Archive for the 'Jenny Riggs' Category

Christmas Time

Published on December 22, 2008 in Jenny Riggs and General. 0 Comments

I am sitting in my kitchen waiting for my Christmas cookies to come out of the oven, with a fan on at full blast. On the houses around town there are Christmas lights and people making plans to celebrate Christ’s birth.  I am amazed that Christmas time once again is here. I am surprised that I have already been in Ecuador for five months. So much has happened that I haven’t even had time to realize that time is passing.

Sunday SchoolKids Christmas PartyTrio

This past weekend we were busy non stop. On Saturday we held a Christmas party for all the kids in our church and the kids in the countryside that we have been ministering to. We spent most of last week sitting in the entryway to the mayor’s office. We had asked the mayor and another high up political person if they would donate toys for us to give to the kids, since the kids we work with most of them most likely will not receive Christmas presents this year. We had received some of the toys (30), but we kept going back to see if the rest of the toys had arrived. To our dismay they didn’t come through. So the day before the party we paid someone to drive us to the neighboring town to buy 60 more toys. Friday night (10:30-12:00) we hung up balloons, streamers, put out chairs and made sure the toys were sorted between the girls and the boys. Early Saturday morning we picked up the cake and rice with chicken (five different women in the church made the rice for us). Then we waited for the kids to arrive. We had about 100 people show up; about 30 of those were parents. We had wanted to have a clown for our party, but the people we had asked couldn’t do it. So last minute I was the one leading songs and games (and no I didn’t dress up as a clown). I was suddenly really grateful for all the times that I had done the VBS songs in Costa Rica two years ago. I pulled out my CD with the songs and suddenly everything that I had planned to say with each song and the hand motions that I used in Costa Rica came flooding into my mind. Then we played musical chairs as well as other games. When I was just about to run out of ideas, in walked one of the gals we had asked to be a clown; she was dressed up as a clown. I was filled with relief. She came in and I was so happy to turn the microphone over to her. Then we served rice and cake to everyone. Then before they left we gave each kid a toys and a little bag of candy. When the kids all left we saw candy wrapped, spilled coke, rice, balloon fragments all over the floor. We swept, mopped, and then swept again (I am sure we still missed some spots). Even though at the end we were all worn out we were happy that we were able to bless kid’s lives.

Also this Saturday there was a young adults Christmas party (a mix of the people from our church and the mother church). The guys, who I have been playing music with, and I played Silent Night at the party. The violin player told me afterwards, “Jenny, I was so nervous my bow was shaking.” The sax player exclaimed, “We did it and they liked it!” It was exciting to see their excitement over playing that piece. For our Christmas Eve service (at the mother church) we are playing Silent Night, Angles We Have Heard on High, and Oh Santisimo Felicisimo (a Latin American tradition Christmas song). I hope and pray that as they continue to learn more about music, that they will teach others what they have learned.

For the past 5 years I have chosen every year a verse to focus on. Starting in December I start praying to God to direct me to what he wants to teach me during the up coming year. This past year I have been meditating on Psalms 1:2-3.  “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” If we want to prosper and if we want to yield fruit then we need to be planted in God’s word. It is through keeping our eyes on Jesus that we can accomplish things that last for an eternity. I have seen how true these verses are. Throughout this year there have been times when I faithfully looked to God and saw exciting results in my life as well as in the lives of others because I was able to be used by God. But there were also times that reading my Bible became something I did when I had time that also affected my life. Little things come in the way that distracts us from the source that we need to cling on to. I want to be prosperous in my life and bear fruit but I need to keep myself planted in God’s word. My prayer is that you also will be planted in the living water.

Praise

-My Sunday school class is growing (when everyone is there I have 25).

-Our Christmas Party for the kids worked out.

Prayer

-As I begin training someone else to teach Sunday school. (So that when I leave the kids still have their class)

-Most of the kids that we are reaching out to come from families that do not know Christ, pray for their salvation.

-Absalon and I are currently visiting some people who are willing to listen to us as we share the gospel with them, but they have hard hearts. Pray that God will work in their lives.

