Farnsworth Forum

 Ministry has been a struggle during COVID-19 for us here and for many of you in different places in the world.  Recently we have been encouraged with higher numbers in our online GO ENGLISH CLUB.  We have averaged around 25 children in the last couple weeks.  Thanks for your prayers, and please keep them coming.  We appreciate the kind help of our friends Marybeth, Michelle, Faith, and Dayana. We give God the glory for what He is doing in us and through us.  We pray that the children that we are working with can know God personally.  Their families, too!!

Celebrating our new Liebenzell Mission friends who have arrived within the last year.  This includes Marcel and Faith Friess with their two daughters and Andreas and Maren Gauss with their two sons. We've enjoyed spending time with them at our house and also in meetings and on outings, such as this one to the Peguche waterfall near our house in Otavalo. WELCOME AND GOD BLESS YOUR SERVICE IN OTAVALO FOR HIS GLORY!!  

After a hiatus that began on March 13 we resumed GO ENGLISH CLUB on Friday, October 23, from 4:00-5:00 pm with 14 participants.  It is exciting to see the children again after our break.  We wanted to get into a routine with home school and also allow the children who join us get adjusted to their new school year of virtual learning.  Along with studying the story of Joseph in the Bible, we have English learning with our team members Michelle and Callie in Pennsylvania.  We are so thankful for their wonderful help.  It is a blessing to have contact with our beloved English students again, and yesterday we had three children from Paraguay connect with us.  Truly international!!!  Please pray for us as we continue this endeavor every Friday afternoon.  Thank you.  ¡¡Muchas gracias!!

 Little by little some things are resuming here in Ecuador.  Some of our mission's affiliated churches have begun to hold in-person meetings (San Pedro, Chamanal, La Concepción, Río Verde, Atuntaqui); some other locations, such as our church plant in Otavalo, continue online meetings for now.  Please join us in celebrating the gradual "return-to-normal" in some places. Other activities are taking some more time to return to in-person mode.  One is the Centro de Capacitación Bíblica (Center of Bible Training), our Bible institute which meets Thursday nights from 7:30-8:30.  I am teaching a course on Expository Preaching again and have thirteen people taking the course.  Here I am with some of my students. We are so glad that we can continue ministry despite the challenges that the covid-19 pandemic has brought.  To God be the Glory!!!

 We are entering the "twilight zone" of virtual reality, this time, a virtual Sunday School.  For someone as non-tech saavy as I, this has been a virtual head rush.  I have actually had some people ask me for help in Zoom meetings.  That is rather hilarious to me and an indication of God's (and my kids') help. Last Sunday we started helping with virtual SS at our mother church, Puente de Amor, in Ibarra.  This allows us in Otavalo to offer a kids activity that, with our limited ministry workers, would not have been possible otherwise.   I was happy to inaugurate the first week's Bible story with the Parable of the Sower and the Seed from Luke 8; I should say that Monsie and I told the first Bible story, to give credit where credit is due. Jacob and Elias seemed to like the first week's activities, and that is the true test: if the kids enjoy it or not.  Otherwise, they will not return.  Here are some pictures from week one.  Please pray ...

Home school year 13 at the Farnsworth family home.  This year our two older kids decided to return to home school after one year in Christian school during our last furlough in the USA (2016-17) and three years in Ecuadorian public schools.  This year all public school instruction in Ecuador will be online, so it's "almost like home school" anyway.  Our oldest son is a senior this year, so home school will help to prepare him for his upcoming academic life in the USA.  Please pray for his future plans. Home school is a wonderful way to be involved in your kids' lives.  However, I must admit that it keeps us extremely busy.  Our daughter is a ninth grader, and our twins are in third grade, so we teach three different grade levels each day.  Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.  

Working as part of the VBS team and having Elias and Jacob in our small group gave Marisol and me great joy.  Still, we would have to say that the greatest part of VBS came from seeing Joel and Amelia serve on the team.  Both of them led small groups with another people.   There is no greater joy for Christian parents than seeing their children grow up to serve and love and follow Jesus. "1 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2  so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3  Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord , the God of your ancestors, promised you. 4  Hear, O Isr...