It's about the people ... and sometimes the burros ...

And it is always about God!  HIS plan, HIS creation, HIS people, HIS word, HIS purpose ... GLORY!

Ecuador spans the Pacific Ocean, up the majestic Andes Mountains and wanders east into the Amazon jungle. We see the same scenery every day, yet the visage changes moment by moment as the tempest of wind, clouds and sun continually change the perspective!
We never cease to be amazed and delighted at the glory of God as revealed in His creation ...
     the physical world ...
          the cultures and people ...
               the animals ...
                    and the unseen spiritual world.

I've often wondered if it was a sight such as this
that caused the ancient and futile search for the "lost city of gold" ...

                 

Surely I shall never again use or hear the term "dumb ass" without tender thoughts of these gentle and faithful beasts of burden! Oh, sure, they cause traffic jams ... but left on their own, they are very courteous navigators and in no way dumb!!! These fellows do not even need to be led from the field to the factory; they plod along from spot to spot on their own and by rote ... when a car comes to pass they quietly, without breaking stride, amble to the side of the road and allow the tolerated interloper to pass.

Some of the best advice we received before we started to drive in Ecuador was "expect the unexpected".  It has become our mantra and our mental flashing yellow light as we traverse the city streets of Loja, a town of about 200,000 people where stop signs mean nothing, or the bottle neck curves of the remote Andes ... it is common knowledge and more common practice that one lane always means two and two lanes always give way to three ... even on blind curves.


While it is vital to understand the nuances of culture and traffic, it is even more vital to understand the unseen spiritual battle. New Age and other cults are common place near us. In the larger and more modern city of Loja, the Catholic church is predominant.  Currently they are celebrating the presence of a wooden doll representing the Virgin Mary (the Virgin of El Cisne), who is credited with the ability to perform miracles. Candles are lit and many prayers offered up to her.

 

BUT IT IS ALWAYS ABOUT THE PEOPLE ... about the souls for whom Jesus was born, gave His life and resurrected to break the power sin and death!  Whether we (like you at home) are loving on folks in our home or witnessing to a stranger, praying at 4 a.m. (for us morning folk 😍) or midnight (😫 if you're a night person), God will use each of us where we are.  Neal and I are so grateful for the truth that God equips us to do what He calls us to do!  We are blessed and nourished by serving and loving on His people at our beautiful facility as well as being "the fragrance of Christ" to the people of a city who predominantly do not YET know Him!

Luchito & Vichita pastor the church Semilla de Mostaza Suro, a small community south of Vilcabamba. We spent a wonderful afternoon with them and their niece Germana and her son Santiago.

Joe & Raquel Gomez attend Semilla de Mostaza in Loja and have a heart to plant churches ... hoping to plant one soon in Malacatos, our city of residence. Joaquin is Raquel's 90-year-old father from Puerto Rico; his gentle spirit, wisdom and keen humor were a special part of their stay with us!

The Burbano family, from Cuenca, became a special and intricate part of the Sperling family in 1989 when our son, Matthew, spent a school year with them during his junior year in high school. The school year 1990 saw his host brother, Cesar (back left) spend his senior year with us in our home in Scio.  How we love this family!

Visitors recently for brunch ~ Fabian (back right) runs the S.I.M. radio station in Loja and is graced by his beautiful wife, Violeta and their two daughters. Violeta's parents, Manuel & Violeta attend Semilla de Mostaza Suro and are good friends to our beloved Luchito & Vichita; their grandson also joined us!

Paula is a delightful transplant from New Zealand,
serving with S.I.M. and has a ministry to children.
She was the first to be snuggled under this quilt which
was handmade by friend Donna Dougall!

Karyn (foreground) was pictured in a previous post from
our first home at the farm. She is not only a gifted translator
but is a delightful friend from Semilla de Mostaza. She recently visited
for lunch along with her beautiful Mom, Ingrid, and Paula.

   

Iksander owns and runs U.F.O. - United Falafel Org. - in Vilcabamba.
Middle Eastern food is a favorite of mine, and we struck a strong chord
when it came out that I have been in his home town of Izmir, Turkey!

Iksander had never made falafel before this restaurant ... and he does a great job.

From nourishing soaps to decorative magnets to jewelry - this gal does it all!

  

This local Ecuadorian lives in Vilcabamba and sells organic produce, peanut butter, completely natural/unsweetened fudge AND COFFEE!!! ... dark, rich, robust FRENCH ROAST COFFEE!!! He made me VERY HAPPY!!!

