Monthly Update

Trip Report August 13, 2008

Dear Friends

I am back from two weeks in Guayaquil. It was a great time. The first week I had the privilege of accompanying a group from Canada that went down there with the purpose of developing relationships between believers in Bastion Popular and Christians here in Canada. I would say that this was accomplished through the various activities that were realized.

First we started off by staying in the homes of the folk in Bastion. Now, these homes are very simple and the families are very poor, by both Canadian and Ecuadorian standards. But you know, this doesn’t matter as they open their homes and hearts to receive their visitors and treat them like kings. All of us experienced this level of hospitality and it served to strengthen ties and to increase, among the Canadian visitors, the awareness of what the reality of life is for most of the world. The fact is that life is hard and getting harder as prices continue to rise for food basics yet wages remain the same and the level of unemployment goes up. As I spoke with the elder of the assembly in Bastion about his own poverty he said to me: “You know Tim, I believe that Christians here in Bastion are really living by faith” and I have to agreed with him as I watched parents trying to make ends meet and feed their children. It is tough.

Another activity that helped build the relationships between visitors and hosts was the work that was accomplished both in the school in Block 6 and the church building in Block 10. For two days the Canadians gave it their best and a number of believers from the churches joined along. The whole outside of the school was painted in Block 6 and the roof and other work was finished in Block 10. It wasn’t the work that was so important (although it was) but it was the chance to work alongside Christians who live in Bastion and encourage them that made the time worthwhile.

From Wed. to Saturday life changed dramatically for the visitors as we left the community of Bastion and drove out to Arenal, to the Lighthouse of Hope Camp on the Pacific Ocean. The camp time was organized to celebrate the graduation of the class of 2008 from the Esperanza de Bastion School as well as anticipate the graduation of the class of 2009. In total there were 48 adolescents and a total of 80 of us in camp. We had a great time. A team of youth leaders from the Bastion church in Block 6 was in charge of the programme and the Canadian team helped out with games and a craft that John Sharp had prepared. It was a great few days. I think one of the highlights for the time was the chance for the visitors to get together every evening and talk about what God was teaching them and also to hear from some of the youth as they told their stories about how they had been saved and what god was doing in their lives. Food was great, weather was great, and the kids had a ball. The school in Bastion has been used by God to radically change lives. As we were with the students at camp we were able to celebrate that with them.

There were some health issues for the Canadian visitors that last day that just served to help bring us back to earth and to appreciate the fact that the whole week was injury and illness free. I know I was thankful for that.
On Sunday morning Heather Moore and I saw the team off at the airport and then I started my work in the churches, camp and school. I stayed for an extra week and had many different meetings and visited many homes all with the intention of encouraging the churches and staff at the school and to help the group of people in charge of the camp ministry to move forward with their decisions and plans. God was so good in helping me to do all that I felt I needed to do as well as many things I wanted to do. I spent some good quality time with the church leadership in the two assemblies and in many homes with people we have come to love and appreciate. I also had the chance to meet with many of the youth leaders and speak with them about their plans. The church at Block 10 has been struggling as of late with a leadership vacuum and some ministries have suffered as a result. There is an opportunity now for some youth from Block 6 to go over to Block 10 and start a kid’s club there. In the past it was common to see 60-80 children in the building on a Saturday morning but the work had been stopped, as there was no one who wanted to lead it.

My overall impression of the 2 weeks was this: the churches and the school are doing very well. I was encouraged by what I saw and the level of commitment to God that exists among the believers in the two communities. The young believers there continue to inspire and challenge me. The school is being well administered and is fulfilling the vision that motivated its existence- to educate children in a safe environment where they could learn to love Jesus and to serve Him. Many families continue to speak of how much the school has benefited them.

The administration of camp continues to be a challenge with the return to Canada of Ray and Kelly Marshall. They had set up a group that was to meet and make decisions about how camp would function but the group is having a hard time working together and moving ahead. I spent some time with the group and some individual members stating how I saw it happening. Time will tell if this group will be effective or not. Please pray that God guide them into harmony and productive time together.

