Three Weeks In

It’s hard to believe that over three weeks have passed since we’ve landed here in Ecuador. This past week a pastor from Costa Rica (originally from Minnesota) has been staying with the Jonkman’s to help teach a course at the seminary campuses as well as preach at the Jonkman’s church. One night when we were talking about their lives as missionaries, Nick (the pastor) said that after a little while, missions becomes just like a normal job, and can become mundane at times, just like it can when in North America. While we haven’t felt like that (and probably won’t in only a three month stay), I’ve felt that “normal work” vibe pushing in through the excitement. The novelty of Spanish being spoken around you all the time has worn off as the mental sweat of listening intently trying to pick up words occurs in our brains. While Rebecca can pick up far more than I can, she is still trying to keep up with all the new vocab by having a written list of words she doesn't know for later research and practice. We both find we’re mentally tired after hearing a full day of Spanish, though the most intense day is Sunday where it’s all around you.

Some of the local scenery/doing dumbbell curls with Jesse

Our projects have been going well. The ESL classes through the church start up on Tuesday, and last week saw us lesson planning and tweaking. While one of the goals of the class it to improve the participants English (especially pronunciation), the main goal is for locals around the church to be brought in. The lessons will incorporate bible stories, and hopefully some lives can be changed with the Gospel. A back up plan is to just have Jesse sit outside the main door the church and draw foot traffic in with his blue eyes – people can’t get enough of them.

The web design is going well, with 1 ½ of 4 websites currently built. While a good portion content still needs to be tweaked, and the bugs with Internet Explorer irradicated, the San Lucas Mission website is practically done. For a better idea of what the mission is about, visit www.misionsanlucas.org, or better yet, keep visiting it as its content is fleshed out. It’s an impressive ministry which we will have the opportunity to visit later this month.

And, although our work here is going well, we were able to squeak in some tourist time this past week. Holidays in Ecuador work a little different than back home. In the months coming up to a national holiday (such as the one this past week), the citizens don’t know exactly how much time they’ll get off. They know for sure they’ll get 2 days (or whatever the stat holidays are), but the president here usually ups the ante as he sees fit, and true to his nature, last week from Tuesday to Saturday was official holidays. The Jonkman’s took advantage of this, resting from their busy schedules, and took Rebecca, Nick, Jesse, and myself to see a few of Ecuador’s gems. We were able to see a couple craters from ancient volcanic eruptions, an indigenous market, and squeezed in a football game. Overall, some very cool experiences.

Hanging with the locals...

As we hope to do with all these updates, here are a few items we ask you to keep in your prayers over the next week:

That the launch of the ESL course would go smoothly, and continue to draw in members of the community over the next two months.

That the websites would draw more attention from the locals in the upcoming months/years to the ministries (Mision San Lucas and the Reformed Seminary), so that these ministries can continue to grow and touch more lives.

That healing would come to Gabby, a handicap daughter of a seminary professor, who has been in the hospital for the last three weeks with intestine problems. This family is very dear to the Jonkman’s, and they would covet your prayers.

Thank you for your love and support,

The Harskamps