Classes, Crutches, Caliphones, and the Gospel

Thursday was day one. It was “opening day” for students at Alliance Academy here in Quito. We bounced and rocked our way (with our kids in a van with us) out of our little town square, and then on to the Autopista to head up the mountain toward the toll-booth, while the engine strained like a mixer in a bowl. Then we turn and climb for the next 25 minutes along a fast road called Simon Bolivar, where the hairpin turns make your weight shift from one side of the van to the other in a “not-so-smooth” motion. Now this road, that winds back and forth along the ridge that leads into Quito, is sort of like a Six Flags ride. As Ann Coe put it, “Can we get a bar to pull down over our shoulders to hold on to? ” If you know which direction to look, you can see 5 different snow- covered volcanoes on the way between the clouds in the valley below and the wispy white clouds above. (Birmingham is a beautiful place, but you won’t exactly see this type of scenery on the way down Highway 119 in the morning.)

The last few days have been interesting regarding mobility. Kyndal fractured a bone in her ankle and tore some ligaments about 3 weeks ago, and it took about 7 days to discover this bone issue. Once the swelling went down some and the pain persisted, we had a bilingual helper go with us to a hospital in Quito. Yep- she got a cast from toes to mid-calf. Crutches are obviously needed. I plan on shooting a video of the walk from our newer place to the bus stop here so you can get a feel for the terrain she has had to negotiate on two aluminum sticks. Let’s put it this way. I enjoyed a whole other level of cardio workout for a couple of days where I gave her piggyback rides for some of the rougher parts of the trip.

I may have mentioned the water heater issue at our new spot up the mountain. After a half-day repair process, we got it working to the point that you could manually “light the rocket” and get some hot water. After several days of this practice we decided to spring for a new one. These little machines are called “caliphones”, and after a half-day venture to the local “home-depot” type store, we had our friend Ephraim help install it. Beautiful.  Now only one problem now. It runs about 1 minute and then, surprise! Out comes the chilly mountain water. After about 3 days of experimentation, it was time to take further action. My friends at Alliance helped us get a technician on the phone. The next day I timed my departure from school to get to Conocoto to meet the tech. He calls while I am on the bus and I manage to understand that he is at the gate and I tell him 10 minutes. At bridge 6, I hit the ground running and make it to the gate. No tech. Then 2 phone calls later I realize he is at the “other” gate - the one about ¼ mile down the mountain. So down the hill I go to find him. Wow. He’s at the bottom of the hill all right. No truck, no taxi. It’s just him and a backpack with a few tools in it. Are you kidding me? Okay, we then both trek back up the mountain. Summary- high temp switch is broken (on a brand new machine), it will be Saturday to replace it, but thankfully he fixes it temporarily so we get a treat of automatic hot water for the first time since we have been in this house!

But the Gospel is beyond this, more important than this, and it will outlast all of this. And when I stood in the school on Thursday morning and watched 600 faces of the next generation along with their parents, from all over the world, walk in and begin a year of Gospel influence, it renews in my heart the reason why we are here.

Pray for a Biblical Gospel to be shared here. Pray for a glorious Gospel to be shown. Pray for a righteous Gospel to be taught daily. Pray for eternal responses as we serve the world.

So thankful for all of you!

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

On A Clear Day...

Someone, maybe one of my sweet daughters, snapped this picture back in late June as we were exploring a cultural route before any mission teams arrived here.

I have it here because a) it points to the glory of our God, and b) I thought it is a good photo to accompany the following scripture passage.

My first day serving with the leadership team at Alliance Academy was Monday. God graciously allowed me to have the chance to lead a devotional time there. This meant walking out of the metal gate below my casa at 6:30 AM onto the dusty road, already showered, shaved, dressed, fed, and prayed up for the day. Clear and chilly air that makes your breath come out in a brief cloud in August- amazing. There are always lots of paths to choose from when you have the chance to lead, but why talk about anything else other than what is below?

Psalm 145:1-21

I will extol you, my God and King,

and bless your name forever and ever.

            ²      Every day I will bless you

and praise your name forever and ever.

            ³      Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable.

            ⁴      One generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

            ⁵      On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

            ⁶      They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

            ⁷      They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

            ⁸      The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

            ⁹      The Lord is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

            ¹⁰      All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your saints shall bless you!

            ¹¹      They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

            ¹²      to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

            ¹³      Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

                  [The Lord is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.]

            ¹⁴      The Lord upholds all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

            ¹⁵      The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

            ¹⁶      You open your hand;

you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

            ¹⁷      The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and kind in all his works.

            ¹⁸      The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

            ¹⁹      He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also hears their cry and saves them.

            ²⁰      The Lord preserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

            ²¹      My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Here are my thoughts on vv 14-21:

·      Watch for the merciful character of our King.

o   He meets needs of humanity regardless of their response to Him.

o   He hears the plea of humanity when they call to Him in truth.

·      Watch for the eternal justice of our God.

o   We must continually consider the devotion of our own lives…

o   We must continually consider the outcome of the lives around us.

·      Let our lives continually speak His praise.

Blessings!

Chris and Vickie and family

Now and Then

Blessings!

Yesterday was move in day. Now it is time to move in to the camp area house. Two flat bed loads up the mountain with our suitcases and beds and 4 pieces of living room furniture, and at least 100 plastic bags with the bed covers, cereal, and the pots and pans, and the toaster, and the plastic plates that we brought with us from the states, and the towels. Oh yeah, and the borrowed whiteboard goes also. The 8 plastic chairs and the painted white wooden table we use to dine on stacks easily. 

