December 2007 with the McCrackens

We've been busy probably just like most of you this season. As we look back to the last update, we want to detail a few things to bring you up-to-date.

This Fall has been a very busy one as Steve has added responsibilities on top of his main job in the Information Technology/Systems department.

Academia Cristiana del Aire (web page in Spanish)

Steve has been teaching two 3-hour classes on Mondays from 9am-12pm and from 6pm-9pm. The classes have been on the Doctrines of the Holy Spirit and the Church. These classes have stretched his Spanish a little more in touching areas where he has not be accustomed to the vocabulary. Please pray for these students who are leaders and pastors in the area. That God would use their knowledge to, in turn, strengthen the church here in Ecuador.

Community Development

The last trip, during a few days off, the whole family went with Steve to Chimborazo, in the mountains about 3-5 hours south of Quito. HCJB has installed several water projects in the area to give the village people safe drinking water.

Steve has been teaching the villagers about electricity so they can maintain the water facilities and also know about and install electricity for their houses. The department has done quite a few projects for potable water and has instituted training in hygiene, as well. The plan is that these visits and teaching sessions will also include basic Bible classes for the villagers.
Steve was able to go on a planning retreat with the whole department for the Community Development Water Projects to review the goals and the process and help see if there is a way we can better incorporate biblical discipleship into the whole process. The visits to the water projects have been additional and enjoyable excursions that have helped get Steve out of the office and away from staring at computers much of the day. Pray for wisdom in this ministry--for how to better incorporate Bible teaching in with all the other aspects of the projects.

Pauli has been involved in this area too and is currently translating the introduction and a chapter of a textbook (Old Testament Ethics for the People of God, by Christopher J. H. Wright) that will be used for a Wheaton College course in February hosted by the Community Development Department here in Quito. Pray for Pauli that God would give her the wisdom for this translation work and that it can bring him glory.

Dump Party

The first weekend in December a group of missionaries put on a Christmas party for the children and families who live at the city dump on the outskirts of Quito. So Keilah and Kendra accompanied their parents to help put on this event at the dump with games and food.
Another family (the Ramirez family) that we have gotten to know through Keilah's kindergarten class also came out to help. Over 3,000 people came out and had a fun day. Please pray for the ongoing impact here and for the relationship with this other family.

Church and School

Pauli has initiated a Pre-School Sunday School department at the English Fellowship church, so teaches the 3-6 year-olds each Sunday morning. The English Fellowship Church was started by HCJB and not only provides worship and activities for the expatriate families in Quito, but is the church where local Ecuadorians attend, wanting to improve their English skills.

Pauli is also initiating a group for the moms of the kindergarten classes in the school. Although the school was started as a place for missionary kids, the school now has only about 30% missionary kids with the others being local Ecuadorians, ex-patriots, or Koreans. At the first meeting a couple of mothers mentioned that it was good to learn religion in the school and they were open to others' views, but that they "were Catholic".

Pray for Pauli as she prepares and teaches lessons grounding these little ones in their faith and knowledge of God in the Sunday School and for her impact and witness with the other mothers in this fellowship group.

Pray for all the family as they carry on each of these ministries. We are taking some much needed vacation days and will all be home together from December 20 until January 2nd.

Family News

We had two birthdays in November (Kyle's on the 13th and Keilah's on the 29th) so had a houseful of family and friends a couple times for cake and ice cream. Pauli has also kept in touch with her friends from college and they threw a baby shower for one of their group. Pauli has been the expert to whom several of them turn for advice. Please pray for Pauli and her continued witness to this group.

Pauli and her sister also took orders for making over 325 loaves of nut breads for Christmas gifts from three schools. This involved many hours of baking, but all the bread loaves were delivered on time to the various locations. Keilah and Kendra were proud helpers for wrapping, tying on tags, and preparing the packages for delivery. Pauli put a tag on each loaf, not only stating the flavor of the nutbread, but also including the verse from John 6:35, "Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life.'" Pray for these contacts.
Keilah is taking piano lessons, but was too shy to get up and play for the recital on December 11th, so we were pleasantly surprised when she did participate without being scared in the Christmas program on December 18. The program was based on the classic Christmas story Why the Chimes Rang. She proudly declared that she sang with her class for this Christmas program. She wore her little cross necklace and just thought about Jesus helping her. She said, "I wasn't afraid!"

Please pray for the our witness, health and safety as we work in the ministry of God here in Ecuador. Remember also that you can contact us anytime about you getting involved in our team either financially or in other ways.

And Finally...

After Keilah's birthday we had fun decorating the house (and the kid's playhouse) for Christmas. It is a great time to remember the great gift that God has given us in his son. Steve's parents gave us a little Christmas adornment that helps keep everything in perspective. It is a small scene of Santa Clause bowing down to Jesus in the manger. We pray that God helps you and us keep this perspective thoughout this Christmas season.

You can always bookmark this page and check our site (www.themccrackens.org) for updates every month or so.

In His Service, Steve, Pauli, Keilah, Kendra, & Kyle McCracken