Moving Back to the U.S.

We’ve got a date: May 30, 2025; we are in the midst of finishing almost eleven years in Ecuador. Scott is training others to assume as many of his duties as possible. Jody is working on the logistics of changing our household from Ecuador to the United States.

We’ll have a final home ministry assignment during the summer to say thank you to our financial and prayer partners and we will end our full-time connection with Reach Beyond August 31. We’ll  continue as Reach Beyond volunteers; our plan is to return to Ecuador each winter for two or three months to volunteer. Scott will also continue to serve as a board member of both Reach Beyond and Voz y Manos.

Where are we going to live? Eugene, Oregon is the goal, as that’s where almost all of our family live. We don’t know yet if we’ll remodel our (pretty cool) gambrel-roofed barn or if we’ll buy a house. In the short term, we’re open to  house-sitting and/or renting a small apartment. The scripture above (Isaiah 42:16) is a wonderful promise that God will lead us along “unfamiliar paths.”

Ecuador Update

Our November newsletter was written during three months of rolling electrical outages. Thankfully that ended December 18 as the rainy season began providing water for the hydroelectric plants. A lack of infrastructure maintenance is still an issue, so the long-term problems have not been resolved.

Staff Retreat

We had a four-day staff retreat with teaching, fellowship, and team building.

Galapagos

We visited the Galapagos Islands in early February, fulfilling a major sight-seeing goal. Other than Jody coming home with COVID which lasted two months, it was a wonderful trip. Here are some photos from t he trip.

Praise God for:

• The privilege of a wonderful decade in Ecuador
• A four-day staff retreat
• Our trip to the Galapagos
• All that God is doing through Voz y Manos and Reach Beyond here and around the world
• Our financial and prayer partners (some started almost thirteen years ago)

Join us in praying for:

• Wise government in Ecuador
• Ecuador’s drug-related crime and violence
• Repairs and maintenance of Ecuador’s electrical infrastructure
• Our transition to the U.S.: for God’s guidance, provision, strength, wisdom, and grace as we finish here and start a new life there
• Voz y Manos ministries and missionaries, especially as they adjust to Scott’s leaving