-My health (I have amoebas and a cold)

November

Published on December 2, 2008 in Jenny Riggs. 0 Comments

The first week of November, I helped out a medical team. A group of physicians, doctors, nurses and dentists arrived from Alabama to treat people in two little towns that are couple hours from San Carlos. OMS asked me if I would be willing to help translate for the team. The medical team was here reaching out for five days. Over all they saw between 150 and 260 patients a day. There were many others who we had to turn away because we didn´t have enough time to treat everyone that came. In the first town where we were, I translated for two dentists and a dental assistant. The dentists were just doing extractions. The dentists saw about 50 patients a day. There were people of all ages that came. There were old men who begged the dentist not to take out a specific tooth, even though it was rotten because that tooth held up his dentures. We also had 4 year old kids who came in with all four of their front teeth rotten and worn completely down that they needed them taken out so infection wouldn´t set in. Besides translating for the dentists I also held peoples hand who were nervous and wrote down information on little cards about each patient. By the end of the day I was exhausted. Then in the next town they rotated translators around and I registered the patients before the nurse and doctors saw them. In both towns the church was there to minister to the peoples spiritual needs. Many of these people had never shared their faith before and I was asked to encourage and help them out as I had time between patients.  Also since the time I have update my main focus of ministry here in San Carlos has shifted a bit. I am still visiting people, but I am starting to take a more and more active role working with the church here. In our church Absalon´s wife was teaching the Sunday school class. She had kids there from 2 years old to 15 years old. She told me how there are other kids who haven´t been coming to Sunday school because it is hard to teach the little kids and the bigger kids at the same time. So we decided that it would be good to split the class in two groups. For the past three Sundays I have been teaching the older kids, from 10 to 15 years old. We set up a tent in the empty lot across the street from the church and have Sunday school out side. Some days it is nice outside, but the hot time of the year is coming. I am teaching them about Pauls ministry. I have drawn a large map of the Mediteranean and as we go along we draw on the map Paul´s location. We also sing songs and play games. It is nice to be working with junior high kids once again. Please pray that God will show me who I can bring along side me for me to teach how to teach Sunday school. The goal is that person would then take completely over when I leave in May.  The other responcibility that I have now is helping a cell group. A cell group of young adults came to me a couple weeks ago and told me about some of their plans and asked if I would be willing to help them get started. They have the desire to buy tracts and Bibles to give out to people who do not have the money or access to Gods word. They also would like to take a trip up towards the Amazon river to reach out to remote areas. As a result of this passion the leader of the cell group bought a van this weekend that will hold 7 people. I have been helping them raise money. To raise money twice a month they are selling food. We sold 60 plates of rice, beans and chicken. A couple weeks ago we sold tacos. I went with the guys into town to buy the groceries for tacos. Then 5 of us made tacos. I was the one telling them how to make tacos (Other LatinAmericans DON´T eat Mexican food). We sold 65 soft tacos. (They were actually similar to a burrito supreme.) They had rice, beans, meat, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole and of course cheese. People at first didn´t seem interested in buying the tacos. But then after they tried them we had people calling us asking for more. We ended up having more clients than we had tacos. At church last night they were asking me when was the next time we were going to make tacos because they would like to buy them again.  One of the things that I have really been enjoying about working with the church here in San Carlos is seeing the passion and excitement the people have for Christ. They have a clear vision of what Jesus has done for them. I have heard stories about people who were about to commit suicide and how a Christian came up to them and said what you are about to do dont do it, God loves you. A girl told me how she had told God, if you are real send someone to my house to tell me about you, and sortly afterwards someone came and shared the gospel with her. A guy told me about how God healed his back from a terrible accident. Others who have been rescued from drogs and alcoholism. These people know what it is like to live in a hard and sinful world. When they accept Christ they really choose Jesus completely. They have no desire to turn back. We also need to love God and not take for granted where God has rescued us from. We should be thankful for his salvation, so thankful that we are truly excited to tell others what he has done for us. So thankful that it shows on our faces. Do you truly appreciate what God has done in your life? Do you truly understand what an amazing gift God has given us? If not, I challenge you to search Gods Word and ask God to overwhelm you with gratefulness for what he has done in your life. May this Thanksgiving be a time to give thanks to God for not only providing good food, but to thank God for his salvation.
Praise- Our little church is moving in 2 weeks to a bigger building.Praise- The mayor is contributing 50 toys for us to give to the kids for ChristmasPrayer- Work with the kidsPrayer- We will keep spreading God´s word to othersPrayer- My future plans (I am thinking about joining OMS for a longer possition).