Tim

    It is the month of June.  Lil and I have moved from Elmira to Burlington and now to Cambridge in the time that I last wrote on this blog. Our months in Burlington were dedicated to helping my Dad get his house ready for sale.  He moves out in July and has found a place he likes in Oakville.

What is happening in our lives? Well, I continue with my work at the CMHA in Cambridge. It is because of this job that we decided to move to this area. Lil is still trying to get the apartment organized and to make it feel like home.  We like it. We believe God has brought us here for a reason and are asking Him to use us to make a difference.

Jono is coming to Ontario when his semestre at school ends later in June.  Katie is in Guayaquil at this moment but returns to Canada on July 1 and will be with us for three days before she flies back to Halifax to look for a job.  Please pray she find something.  Bethany starts work this coming week at a day camp run by the city of Halifax and received good news when she learned she had been accepted into journalism school at King’s College in Halifax. She starts there in September.

During the month of July I am returning to Guayaquil for a couple of weeks, from July 19-August 2.  the first week I will be leading a group of people from the Forestview church in Burlington as well as some sponsors of children in the school.  We hope to do a bit of construction but the main goal is to build relationships between believers in Bastion and Christians here.  I still believe this is important to helping the church world-wide to be united and for individual Christians to minister within the body.  Ecuadorian Christians have much to teach their North American brothers and sisters but the only way it will ever happen is if those Christians from here go there.  Economic realities won’t allow the Ecuadorian Christians to come up here to visit. So, we go to learn and to let our brothers and sisters know they aren’t alone and that we are all in need of God and seeking to acknowledge Him in every area of our daily lives.  Please pray that the time would be encouraging to the folk in Bastion and that through the time we spend there and at the camp with some of the older students from the school, that God would work in hearts.

I hope to have some photos and news after I return from my trip.

Pray for the school- there are some challenges at present with one of the little girls that study there having been diagnosed recently with leukemia.  Her family are not believers.  Pray that God work for the salvation of the whole famiy through this illness.  Her name is Michelle.

Ahora, una palabra para mis hermanos ecuatorianos- les extrañamos mucho y mi visita me dará una oportunidad de compartir cosas que el Senior me esta ensenando y dar un abrazo a mis hermanos y hermanas que tanto amamos. El Senior nos tiene aquí por el momento pero siempre estamos dispuestos a volver a estar con ustedes cuando El se dispone.  Por ahora, estamos bien, intentando adaptarnos sin dejar que la cultura de canada’ y los valores de el nos manchen y nos desvíen de lo mas importante: conocer a Jesús y servirle de todo corazón. Es una lucha y la palabra de Dios es tan importante ahora para nosotros como cuando estuvimos con ustedes allá.  Les quiero animar, que se mantengan firmes a la lectura y el estudio de la Biblia.  Nos ensena a fijar la mirada en Jesús, algo que es imposible hacer si no la leemos.  No podemos nunca ser útil a Dios sin no nos dedicamos a la lectura de la Biblia.

No vemos prontos.

con amor en Jesus, Timoteo y Lili

Dear Friends
I am now into my third week of work with the Canadian Mental Health Association and finding it challenging and rewarding. I have been able to help a homeless woman find an apartment and keep it for the last two months. I have had the chance to help others who are socially isolated start to make some connections and learn to give back to the community through volunteer opportunities. Having said this though there is a lot for me to learn.  It is a whole new area of experience for me as I learning about how to relate to people with different personality disorders and mental illnesses. The part of the job that I am enjoying the most is the chance to get out into the community and meet with the people who frequent a soup kitchen in Cambridge.  There are so many people who are lonely and don’t really have much to live for.  I have heard more about suicide this past few months than I had heard for many years.  I have been struck by how important community is and by how so many don’t have a community, a place where they can feel they belong. I remember, when I asked the youth in Bastion why so many felt attracted to the street gangs they would say that it was where they felt understood and accepted. How important the work of the church can be.  We aren’t to be just a social club but we are meant to offer a safe place where all people, regardless of race, economic standing or intellectual ability can know they belong and where they can experience God and learn how to serve Him.  If our church isn’t like that then we mustn’t criticize or complain but we must be different and by being different help our churches to open up and be places for all.  One of the biggest mistakes is to see what isn’t being done and complain about it instead of taking on the job.  If you see the problem it may well be that God wants you to do something about it and be the example for others.
Camp for Bastion is into its second week as I write this on Monday morning. This is children’s week.  Many children from the Hope of Bastion school will be there along with others from the churches in Bastion.  It is easy to imagine the shouting and the laughing as they kick around a ball or just run chasing each other. Many youth from Bastion will be acting as counselors and workers at the camp.  Please pray for them.  Pray that the word of God sown in the hearts of the children would bear fruit. Pray that those young counselors would experience the joy of leading another person to Christ. Pray for safety in the water and on land. We depend on God for everything. There is a group from Fall River, Nova Scotia this week and our son Jono is among them. Camp is such a wonderful experience for all the folk who are there, campers and workers. I miss it.  This is the second year I have been away and I wait for news vía email or text message on the cell phone. I am spoiled by the amount of communication there is.
Lil and I are in Burlington now. We are slowly adjusting to life here as well as my new job and the travel that entails. We don’t know how long we will be here but God does and we know He will lead us on the next step.
Love Tim and Lil

