Jim and I are making preparations to return to Ecuador.  We will be there from September 12 to October 10.  Jim has been spending most of his spare time learning Spanish and the rest of the time doing biblical research, as you can tell from his blogs.  

I have been busy with Ladies Bible study, teaching ESL and getting some Spanish in where I can.  Our church is studying Step by Step through the New Testament, so I am doing it both in Spanish and English.  That alone gives me a lot of practice in Spanish.  I need more conversational practice, though.  One program I have found very helpful is the Pemsluer Method.  It is really good for someone like me who has already had Spanish. 

We are working diligently to get our debts paid off so we can go to language school and be appointed by the IMB.  Our other organization has not shown much interest in us, so we decided we will either do it on our own or go with the IMB volunteer program.  We have been encouraged to go with the IMB by IMB personnel.  They said Jim can go just about anywhere with the experience he has as a handyman.  He could prepare housing for missionaries coming to the field.  
 
 
There is something I had not mentioned before about the possibility of going to teach at the Nate Saint Memorial School.  God called me to missions when I was a young teenager.  After reading Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliott, I felt a tug on my heart to go to Ecuador to that particular regions.  We can’t question God’s timing nor His methods.  He led me into the field of teaching which prepared me for the position open at NSMS.  He led me into the Army which prepared me for overseas travel and living.  He led me into battle zones to prepare me for any living conditions I may encounter.  Who would think that my calling would finally come to fruition.  I am so humbled that God considers me worthy of carrying out His mission to the world.  Every job is important, and without someone to teach the missionaries’ children, the missionary couples would not be able to devote their all to the mission God called them to perform.

by Debbie