Greetings! Once again we come in gratitude to thank you for your prayers. As mentioned in our last blog, we had some retreats coming up. Here is a short report on how they went.

First, was our annual Homeschool Teen Fellowship retreat March 30th – April 2nd. This year it was held at the beach in the little town of Same in the Esmeraldas province. We have used this place several times in the past and always enjoy the facilities and location, right on the beach! One of our homeschooling missionary dads brought the teaching from the Bible on the storms of life and how to and Who to go to when they happen. The thirty teens that attended were split up into four teams for competitions. Two of our past homeschooled students returned to help and lend their talents for our music and worship time. The weather was perfect and the food good. We are so thankful for your prayers for this time.

The next retreat was the Men’s Retreat from our church April 15th – 16th. Ron headed up the planning committee and it was held at Campamento Bellevue in Tabacundo, Ecuador, about an hour-and-a-half from Quito. Teaching from longtime friend Rusty Campbell, small groups, personal devotional time, and of course outdoor and indoor games were some of what was offered. The Ping-Pong Tournament was one of the highlights! This was the first-in-a-long-time event and was well attended and enjoyed!

Next was the eighth round of the Cofan Church Leader’s Course in Dureno April 24th – 28th. Some of the topics were homiletics, fasting and community engagement. The next course will be in September and that will be the last of the series. We are hoping that some of the teachers can return and do a repeat of the Old Testament Survey in January, so please be praying for that. With our Cofan OT translation project going, it would be so valuable for our Cofan church leaders to redo that one again.

We do appreciate your prayers for the Cofan Old Testament translation project. Some progress has been made. Martin, who is working on 1 Samuel, has finished the first draft as far as chapter 21 (some of this book was done by Ron’s dad so he is filling in the parts not translated yet). Osmar and Leoncio working on Judges, has finished as far as chapter 3. Wilson has worked up to 2 Samuel chapter 7. Enma has dropped out of the project for now, so someone else will take over finishing the first draft of Joshua. Our translation consultant, Rick Aschmann, has been working hard on the details of the grammar and recently discovered one of the difficulties we have always had with the language. Love, believe, and want all have the same grammatical base word and it can be a challenge to explain the nuances between these words in Cofan – especially to those new to studying God’s Word. Pray for wisdom for those working on this translation, that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word will be translated with integrity.

It’s almost time for us to travel again! This summer, May 14th – July 18th, we will be spending some time up north. We will be landing in Dallas, TX, and spending a few days with Ron’s sister and family and visiting other friends in the area. Then we head down to Chihuahua, Mexico, for a week to drive up into the mountains where our oldest daughter Lydia works at the Hospital Misión Tarahumara as a teacher for the missionary children. Then we head back to Dallas, TX, to catch our plane to Spokane, WA, to visit the kids for a few days before driving around Oregon and Washington to visit churches and supporters. We covet your prayers for this time of travel and visiting – for safety, good health, and connections with people to give God the glory for the work being done here in Ecuador.