finally getting somewhere?

We got word last night that our visas have been issued and are finally on their way to Toronto. When they arrive we will have to arrange to have a brief interview at the time that we pick them up. So it looks like we might finally be getting close to heading off. I know that I am not holding my breath until we get them in our hands though!

According to Lloyd and Linda Rogers they have never had a visa application that was as difficult to handle as this one and no-one knows why it has been so much trouble. Apparently they even wanted to hold on to our original documents to the point that he had to pay to get them back! Nevertheless, we are making progress and hopefully we will be able to fly in a few weeks.

Here's one of the better maps of Ecuador as it clearly shows Playas on the south-west coast and the also the city of Guayaquil where we lived previously from 1995 to 1997. It is from this city that we expect that the bulk of the campers will come from.

What's Next?

Kelly and I had a fun weekend. We visited our daughter Holly in Kingston and had a great time together. We went up on Saturday afternoon and took her out for supper to a restaurant of her choice where Kelly and I had fish and chips and she had, surprise, surprise - a veggie burger!

We spent the evening watching "Volver", a Spanish movie with English subtitles which allowed us to brush up on our language skills without having to work too hard. Then we had a sleepover in her little apartment. We slept on the futon and once again found it to be remarkably comfortable.

In the morning we went to Holly's new church home which meets just around the corner from her apartment. It is called "Next" and it is an interesting experience if you are open to different ways of "doing church." This was the second time that we have been there with Hols and we found that they were just as warm and friendly as our last visit which bodes well for her. The first to welcome us was the same official greeter that we met the last time. He gave us a big smile and although he was wearing an Ottawa Senators shirt, he seems like a real nice guy! Outgoing and friendly, he is exactly the sort of extrovert that you want to meet you at the door. It turns out that his uncle used to be the pastor when Kelly went to the Free-Methodist church in Frankford about...well, I won't tell you how many years ago! Once again we tried out the "fair trade" coffee that was on offer. I downed mine before we got to the pew but Holly is delighted that they let you take...no, encourage you to take your coffee right to your seat if you so desire.

It is great to see that they have quite a lot of kids. In fact probably half the church is composed of young couples and their families, which answers the ongoing question that many churches have as to where the 20's-40's are. Could it be partly that they make it so easy for families to be there? A couple of pews have been removed and replaced with couches which the younger kids clamber over. We saw parents changing their babies right in the pews and no one batted an eye. The kids were allowed to move around a bit, even when the service started and it was refreshing to hear their chattering, squawks, and general restless energy until they went downstairs part way through.

Once again the music was well played by the praise team and their selection of songs was intriguing and thought provoking. A couple of Bob Dylan and U2 pieces that were obviously written at times of personal searching were helpful in letting us identify with some of our pew-mates and reminded us of our need to seek and find answers to some of the nittier, grittier questions in life. They brought to mind some of the psalms of David with their anguished cries during times of severe trials. However, I personally would have liked to see at least one piece that was unashamely and pointedly worshipful as when they so did the last time that we were there it changed the whole tone of the service. I imagine that they are trying to make their service as seeker friendly as possible and on the whole I think that they accomplished this, but they have no problem in proclaiming the Word of God and making it relevant to a modern world so I think that maybe they need to find a way to do this with their music also.

Gary was the speaker this morning and he shared some thoughts about love. His style was very relaxed, thoughtful and appropriate, with some great personal stories and insights to help us understand the different kinds of love that we see described in scripture. The admonition to "love one another" as he imagined that John might have said it was unforgettably dramatic.

We were all invited to stay for what they described, if i remember correctly, as a "lucky lunch" as opposed to a "pot-luck". Holly was delighted to see that the first four dishes were all veggie-vegan! Always one to try any kind of food I found that the veggie chili tasted pretty much like non-veggie chili! I also tried a number of other dishes that I was unable to name but they mostly tasted yummy for the tummy!

After we sat down at the table the pastor and his wife came and sat beside Holly and struck up a conversation with her. Kudos to them for making a point of doing that! They are a young couple in their mid-twenties and obviously have a sensitivity towards God's leading in their lives. While we were eating and making friends with some of the folks we had a visit from a couple of people who were giving out free energy saving porchlights! Naturally Holly took one even though she has no porch light but between the free light bulb, veggie food, U2 music, colourful hippie style clothing of some of the folks and overall relaxed friendliness of the place she is convinced that she has found a group of people that might think about church the way that she does. I even noticed that she was paying attention all the way through the sermon as she made a comment to me about something that Gary said when he was deep into his presentation. This is a good thing!