Then it is unpacking time. Now it is time to empty and store your suitcases in the washroom out back. (Need a padlock) Then it is time to hold a handmade ladder still in the back of the flatbed while a nimble boy from the orphanage climbs and replaces a small bulb in a security light outside our house. Now it is time to replace gas regulators that go on top of the blue propane tanks that hopefully will heat some water for us and cook our food. And then it is time to work on the leaking sink, again (success!). And now it is time to work on the water heater with my friends Ephraim and Marco. (No success-maybe tomorrow?) And then it is fix the drawers in the cabinets time, and then it time to do the "walk" to the bus stop. Time to go get some food because the small stove didn't make it up the hill yet (long story) and get some screws and a couple of light bulbs. Then it is time to ride home and do the "walk" in reverse from the bus stop. Now it is time to manually start the water heater three times while some kids get showers. Then it is time to fix the drawers (again) since you didn't have the fasteners to do it earlier. Then it is time to clear off your bed, then pray, then collapse. 

1 Timothy 6:7-9

 ^"...for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. "

Left, right, left…

If you want to catch the bus toward downtown Quito, or if you want to catch a bus toward San Rafael or San Luis areas to buy something, then you need to put on your walking shoes. And you need to be prepared to pass through multiple economic levels while you go.

We are more acclimated at this point than ever to the altitude, so I can probably challenge you to a conversation contest while walking to catch the bus and win- since I have had plenty of practice. What I mean is this: first you walk to get outside of the orphanage grounds, then once outside, take a left. (See beautiful picture with purple flowers at the home of a physician)

 Next, you walk a hundred yards further and go past the trash bags suspended in the tree, with live chickens enjoying the grazing on the sidewalk. (See second picture-chickens and trash)

Once you pass the graffiti wall and the gravel area leading to the fork in the road, you will see yet another part of the route for getting to the main highway for the bus. (See picture of Nichols family headed down the rough path). This part of the walk leads to the footbridge suspended over what I affectionately call the “Valley Of The Falling Pigs.” (More explanation on this in a later blog)

So after you walk across the VOTFP (see above) you walk up the cobblestone road past the men and ladies working with shovels and “shwapping” concrete up over their heads as they complete the third floor of an apartment house.

Finally, 150 vertical feet higher, you reach the highway! Now you can turn and head downhill to the bus stop. If you are going to Quito, you will need to (yep) climb the stairs of the Puente 7 crosswalk and go to the other side of the road to avoid being killed by the traffic roaring down the mountain.

Now it is time to pray for a seat on the bus, because your heart is racing from the walk, and it would be good to sit for a minute. No such success, the bus is full, and there is a lady breast-feeding her baby with no cover next to where you have to stand, so you graciously crane your neck to look at the man in the aisle next to you who is studying your backpack. Finally you get a seat. Across the aisle are two native Quechan Indian ladies that you can pray for as they sit silently in the midst of the commotion and Latino rap music blasting around them. And it hits you there-just how limited you feel sometimes, and just how glorious our God is, that He deserves the praise of every one of the people you have just gawked at, avoided, or prayed for.

So pray that we continue to seek this purpose: His glory in every nation.

Blessings-

Chris and Vickie and family

Turning Our Attention

 We (Nichols and Coe families) just sent the other strand of our Ecuadorian cord of families back stateside last night as the Brock family headed back to Birmingham for one more year (?) before turning to come back south. We are praying for their year of transition to go well. So, what now? Can we reflect a moment?

This summer- what can we say? It has been incredible to see the Lord’s grace in our teams at work. Teams from Texas, Arkansas, and Alabama have come here, and we have seen God use them to teach and care for orphans and their care-givers, and we have seen God use them to help the work move forward for much needed repairs to the orphanage houses/infrastructure. We have seen them look and listen and pray as we verbally paint the picture of completing a gospel-centered camp here on the mountainside to lead Ecuadorian children to become world-impacting disciple-makers, and to train leaders to multiply the church. We have seen the Lord give grace with relationships, we have seen His word and prayer change attitudes, and we have seen His strength when we are exhausted.

We have preached the gospel and presented the directive for Christ’s mission at every opportunity, and we have urged and pressed groups toward word and prayer while they are with us, and challenged them to never look at life the same when they leave. We have asked them to pray for this 2% of their life to change the 98% back at home, wherever that may be.

And now we turn our attention. Vickie and I, along with Ann Coe, are gearing up for work. School starts soon, and we all are praying for God to work through us and give grace for our children and us as we venture daily into downtown Quito. We want to serve the nations with the gospel at Alliance Academy. Last year there were 29 countries represented there. Can you imagine the chance to walk and talk the gospel in front of families from 29 countries in one place?

It will be a challenge, but also an incredible opportunity for multiplying the gospel. Just to give you a snippet, we had a few students from the school help us this summer in translating for Rock the Block and soccer camps. I shared with them about adopting children into our family. They asked if it was expensive to do it? I said “yes, but we were following God’s direction and so He provided what we needed.” They immediately responded with, “God talks with you?” What an opening for future conversations about the gospel with them.

Hope you enjoy the photos…they tell some of our recent days in sharing, showing, teaching, and serving. Pray for our housing transition here from orphanage area to camp area!

Chris and Vickie and family

^{Hebrews 13:20-21} Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, ²¹ equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.