A Day in the Life of Jenny Riggs

Published on October 16, 2008 in Jenny Riggs. 0 Comments

Here is what an average day might look like. 

7:30 Wake up, eat breakfast

9:00 Wait for Absalom to come to go visiting

9:15 Visit a teacher who is not a Christian who has cancer

10:30 Stop by Monica’s place to find out that she is not available for the 5th day in a row

10:35 Go door to door sharing God’s word and passing out tracks

11:00 Stop by the mother church and talk with the pastor and his secretary

11:45 Arrive back home

12:30 Eat lunch

1-3 Clean apartment, do dishes, wash clothes, play a game on my computer, go check email, run arrends

3:00 Wait for Absalom to arrive

3:15 We go visit Marta and Geovanny for their discipleship class

3:20 Talk to Marta and Geovanny

3:45 Start discipleship class

4:30 Go to Anamaria’s house to see if she is home

4:35 Stop by Adriana’s house just to visit

5:00 Go back to my apartment

5-6 Finish cleaning, finish laundry…

6:00 Eat supper

6:30 Shower

7:45 Head to church

8:00 Church starts

9:30 Church finishes

10:00 Arrive home to find a cell group meeting in the lower level of my apartment meeting

10:005 Join cell group as they finish up

10:30 Cell group finished, talk to people in cell group

11:00 Get ready for bed.

11:00- 12:00 Read and fall asleep

This is a sample of what a Thursday might be like. Every night there is something I can go to either at the daughter or mother church. The people we visit change daily but generally this is what it is like. Also there are no two weeks with the same schedule. On the weekends it is a little different. Saturday morning I go to the market to get my fruits and veggies for the week, then in the evening I teach a basic music theory class. Sunday I help teach Sunday school in the morning and have church in the evening with the rest of the day off. Some of that free time we sometimes go swimming.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what I am doing.

Jenny

Diving in

Published on September 18, 2008 in Jenny Riggs. 0 Comments

Things here are going well. I have been really busy. I am getting more and more involved with the ministry here, which is exciting. I am feeling more and more at home here. Here is some information of the things that I am spending most of my time doing.

PARADE-DAY OF THE BIBLE

In September God’s word came to Ecuador, so churches all around the country celebrate this event. San Carlos is celebrating it this Sunday. They called it Day of the Bible. There will be a parade and a program where the different churches will participate. Belen 2 is renting a truck which we will decorate and  the children ride in it through the parade. I am not sure how we are decorating it, but last year Belen 2 did Noah’s ark and cut out different animals and Mirella, Absalom’s wife, dressed up as Noah. We decided that for the program we would like to do a choreography to the song “Todopoderoso” (All Powerful, by Marcos Witt) . Mirella has a video with a choreography on it for that song. So last Sunday we invited the kids over and we started practicing it. We told the kids that we would have to practice everyday to get it ready for the program. Somehow, I am not sure how, I got put in charge of this. So the next day I watched the video over and over again trying to learn the steps, as well as modifying some of the more difficult parts. Every night this week for about 1.5 hours we have been practicing. There are about 15 kids (some are from the mother church and some from Belen 2) that are going to participate between the ages of 7 and 11. Some parts the littler kids do something simpler and the bigger kids do something more complex. It is coming together. I know that we won’t all be in sync, but most importantly we are having fun. I am enjoying getting to know the kids. When they see me they are excited and give me big hugs. It is exciting to build up this relationship with the kids.

