Untethered Pilgrims

Admittedly, it has been months since I have been able to write. Freedom and I have been feeling like there’s a new season on the horizon since we sold our home in the States. I think there was something quite final about that. Over the years, we have moved many times. We realize that in the midst of so many changes, we lose things and give things away. Things with history, objects that lived with us, stop telling the story of our lives. We have a few keepsakes but no real heirlooms. And while we know that God has called us to be missionaries, it doesn’t take away the pain we sometimes feel as untethered pilgrims, with temporary “tents,” so to speak. 

We have been blessed to continue the work we do with kids, teens, and young adults. Freedom was able to publish our latest Revelations of the Artist book in March. Meetings in our home have continued to be a blessing, and we had the pleasure of joining a new home church in Quito Ecuador, called Ekballo Church.

All the while, we have felt a sort of incubation in the Spirit—a type of silence and seeking after Him.

The completion of our fifth year here will come in September, and has shown that we have accomplished what we have set out to do in that time. We felt that we should ask the Lord to show us what the next five years will look like. Interestingly, this is around the time our daughter, Kayla, said she would want to go back home. But she has made Ecuador her home, Quito is the city she loves, and her small group of friends has become a light of belonging that we have prayed for. She is not ready to leave this calling and this place. And neither are we. 

So we ask daily, “Lord, show us how our work should change? Should we continue to work in the same way?” There arose a longing for a space of our own. When we look back, we see that a plan for a creative center was always in our hearts, as expressed in our first book. And so, we find ourselves in a huge city, wondering where God would place an art center for ministry, and how it would be possible? 

For starters, we do feel equipped for it. We feel trained for this work, and that is a gift from the Lord. We only need to find the place and the community of faith that will be built from it.

We know God is faithful. We can trust Him. Change is something very common to the missionary. We listen, we go, we sow seeds, we water, and then we listen and go again, as He leads. 

February and March brought us a season of retreats. Two in which we both served separately, one in which we served together, and one in which I went as a participant. There were definitely some highlights as we saw lives changed and hearts brought closer to the Lord.

KIDS CAMP

During a kids' camp, little girls talked about the names they have been called by their parents, family members, and their peers. Through tears and prayers, we could see God healing them and comforting these painful places in their lives. Some of the girls said these hurtful names out loud. 

“Useless.” “Stupid.”

Two girls cried because their moms are gone, one in jail, the other left to the United States. Dads are not even mentioned sometimes.  

When we served with the homeschoolers’ retreat, we listened to two young men share about their struggles with loss. As ministry/missionary kids, they have experienced extreme change and loss many times. It’s a reminder that if we are challenged by these things, the kids also feel the effects of it in ways that are probably more difficult. 

Teen Retreat

One of our teens said, “I’m losing my friends, and my cousins are also moving back to the States; I just don’t feel I am doing anything important here.”  

Another teen said, “I am leaving my life here in Ecuador, my dad is stressed out, and he takes out his frustrations on me sometimes. I just feel like I’m not good enough.”

Still another said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard the Lord, thank you for speaking to us.” 

We heard several teens talk about loneliness; some made a commitment to the Lord and to each other. 

We’ve had some wonderful times in ministry. There are stories that we treasure in our hearts. We are grateful. Even though we don’t have many answers right now, we know God has called us to this beautiful country and its people. My people.

For us, building a “home” means having a place in which to cultivate hearts that love Him. It means that He is our heirloom, our treasure in the pots of clay that we are.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers, and thank you for your continued support. If you would like to support our efforts in opening an art ministry center, you can do so in two ways:

With gratitude,