Together Again... but not really...

Well it is good to be back with Ruth and the boys in Ecuador. We decided late in our Home Ministry Assignment (HMA) that it might be a good idea for me (Doug) to stay an extra couple of weeks in the USA in order to help our second daughter, Becca, make the transition into university life. That was good, but it meant that Ruth and I added 2 more weeks of physical separation to our HMA. That made a total of 6 out of our 12 weeks of HMA.... not something we wish to repeat in the future.

Both of our girls are now in the USA studying and seem to be doing well after their first week of classes. It feels strange to be in Ecuador without them and we are very mindful of the fact that we are not really together again as a family. We did get a few days on either end of our HMA when we were all together, and that was a sweet time for us.

But it is back to our ministries again... Ruth started meeting with her students one-on-one again last week. She has the same students that she had last year so they are able to jump back into their routine quickly. Seeing the students advance from year to year is very encouraging. She kind of overdid it a few weeks ago, and was flat on her back for a few days with severe back pain. The doctors concluded it was a muscle spasm and not structural. The pain is finally lessening and she is able to move around normally again.

Doug dives into his responsibilities again too. There are lots of New Media projects that have been on hold while we have been gone. The ALAS satellite network continues to work through an evaluation process that will serve as a basis for a new outreach focus. And the SERVIR radio agency continues to seek new partners. Our most exciting project in SERVIR is a 2-minute Portuguese version of Hope for the Heart. We have never done a Portuguese production before, so we are excited to work on this new project.

Well, that is about it for this week. Thanks for being part of our team...

Doug