Middle of the World

North of Quito, Ecuador stands an impressive monument marking "The Middle of the World" with a yellow line painted down the pavement.

A few hundred feet away is a museum with a red line painted on the ground that also says "The Middle of the World".  Two equator lines?

Well, the first line was calculated in the 1700's using the best technology available at the time. Present day GPS reveals that the original line was not placed quite correctly.  So like many visitors to Ecuador, we had our photo taken in both places on our recent visit.

Another interesting fact:  it is supposedly easier to balance an egg vertically on a nail at the equator. JR was the first person in our group to accomplish it.

Summer 2015

Created with flickr slideshow.

Our two month visit to the States flew by.  We renewed friendships and received encouragement at the Free Methodist General Conference in Florida.  In between visits to partnering churches we made lots of good memories with family and friends.

Behind the Scenes at AdorArte

As often happens when we are trying to invest in God's kingdom, our enemy tries to discourage us.  The very day AdorArte, an event for training youth in the arts and evangelism, was scheduled to begin, the director's son came down with chicken pox. Laura had to figure out how to continue with her duties while caring for her son and keeping him in isolation.  It wasn't easy, but she persevered.  Through her leadership 45 participants grew in their relationship with Christ, practiced hard, and gave evangelistic presentations in 3 Lima locations to approx. 150 people.  Several people at each presentation indicated their interest in having a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

God also showed his faithfulness in the finances for the event.  Several people had donated food and funds for the event, but as Laura and her brother Luisiño went over the accounts, they discovered they were still s/1000 (over $300) short to cover all their obligations.  JR overheard their conversation and offered to pray with them to ask God to make up for the shortfall.  When JR saw Laura 30 minutes later he jokingly asked if she was coming back to tell him how God had answered their prayer.  She responded with, "How did you know?"  God had already prompted the hearts of some Peruvian brothers to donate the remaining amount.