Wednesday 13 April 2011

Teachers Needed!


Nate Saint Memorial School, a small K-8 school for missionaries’ children in Shell, Ecuador, needs teachers for the 2011-2012 school year. We usually have a staff of five teachers and average 25-35 students. Each teacher is responsible for all course work for two grades. We require that our teachers are credentialed, and raise their own support. If you feel called to serve missionary children please contact Margie Grant at rgrant@maf.org <http://www.blogger.com/rgrant@maf.org>
for more information.

Wednesday 6 April 2011

April Praise and Prayers

March was a busy, but fun, month. Alfredo preached in Mera church and started a Christian football team to play in the Shell neighbourhood championship. Alex baked and sold cakes at the nursery fete, and gave a presentation of our work to a student work-team from California. The guestroom was kept occupied with visits from Ryan Walker (helped us on a project in 2007) and his family, Tannia and the Hawthornes after the course and Alfredo’s brother Guayo and friends for Carnival.

Despite all the fun distractions, we got all our pre-reading completed, had a great course on ‘cross cultural communications’ in Quito and finished the assignments on time. Benjamin enjoyed his ‘holiday’ at the Aunt’s house while we were at the course. Camila loved all the attention in the course and appreciated not having Benjamin stealing all her lime-light! She even got a certificate of attendance as she refused to sleep throughout the course because she was participating!

While in Quito we received sad news from Shell. Our maid Maria’s son Justin and nephew Aaron were in hospital after an explosion. No-one is quite sure what the boys were playing with but they think it was a firework and Justin lost both hands and his sight is damaged. Aaron received cuts and burns and needs surgery for his sight too. Justin is 7 yrs old, Aaron 5. The hospital charity fund is covering the medical costs, if you’d like to help, please donate online at www.hcjbglobal.org.uk and designate it for ‘HVO Justin’.

In April we have more friends from Quito coming to visit, a week of office meetings in Quito and hopefully a little holiday! A jungle community (Washintsa) has solicited funding from their local water company and we have to now prepare the material list for the them to buy and fly in for us. We still need to find the funding for our flights and all the evangelism, hygiene and follow-up work.

The water projects office with HCJB-UK have launched ‘Life Water Churches’ where churches (and other groups like office bible-study groups, youth group etc) link with a specific water project and commit to pray and donate towards that community. Could you get partner with us? Find out more at http://www.hcjbglobal.org.uk/get-involved-mainmenu-125/partner.html .

Praise:

For a great Wheaton course on cross-cultural communication. Over 50 people attended, representing more than 10 different nationalities.

For this new local source of project funding and that the communities themselves are soliciting funds and not just waiting for us to do it for them

That Justin and Aaron survived the explosion and are out of the hospital. Praise God for bringing a specialist eye surgeon to Shell on a workteam that week and that he was able to operate and save Justin’s vision.

Prayers:

That Alfredo’s football team ‘Internacional’ can be give a good Christian witness in the championship.

That Justin and Aaron continue to heal and Justin can learn to accept and adjust to life without his hands. Pray that the next surgeries can restore more of their sight.

For project finances, that we can find the matching funding for Washintsa and that this new relationship with Puyo water/’municipio’ can continue for more projects.

Photos from March are on our blog www.alexandalfredoleon.blogspot.com

Enjoy Easter and the celebration of our Saviour’s resurrection and I’ll be sitting up at 2am to watch the royal wedding!

The month that was March


Ryan and Bethany Walker with Alex and Benjo


Alfredo preaching at mera church

harvestiing carrots from my garden


Benjamin


Camila


Camila's certificate for attending the Wheaton course