Today Paul and I did our exercise by walking down a beautiful road in Middlebury, Indiana. There were many Amish farms with lots of horses and cows in open fields. I decided to walk up to a fence to take a closer look at some horses. Suddenly there was a Holstein charging towards me and I realized from the ring in his nose that it was a bull and he was mad. He was snorting, jumping and in a full charge. Too bad I did not have my camera with me to share the look on his face, but take my word for it, he meant business. I was glad there was fence between him and me. I decided to leave his territory and not aggravate him any further. No more gazing at the beautiful horses in the next pasture. I can see the headlines, "Exercising missionary chased down by a mad bull!"

Itineration Spring 2008

We are currently itinerating and have been up in the Southern New England District. Right now we are in Indiana. As we all know, gasoline prices are at a record high. This has affected our cash budget, as it takes more to get to where we are going. It is rising very slowly. We are supposed to be back to our work this fall. I am sure all are praying for lower prices, as it affects everything in our budgets.

However, despite it all, we are enjoying renewing old friendships and making new ones. Recently we ran into a son of a Pastor friend Phil Schoomaker. He is all grown up and in the ministry. His sister Ashley was in my husband's mission's class at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. She went on a mission's trip to Ecuador with us while we were the Missionaries in Residence at Evangel. Damien and Shawna Schoonmaker are the Youth Pastors at Bethel Christian Church in Bristol, Connecticut. We enjoyed ministering to the youth and felt the Lord has wonderful plans for many of them concerning the ministry and their futures. We were invited to play tag football in the church parking lot, but decided to watch instead. Pastor Damien is doing a great job!

Ebenezer Church Dedication

March 2, 2008

We have been working on the church in Quito, Ecuador for over four years. The building is finally to a place where the congregation can move in and continue to grow.

Ebenezer Assembly of God in Quito, Ecuador was dedicated on March 2, 2008. National Superintendent Jose Medina gave the dedicatory prayer and Senior Pastor Ron Bontrager of Lakeview Church in Indianapolis, IN challenged the congregation to continue to reach out to the hurting in their community with the love of Jesus Christ.

Pastor Alberto and Silvia Ospina did a great job putting together the dedication service. Pastor Butch Smith of Lakeview Church was there with a team of workers to paint the inside of the church, do the electrical and windows and get the church ready for the dedication. They worked very hard and we appreciate their final push.

A special plaque was made with the names of men who loved Ecuador and missions and who worked on many projects with us. Jim Smith, Douglas Miller, and Russ Pinkerton were all men who loved the Lord and gave of their time and talents to further the cause of Christ in Ecuador. The plaque was unveiled during the dedication. Family members were present with the final team and they were presented flowers.