Pray for Ecuador on Sunday June 10, 2012

Pray for Ecuador on Sunday June 10, 2012

Prayers for Ecuador: Mark 3:20-35

O Holy One, show us who our family really is.  We who are so easily swayed from truth, help us to be family to those whose families make loud noises but cease to give love; to those whose families clutch loved ones too close but forget to allow growth.  Help us to be out of our minds with love for you and love for our neighbors.  

And let us feel compassion that leads to action for our neighbors.  Are they only the ones with the loud barking dog next door?  Or are they, too, the ones who live on the next street, in the next town, in the next state, in the next country, on the next continent?  Let us give love through prayers; through time; through assisting.  Let us see in the eyes of the sad, the needy, the hopeless, how we can help others to help themselves.  In the name of the most Holy One, Amen.

Mission Moment from Ecuador:

People in Ecuador see speaking and knowing English as a way to a better job.  Youth have English from early in their schooling.  But many find themselves unable or unwilling to use English even having studied it for many years.  It is their parents who want them to learn.

I am making a small difference in some indigenous communities for preschool children.  They are too young to know that learning a new language is hard and boring.  

Recently, I began teaching in a new area that includes 13 pre-schools.  The first day, unfamiliar faces wondered what this gringa was bringing.  By the end of class, they had smiles of interest.  Would some share the new words with their parents?

Each will get one 30 minute session a week for 8 weeks.  It’s only an introduction, but with the regular teachers’ reinforcement, it may make a difference in their interest in the language and in their futures.  Maybe my presence will bring hope to the teachers and parents that life will be better for the children.  

Recently while shopping, I heard a small child say “Marilyn,” and saw she and her mother looking at me.  After “Buenas tardes,” I asked the mother where her daughter went to preschool.  She mentioned a preschool where I taught earlier in the year.  The girl hadn’t had an English class from me for at least 2 months.  After our short conversation, the girl confidently said “goodbye” to me.  Her mother beamed at her daughter’s clear English; and so did I.

(Prayer and Mission Moment by Marilyn Cooper & Glenn Hebert)

Follow Marilyn and Glen’s blog here: http://www.perfectgimp.com/EcuadorBlog/index.html

Global Ministries International Partners in Ecuador: 

  • Centro Integral de la Familia (CIF)
  • Confraternidad Evangelica Ecuatoriana
  • Consejo de Pueblos y Organizaciones Indigenas Evangelicas del Ecuador (FEINE)
  • Fundacion Ecumenica Para el Desarrollo Integral Capacitacion-Education (FEDICE)
  • Iglesia Evangelica Unida del Ecuador (IEUE)
  • La Asociacion Latinoamericana de Asesoramiento y Pastoral Familiar (EIRENE)

Global Ministries Missionaries in Ecuador: 

Marilyn Cooper & Glenn Hebert, members of United Christian Church, Austin, Texas, serve as volunteers with the Ecumenical Foundation for Integral Development, Training and Education (FEDICE). Marilyn is working in Education with FEDICE and Glenn is maintaining our blog while working on a website for FEDICE.