In the last 10 days...

On Saturday morning (not this last one but the one before that), Vickie and I attended a seminar that an HCJB radio mission pastor was leading here near the school. We had our kids relaxing, studying, playing soccer with friends, etc. so we could focus on the meeting. About one hour into it, one of the school’s chaplain leaders came to find me. Yep- that is never a good sign.

We followed him out the iron door gate and headed toward the fence around the AAI school soccer field to see Kayla lying flat on the 1940’s vintage wood bleachers. Yet another thing that is never a good sign. The ice bag on the knee told the story. Knee injuries are tough to diagnose, and especially tough when they first happen and you don’t have x-ray vision. So, we chose the ice/rest/wait till Monday morning approach. After the taxi left to take her up the massive hillside street where we live, our attention turned back to the seminar. Vickie and I breathlessly hurried our way back in and tried to refocus. Of course the morning break began about the time we rejoined the group, so we thankfully had a cup of coffee to settle back in. It was then that I noticed I had missed a call on my tiny cell phone from an unknown number. Again, this is never a good sign. As I began writing, the phone rang again, and so I ducked outside to catch it. Our daughter Kelsey began with “Dad, we have a problem.”

Our son Karson and our two college daughters were slated to fly out to come to Quito, and they should have been leaving Birmingham that morning. We knew they had made it to the airport, and we were excited that by midnight we would see the three of them! The only problem now was that Karson’s passport was too close to expiration for him to fly. God gave great grace and miracles with friends in Birmingham, and with the government, and with the airlines for Karson to go that Monday to Atlanta to get a renewal. Delta allowed him to then be able to fly out that Monday afternoon to join us by around midnight.

So our family time together here (except for Kollin in Ukraine) began with a couple of glitches but then settled out quickly. What now? Well- it came to diagnosis time for Kayla and “the knee”. So this required an X-ray, then a doctor visit, then an MRI at 8:30 PM at night a couple of days later, then a report the next day… (all of this was in Spanish, all of this via taxi or walking, so keep this in mind as you casually think of your American doctor visits)

Now hold all those pictures in suspended animation while you change scenes. This scene involves our adopted son Kyle, age 19. He is here with us. It is no secret that kids from backgrounds of abuse, and neglect, and from birth parents that abused alcohol don’t always make the best decisions. He came to be with us between 12-13 yeas of age from an orphanage, and yes he came from a background like that. And, true to form, he has made several decisions lately that just don’t make sense. So, let’s just leave this poor judgment crisis running in the background for now while we tackle other issues.

So here we are on Monday, getting ready for some sports tryouts for the boys. The doctor in a routine physical exam for Kole and Kory shows me a funny heartbeat in Kory. This little discovery leads to an EKG, and then to a cardiologist visit today. This points to the need for an echocardiogram set for tomorrow, and then 24 hours of wearing a heart monitor. We’ll find out more later on this matter. Oh yes, and he failed the eye test on his physical too, so we scheduled the Ophthalmologist visit on the same day.

End result? He needs glasses. Should be interesting to strap some vision correction on this boy who climbs, jumps, grabs, throws, swings, runs, and flips on a moment-to-moment basis.

Now while these little events are going on, let’s circle back to Kayla’s “knee” and see how that is going. Off we go in a taxi with our films and MRI results to Metropolitano Hospital. Our very confident doctor takes a look. The verdict comes back for Kayla- it’s a blown ACL (I’ll spare you the medical jargon, but suffice to say that this is not good news). So now the dilemma is when to schedule surgery for her.

Okay- now you all know plenty of ways to pray: wisdom, grace, sustaining strength, and the opportunity to display Christ in all these difficulties.

Vickie and I obviously have been less than focused on normal work deadlines in the last few days, so we would seek grace for this as well.

Thank you for your help and prayers for us, we praise God for your faith!

The Gospel and Thanksgiving at AAI in Quito

 This Sunday afternoon, if you could be an electron on the Google Earth screen of your computer, and fly up from “Where-ever-you-are”, and drop down to our flat spot next to Juan Jose Villalengua Street and into our school conference room, you would find a small gathering of part of our school faculty. We’ll be gathered there for a brief time of prayer, sharing, thanksgiving, and encouragement in the word.

We won’t be focused on turkey and dressing, because we won’t be cooking any that day (although we will be later in the week Lord willing!)

 We will be there hearing from one another, praying for one another, and offering thanks to God for His work on our behalf in so many ways!

So if you are reading this now, I would ask, for the sake of the truth of the Gospel message, and for the sake of His glory to Ecuador and to every nation, that you might spend 5 minutes praying.

Pray for our time on Sunday both in house church, and in the faculty gathering.

