February Prayer Letter

The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Proverbs 16 v 9

El Corazon visit
In mid-January I visited the community of El Corazon with Martin Harrison and two visitors. El Corazon is located about an hour from Quito at the foot of the El Corazon mountain, it is a mestizo community with no church nor any Christians living there. Some attempts have been made in the past to capture the springs up in the mountain and bring the water down to the community using a hosepipe arrangement. We climbed up 1000m above the community along the pipeline to the spring capture, finding numerous pipe breaks and that the inlets were clogged with silt. The locals who accompanied us said that they had not had water for over two months. HCJB will commence design of a new system in the next few months which will bring water direct into every home. There will also be opportunities to carry out activities to share the gospel through words. I hope to return in June to help with a team of vets who will attend to the community’s animals and run a kids’ club.

Martin supervises the excavation of our pick-up during a “pause” in the mud on the way up the mountain!

Shell
I travelled down to Shell, on the edge of the jungle, at the end of January to take the Leadership course and to work for a time alongside Alex and Alfredo Leon. Alex (English, Isle of Wight) and Alfredo (Ecuadorian) are both water engineers. Together they form the Water Projects Shell office carrying out projects in a very different environment to our other projects in the Sierra (mountainous region) and Costa (coast). Almost all the communities in which they work can only be reached by air and by walking. The logistics of travel mean that they are away from their Shell home for a week at a time. Work has therefore been even more challenging since Benjamin, their first son, was born in September.
Our plans for January had been to fly into the jungle and walk to the community of Amazonas where we would work for a week. Unfortunately MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship – with whom we fly) have been struggling with new legislation which, so far, means that none of their non-Ecuadorian pilots are permitted to fly. At present, MAF have just one Ecuadorian pilot upon whom their full workload has fallen. Consequently, we were unable to make the trip as planned to Amazonas. Instead, I worked in the Shell office for nearly two weeks, completing drawings and designs for another project. It was very satisfying work. I stayed during that time with an Ecuadorian lady, Martha. Previously, Martha had worked as a maid to a missionary family but with the departure of that family last May, so her job departed also. It was a privilege to be able to help her financially for the 10 days I stayed with her.
I will be returning in March to Shell to stay until the end of May. I will be working in the office and in the jungle to construct a water system in the small community of Mutints. I hope to spend a lot of time in the community, working on the project and building relationships with the people there.

Wheaton College Folk Religions course
Last week I attended a course on Folk Religions at HCJB under the auspices of Wheaton College. Despite missing the first two days due to flu, I found it fascinating since it was a subject I had little explored before, especially coming from a Western, reformed background. The course emphasised the importance of exploring the culture first and understanding the origins of the traditions, rituals and customs in place before sharing the gospel. The oft-repeated phrase “Jesus came to save us from our sins” can completely intelligible in some cultures where the nature of sin and an all powerful God of love are utterly foreign. It has provided much food for thought as I prepare to stay in the jungle communities.

Parents
My parents arrived last week and have been enjoying getting to know Quito and the various areas of service in which I participate in here. They have volunteered at Spotlight Listeners Club where Ecuadorians come along to listen to a very clear English radio broadcast and hold discussion in groups. The discussion questions are presented so that an opportunity to share the Christian faith is afforded. My parents each ran a small group and had a great time doing it! On Sunday, my dad came along to chop vegetables and serve food at Pan de Vida. Pan de Vida is a food programme for the less fortunate of Quito. On Sunday, the programme includes a church service and provision of a hearty meal. Other programmes throughout the week include a clothes closet, sewing lessons and after-school help for children.

My parents and I at the HCJB compound in Quito

In the next month…
- taking time off work to travel and spend time with my parents before they leave 9th March.
- moving to Shell and starting work on water projects there
Prayer points
- Pray for wisdom as appropriate activities and studies are planned to coincide with the Water Projects work in El Corazon. Pray that God will be preparing hearts in that place for the time HCJB will be in the community.
- Pray for MAF who are struggling to complete their work and that enough flights can run to permit the Water Projects work in the jungle communities to continue unhindered. As you can imagine this is a frustrating time for MAF.
- Pray that my parents and I will have safe and enjoyable travels around Ecuador.
- Please continue to pray that I will be able to discern God’s will for my life in relation to longer term international mission service.