I would love to go back sometime and see how they run their small group studies. It appears that they have a number of them going on during the week and have obviously had some success with their overall strategy as they have already planted a second church about 10 blocks away. If you love to research on the web or are just incredibly nosey like me you can check out their website at:

http://www.nextchurch.com/

So, although we are still waiting patiently for our visas we are finding useful ways to spend our time with family and new friends and know that God knows best when it comes to matters of timing.

Here is the verse for today.... thanks to the Next crew!

Romans 12:10

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

May we all be committed to carrying out this command and demonstrate Christ's love to all our fellow Christians.

Snail's Pace

Things are still moving along at a snail's pace where our visas are concerned. We found out yesterday that Lloyd had to rewrite our letter of guarantee because he had used one verb in the present tense rather than the future tense. Having said that, he is still hopeful that we might get a final go ahead in the next few days.

The Daily Struggle

I found this quote today and thought I'd share it.

"I write these words at the age of fifty-five. During the past ten or twelve years, I have often - and with greater seriousness than ever before - reflected upon the course of my life. Certain patterns of thought and attitude and conduct have come to light, some of them quite disturbing. I look back upon repeated failures in my efforts to subdue inner conflicts and fears, to combat immaturity and self-centeredness, to build genuine and enriching relationships with other people, to conquer besetting sins, and to grow in holiness and communion with God. I now see that every period of my life has been marked by…struggle. But the persistence of the failures, together with a growing understanding of the past, has made the struggles of recent years exceptionally intense and painful."

I can fully understand the writer and also relate to the words of the apostle Paul who wrote the following:

Romans 7

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

In a strange way I guess these quotes make me feel better as this is also the way I feel about my life. Every day it is a constant struggle to be the Christian I want to be. I fail my Lord in so many ways but thanks be to God, He is gracious and merciful to me. There is no question that I need to become more like Jesus in order to carry out the Great Commission and draw people to God.

Two Days On The Road

Kelly and I just got back from two days on the road with Living Books. We spent the time visiting a number of accounts in Eastern Ontario and saw some beautiful Fall colours while driving through the Madawaska region. Sales were down but that is to be expected at this time of year in what is essentially a tourist region. We had an enjoyable time working together again and it gave us a preview of what we are going to be able to do in Ecuador when once again we will be working with each other a lot.

We finished up the trip in Bancroft and took the time to visit my brother David and his wife Eleanor. It was good to catch up on each other's news as we really have not been able to spend much time together over the last couple of years.

Verse for the day

John 5:21
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.

The Colours seem so much brighter when you are there!

I think this is Purdy Lake

The sign on the chip wagon pretty much says it all for

Ontario's camping region at this time of year

some good news

We got some good news this morning when we found out that our missing marriage certificate has mysteriously reappeared! This is good because now we do not have to worry about ordering a new one. It should mean that our visas could be on the way in a few more days. I don't think we will really believe it until we are holding them in our hands however.

more snags

I know that this title is "Life on the Beach" but as you can tell we are still not quite there yet. Although in our hearts we are getting closer we are still far removed physically. Yes, we are still awaiting our visas.

The latest on our ongoing visa saga goes like this. The Ecuadorian consulate is insisting that we still need to give them an original certified copy of our orginal marriage certificate despite the fact that this is not on their list of requirements! This is further complicated by the fact that they now say that they do not have the orginal that we sent them and that they claim that they have in fact never received it. We suspect then that they are asking for this further document to divert attention from their unwillingness to admit that they have lost it, or simply that they are holding out for a bribe..... which would not be unheard of.

Kelly and I are going up to Toronto to order an "urgent needs" copy of our marriage certificate and a long form, certified version of the document. Hopefully this will satisfy their requirements and will finally move the process along. However, we only have a certain amount of time to get this document to them before they can decide that the visa application is dead in the water and that we need to begin the expensive process again.

Although it all sounds frustrating we are at peace with it all, knowing that, as Lloyd Rogers the Ecuadorian missionary says, "The Lord's clock is neither a minute too fast nor a minute too slow." We are happy then, with His timetable and will trust that He will deal with this stumbling block in the way that He deems best.

We are having a good time together with our daughters this weekend. Holly is down from Kingston and we picked up Jessica from Redeemer in Ancaster on Friday. They both seem to be settling in well to their studies this year. Holly is enjoying her Spanish/Italian major although she is finding it tricky to keep both languages apart. Her favourite course is Romance Philology which is a study of the roots of the romance languages. Jessica is enjoying her first year of university life and likes most of her courses, particularly the History of Eastern Europe.