“..you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’  But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is HE who is giving you power…”
Deuteronomy 8:17,18

The first week of my visit back to Ecuador was exhilarating and encouraging to see all the growth in God’s people since those first years of seed planting in the early 1990’s.  A highlight for me was to attend both the Block 6 and later the Block 10 Sunday Morning Breaking of Bread and Worship services.  The Block 6 Church had about 95 in attendance, while the Block 10 group was holding it steady number of 20 or so. To hear two gifted and “home grown” speakers preach (Luis Marquez and Daniel Lucas) was a blessing to me. It is good to remember all that the Lord our God has done! I received dozens of warm embraces and catch up chats after both services.

Monday morning brought me to the weekly  Teacher’s Prayer Meeting at Hope of Bastion School. I hope I was able to encourage the small faithful group that comes “to keep up the good work”, not looking about at our brothers “who should be there too.”  After this, Marie Eugenia B(my best friend aside from Tim) and I took a 2 day holiday up to the Andes Mountains and their Hot Springs!  A glorious trip, reminding me of God’s amazing creativity in His Creation. We had fun shopping,sightseeing and catching up on all the gossip!!  Not really. Maria Eugenia was able to recount her year and how God is working in her marriage to bring healing in many ways. 
I’ll attach some of my photos from this beautiful part of  Ecuador.

If the first days in Bastion were exhilarating, the last few days were exhausting.Upon my return to the hot city of Guayaquil, I started to feel the results of 4 or 5 hours sleep each night and the inability to stop and rest half way through each day(as I do usually). Perhaps because of my physical tiredness, I started to feel emotionally drained too. And I especially started to sense a recurring theme among all the committed workers from the various Coastal Assemblies:  Feelings have been hurt.  In the course of this past year, during various conferences, camp events and other high profile ministries,once in a while, one worker has inadvertently offended another.  These offenses have lead to continuing criticism on the part of one person or group about another.  Those of us who work in any ministry within our churches have seen this type of situation. And the detrimental results.  So I came away from Guayaquil with a greater zeal to pray for UNITY among ALL the godly workers in ALL the assemblies there.

I also came away with peace that my place for the next year or more, is still Canada. That the Lord is surely working in His people in Guayaquil and the surrounding areas,to complete the work He has begun. But that my calling, right now, is to care for my parents and my children by remaining not too far away from them.

Having said that.  Jono moves out to Nova Scotia next week!  And Tim and I move to Burlington for a few months starting February 15!  Jono plans to visit Ecuador with a Fall River Youth Team from March 2-18.  He will be working at the week of Bastion Kids Camp.(and hopes to squeeze some visits to old high school buddies as well) And Bethany and Katie are both talking about making visits to their beloved Ecuador during their school breaks this spring! So, life keeps MOVING along!!