DISCIPLESHIP

This week we have also been visiting people. Mariela asked me to do the discipleship class with one of the gals that she has been working with because she had some errands to do. She gave me all the material and took me to her house. I already knew Cristina before hand, which was nice. So I went and we talked about being obedient to God. Then we got to talking about how you can tell what God’s will is. Today, I am also going to be doing the discipleship class that Absalom has been doing with a couple that accepted Christ about a month ago. I have been watching Absalom and learning how he does it. Today he is going to be watching me lead it. He gave me the topic (having a personal devotional time with God) and a paper that has information on it that I’ll copy to give to the couple. So I spent some time today thinking through what I was going to say, what verses I wanted to read, what examples from my personal life I want to include… I really enjoy learning how to disciple. This is an area that really interests me and I would like to be able to do it even better.

PRAYING FOR THE SICK

On Thursday Mariela, Absalom, and I go to the hospital here in San Carlos. Yes, there is a hospital, though it is small. There is one hallway of rooms. The doctors and nurses all know Absalom and Mariela. Absalom’s wife is the receptionist at the hospital so that I think has helped give us access to go and visit people. There were only two people that were hospitalized today. We go into a room and ask if we can pray for the person who is sick. If they are not Christians we share a little of who we are and who Christ is and we pray for them. If the person is really sick we don’t stay long. If the person is able to converse more we spend more time with them. Some of the people that we have visited are Christians and we encourage them and pray for them. Today when we went to the hospital we talked to a lady who said that she had started reading her Bible but really hadn’t decided if she was ready to become a Christian. We shared with her and read passage from the Bible. Then we asked her if she would like to make a decision to follow Christ. She said yes. So there we prayed for her and encouraged her to share with her husband, who wasn’t there when we went to visit. She said she would. She lives in another town about 15 min down the road so we encouraged her to find a church near her home, but that she is always welcome in our church here in San Carlos.

CELL GROUP

We have also been making plans to start a cell group. We want to make a cell group of some new Christians as well as some of the other leaders in the church. That way they can grow and teach each other. Then we praying that through this some of the other people in the church will have the desire to host a cell group in their home. We are starting it this coming Wednesday at the home of a couple who have become leaders in our church, Belen 2.

MUSIC TEACHER

Another area where I am going to start working in teaching music. I definitely do not feel completely adequate for the task. Last week I was talking to some of the friends that I have made here and one of them mentioned to the other that I know how to play the flute. She included that I also know how to read music. The guy got all excited. He started telling me all about his desires to be able to read music and be able to play all sorts of instruments. He started asking me questions about sharps and flats, and about chords and scales. By the time our conversation was over I had agreed to teach both of them music theory. I also knew that there were some others in the mother church and daughter church that would be interested in a class like this. So starting this Saturday I will be teaching a music theory class. As of today, I have four eager students and other people who I still need to invite.

TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT GOD

Mariela has been going out to an area called San Juan to teach the kids Bible stories. This community is really poor. The people there do not know how to read or write. Mariela helped them get in contact with some people who are now coming out every week to teach them how to read and write. These people have little to no knowledge of the Bible. Mariela goes and teaches them a song, Bible lesson and provides a snack for them. This Friday I went with her. When we arrived we suddenly were surrounded with little kids giving us hugs and excited to see us. They quickly got out their plastic table and chairs. There were over 20 kids under 12 years old sitting there with excitement to hear God’s word. I have never seen kids soooo hungry for God. I helped teach the Bible story and we had a craft for them to work on. This kids that barely have clothes to wear and food to eat had something I often lack pure excitement to learn about God. They absorbed everything we told them. The parents and adults sat near by or looked out of windows listening to the God’s word.

GOD TAKES WHAT WE HAVE AND USES IT TO REACH OTHERS

It is amazing to me how often I feel like I am not proficient at something. I think well I know how to do this or that, but not as much as I could or as much as other people. I find myself feeling that I know how to do lots of things and enjoy lots of things but do not excel in any of them. But being here I am learning that the opportunities that I have had to study music, art, go to college, to learn how to swim and much more I have some much to give and offer. In comparison to so many people in the I may not be the fastest swimmer, or be able to sing a solo, or be a coordinated dancer, but I can teach someone who has never had the chance to learn how to swim how to float and swim the different strokes, I can teach someone how to read music, I can help teach choreography to a group of kids. God has given me so many experiences and opportunities that he can use in a place where they do not have the those opportunities. In the Bible it says “to much has been given, much is required”. I know that often we think that refers to money, but it also include knowledge and experiences. I want to challenge you to realize how blessed you are to be able to learn and have the opportunities to do some many things. Take advantage of it. There are people who wish that they could have just a fraction of what we have access to. Take what you have experienced and learned and don’t keep it to yourself, give others the opportunity to enjoy, learn and experience the things that you can.