We went to Kelly's parents for Thanksgiving Dinner yesterday; sang and played together as part of the praise team at church this morning and are heading up to my parents this evening. Then it will be a quiet day tomorrow until we take Holly back and Jessica heads off with one of her friends.

Verse for the day:

Ephesians 5:19,20

19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Few Family Shots

From left to right: Kelly, Jessica, Holly and Ray

Holly and Jessica enjoying a recent family vacation in the States

Jessica and her main man, Christopher

Holly posing like a prima donna

the hinge of history is found on the door of a bethlehem stable

Currently I am an independent distributor for a company called Living Books. I distribute Christian books on racks in stores throughout Eastern Ontario. The interesting thing is that none of these racks are in traditional Christian bookstores but rather they are placed in grocery stores, drug stores and general stores. This means that we believe that we have the opportunity to reach people that normally would not go into a Christian bookstore. That is exciting!

Although we are confident that many of our books are purchased by a knowledgeable customer base who are looking for good, solid Christian teaching there is also an element of the unknown to it all. Who else is buying these books and what is happening in their lives as a result? Which brings me to this morning's devotional in the Daily Bread.

The writer believes that the course of history was changed when Christ was born in that stable in Bethlehem. He also suggests that the future course of our lives are changed when we choose to follow Jesus. Which brings me right back to these books that I am distributing. How are the futures of our individual readers being changed by these books? Hopefully there will be some surprises for us in heaven! That thought encourages me on the days when sales are not that good or when a receiver in a big chain store ridicules me as happened yesterday.

To read today's Daily Bread just click on the link below:

http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb.shtml


Verse for today:

There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11

El Faro De Esperanza

A Map of Coastal Ecuador. You can just make out Playas on the coast, southwest of Guayaquil.




I thought that maybe it was time to fill everyone in a little more about this expediton to Ecuador that we are undertaking. As many of you may know by now we have been invited to take on the role of camp administrators at “El Faro De Esperanza.” The name simply means "Lighthouse of Hope" and is particularly approprite given its location on the beach. The camp is located on the Pacific Ocean just outside the small town of Playas (Beaches), or to give it its proper name, General Villamil and it sits on about two acres of property.

Playas is about one hour’s drive from the big city of Guayaquil. Some of you may remember that we served there in that city as a family between the years of 1995 and 1997. The camp was recently constructed by a number of North American teams in conjunction with local Ecuadorians and is the result of the vision of our good friends Tim and Lil Horne.


Tim and Lil began asking us to consider becoming involved in this new ministry about 2 years ago but at that point we felt that we were not quite ready to return to missions. Although we have oftened talked about it as a family we had made a commitment to Holly and Jessica that we would not take that step until they had left home. So at that time we turned the Hornes down. They lined up another couple to come down and they intended to be there last Fall, but sadly the husband developed brain cancer and they had to pull out. Once again we were invited and this time we agreed provided that the Hornes could find someone to oversee the construction project and watch over the property until we could get there this Fall.


Holly and Jessica are now both at university; Holly at Queens and Jessica at Redeemer so we are empty nesters and a little more free to take a big step like this. They are both behind us going and are looking forward to coming down and visiting with us. In fact they still have friends there with whom they are occasionally in contact.


We anticipate that we our main goals there will be threefold. Firstly, to run the facility and help develop awareness of it so that it can be used to its fullest potential Secondly, to begin to develop a board of Ecuadorians who can take over ownership and responsibility of the camp at some point. Finally we hope to see the camp being used as a springboard into the surrounding community with a goal towards seeing a ministry begun amongst the local people. We know however, that it will be the Lord's will what gets done in Playas, these are simply the goals that we believe He is placing in our hearts.

I am including some photos of the camp whilst it was under construction

The view from the director's house towards the beach.

You can see the four cabins at the far end and the open air dining hall at the right

A close up of one of the four cabins under construction.

Construction underneath one of the cabins.

The kitchen in the director's house.

Verse for the day: Psalm 109:30

With my mouth I will greatly extol the LORD; in the great throng I will praise him.

Still Waiting

Kelly and I are trying to be patient but it is not easy. We are still waiting for our visas and found out last night that apparently the ecuadorian lawyer needs an original copy of our original marriage certificate?!?!?!? We are not sure what that means but Lloyd Rogers was planning to go and visit the lawyer today to see exactly what they are after. So our plans to be gone by the first week of October are now definitely on hold!

We do have a nice pic of our new home though.

At least this is what it looked like while it was under construction!

Verse for the day:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33).