Thanks for all who prayed for my safety and for His strength to carry me. He DID!
Lil

I have been negligent in keeping all our supporters informed of what is happening in our lives.  There are a number of reasons for that- the biggest one is that I haven’t really known what to say.  I have been waiting for things to be more defined, or for words to come to me that would help others understand where we are in terms of our ministry and our personal lives. We have never been in a place like we are now. All that is really defined for Lil and I at this time is that we are on the move again but to only a temporary arrangement.  I will explain later.
First though, some words of comfort for me from Numbers today in my reading: Numbers 9:15-23 tells of the way the nation of Israel were to live from day to day. I was amazed as I thought about what it meant to Israel and its families to follow their Redeemer, their Liberator.  We all know the story or their rescue from Egypt and their travels through the wilderness.  How many of us, as we approached the chapters in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers and started reading about the elaborate plans for the construction of the tabernacle, the standards God set for the numerous sacrifices and the clothing of the priests and their responsibilities, hasn’t been tempted to just skip over that part and get to the more interesting stories? I know I am every year as I start from the beginning again and work through to the end of the Bible. I am not going to pretend I know why those passages are important for us to read in present times but I do work through them.  One thing I think is that God is interested in details.  We can forget that and only think of the big picture at times. Those passages teach me that it is important how we do things not just why and that the process is important to God and so it should be to us too.  I don’t always know what that means but I do know I want to pay attention to the process as I live and learn each day.
What struck me today was the need for the people of God to be flexible and ready to ump into action when God said: “Move.”  They could never feel too secure in where they were at any moment. Imagine organizing your life and your home based on the movement of a cloud or a pillar of fire. The whole nation was a slave to the “whims” of that cloud.  Can you try to put yourself in the shoes of a mother or a father who had to watch that cloud on a daily basis?  It moves, you move. It begins to lift and blow to the east; you pack up all your belongings, again, and follow it. And the poor Levites had to carefully pack up the whole tabernacle, everyone had to be ready at any moment to go.  The passage seems to suggest that it could happen in one day that the cloud stopped and the nation gets set up and ready to settle in for a bit then the same day the cloud started moving again. That goes against all our ideas of healthy stability.  How can you even be a stable family or hope to govern a nation when from one day to another you don’t know what is going to happen? Well, in a strange sort of way I took comfort from all of that.  I remember one of the last things that Bethany did before leaving Guayaquil a year ago, was to call together all her beloved street youth from Bastion to a campfire in front of her house in Caracol. (a small house we own dedicated to serving the needs of Canadians who are ministering in the Bastion community and the house where Bethany lived.) At that campfire she asked a number of us to share our thoughts and she also gave her goodbye message to the kids who had become like younger brothers to her and who recognized her unconditional love for them and love her for it still.  She talked about being led by that pillar of cloud. She talked about the uncertainty of not knowing where it will lead.  Little did she or I realize that her message was as much for her Dad as it was for her or for the youth she had spent so much time just being with.  As I read the passage this morning I thought of what it is like to be waiting on God to lead.  You know, when that cloud may lift at any time you don’t want to get too “settled” in one place but not being settled is well, unsettling. We like security.  We like to know where we can hang our hat.  I sometimes grow weary of not having a place we can call our own. Where is home for Tim and Lil? Jonathan has decided that he would like to finish his high school career in Fall River, Nova Scotia just as his sister Katie did. Arrangements are being made to have that happen at the end of January. Then on Feb. 15 Lil and I are moving to Burlington to live with my Dad, as he gets ready to sell his house and find somewhere else to live. At the moment he is looking at making that move in the spring.  Lil and I have no idea what we will do after that. We feel that it is a “tent-making” season in our lives as we wait for God to lead us.  I am at present, employed on a part-time basis (17 hours a week) as an Outreach Support Coordinator with the Canadian Mental Health Association in Cambridge.  I have a trip to Guayaquil planned for the month of July and after that I will be looking at either full time work or getting more hours somewhere else in order to provide for our daily needs. Or, maybe something else will come up?  God knows. In all our uncertainty we are sure that God will continue to meet our needs- that is the promise of the cloud, His continued presence.  The cloud wasn’t a promise of stability or of a comfortable life but it was a constant reminder to the people of God’s faithfulness and His commitment to them.  So, at this season of our lives, what do I ask you to pray for us?  Please pray that God will bear fruit in our lives wherever we are, whatever we are doing. Pray that He will strengthen us and help us to persevere.  I must believe that the Lord has many things to teach us at this time of uncertainty in our lives.  How about praying for peace for us, a peace that comes, as we trust Him?  Thank you.
Just a bit of news now:
I am planning a trip to Guayaquil in July and thought of taking a group of 10 sponsors of children at the school with me so that they could see where their “foster child” lives and understand what life is like for him or her. The trip is slated for the week of July 19-27 and will involve doing some light work in the Hope of Bastion School and a few days too at the beach with the sponsored children.  If you sponsor a child and are interested in joining me let me know. My email address is timorlili@gmail.com. There are 3 people who have expressed definite interest and 10 is the maximun number as there is another group going from the Forestview church at the same time.
Christmas was a blessing for us as we had Bethany and Katie join us from Halifax and also our very good friend Paul from England.  He had celebrated Christmas and New Years with us 13 times I think it was in Ecuador so couldn’t miss being with us in Canada this past December. God has been kind to us.  He is so generous and good.
News from Guayaquil:  Ray and Kelly Marshall are now at the camp and administering it. The school year has been a success at the Hope of Bastion School in the urban slum known as Bastion Popular. The church in Block 6 has joined in a missionary outreach to a small village in the province of Manabi in Ecuador where they visit and have representatives that go regularly to direct children’s and youth meetings as well as teach the Bible to adults in the area. Pray for the efforts at Las Jaguitas, that God would rise up a church there as well as workers who will dedicate themselves to preaching the word in the surrounding area.  There was a bit of a set back for the church in Block 10 as the building has been broken into twice in the past 5 months and all the plastic chairs, the fans and the amplifier and speaker were stolen.  It is a very poor church and it was with sacrifice that those things were acquired.  The building is easy to break into because the walls are only about chest level and then the remainder of the wall is metal bars that can easily be loosened from the cement.  That is how the thieves entered the last time. We are praying that God will provide funds to get the walls built up and windows to be fashioned and inserted as well as a secure metal door made.  Then it will be more encouraging to the church to buy chairs and a new amplification system, as they will be safer from theft.

