Sam enjoying a run in his new yard!
Hello from way down South!
First I want to let you all know how sorry we are for taking so long to write! We have been incredibly busy and every time we wrote half a letter the information was out of date by the time we got time to send it! As spring is springing up all around those of you in North America we are coming out of our raining season here (hopefully) and we are in the last steps of finishing the house! It will need some work after we move in (like bricking up the garage port, putting up a garage door, putting up a storage shed, etc.), but those things will come with time. We just want all you who were a part of it and who helped make is possible to know how much we appreciate it. Words cannot describe how much it will mean to our family to have a stable, clean, and orderly place to live! God has been so much better to us than we deserve and we are VERY grateful!
The house so far! Still needs windows, doors, paint, and a kitchen and we will move in!
I (Andy) have been putting a LOT of time into building this house (which we hope to move into in the end of April or beginning of May), but last month I was invited to go to the Galápagos islands to translate for a short-term medical ministry team. I prayed about it and talked to Priscilla about it and felt the freedom to go. They paid for all the expenses and gave us translators a little spending money for our time. I thought: “Hey I can preach the gospel, get away from the stress of this building project for a minute, and hopefully get to really enjoy myself for the first time in months!” lol. Needless to say this whole house building thing has been pretty hard on this old body. Well, I was wrong and right…. We worked really hard out there and found out that it is far from paradise for many of the residents. As a matter of fact, I had a lot of friends teasing me saying things like “Yeah, Andy’s going to the Galápagos to WORKKKK.” “I bet they are going to wear you out.” “It must be tough being a missionary.” I honestly thought their jokes were rightly warranted, but found out it was much different than I expected! For the first 5 days I hardly even knew I was on an island. We were inland working for the first 5 days and hardly saw daylight, but what we did see was a people that had been neglected from receiving the word of God. It seems like because it is a place known as a huge tourist destination, people haven’t seen the great spiritual needs of the people living there. Needless to say, we preached to a LOT of people, gave a lot of Bibles out, and felt useful to push them toward Christ! Please pray for the people of San Cristobal!
Sea lions are like the squirrels of Galapagos, they are everywhere!
On a related topic Priscilla hasn’t had a break from the kids/family duties in a LONG time and with her being on deck 24 hours a day without a break for the 10 days I was traveling to and from the Galápagos she is more than ready for some time off. A mission based out of the United States called “Pure Joy International” puts on retreats for missionaries all over the world and is hosting one May 1st to May 4th for missionary women here in Ecuador. So Priscilla will be going with some good friends to enjoy some much needed time away to recharge her batteries. Please pray for her to hear from God and just be able to rest, and for the kids and me as I hold down the fort!
I also ask for prayers finishing up the house, help moving, etc. as we make the transition to our new home. May God bless each of you and bless you abundantly as you serve the Living God!
In Christ,
Andy, Priscilla, and kids
Please send all monetary contributions to: Acts 1:8 Mission Society PO Box 212. Harrison, OH 45030. You can continue to make all checks payable to: “Acts 1:8 Mission Society” with“DVarga” in the memo section (All funds donated in this way will continue to go entirely to the DVarga family AND our mission work in Ecuador and are tax-deductible). You can also write checks to Priscilla or Andy DVarga with "gift" in the memo section, but you will NOT receive a tax-deductible receipt at the end of the year for funds given this way. If you need a quarterly tax statement or just want to contact us, please just write to the address above or call. Our phone #:(513) 334-8281
To donate through PayPal electronically please scroll to the top of the page and click the "Donate" tab. Phone: Magicjack#: 513-334-8281 Our local Cincinnati phone number that we are able to receive in Ecuador. It works through the Internet and is just like calling any Cincinnati phone number.