Pray for R. and S. and B. and C., who are men that God has given to me to mentor in word, and prayer, and simply in “life on life” experience. Pray for a 5^th one that seeks to be led but whose work schedule seems to prevent it.

Pray that our English conversations/relationship multiplies into their Spanish conversations and relationships that make disciples!

Pray for M and B and their kids, a cross cultural family that is part of our house church, that God would use His word to have eternal impact through their lives. Pray for wisdom for us as we walk together in the gospel.

Pray for lost students from 23 countries at AAI to be open to the Gospel. There are Buddhist kids, atheist kids of missionaries, unbelieving kids whose parents are Roman Catholic in family tradition but who have no relationship with Christ, kids whose parents are living in other countries for economic reasons, and a myriad of other situations.

Pray for our AAI staff to be encouraged, and to be strengthened by His Spirit to obey His word, and to be the gospel in all ways.

Pray for Vickie and for me, for our marriage to display the glory of Christ, and especially for wisdom in Christ to lead our family, and to know how to love them well in the midst of mission, in the midst of multiple cultures, and with the unique challenge of 5 adopted plus 4 biological children scattered on 3 continents.

1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Things to think through on Friday afternoon

A few little things about life here, that you probably take for granted in Birmingham daily life... that you might smile about.


1) dishwashing machines -a rare thing here, and we have the dishpan hands to prove it.


2) Natural gas line direct to your house - we have 4 separate propane tanks... one tank for the stove, one for the dryer, and two for the beloved calephones (water heaters)...these tanks are about twice as large & heavy as a US propane tank, and yes they do run out at 5:30 AM- I have experienced it.


3) Starting a car and driving wherever you want. - You think the DMV is trouble there? Ha! Step one toward even getting a license here (legally) is a blood test, yes a blood test.


4) Lanes, driving in lanes... no such thing.


5) Seasoning packets for tacos, chili, etc., virtually non-existent.


6) You cannot bring your grocery basket through the cashier line, so you leave it and unload onto the conveyor belt, thereby leaving a mass of baskets in the way. I mean hundreds of them.


7) No dropping your bills in the mail for phone, electricity, etc. You go stand in line and pay a service company to pay your bill for you. You pray they don't ask you complicated questions while you are in line.


8) Everywhere has an armed guard. Everywhere. Get used to it. 


9) Flat sidewalks without tripping hazards. Really?


10) Car alarms are like my night time lullaby and my alarm clock now. They put me to sleep. They wake me up. 


Thankful for all of you-
Blessings!
Chris and Vickie

The Old, the New, the Secret, and the Glory… (not in that order)

So the end of last week was just a bit weird, since the Ecuadorian folks have paired up a couple of holidays back to back, and then these holidays run up against a Friday so, you guessed it, they take that day off as well. All that means is that we finally had a couple of days out of the school routine to enjoy together. I have not seen so many closed storefronts since Christmas day in the states.

During this slack point in the schedule, our family got to make a trek with another family from our house church to the Old City part of Quito. We really only touched on some of it, so I look forward to more in the days ahead, but let it suffice to say that it is quite fascinating to look at the place, where at least 500 years of culture have blended in one spot.

Take a look at this wonderful spot for a relatively new church plant to meet together out in a small town about an hour away in the rural area East of Quito. We were so humbled to ride out on a Sunday morning with our friend Les, a very kind Ecuadorian pastor/church planter, to visit and help them clean and organize the tiny donated space. We stopped along the way in a village to pick up some paint to cover up the moldy ceiling. A pig was being slaughtered 25 feet away from our van as we awkwardly waited.  I was so thankful to be able to pray for these brothers and sisters in Christ as a group as they begin meeting together there in the town.

If you don’t know it yet, the Lord graciously allowed us to host Secret Church here at Alliance Academy. Keep in mind, this was at the final day of a 3-day holiday and on a Friday night also, and we still had almost 30 people attend! It was an incredibly encouraging time to be worshipping through the word with other believers in Ecuador, and Birmingham, and around the world.

In addition, we had the chance to gaze at the glory of God through His creation as we rode a cable car up the side of Pichincha, and then hiked a breathless trail onward and upward to about 13,500 feet to catch a quick glimpse of Rucu Pichincha volcano’s peak (over 2000 feet higher than this photo point) before the clouds engulfed us all on the mountain.

We are thankful for God’s glory expressed in each of you and would ask for you to pray for us as we seek Christ more to use us to be the gospel to kids and parents and teachers placed here from 23+ countries. Pray for us to be wise about leading our own children, and especially for our children scattered on 3 continents. We face an interesting array of opportunities daily that can detract from our focus on gospel advance, so we seek you to pray early and often for how best to make disciples in our family and with our family.

Blessings!

Chris and Vickie and family