Projects Ecuador National Board Approved
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National Board Approved Print E-mail
Monday, 06 April 2009 19:49
Update from Ecuador: By Fred Jonkman

So much happens in a year that it seems long ago that Bernie Pennings visited us in October 2007. He reminded us that one of Word & Deed’s requirements is to have a national board in place to develop projects and make aid applications. We invited various persons to join us in forming a foundation legally recognized by the Ecuadorian government. With great joy and much thankfulness to God, on December 17, 2008, our foundation, Misión Palabras y Hechos Ecuador (Word & Deed Mission Ecuador) was approved by the Ecuadorian government. Our lawyer, Dr. Norma Reyes (a member of our church), said that this was truly a work of God. It took a year to get approval, which is amazingly fast by Ecuadorian standards. What a blessing it is for us to be working in cooperation with Word & Deed, who have been patient and helpful with advice and encouragement.

Sunday School Commentary

In our 2007 report, we wrote that the first volume of the sunday school commentary for teachers was about to be published. Completed in July of 2007, it was an immediate success with people familiar with our material. Of the 1000 copies printed, we have now sold over half. After completing the first volume, the work on the second began. Luis Carlos Moreno took on the initial editing and revision, and I did the final revision. With making this a priority for the next several months (many were asking for the New Testament section), in May 2009 the second volume will be published. What a joy it is to have this tremendous work done and to see the appreciation of churches and individuals for it. The material is solidly biblical in content and wonderfully presents the chronological order of the way of salvation. The two-volume set is titled La Historia de la Salvación (The History of Salvation).

Left to right: Arlene and Fred Jonkman with Luis Moreno displaying the completed Spanish Sunday School Curriculum
Although the bulk of the project is complete, more work remains. The distribution of books in Ecuador itself it is not a big problem, since we have the full cooperation of various Christian bookstores in Quito (one of them has outlets in other major cities) to sell the book. However, the book is also being requested in other countries: Chile, Peru, Colombia, Nicaragua and Mexico. How to get them there economically is a challenge, as shipping is expensive. Our only method so far is sending them with travelers to those countries. This method has not been too successful, since the books are bulky, and suitcases only so big.

Fred & Arlene Jonkman hosting a Sunday School Curriculum workshop in Mexico

We are also working on completing our secondary plans, which involves scanning each lesson’s accompanying activity sheets (there are 175 lessons in total) into the computer so that we can put them onto CDs. These will be sent to the churches so that they can print them off for the children to use each week. We also want to develop a web site this year so that the material is available through the internet.

Arlene teaching a workshop in Quininde, a small village in the coastal region

Ecuadorian Worker Project

As many of you know, we hired Luis Carlos Moreno in 2007 to help us in our work here. His work and expertise have been appreciated beyond words. Not only does he work hard, but he also gives an abundance of counsel in all areas of our work. To have an Ecuadorian work alongside us has helped us think more clearly about the culture and understand the nationals here. Luis is now concentrating his efforts in our theological study center.


Theological Education

The program of theological education in cooperation with MINTS (Miami International Seminary) is growing. Each year we teach six to seven courses to a number of students of various denominations. As we look back on another completed year, it gives us tremendous joy to see all of our students putting into practice the things they are learning by working in various ministries: churches, schools, jails, pro-life clinic, outreach, etc. The goal is learning for the purpose of serving.

Luis Carlos Moreno teaching MINTS course

Plans are already in place to teach another six courses in our two study centers in Quito and Ibarra, and we hope to work on starting another center this year. A new project was developed and presented to Word & Deed Canada in 2008. It is to have a rented location in Quito for offices, classrooms, a library and a bookstore. The students will be able to go there for resources and counsel in their studies. We will also be able to promote our program throughout the country from that location. We hope to write more on this in our next report.

Thank you for your support of the work in Ecuador. Please pray that God may change lives so that more people worship Him and serve Him in very practical ways!

Fred Jonkman and his wife, Arlene, are Christian education and discipleship missionaries at la Iglesia Reformada del Ecuador in Quito, Ecuador.
 
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