Welcome to San Carlos

Published on August 15, 2008 in Jenny Riggs. 1 Comment

CONJUVEDChurch Planting TeamBelen 2Inside Belen 2San Juan

 FIELD RETREAT

At the end of July I went to Field Retreat. It is an annual retreat up in the foothills of the mountains, near a little town called Pallatanga. Seeing those mountains and watching the fog as it rolled in was a reminder of God’s amazing creativity. A team of eight from North Carolina came down to lead our retreat. It was a nice relaxing time, where I was able to get to know my new missionary family. It was encouraging to be able to hear about the ministries OMS is involved in all over the country. At the end of the retreat one of the missionary families took me to see San Carlos and meet the pastor and the church planting team.

                Facts about San Carlos:

-The real name of the town is Marcelino Mariduena. San Carlos is the name of the main factory in town.

-There are three different factories in town: sugar, alcohol, and paper.

-About 7pm every night the factories let all of the chemicals out into the air. It makes the whole town smell like cow dung for an hour or two.

-The population is about 12,000 people.

-2/3 of the vehicles in town are motorbikes. (They gave me a ride home on the back of one after church the other day. I was wearing a skirt so I had to sit side-saddle. Yes, I was a little nervous.)

-The biggest store in town is a bit bigger than my classroom back at Lexington Christian Academy last year.

-The closest grocery store is about an hour bus ride away in a town called Milagro.

-The church I am working with is called Belen 2. The mother church is Belen. The pastors’ name is Jose Bajaña

-Belen 2 rents a small room to meet in, which is about the size of the living room in the house where I lived last year in KY. Pictures 3 and 4

-The ECC (church planting) team members are Absalom Delgado, Mariela Aguirre, and Cecilia Contreras. Picture 2

CONJUVED TEAM

Friday (Aug 8th) I moved to San Carlos. There was a group of people here in Ecuador working along side the local churches for the past 2 weeks. One part of the group came here to San Carlos for the weekend. So they stayed in my apartment. Half of the team was from Colombia and the other half from Rochester, NY. I was able to work with them this weekend. We walked around the neighborhood where Belen 2 is and invited people to church and shared the gospel with the people. I was also able to help the team lead the 6-12 year old Sunday school and share with the young adults group. We also went to a town 15 minutes down the road where we helped lead a young people’s event. (Picture 1) There 3 different churches came together, each from a different town. Each church had an opportunity to participate in the program; my church did a drama of the Good Samaritan set in modern times. The other churches shared special music. One of the members of the team from Colombia preached. It has been good to get to know the people in San Carlos while helping out this CONJUVED team.

AREAS OF MINISTRY

I am going to start following around the ECC team as they work on planting this new church. I will be going with them to evangelize, pray with the sick in their homes and in the hospital, and help with discipleship classes. One of the areas where Mariela, one of the ECC team members, ministers is in a little town called San Juan (only a couple families live there). There is a family there with about 13 kids, which I got to visit with the CONJUVED team and we gave them clothes that a church in the USA had sent them. They live in houses made out of sugar cane stocks. Mariela goes to their homes every Saturday to teach the children about God. I will be going and helping her out in this ministry (picture 5). As I become involved in the church and learn how to best help the church, I will be helping train new leaders to help out.