Just to finish: I would invite you to check out the Hope of Bastion web page.  Here is the link:  www.hopeforbastion.org or you can google it at Hope for Bastion. There are changes all the time and lots of new photos going up.

Thanks for supporting us in all the different ways you do,

Dear friends:It is time to write again, time to update all of you who have been so faithful to pray for us and to support us whether through gifts, emails, phone calls, or at times a hug. I also am including people who sponsor children at the Bastion school in this letter for reasons which will be obvious later.Today is actually our anniversary. It has been 10 months since Lil, Jono and I left

Guayaquil and this is the longest we have been away from there since 1993. These have not been easy months but we can say that God has been faithful and, in spite of all that isn’t yet, and can’t be, defined as we look to the future, there is no doubt in our minds that we are to be in Canada right now.

Guayaquil is very much in our thoughts every day. Just today I have received a phone call emails and a number of text messages from Bastion. Also I have chatted on msn with Carlos, a young man who lives near the camp and who trusted Jesus as his Saviour when I was visiting

Ecuador in June. (He seems to be doing well spiritually in his first months of new life)

For our whole family Guayaquil is home and each of us has talked about a trip back in the coming year. Lil will be the first as we have a ticket booked for her to go in January to be there for the final weeks of school before their 2 month winter vacation. She hopes to get some time with the principal and staff at the school as well as some other friends and encourage them in their ministries. Jono is talking about going down for camp in March and seeing his school friends as well. Katie and Bethany are looking at the summer and I am planning a trip for two weeks in July (I will get back to this later in the letter)

Lil and I have struggled to know exactly what to do while we are in Canada, especially as we don’t know how long we will be here. Very early on in our time I felt it would be right for me to get involved in service and went to downtown Kitchener to volunteer at St John’s Kitchen, an eating place for people who live on limited resources. I love it there and have had the opportunity to meet many people who would be considered to be on the fringe of society but who can teach me so much about living from day to day. There are many sad stories too of mental illness and many who have self-destructive habits and the kitchen gives me a chance to be a channel of God’s love to a group of people that many in the larger society would have nothing to do with. One of the other joys for me is to meet some of the large population of Latin American immigrants that have come to the

Kitchener area and I have been able to make some friends in that community. In addition to this volunteer activity I have started going into the Elgin Middlesex Detention Centre in

London to run a chapel service on a weekly basis there and to also visit the offices of New Life Prison Ministry and help out by marking Bible correspondence courses that inmates in different institutions have studied.

