July graduations and an outreach!

July is graduation time in Cayambe, Ecuador!  We had 5 High School graduates from our youth group!  Glenn and I were able to attend 3 of the ceremonies - celebrating with 4 of the graduates and their families!

First we saw Jonathan graduate from Nelson Torres with the other day students...


Then we celebrated with Vicky, her boyfriend, Edison, and her family as she graduated from Cayambe's Technical School.  Edison's sister, Estefany, graduated at the same time and same day, so we couldn't get to her ceremony, but we're proud of her all the same!  Our coworker, David, was able to be there for her and her family thankfully!

One thing we loved about the graduations was the way families were honored and involved in the ceremonies.  Here, Vicky's parents put on her graduation cape and have a minute together before she receives her diploma.

 We also enjoyed attending 2 of the ceremonies with Gissela, the Ecuadorian missionary we work with.  She has SUCH a special relationship with the teens!

Then we attended Salvador's and Fabiola's graduation from Nelson Torres' Night School.  Here, Salvador and his family pose for the special occasion!  They are a very special and active family in our church.



Fabiola and her mom, Cecilia, pose with us after the ceremony!  They are both very special to us and Susie had the joy of being in a Bible study with them in Primero de Mayo. 

Our church was invited to the community of Cangauhuapungo for their family day in early July...



Our pastor, Pablo, here as the head clown, and Gissela, worked with our teens to present an interactive evangelistic outreach...they did SUCH a great job!

As is typical in Ecuador, the community responded to our program by giving back!  They not only fed us an AMAZING meal, but the men came and danced a traditional dance for us!

Gissela, Pablo and the teens ran games for the children and for the adults...

We presented a skit and puppet show, with help here from Glenn, Orlando and others from our church...

It was a special day watching our teens and our Word of Life Student, Alex, do the ministry with very little help from the adults!

It was a VERY special day for Vicente, one of our church deacons, here next to his daughter in pink.  He grew up in this community and has been longing to begin a church here.  The community responded very well to us and we trust we have an open door to return for more programs and possibly to begin a Bible study!

Our month ended with us in Florida, helping Glenn's parents with the HUGE transition of downsizing, selling their old home, and buying and moving into a new home.  God worked out the timing perfectly for us to help out at this VERY crucial time in their lives!

Glenn's parents say goodbye to their home of 21 years...

and with their dog, say hello to their new home, which is closer to Glenn's sister's home and in the same neighborhood of good friends of theirs! 

Thank you SO much for your prayers for us!