2014

A MomentousYear

By Laurel Ellis

December 13^th, 2014

marking thirty years of ministry

We’d like to share with you some of the highlights of the past thirty years we have spent as missionaries in South America. Jesus said, “You did not choose me. I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit—fruit that will last.” We are thankful that this fruit remains, strong churches reaching their communities and beyond with the Good News. In the case of the Loja church, their vision is to plant a church in every county of their province, to date they are at number ten. They also fully support an Ecuadorean missionary in Senegal, Africa.

Laurel singing at the tent crusade - 1986

Church construction site and tent cusade - 1986

Rick preaching at the Loja church - 2014

MAKING HISTORY: CBC bUYS PROPERTY

This brings us to our current church plant, CBC, where we are living the most exciting moments of these 30 years! As a congregation, having stepped out in audacious faith to buy the amazing property pictured below, we are experiencing God’s miraculous provision as individuals, families and collectively as a church. All glory to God who has supplied all that we needed to complete the first payment of over $100,000 on November 4th. We are now in phase two, pushing onward towards the next payment on March 4th. The theme verse is Philippians 3:13 “Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do, forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead.” We ask for your fervent prayers for CBC during these coming months.

Pastor Ezequiel teaching level 1 discipleship class in the new building

Ezequiel's wife, Nicole, teaching level 3 discipleship class in the new building

A new family in the church joyfully filling out a Faith Promise for the second payment.

remembering History: The assemblies of god and our family

Rick was invited to participate in the Global Church Planters’ Summit as well as serve in translation and logistics during the Centennial in early August. Much to his surprise he found these posters in one of the halls of the headquarters building showing Laurel’s grandfather, Ralph Devin, one of the pioneer missionaries of the AofG in Indonesia. Her family is also featured for three generations serving in missions, her parents having spent over forty years as educators in Indonesia. Rick was inspired with the missions convention atmosphere at the Centennial with 120 nations in attendance. “If in 100 years we have grown from a little over three hundred pastors and leaders to 67 million adherents, imagine what will God do in the next century!”

Blessing of family!

When we returned to Chile in 2011 it was our first time back with no children. It has been an adjustment but God has filled the void (Matthew 19:29). This year we had the privilege of being in Seattle for Rick’s niece, Rachel Ellis’, wedding as well as packing up Laurel’s parents for their move to a retirement community in California. We were also blessed with a visit from Daniel early in the year and then David for Thanksgiving. Skype, Facebook and all the modern conveniences of communication are awesome!