Sun, Internet, Dr Who and Bible Studies

         Good Friday morning and I do mean good.  I am sitting here in the sun.  Yes you heard me right, we have sun today.  This is the first sunny day since we arrived the first week of February and I am beyond excited.  I am even prepared to sweat a little this afternoon if it will just hold up and stay sunny all day.
         Praise God that we have internet in our house once again and that we have a God who cares about the little things in life.  However, now that we have internet Joe and I don't have any excuses for not answering emails and blogging more often... gulp.
Most of you know about our newest addition, Rose Tyler.  I thought I would include some pictures to show how she has grown over the last 5 weeks.

        Last night at the ladies meeting at our church, our pastor's wife, Blanca spoke about tending to your spiritual life like it is a plant and that really spoke to me.  Am I weeding enough?  Am I catching enough of God's sunlight?  Am I soaking in the rain and fertilizer? or are my leaves turing yellow and fading?  I really need to make sure that my spiritual life is flourishing enough that I can produce flowers and be aware if my leaves are turning yellow and fading.  

Shell Life

Last week there was a talent show at the missionary school here.  Our friends, the Irwin family, made this amazingly talented video about life here in Shell.  I hope you laugh half as much as we did.

Sorry For the Silence

Well, we are back in Shell and what started out as very fast internet when arrived, died a quick and permanent death, so sorry for the silence, but we will hopefully get internet back this week.  While checking my enormous amount of email today I came upon this wonderful video that my friend Ty Stakes did of our time in Nepal.  I hope you enjoy.

Amazing Things God Allows Us To Be Involved With

So here is one of the most amazing things about what we get to do.  This summer while we were in Ghana this guy showed up for some medical attention to his foot.

Yes, it is bad and really this picture doesn't do it justice.  It was amazingly horrible.  A nurse, Sheila Leech cleaned  it out best she could but really there wasn't much more that our doctors could do for him.  He needed to go to the hospital.  The Ghanian missionaries who were with us through TheoVision went to visit with him that afternoon to see how they could help.  That was all we knew until...

This story came out.  Read the "rest of the story" and see how God works.  We were just so honored to have been there in the beginning to see first hand how God is able to do amazing and wonderful things through ordinary situation.

Returning to Ecuador

Well, after a month working in Ghana Africa and 5 months in the US it is now time for us to return to service.   We will be returning to Shell, but with the hospital closed, we will be working in different ministries.  Joe will be working with Community Development on medical outreaches.   Tracy will continue to homeschool both children.  We are still seeking God's will for our future, but have made a 6 month commitment to Community Development in Shell.  Please pray for us as we seek God's will for our future.  

We are hoping to have all of our visa documents by Monday and hopefully visas by Tuesday and then returning to Ecuador by the first week of February.  We have had a wonderful time in the states reconnecting with friends and family and watching the children learn more about American culture and the glories of the "land of good and plenty."  

Please pray for our trip back to Ecuador and for our family as we readjust to a different life in the same place.  

HCJB Global is now Reach Beyond

As many of you have already heard HCJB Global has changed its name to Reach Beyond.  Below is a video from our president, Wayne Pederson explaining the change and our future as a mission.  

Leaving Africa

Tonight we leave Africa.  It has been a wonderful month and God has been so present.  Please pray for us as we fly out tomorrow to spend a few days in London with a friend and then return to the states.