Lil has been spending time in and near our home. She is most encouraged by the friendship God has allowed her to have with one of our neighbours, a Japanese woman whose religion is Buddhism. She knows nothing about he claims of Jesus at all and Lil has had many interesting conversations with her and recently giving her a Bible. We are praying for her salvation. Lil has also been able to get involved in a woman’s Bible study with some women in the community a number of which are from the Wallenstein church. The Hope of Bastion School is still very much a part of her daily life as she has been administering the child sponsorship programme and supporting Nikki Horne in her role as field worker for that programme. In terms of our children, Jono is doing well. He was able to pick up a job at a local grocery store and he is balancing that activity with involvement in a youth group at Woodside church and of course his school work. Bethany and Katie are getting good marks in their programmes at Dalhousie

University in

Halifax. Katie is leaning towards a degree in Psychology and

Bethany will have to decide if she wants to go to Journalism school at the university next year. We are in regular contact with them and although we are still far away, we are a lot closer than when we were in

Guayaquil and we are able to be more of a support to them both morally and financially as we are here.

I was sensing that God wanted me to get some more experience and to continue learning and also as life here in Canada is quite a bit more expensive than Ecuador we began to feel that it was time for me to look for some paid employment. We had been praying about it for awhile and I had sent some resumes into different social service agencies but nothing much happened until I received a phone call from the Cambridge Mental Health Association who were looking for an Outreach Support Coordinator, a person who would go into the community and seek to develop relationships with people who experience mental health or addiction problems and aren’t currently receiving any sort of assistance from any other agencies or organizations. I had two interviews with their search committee and the made me an offer of employment. It is a part-time position of 17.5 hours a week and in many ways is ideal for me. I have received formal training in things like suicide prevention, life planning, crisis planning, and have been learning things which will make me a more effective counsellor of people with emotional and spiritual needs. The fact that it is a part-time position allows me to continue my volunteer activities too. For now this is what God has me doing with my time. We are thankful for His faithfulness in meeting all of our needs.The future for Lil and me…? Well, it still isn’t clear to us what that looks like. (I am glad it is to God though) We are trying to learn to live one day at a time and wait on our God to direct us. We are at peace for now even though we miss our friends in Guayaquil terribly at times. Our parents have had some needs over these past months and it has been our privilege to be around to be with them and encourage them. My mother’s death on May 3^rd has changed the dynamics for the whole Horne family and we all miss her. Lil’s mother fell and broke her wrist a few days ago so Lil has been able to go and be with her parents. All of this helps us to see that God is in control and He has us here for a reason. Jono is deciding to go to

Fall River, Nova Scotia to finish his high school studies off. We don’t have peace with going out there with him, not with my new job and other commitments here. All of that will happen, as God allows, in January of 2008.

I referred earlier on in this letter to my trip to Guayaquil in July. I am hoping to go for two weeks. One of those weeks will be with the express purpose of taking a small group of 10 people who sponsor children in the Bastion school with me so that they can get to know their sponsored child and their family as well as see the community where they live. I will be giving preference to people who haven’t been to

Ecuador before and as only 10 will be in the group, it would be good if only one or at most two went from each sponsoring family so more sponsoring families can be represented. I would encourage you to contact me soon if you feel this trip might be for you. Write to me at timlil83@hotmail.com to get more info about the dates I have set apart for this, potential costs of the trip or to sign up right away. The 10 spots might go very quickly- I have no idea as I haven’t done this before. If there is enough interest it might be something that could be planned again in the future as God provides and allows.

Thank you again for caring, praying, giving, supporting.Love Tim and Lil

July 2007

 

  I left Guayaquil on June 24^th.  It was much easier leaving this time than when Lil and I departed in January along with Jono.  I am not sure why other than the fact that Lil would be waiting for me at the Toronto airport.  There was probably a lot more too.  In January, I didn’t know what we were coming back to and now I have a better idea. Then I had no idea about the future but now we are getting some ideas. Then I felt a little guilty perhaps to be leaving our brothers and sisters there to what I worried was an unknown fate but now I know more than ever that their lives are in God’s hands and He is more than capable of taking care of them and leading them. What a foolish thing really, to worry about people that God loves much more than I ever could.