Stefano bakes and sells the best sourdough and is in Vilcabamba every Friday morning with his beautiful wife and young son.

This delightful group of people knew each other in India and now live here; all (save the lady on the left, who is visiting and is from Australia) are Ecuadorian.

IT IS ABOUT THE PEOPLE. May we be a continual representative of Jesus Christ, always ready to give and answer for our hope in Him, always being emissaries of His love.

The myriad impressions and expressions of life and ministry in Ecuador!

AFTER about two years of planning and preparation, we began the final stage of the trek to Ecuador! Then the "real work" begins, right?

Step one: Arrive.
Step two: Acquaint with people & culture
Step three: Find a home, our ministry site.
Step four: Move in and settle; begin specifics for ministry.
Step five: Move again ...
Step six: Move again ...
Step seven: Repeat steps two, three and four.
Wait a minute ... steps five through seven were NOT part of the original plan! Oh, wait another minute ... things do NOT always (or even often!) go according to our plan.
BUT GOD ... perhaps two of the most powerful words EVER! And when things don't go according to plan, EL ROI (God Who Sees Me) is already there ... meeting needs and reassuring us of His love.
First, He reminds us of His Creative Sovereignty.

We sense His Presence in the glory of His creation.

Sometimes God comforts and provides through a warm bed, blanketed with Scripture verses lovingly written; or through extra chairs at a table already hosting another missionary family of five!  God knows the needs, and He very typically and lovingly provides those needs ~ whether for comfort, love, protection or provision ~ through His people.  In our case it was fellow missionaries ~ those WE CAME TO SERVE, first SERVING US ~ after Neal was a victim of armed robbery on the farm, our first home.
The MISSION AGENCY DIDN'T MATTER; WorldVenture or S.I.M. ~ we are the Church and Body of Jesus Christ!

We were afraid to stay at the farm after the assault, so we went back to Loja and the home of the Messick family. It was a great comfort to read each carefully chosen verse before we got to bed about 2 a.m.

            

Next morning ... fifteen table settings in a house overflowing with love and precious fellowship.

         

                                                                                 

Just the neighbor tying her cows across the street.

Kristy Messick with AnnaLeah keeping watch and Elijah being a man ... on our FIRST move.

We were warned to always EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED when driving. 

Sometimes comfort takes the form of a yogurt sundae!

        

This was a mighty army of women: Karyn, a translator, with Paula Richardson and Sheryl Greenwood, both with SIM, provided invaluable muscle, translation and advice as we originally settled in on the farm.

This seemingly rickety bridge was THE bridge to the hacienda and to the outside world. Neal locked the gate daily at dusk, about 6 p.m.

His daily path to and from ...

... the site of the ambush by four armed men ...

We had just spent a week of hard work, prayer and dreaming in settling in at the beautiful, and isolated, hacienda near Malacatos.  So much work ahead, so many dreams to fulfill.  Neal applied himself to learning the intricacies of upkeep on the extensive yard with its exotic fruits and plants, and Sherri tended chickens, all while "nesting" in our new home.  We were there exactly one week when Neal was ambushed, robbed and praise God, left physically unharmed.  That trauma was followed by hours of repeated incident reports to police.  Matt Messick and Christian Waidelich  ~ head of family of the Messick's other house guests and SIM missionaries returning from home assignment in Germany ~ met us at the police station in Malacatos.  Their love, concern and help was yet another blessing as more kids shuffled rooms and bed sheets were changed. It was the beginning of a "Critical Incident Debriefing" for us; for us, the ones who came to serve.  God knows there is nothing like first-hand experience to validate our work and words!
Though 15 people now dwelt in the Messick home, the loving spirit was supernaturally evident.  The Waidelichs left for a SIM retreat as did the Lance Ferguson family, so after two peaceful nights at the Messicks we moved into the empty Ferguson home while the search for a new ministry site reengaged. LONNNGGG story a little shorter ... we revisited the initial property we wanted and were able to come to favorable terms and pricing on a lovely home situated on magnificent acreage that includes a hotel, pool, hot tub, outdoor kitchen and dining area as well as abundant space for group or personal retreats and other types of devotional meetings.
Today as we have settled in enough to finally catch a breath and reattach to technology, we are joyful, rested and praising God that He is, has always been, and will always be, the God Who Sees Us!

        

Our new home ~ a lovely little house for us nestled on acreage with a hotel and beautiful amenities, which we will be able to use for a variety of ministry over the next year.  Praise God for His bountiful provision!