CHALLENGES AND JOYS

One of the challenges that I am facing is being a single girl in a Latin American country. In Latin America single girls live at home until they are married, so the people at the church are all worried about me being away from my family and living by myself. As I get comfortable being here, Mariela is going to sleep in the other bed in my apartment to keep me company at night, but she said that she will still keep her stuff at her house and eat with her family.  Fortunately, there are several single girls that are about my age and older that have taken me under their care. They all knew that I was coming and so excited that I have finally arrived. There is also a group of the young adults that gets together once or twice a week to play basketball. About half of the group is girls. This is giving me a chance to get know some people my age in town. Most of them go to the mother church.

Another challenge is speaking Spanish all the time. I am the only person in town that speaks English. By the end of the day my brain just shuts off and I can’t seem to be able to understand what anyone is saying or figure out how to respond. When it comes to that I have to explain to them that doing things in another language is tiring and that I need some time by myself where I can think in English and do things in English for a bit so that my brain can take a break.

Snapshots of Guayaquil and my Time Here

Published on July 24, 2008 in Jenny Riggs. 1 Comment

I have been in Ecuador for a week and a half. I am currently living in Guayaquil at the home of a widowed lady, Señora Francia. To support herself she rents out the rooms in her house. There are a couple of other people here that are renting from her. I am living here for a month before I move out to the smaller town where I will be doing my ministry. Please be praying for Señora Francia’s son that he will understand who God is and what Christianity is all about. He is searching for truth. He keeps asking me questions about Christianity.

Here are some snapshots of what things are like here.

FOOD
One of the biggest things that I have had to adjust to has been meal times and the quantity of food at each meal. We eat breakfast around 7:30. Breakfast usually consists of coffee (café con leche), fruit (usually a banana), juice, and a roll with cream cheese and jelly inside. Señora Francia eats breakfast with me. Neither of us is awake enough to really talk, so we watch the morning news.
Around 1:00 it is time for lunch and it is the biggest meal of the day. It is a good thing that I like rice because lunch isn’t lunch unless you eat rice. They also often have soup with lunch. Besides rice and soup they will also serve meat (chicken, beef, tuna) and fruit. Most of the time the fruit is cooked plantains, which I absolutely love. It took me a couple days to get used to eating my big meal of the day at 1:00. I found out that if I didn’t eat very much at lunch. I was really hungry by supper time, which doesn‘t come until 7:30. For background noise the TV is turned on to the station where they air Walker, Texas Ranger in Spanish. It is on every day. For supper it isn’t unusual for us to have coffee, bread (rolls) with fresh cheese and we watch the news.
Having background noise during meal time is not uncommon in Latin America. One day Francia didn’t turn on the news until half way through our meal and when she realized, she apologized over and over again that I was missing the news. So as you can tell watching TV while you eat is an important part of meals.

WEATHER
It is really hot here, and it is the cold season. The nicest time of the day is just before the sun sets: it is a little cooler and sometimes windy. Since it is hot here year-round, they rarely shower using hot water. I haven’t had a hot shower since I left Indianapolis (July 12th). I am starting to get used to taking cold showers, and some days it feels really good.

HOW I SPEND MY DAYS
My days are filled with a variety of activities. The main one is language school. The school is about a 10 minute walk from my house. I have class any where between 2 and 4 hours a day. For the days that I have 4 hours of class it is split up into 2 sessions one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In language school I am working on getting my grammar and spelling perfected as well as practicing sharing my testimony in Spanish and giving Bible lessons in Spanish. It is good thing to practice sharing my faith in Spanish since I will be doing that once I move to San Carlos (Marcelino Maridueña).
During my free time I am work on Spanish homework (like writing stories, answering questions, writing my testimony) check my email, learn my way around Guayaquil, draw, take walks and run errands. There is a park across the street from my house, so I have been enjoying going for walks there. Last week I was walking around the park and suddenly something fluorescent green ran across my path. I jumped backwards and looked to see what it was; it was a baby iguana. Later I found out that lots of iguanas live in the park.

UPCOMING PLANS
-This weekend they are celebrating the founding of the city of Guayaquil, so there are parties and activities to go to.
-One of the churches that I have visited is having a concert on Sunday. The group that is singing has translated Hillsong’s music into Spanish and will be performing them.
-Next week all the OMS missionaries in Ecuador have a retreat at Camp Pallatanga.
-Aug 7th I finish Spanish classes and shortly after that I will be moving out to San Carlos.
-There is a group coming down from Rochester, NY that will be in the area and I helping out with this group.