  Upon arrival to Guayaquil near midnight on June 7, Dad and I were met at the airport by Felipe, Rolando (Block 6 elder) and his children, Luis Marquez(Sauces Church elder), Jorge the bus driver and his wife and Rolando’s sister and brother-in-law. An unusual welcoming committee but one I was very happy to see.  We were driven to The Caracol Subdivision, to Dale and Janet Horst’s house. There Nikki H. and the two Douglas girls were waiting and, after giving us a few instructions, left us so we could get some rest.  I was thrilled to be back in the heat and noise of Guayaquil yet strangely reluctant to make the trek across the road the next morning to go to the school, perhaps afraid of what the people’s expectations of me would be and how I would respond. It was, again, all wasted anxiety.  From the very first moment I felt nothing but loved and then loved some more.  Day after day that acceptance and gratitude in the Bastion folk was expressed to me in numerous ways: shouts of “Timo!”, hugs galore, kids grabbing onto my legs and almost felling me, as well as all the huge smiles and the cheek on cheek kisses. I often felt people kind of melt in my arms as I hugged them. They had missed those hugs and I had missed providing them.  From that very first day the running began: up and down the hill, from street to street, house to house, greeting and being greeted by friends and church family. I guess what most overwhelmed me was feeling the great privilege that we had been granted by God to have been there for the length of time we were and the way that He had allowed us to become part of that community and for it to become part of us. Lil and I are rich. God has truly been good to us. We know the place, the culture.  I said to one family at one point during the visit: “We gave ourselves to Bastion” and the comment came back: “We know, that is something you don’t have to tell any of us here.”  Even as I said that I thought of the more that I could have given were it not for my own selfishness and love of comfort. But, that is another story.

   Before I went down I realized that the best I could give the Guayaquil church during this short visit was encouragement and Bible teaching. I was also motivated to PRAY with the church while there and tried to do so after each conversation or visit in the homes. I was never left alone to sleep in the house in Caracol as Felipe always joined me sometimes along with Rolando and Jose.  Other nights we were joined by William, Julio Cesar, and one other night by Carlos, Alex, Ivan, Daniel, Raul and Armando. Much was talked about: their lives, the word of God, their work for God, the past 5 months and its activities, the church, their families.  We would always pray together too before disbanding. These were important times for all of us. Rolando especially was eager not to let any opportunity go by and was over at the house as much as he could be.  He expressed that he felt alone as the only elder of the assembly too many times and that gave me the opportunity to challenge some of the others to step up and stand beside him. My feeling is that the church is healthy and that there is better communication now than ever between its members.  Rolando has always been very big on communication.  My concern is that it all passes through him and he won’t be able to sustain this pace. I had the chance to express that concern to him and the other men.

  I also spent a couple of short nights in the house of Amarilis and Wacho in Block 10.  I say short nights having been again reminded of how busy families are this time of year. Schools send so much homework and special assignments for the children to do that it leaves little time for family.  And the situation only worsens if the parents have encouraged their children to get involved with extra-curricular activities like track and field or karate. At Wacho’s the kids were working until 11:30 at night and then awakened at 5am in order to finish some assignment for school.  A crazy pace to have to sustain for 9 months.  The second Wednesday night I stayed there I was able to talk with Wacho and Amarilis about their lives and church. It was profitable. As I thought about the Block 10 church I realized that at this time it is a rather unique place, a community of believers without a real leader.  Daniel doesn’t want the recognition and won’t get it anyways because of his young age (22?) and Wacho is afraid of it and has not ever really stepped forward to claim it. My feeling is that the church just has to be patient.  It is true that there are pastoral needs not being met at this point and that concerns but there is a very healthy youth work and the church does invite speakers for the weekend meeting as well as meeting together on Wednesdays to have a prayer and testimony time. Block 10 Church is a different church to Block 6 and I believe that with time and patience a leadership team will develop and rise up from among the believers.  Patience will win the day if the people can just hang in there.

