It's summer?
The boys are out of school for the summer. Even though we do refer to the next few months as summer, there is no such thing as summer in Shell. The weather continues on just like normal. That means rain most days, high humidity, and a healthy mixture of sun and clouds. Living at an elevation of 3400 feet just a degree or two south of the equator means we don’t have the hot summers and cold winters that we had grown accustomed to in California.

Taylor
Now that we’ve moved from our small apartment into a house on the MAF base, we’re near a family with a couple boys who are almost Taylor’s age. It didn’t take long for the boys to become friends. Most days find them running around playing army or some other active game. He’s been looking forward to getting a puppy for a while. Instead of getting a puppy, he’s now happily taking care of Canela. We inherited her when her family went back to the States. She’s a seven-year-old boxer, and Taylor thinks she’s great. He’s really happy he doesn’t have to clean up behind a puppy!

Dustin
When Dustin gets an idea, there’s not much that will stop him. One of the ideas he had recently was to make a unicycle. He found an old bicycle fork, a seat and some cranks. With a little persuasion, he was able to get his dad to help him weld a few pieces together and he ended up with a real unicycle. Learning how to ride it is another story! Dustin is excited about the pet that came with the house we just moved into. Lucy is a macaw with a lot of personality. She doesn’t fly because her wings are clipped, but that doesn’t stop her from getting around the neighborhood. Dustin really enjoys hanging out with this new addition to the family.

Ellyn
This summer is turning out to be a busy time for Ellyn. With our move into a new house came a lot of time and effort to make it into a home. Ellyn has a talent for doing a lot with a little, and the house looks great. One of her jobs is keeping track of MAF short-term housing items. We recently said goodbye to a short-term family and filled a storage room with house furnishings. Also, there are a handful of visitors and short-term workers coming to Shell this summer. In her role as Hospitality Coordinator, Ellyn keeps track of their arrivals and departures, accommodations, and meals.

 

David
It’s during the summer months that some MAF families take short furloughs and leave for a couple months. During this time everyone left in Shell takes up the slack. One of the things David is doing is getting water each week. The job involves filling a trailer with water containers and going to a spring at a nearby camp. This is the source of drinking water for the MAF families. The boys have discovered that riding there in the trailer and then playing in the nearby stream is a great way to spend an hour and alleviate some of the inevitable summer boredom. They appreciate the fact that here in Ecuador there are no laws that keep them from riding in trailers or the back of pickup trucks!

In addition to his regular duties as an Information Technology Technician with MAF, David has found that he can keep quite busy helping other missionaries with their computing needs. Pablo, in the picture at the left, used to be a pilot with MAF. Now he’s an independent missionary working with church and leadership development in jungle villages. David was able to help him learn more about using a word processor to make certificates for his classes. Pablo works with another couple, Rick and Sharon. David also helps them when they have questions about their e-mail or problems with their computer.

David is still working on getting a working e-mail server into the MAF office in Quito. The server that he put in place there several months ago just didn’t work well enough to keep using. Right now the old e–mail server is back in service while he prepares still another server to take its place.

Thank you for your prayers and support for our work here in Shell. We would have liked to come home and visit many of you this summer, but it’s our turn to stay here and help hold down the fort. Even though our team has shrunk a little, the ministry of providing transportation and communication goes on.

David, Ellyn, Dustin, and Taylor

Praise:

• There are teachers for both Dustin’s and Taylor’s classes when school starts in August.

Prayer:

• There is a teacher committed to teaching grades seven and eight. Pray that he will have full ministry support by the end of July so he can be in Shell in time for the beginning of school on August 13.
• For David as he continues the effort to place a functional e-mail system in the Quito MAF office.