Ecuador Final Prep Day...

God continues to show Himself faithful as we are hours away from beginning the 20th Anniversary Retreat of Pure Joy International, in the very city where God gave Vickie the vision for this ministry!

Countless hands have been used by God over the years to minister to missionary women worldwide and this retreat is no exception.
 

Today the "in-country" part of the team put finishing touches on all the preparations done before we left for Quito. We are headed to bed in anticipation of all the ways God will show Himself faithful in this retreat.
 

Please continue to pray as the ladies travel, arrive and begin to experience His refreshment that we have the privilege to bring.

Counting it all Pure Joy,
Mary B.

Ecuador Day 3...

Greetings all! A big thank you to Mary for doing the blog for me the last several days. You may see her doing more of them during the Retreat. (Smile) She has been being sweet because my body goes to bed early, hers does not! Ha ha

The team is out eating supper so we don’t have a real variety of pics for you to see in this blog but they will show a little of our day.

Tomorrow we start our final preparations for the Retreat. Please continue in prayer for all details!

His,
Vickie

Took cable cars up to Pichincha volcano.

Old Colonial Quito and night view of city tour

Ecuador Day 2...

Sunday in Ecuador was a beautiful day for our team.

From crowded elevator to glorious views,

from Christ centered worship to the center of the earth,

 and of course, shopping and chocolate!

We are always grateful for this time to acclimate and get to know each other before the final preparation for the retreat begins.

Counting it all Pure Joy,
Mary B.

Ecuador adventure begins...

The team safely arrived in Quito late Friday evening after a full day of travel. We started off early Saturday with a day of shopping and getting to know one another better. Vickie will post more later but tonight we are all retiring early. Praising our Lord for answered prayers, safe travels and sweet fellowship.
Counting it all Pure Joy,
Mary B.

 

 

4 Days and Counting…

We are only 4 days from leaving the country! All last-minute lists are being checked. The team is getting more and more excited. I’m pretty sure reality hit when we packed most of our trunks this past week. Ha,ha!

All missionary women are sponsored!!! Thank you for your faithfulness to the ministry of Pure Joy International and its desire to encourage our missionary women and families to continue to serve on the field of service God has called them to. We absolutely could not be obedient to our call to minister without your hearts to give!!

The team will leave Friday and arrive in Quito late Friday evening. The team will have a few days to acclimate to the altitude and see a few sights before we jump into our final preparations on Tuesday. The Retreat begins on Wednesday and finishes up on Saturday after our final meal together. The team will fly out Saturday night late and arrive home Sunday the 5th.

I will be blogging daily beginning this Friday so I can share with you along the way, including some pictures. If you want to follow up without having to go to the web site all the time, you can get the blog sent to your email. Go to https://www.purejoyinternational.org/ and scroll down and click on connect to blog. Once on blog page look to your right and follow instructions to receive to your email.

• Enter your email address and press "subscribe."
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Please continue to pray for us as we leave country, travel, and spend the week with the missionary women of Ecuador and surrounding countries. Pray for them to be encouraged, refreshed, and lifted up from the weariness that comes from being obedient to serve God in a country outside of their own culture.

Blessings to all of you,

His,

Vickie

Last Lap…

We leave the country in 9 days! Can’t even believe it! We are in the last lap getting ready to sprint to the departure gates next Friday, literally.

By the way, most of us could only hope our legs looked as good as the girls in the picture! LOL This is one time I didn’t think sharing the truth was appropriate! Ha, ha, ha, ha,

We have 4 missionary women left to sponsor before we leave the country. Would you join us in praying that the funds not only come in for those women, but funds come in above and beyond which can be put towards our next trip in the Fall? That would be incredible!!!

Don’t forget to invite others to worship Him this weekend. I pray that Resurrection Sunday is a reminder to all of us, HE defeated the enemy and that victory is ours as His children.

Have a Blessed Easter!