WHAT GOD IS TEACHING ME
During this time that I am working on improving my Spanish and learning Ecuadorian culture God has been teaching me many things. I have the time to really dig into His Word. While I walk to language school I am often praying or thinking about what God has been teaching me. One of the things that I have been learning is that I need to be completely dependent on God. This is a hard lesson to learn, but an important one. This has been a refreshing and relaxing time.

I have some pictures that I want to include but I am having trouble uploading them. I will figure it out and add them later.

I’m on my way

Published on July 11, 2008 in Jenny Riggs. Closed

Dear Friends and Family,
The last 2 weeks I have been in Greenwood, Indiana at the OMS headquarters for orientation and training. It has been a time of blessing. God has really been using this time of preparation as a time of really purifying and cleaning my heart. We have spent a lot of time during training just talking about who God is and the importance of walking with Christ in all times. Probably overall the thing about training that has stood out most to me is the importance and necessity of prayer and intercession (praying on behalf of others). This time has also been a time of encouragement and challenge for the days to come. It has been exciting to learn more about planting churches, how God sees the church, and how I can be involved in that.
Tomorrow I fly out of Indianapolis for Ecuador. I can’t believe that the time has finally arrived. I have spent hours of preparation, days planning, and months praying for Ecuador and the time has now come where I will get to go. I will be spending the first 2-3 weeks in Guayaquil. There I will be brushing up on my Spanish and learning the Ecuadorian accent and vocabulary words as well as the culture. During my time in Guayaquil I will be living at a widow’s home. She rents her rooms out in her house to students. To help learn Ecuadorian culture I will be learning things from missionaries, learning my way around Guayaquil, and going out and getting used to speaking Spanish 24/7.
After those first couple of weeks in Guayaquil I will go to San Carlos. While in San Carlos, I will be living in my own apartment. I will spend some time just learning from the pastor, his family and the other church leaders. Little-by-little I will take on more and more responsibilities in the church. Part of the goal for eXtreme Walk is for me to bring alongside me a couple others and discipline and train them to be involved in the ministries that I will be responsible for. This way the local church will be dependent on each other rather than foreign missionaries. The goal is that I will train others who will in turn be able to disciple and train others.

Praises:
-Thank God for all of you who are praying for me.
-Thank God for the blessing that others have been to financially make this possible for me.
-Thank God for the refining work he is doing in my life and continuing to do.

Prayer requests:
-I will be entering Ecuador on a tourist visa (I had complications getting my long term one) and then once in Ecuador work on getting the long term visa.
-Pray for our time of transition into Ecuadorian culture and speaking Spanish everyday.
-Pray for the church in San Carlos the pastor and the church planting team (ECC).
-Pray that the hearts of the Ecuadorian people will be softened and ready to hear God’s word.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. I can you have been praying for me during this time of preparation since God has been working in mighty ways in my life in the last 10 days.

God Bless,

Jenny Riggs

Getting Ready to go

Published on May 30, 2008 in Jenny Riggs. 1 Comment

First off I want to thank you all for you support and prayers. Your prayers and generosity are a blessing to me. I am about 90 percent funded for the full year.

School is finishing up. I am saying good-bye to my students and packing up my classroom. I have also started to pack up things in my house. It is quite a job to sort through all sorts of things and figure out what to take with me, what to store, and what to get rid of.

I found out that I will be in a town called San Carlos. It is near Guayaquil. It is a small sugar cane factory town. I will be living in a little apartment there.

I will be heading up to Greenwood, Indian for training. Training will be from July 1-11th, then I will fly out of Indianapolis to Ecuador. I am working on getting visa, tickets, immunizations and all sorts of other last minute details finished up.

Praise:
-Support and prayer partners are stepping up.
-I have found a buyer for my car.
-Finishing up school

Prayer:
-Keep praying for the church in San Carlos
-Keep praying for me as I get things packed up and last minute details figured out.
-Finding a home for my cat.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support,
Jenny Riggs