In General
I finished my structured Spanish learning at the start of September, finishing level 6 of 12, which means I got through the imperfect, perfect and pluperfect but escaped before the subjunctive tense.
I´ve decided to attend my local church, Iñaquito. The building holds approx. 800 people and there are three (soon to be four) Sunday morning services. The church was started by HCJB in the 1950s for their missionaries but is now organised and run by Ecuadorians.
Work
I started two weeks ago in the Water Projects office and have been getting reacquainted with the water engineering I studied at university. At present, I´ve started a study into the feasibility of chlorinating the water supply at Carabuela, a large community to the north of Quito where construction of a supply network is currently ongoing. I have also tentatively begun outline design of a community latrine block which we may have the chance to plan and implement for a community to the west of Quito amongst the Tsáchila (Colorado) people. The Tsáchila are regarded as an unreached people group. This is an area in which Water Projects has not worked before. Please pray for opportunities to improve physical and spiritual health through our work there.
My time in the Water Projects office won´t just be spent in engineering. HCJB are currently developing a programme aimed at encouraging people from Latin America into world mission. This year, I will be subject to the mobilisation programme as it is developed to give feedback. The programme will cover five areas; spiritual formation, theological education, vocational experience, cross cultural skills and experience, language acquisition. Amongst other things, I will be spending some of my week continuing Spanish learning and studying the theology of community development. I will also be learning some Quichua, the native language of the communities in which Water Projects work. It will be good to be able to speak some words of their first language but, as it is completely unlike any language I know, progress will be slow! I have also started to study “Celebration of Discipline” by Richard Foster, a book I was given at Christmas last year but haven´t had the guts to start until now! Please pray for me as I learn through all these activities. I´d be interested to hear your thoughts on the “Celebration of Discipline” book too if you have ever read it. We will be joined next month by two work teams who will stay with at least one community and participate in the construction of their water system. The New Zealand work team will head off to Carabuela on 29th September to work on that project. The Harrogate work team will arrive on 21st October and will be staying for two weeks. Please pray for the safety and health of both teams, their witness in the communities, that they will gain a clear understanding of Water Projects´ work and that they will be encouraged in their own walk with God.
Next week (29th Sept – 2nd Oct), I will accompany one of the Water Projects engineers on his visits to a number of communities in the Carchi and Esmeraldas provinces in the north and northeast of the country. It will be a great opportunity to see a number of different projects and cultures and experience a warmer climate!!
Ecuador
Sunday, 28th September will be the vote on the referendum in Ecuador to vote on a new national constitution. This topic was the subject of many heated debates between the teachers at my language school. As voting is compulsory for all, this week leading up to the referendum, both sides for “Sí” or “No” are bombarding the airwaves with arguments for and against the Constitution. The document is incredibly wide-ranging in that it is a blueprint for the operation of a country. Please pray for the continued stability of the country after the vote and for safety in our travels on the day of the result!
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