SOMETIMES PLAN "B" IS GRADE "A"

This morning, Julie and I had the rare (summer) opportunity to go out for coffee, together. We left the house just before seven and enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Magic Bean Cafe. Around 8, we got a call from our Awestar team that they would not be able to do the three dramas that were scheduled. You have to understand that events in latinamerica are either 1) not planned at all or 2) planned to the hilt. The pastor with whom were were to work today, is the second type. When I called him, he was obviously disappointed, to say the least. That was when I went with our Plan "B."

Actually, I had not even known that I had a Plan "B" until that moment. I called our son, Bryan. I said, "Drag your brother out of bed and bring the instruments to the 'Bean'." A few minutes later, they were there and we took off in the car for South Quito. En route, I called Lyndi and Nicole. They are summer missionaries working with on of the churches in South Quito. In a few minutes, they were in the car and we were headed up the hill to Jesus is Lord Baptist Church. We explained to the pastor that we were "the group" and he could not have been happier. They played the guitar and drums and sang some songs in English and Spanish. Matt and Lyndi gave testimonies and I taught a Bible lesson and the pastor preached. We had a good turn out and our minutes and minutes of practice were not wasted!

Sunday on the Equator
Our Awestar Drama Group went on Sunday morning to Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World). It is a national monument and is the traditional location of the equator. Just to be fair, the later went to Intiñan (Path of the Sun) where GPS indicates that the equator is located. At both locations, which are only 400 meters apart, they presented a powerful drama. People were very responsive.

Who Are These People and What Are They Doing In My Yard?

For several years in Peru, and now, in Ecuador, we have had the priviledge of working with AweStar Ministries (www.awestar.org). AweStar provides a time of discipleship for students who go to several countries with an evangelistic drama. If you look closely, you will see that Matthew, Katie and Thomas are all involved in the drama, this year. Pray for the red tape to be cut that is not yet allowing us to present the drama in the parks and plazas of Quito.

We were invited to go along with an Ecuadorian Church from South Quito on a mission trip. They teamed up with doctors from HCJB Radio's hospital and the plan was to do an outreach in an isolated mountain town. Friday June 1st we picked up Thomas and Matt from school and headed south. "We" were Byan, Andrew Pieper and myself. We met up with Estevan from the Shekinah Baptist Church who was to be our guide to the mountain village of Sigchos. There was only one problem...Estevan did not know where Sigchos was, either!

The trip took six hours and four of them were on dirt roads. We stopped every time we passed someone and asked the way to Sigchos. It was not an easy drive, especially when the sun went down but we made it despite a washout and having to go into four wheel drive. We arrived too late to show a movie as we had hoped, but started bright and early the next morning. We got to watch this church swing into action and do an incredible job of putting on a medical clinic and evangelism. We thank God for the local churches taking on the Great Commision and moving out into other cultures and people groups.