Since my last letter, I have undergone two major, but unrelated, surgeries here in Cuenca. God, in his goodness, led me to the ideal surgeons and all has gone as planned. I'm very grateful for my missionary family who has taken such good care of me!
Last fall on a mini itineration, I felt so welcomed by the OMN family at Intermission as well as in your churches. After four years with only a week's visit here and there, it was wonderful to spend more time with my family, which will be expanding in May.
Jesus promised in Matthew 19:29 TLB "Anyone who gives up his home, brothers, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or property, to follow me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return, and shall have eternal life." One of the hardest aspects of missionary life is leaving behind family, but Jesus' promise has held true all these years! He truly does give us so much in return for what we give up.
This precious family, Pablo, Andrea and their son Caleb, out of the Loja church Rick and I planted three decades ago, are headed to Jordan next month, sent by the Assemblies of God of Ecuador to live and work near the Syrian border with refugees. Pablo likes to say that he is my spiritual grandson, as he was won to Christ by Pastor Pablo Celi, a convert in the tent crusade in Loja 31 years ago. In 2019, I taught Pablo and Andrea at Timothy's Abode, Ecuador's missions training center directed by missionaries Ron and Esther Marcotte.
Pablo posted the following on Rick's Facebook, five months after Rick went to heaven. "Well, God didn't allow us to meet you both at the same time. But we have had a chance to share some time with each of you. Although we didn't talk much, we've learned many incredible things, most of all your simplicity and passion. Thank you, missionaries Ellis, for planting the seed of the gospel in our city, and because of that today I have a family who loves God!"
© 2026 Laurel Ellis