Greetings from Ecuador!

Things are starting to calm down here now that we have an empty house. After five weeks of guests in our home, things seem to have quieted down around here a bit, with the exception of a crying baby! Our son, Jude, is doing well and we are so grateful for all your prayers for him. We are thankful parents, to be sure. It is hard to believe that we have been here almost 6 months now because of how busy we have been, but time is flying by for us. Jude will be about 7 weeks old when you get this letter and we are learning all kinds of lessons about life. One lesson for sure is about love!!! The Bible says “Love suffers long, and is kind; Love envies not; Love vaunts not itself, is not puffed up. Does not behave itself unseemly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked; thinks no evil; Rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…” (I Cor. 13:4-8a). The part that seems most challenging to us is “seeks not her own”. I have been shown by the Lord how often I seek my own will, comfort, and desires a lot lately, but I know He is helping me day by day to overcome the flesh. Here in Ecuador it is perfectly culturally acceptable (and normal) to visit someone at all hours of the morning or night unannounced and to borrow money from others without paying it back (unless the person who lent the money strives to collect it; so I’m told by other missionaries here). It is also very normal for others to ask for all manner of favors without thinking much of it. This is very challenging at times, but the Lord (by His grace) is teaching us to understand these vast cultural differences. Needless to say we have had a lot of people just “stopping in” at awkward times and asking for strange favors, like one Ecuadorian couple that showed up for a visit and stayed for 5 hours with their long haired cat, and then asked us to feed it for them. When we asked them what they wanted us to feed it, they said “do you have any cheese or shrimp?”…lol. Last week we received a call from one of our friends asking if we could house 3 of their friends (2 days before they were to arrive) from another part of the country. Their friends wanted to vacation around where we live and didn’t have the money to afford a hotel. We ended up with 3 strangers in our house for about a week. But after all, the Lord has reminded me; we are not supposed to sow to the flesh, but to the spirit. We are not looking for our reward here, but in eternity. Thank God for His divine ways of sanctifying us and making us more like His Son! I have often justified telling people “no” in these kinds of situations by telling myself “they need to learn how to take care of themselves” or “they need to learn manners,” but the Lord often brings His word alive by reminding me of verses like: “whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matt 5:41-42). I am so thankful the Lord is teaching me it is not my job to make sure others are doing what I think they should be doing! I believe one way the Lord uses us to win souls is by others seeing we are a peculiar people and that we have an uncommon love that comes from Christ. May God change me into the likeness of His Son! The last month has been a busy one, filled with paperwork and more paperwork, but the Lord blessed us tremendously through it all. While escorting Priscilla’s mother to Quito so she could return to the United States, we attempted to file for our Resident Visa for Ecuador. We already have visas to keep us legal here until next year, but this particular visa allows us to remain in Ecuador as permanent residents based on the birth of our Ecuadorian son, Jude. Not only does this make life here simpler (once this is done, no more visas, extensions, or any more major paperwork), but it also allows us to cut down on costs because missionary visas are not cheap and they must be renewed yearly. Upon attempting to file for this visa, we discovered we are in need of some more papers from the U.S., so please pray we can obtain them in a timely manner and that they satisfy the government’s requirements. As we continue in the ministry God has given us and we see many people come to know the Lord, we are reminded of how small our part really is in the grand scope of things. Without all your prayers and help and without His strength we would crumble like dried clay under the pressure of the needs we see on a daily basis.

Thank you all for standing with us on our journey to share Jesus!!!

In Christ,

Andy & Priscilla DVarga

Missionaries to Ecuador