2025 Reflection
Teen Retreat 2025
As the year comes to an end, we reflect on the blessings we have had. Honestly, as missionaries, we measure our success by how much we were able to pour into the relationships around us. We have said goodbye to some of our youth who have graduated high school, but we have also welcomed new friends and young adults who tell us they are thankful to have a home to come to for encouragement. We have done workshops and outreach to two new communities, all the while, sharing the Good News of Jesus while creating a space of rest and creativity. In November, Freedom was able to lead three teaching sessions at a teen retreat while I led the creative sessions. I have been weekly pioneering art sessions in a site that we previously only saw once a year.
It hasn’t all been output. The Lord led us to a time of rest as well since we haven’t taken time for furlough these four and a half years. While furlough for missionaries usually means meetings, training, speaking, and fundraising; we actually took time to rest at home and focused on some devotional time as a family. Our daughter Kayla was going through sadness, having said goodbye to most of her friends who were all older than her. There are also new connections and friends for Kayla that came out of the teen retreat. We are grateful for this comfort for our daughter and look forward to some new experiences for her. One of our ministry sites remained closed in September and October, so we found that the fall was a much needed time for tender loving care for our family.
Some of the teens we serve — Kayla is second from the right and Nancy and I are second and third from the left. We are partnered with the Bormans (Father & Daughter Team) first on the left and right.
The month of December brought us many new experiences connecting with several groups like End Slavery Ecuador, the Carmen Bajo women’s ministry, and a remote public school in an indigenous community. This group of kids live about four hours from Quito. The small school had only four rooms. We belive the Lord will lead us back there to support and partner with a local youth leader named Sarita.
What we have ahead of us seems, at times, insurmountable and yet we know that God is able to give us the strength we need. We will be going to the States for a couple of weeks on New Year’s Eve to empty out our house in Georgia. We are in the process of selling it as we cannot continue to maintain it without a huge financial toll. We look forward to reconnecting with our sending church and, for Kayla and I, it will also feel comforting since we haven’t been back in about two years. Freedom’s mom, Carmen or Mama Llama, has undergone an intense treatment in her fight with cancer and now suffers from after effects. It will be an important time to visit with her and see how we can help her situation.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for partnering with us financially and in prayer. We would not be here without you. One of the greatest highlights this year has been how much hosting we have done out of our home in Quito. We have invited so many people to come and break bread and have Bible study with us. It seems incredible that we are able to serve so many communities from such a variety of backgrounds. How can we be in connection with over 400+ children and young adults, with seven ministry sites from a variety of backgrounds. It can only be because we are not alone. We are empowered by the Lord and we have you, our partners in this ministry. As the year comes to an end, please consider an end of year donation. Tell your church or small group about our work. We would love to share about our passion to reach the children, teens, and young adults in Ecuador.
