New Year, Fresh Start

    Hello dear friends and family. A lot has happened since our last couple of posts, and we'd love to share about it with you all! Around Christmastime we were able to share in a very special service at our church in Carcelen. The church had just finished some interior renovations, which gave the congregation an altar for the very first time! It was a wonderful celebration with worship music and dance, Christmas carols, and a mini children's Christmas pageant. We were overjoyed to share in this special Advent season with our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters in Christ.

Praise and Worship in Carcelen Church

Three wise men visit baby Jesus in the children's Christmas pageant.

    Then in late December, Ian and I were able to come back to the U.S. for two weeks to spend Christmas and New Years with my (Hillary's) immediate and extended family in Florida. It was such a huge blessing to have this time with family!

Relaxing together outside: Dad, Ian, Me, Israel (our little cousin), and Lauren

Mom and Twins

      As soon as Ian and I returned to Ecuador, we got right to work preparing for our new NILI students who were coming in two weeks. We learned quickly that our roles in NILI were expanding greatly this semester! Starting next week, Ian will be teaching two classes: Christian Faith and Introduction to the New Testament, twice a week. And last weekend I (Hillary) began serving as NILI's Student Life Director, helping our students with day to day needs such as making sure they have hot water (we have a gas system) and ensuring the quality of their meals on campus, coordinating student events, and just being there to help with transitioning into another culture.
 

Waiting with the seminary students for our NILIs to arrive at the Quito airport.

       Last weekend, Ian and I helped conduct the NILI orientation, discussing life on the seminary campus, safety, and cultural differences and giving tips to help guide students throughout the semester here in Ecuador. We also helped give a tour of the little "barrio" (town) near the seminary called Carcelen, and on Saturday afternoon we visited the Equator!

Visiting the Equator with our four new NILIs: Emily, Chad, Cristina, and Raven.

    Sunday evening we had a blast welcoming the new seminary students and new NILIs by hosting an evening of ice breaker activities, games, and fun. We are blessed with an amazing group of students to serve this semester!

"Foto Loca" (Crazy Picture) from our Welcoming Party for new seminary and new NILI students.

    We are both so thankful for the roles we have been given within NILI this semester.  It is a joy to be able to use our gifts and abilities to serve the Lord in student ministries here on the Nazarene seminary campus. This truly has been an answer to our prayers, and we look forward to what God has in store for us this semester!

NILI 15: First Semester in Video Review

As we gear up for our second semester with the NILI Program here in Quito, Ecuador (students arrive next week), here is a look at some of the highlights from our first semester with NILI.  We made this video especially for our traditional students--the four girls you'll see throughout the video--as a parting gift for them to take back and show their family & friends, but we thought we'd share it with y'all as well!

CENIC, Our Sister Ministry

    We are so thankful to have successfully completed our first semester with NILI! A couple of weeks ago, our NILI students completed their final projects, took their final exams, took their last trip (to the Galapagos Islands!), and then headed home. The semester ended very well and all our students made it home safely.  Thanks again to all of our friends and family for your continued prayer and financial support! These first few months have been full of highs and lows as we transitioned into living in another country/culture and as we've settled into our roles here with NILI.  God has been incredibly faithful to us each day in our ministry here, though, and we know we wouldn't be here without His grace and without your encouragement and support! Now it's one semester down, two more to go.
    In addition to performing our NILI responsibilities this semester, because of the small number of NILI students and the relatively large number of volunteers, Ian and I have been serving in an on-campus ministry called CENIC. CENIC is really a sister ministry to NILI, since the monies raised by both go directly to support the missions work on the North Andean Field (Venezuela, Columbia, and Ecuador). But while NILI is a Spanish/ministry immersion program for North American college students, CENIC is a center for conventions. CENIC hosts camps, retreats, conferences, and other special events on campus, serving the Church of the Nazarene as well as other churches, organizations such as World Vision and Compassion International, and for-profit businesses.

CENIC's main tabernacle/convention center on the Nazarene seminary campus.

    We have really enjoyed serving in CENIC because the work has been so versatile. I (Hillary) have primarily been helping out in the CENIC office Tuesday through Friday in the afternoons. I answer phone calls, check emails, update calendars, and complete financial reports, summarizing CENIC's weekly and monthly income and expenses. But when needed, I have also done laundry, made beds, tidied dorm rooms, re-stocked toiletries, and gone grocery shopping in preparation for the groups CENIC hosts. (Our largest grocery run included buying 50 raw chickens, 12 bags of potatoes,15 three liters of pop, 2 carts full of fruits and vegetables, and much much more. It was quite the adventure!)
   When CENIC has had large groups this semester (the facilities can hold a maximum of about 230 individuals), Ian has helped several seminary students prepare for them by moving platforms and benches, setting up tables and chairs, and cleaning dorm rooms. But Ian has also helped paint and do odd jobs when CENIC was renovating several of its dorm rooms.

Inside the tabernacle after CENIC helped set up chairs for the graduation ceremony.

      It truly has been a blessing to be able to work with CENIC this semester. Since NILI didn't have quite enough work to occupy us fully, we were very thankful to have this other opportunity to serve a great ministry. Through the conferences and retreats CENIC has held, individuals have experienced Christ and the power of His Holy Spirit. We have heard wonderful testimonies of people being saved, sanctified, and healed of very serious illnesses. Please join with us in praying for CENIC as it continues to grow, serving the people of Ecuador and bringing in funds for the North Andean Field.

Thanksgiving (better late than never)

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

-1 Thess. 5:18

I (Ian) recently shared this verse with our NILI group here in Ecuador, during our last group devotional time.  That time just so happened to be the afternoon of Thanksgiving Day.  I reminded our group, as they prepared to end what has been a very challenging experience--studying abroad for a semester--that the command here is to give thanks "in every thing," not for every thing.

Studying abroad this semester has been challenging for our students; living abroad for these first 3 months has been very challenging for Hillary and I.  Yet, even during those times when we are less than thankful for our trying circumstances, we have this command to give thanks.  In fact, the Scriptures tell us that "this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

The will of God is something that college students and young, recent graduates like ourselves are constantly asking about.  To the question, "What is the will of God for me?" one answer the Scriptures give is "to give thanks!"

For what, though?  Many things, but the Psalms give us some of the best reasons:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.  (Ps. 107:1, & many other places)

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness. (Ps. 7:17)

Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men (Ps. 107:8,15,21,31)

The command to give thanks in the Scriptures is rooted in the character of God.  He is good.  He is righteous.  He is faithful.  Etc.  Though our circumstances may often try and tempt us, God's character remains unchanged;  therefore, we have reason to "give thanks in every thing."

We are thankful for how faithful our God has been to us so far in our time here in Ecuador.  We are also thankful that he has used you to bless us in our time serving here.  Your prayers have been felt.  Your support has extended our reach and eased our minds.  Your willingness to send us a quick message has encouraged our hearts.

WE GIVE THANKS for our great God and how is has been at work through you to bless us!