Farnsworth Forum

Last week we went to the Condor Park in Otavalo, Ecuador.  It is about 20 minutes from our house.  Here Elias posed with a condor nest. You can see in this picture how long the condor's wing spread is.  The condor is the largest flying bird species on earth. Jacob could not be left behind.  The condor's wing span is up to 3 meters (approximately 9 feet). We started to walk through the park to see the different bird species.  Here I am with my lovely wife Marisol. A Farnsworth family selfie! In the park there is a good view of Otavalo, the city where we live. Twins and brothers and best friends! There are a male and female condor in the park.  The condor is the national bird of Ecuador.  There are less than 100 condors living outside of captivity in Ecuador.  The punishment for killing a condor is 6 months in prison.  Condors can weigh up to 33 pounds.  Females are generally larger than males.  The condor in the picture is a male. At...

Tomorrow we head to Lita for our annual Liebenzell retreat.  This year, due to social distancing, it is impossible for the entire team to attend. We always enjoy ourselves, swimming in the Lita River. Last year we had a game night.  I won for our team by singing "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High" in Japanese, judged by Anette Jarsetz, missionary kid from Japan. Table games are always a hit at the retreat, too, for Joel and Amelia. Elias, Amelia, Joel and Jacob liked spending time with Yuki Jarsetz, visiting with his parents from Germany. ALWAYS lots of food! Here are the Farnsworths with the Jarsetz Family.  We met Dave and Anette during their first Impact team to Micronesia in 2008.  We worked with them for a month in Palau.  It was so nice to see them again after eleven years. Family time with cousins Carolina and Paty and Marisol's sister Negui. Trampoline time with the other missionary kids. No activity in Latin America is complete without a game of FÚTBOL. MO...

Please continue to pray for our city of Otavalo.  With a population of 90,000 we have tallied 381 cases of coronavirus until today.  This past week a man with covid-19 collapsed in the street and died.  Our church plant, "Zona de Vida" (LIFE ZONE) is unlikely to have in-person services before January 2021 due to the increase of cases as well as a lack of a place to meet.  We gave up our meeting place due to lack of income.  In-house meetings of more than 25 people are currently prohibited.  We need wisdom to know how to navigate and minister through the restrictions.  These things remind us that we are weak and need the Lord.  Hudson Taylor, pioneer mission to China said,  “All God's giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on God being with them".  We desperately NEED Jesus to be missionaries with Liebenzell Mission in Ecuador! In spite of the difficulties our kids continue to find joy in simple thi...

Yesterday we visited Marisol's parents in Santa Rosa on the outskirts of Ibarra.  A lovely day with a breathtaking view, we enjoyed our day visiting family.  We can drive only three days per week, according to the final digit of our license plate, so our outings are fairly rare. Elias and I picked the most scrumptious blackberries that melted in our mouths.  Yum and double yum! We joined Marisol's family in celebrating Zoe's twelvth birthday.  Zoe is the oldest daughter of Marisol's brother Wilo.  After having to miss so many family events during the past five months, it was indeed a blessing to be present.  GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!

All good things must come to an end.  Friday's English camp began, as usual, with a time of greeting the participants and helpers. Joel and Amelia led, via video, the theme song in English about the importance of following Jesus down every road in life. I shared the parable with my ever-faithful friend Monsie.  Unfortunately I had forgotten to plug in my computer and in the middle of the Bible story the battery ran out.  Joel improvised and led a song until I was able to sign back on.  What would we do without our resourceful kids? Our Liebenzell coworker Faith shared the final portion of the Bible verse: 1 John 4:10.  Each day the children sent their recordings of the verse to the camp's WhatsApp group.  What a joy to hear them say God's words! Michelle ended the week with a time of teaching family words in English.  She used a PowerPoint of with pictures of her wonderful family. Then participants could share pictures of their families with the group,...