have been able to truly appreciate and understand the value of prayer and having a strong Church family. It brings back memories of when I surrendered and became a Christian and how I got to experience for the first time in my life the love of Christ through His Church laying hands on me. In short: Thank you!!