   Two important events were the dedication of the Kindergarten classroom to Mum’s memory and the Mission meeting that followed soon after. The memorial service was a chance for the school and its staff to reflect on its beginnings and the part that Mum and Dad played in prayer and support throughout the years. Dad spoke of how the school was no person’s but that it was a work of God and belonged to Him.

   The Mission meeting was a chance to communicate some things about camp to the group; the coming of Ray and Kelly Marshall (Belleville area) and the policy for the use of the camp until they arrive to take over its administration. Rolando was again elected as President of the Mision Evangelica Esperanza de Bastion Popular.  Sandra gave a report as to the operation of the school. There was a good spirit among the members, although most aren’t really sure what the purpose of the Mision is yet!

   I was asked to share from God’s word twice each Sunday and also shared during each of the mid-week meetings in 6 and 10.  I also spoke at the youth group in Block 6 on the Saturday night before flying out of Guayaquil with my Dad. I would say that I felt as comfortable speaking as I ever have and the audience concentrated at each meeting. Before I traveled down to Guayaquil I had also asked God to give me the joy of leading one more Ecuadorian to Christ.  During one of my visits to the camp site at Arenal, a young man who had befriended Brian Stubbs and then Harold, the man who, with his family are staying at the camp until Ray and Kelly arrive, came up to me and said, “Timoteo, I want to give my life to Jesus.” I asked him to think about his decision and said I would talk more about it with him the next day. He showed up and wanted to know how to be saved.  Harold and I sat with him and read him various verses from the Bible and after explaining to him that following Jesus wasn’t an easy thing asked him if he still wanted to trust Jesus to save him and guide him from now on.  He said he did and prayed with me to receive Jesus as his personal Saviour.  Carlos Arias Briones is his name and I need to pray for him in his new life.

    The visit of two and a half weeks came to an end quickly.  I spoke to the Bastion church on that last Tuesday night and asked them to pray for us as I plan a trip to Eritrea (East Africa) in October.  I asked them to think outside their community and pray for Eritrea and for God to show us what the future might hold.  The church is now aware that God’s plans for us may take us elsewhere. It was tough news for them but they also have given us that freedom. It occurred to me that the easiest thing for us would be to return to Guayaquil.  It would be easy because we know and are known in that place but I am almost certain now that in another sense it would be wrong because I do feel that God is asking us to move on and if God is asking us to move on then we won’t be at peace being there.

     God was good to me. I had the chance to see everyone I wanted to see.   I learned how to let go just a little bit more, to step back and give up authority and I saw how God was working and will work to grow his church.  Will it all last forever there in Bastion? No. The work is still fragile and could collapse at any time if God were to take His hand away. I am aware of that but it doesn’t mean that nothing good has happened. Many lives have been changed.  Hope has visited and is now living in the lives of people who before didn’t have a source of true hope.   

     

june visitjune visit

I will be sifting though my thoughts over these next days and giving some details for prayer and thanksgiving but suffice to say for now that I am very gratified and encouraged by the church and the school in Block 6 of Bastion.  I spent a lot of time with Rolando and Felipe as well as some of the youth leaders.  There were many to see and there was much to talk about.  One of my friends said to me: “Timoteo, te ves como un pez en agua” and it is true, I felt like that too.  I gave God thanks for the time Lil and I have had in the Bastion community really getting to know it.  it was and is a privilege to feel at home there.  More later

Welcome to the new Esperanza de Bastion web site.  Thanks to Rob and Jon for their work on this.  My Dad and I are flying to Guayaquil on Thursday, June 7.  Pray that this be a  time of encouragement to the folk there at the school and in the church.  My desire is to share from God’s word in different church meetings and in times of counseling.  I have been more and more convicted by our role as Christians to do that.  There is so much that needs to be done in a third world country and among the poor and many organizations both Christian and non-Christian are doing a lot of work to alleviate suffering and help people to overcome circumstances and get some economic independence but we have something else to offer, the message that brings eternal hope and that is what we need to concentrate on.   That was what Jesus gave priority to in his own life.  If we as Christians  don’t help people to understand God’s message, who will?

Tim