His,
Vickie

Another in the Fire….

For the past several Sundays we have been singing a new song put out by Hillsong. It is called “Another in the Fire”.

I wanted to share the lyrics with you today and here is the video link…  https://youtu.be/zmNc0L7Ac5c The reason I am doing this is because I see and hear so many that are going through the fire these days whether in marriage, family, ministry, church, business, etc., etc. We are never alone in the fire. Just remember Daniel, Chapter 3, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Quito is just 3 weeks away. Keep praying like crazy for us as we continue to work on final preparations. Lots going on with that this week! Also, we have 42 of the 50 missionary women sponsored. Just 8 to go! If God is directing you to give to their sponsorship, please take care of that in the next two weeks. [Click here to take you to page to give]

His,
Vickie

“Another in the Fire”  by Hillsong United Lyrics
There's a grace when the heart is under fire
Another way when the walls are closing in
And when I look at the space between
Where I used to be and this reckoning
I know I will never be alone
There was another in the fire
Standing next to me
There was another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
Of how I've been set free
There is a cross that bears the burden
Where another died for me
There is another in the fire
All my debt left for dead beneath the waters
I'm no longer a slave to my sin anymore
And should I fall in the space between
What remains of me and this reckoning
Either way I won't bow
To the things of this world
And I know I will never be alone
There is another in the fire
Standing next to me
There is another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
What power set me free
There is a grave that holds no body
And now that power lives in me
There is another in the fire
There is another in the fire
There is another in the fire
There is another in the fire
I can see the light in the darkness
As the darkness bows to him
I can hear the roar in the heavens
As the space between wears thin
I can feel the ground shake beneath us
As the prison walls cave in
Nothing stands between us
Nothing stands between us
There is no other name
But the name that is Jesus
He who was and still is
And will be through it all
So come what may in the space between
All the things unseen
And this reckoning
I know I will never be alone
I know I will never be alone
There'll be another in the fire
Standing next to me
There'll be another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
How good You've been to me
I'll count the joy come every battle
Cause I know that's where You'll be
I can see the light in the darkness
As the darkness bows to him
I can hear the roar in the heavens
As the space between wears thin
I can feel the ground shake beneath us
As the prison walls cave in
Nothing stands between us
Nothing stands between us
There'll be another in the fire
Standing next to me
There'll be another in the waters
Holding back the seas
And should I ever need reminding
How good You've been to me
I'll count the joy come every battle
Cause I know that's where You'll be
I'll count the joy come every battle
Cause I know that's where You'll be
I'll count the joy come every battle
Cause I know that's where You'll be
I'll count the joy come every battle
Cause I know that's where You'll be
I'll count the joy come every battle
Cause I know that's where You'll be

Thank you for the Water…

We are just over 4 weeks out from leaving the country to head to Quito, Ecuador. Can’t believe it is almost here.

There is something about giving a drink of water to someone who is thirsty. We have all seen it or have been the receiver of it. You know what I mean, I could paint endless pictures, such as: the marathon runner grabbing water along the way, the football player during two-a-days, baseball players in the hot sun, tennis matches that go forever in the heat, mountain climbers, cyclists, farmers working the fields, road workers, yard work when the heat is beating down on you, and the list could go on and on. Literally, there is nothing better than that drink of cool water during and/or at the end of those tasks. Notice I said tasks. Because all these people represented motion. They were spending energy. They didn’t just go to dinner and decide to have a glass of water with their meal, or choose to drink water instead of coffee or coke for diet or health reasons. They were thirsty because they had a need to be replenished from the energy exerted due to their work.

Our missionaries go on the field with a task to be accomplished… the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This requires lots of sacrifice, including leaving family and friends, relocating to another country, learning another language, learning to live in a new culture, etc., etc. Our missionaries are in constant motion, spending physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy. They need to be replenished. Thank you, to all of you who are part of giving them a glass of water through the ministry of Pure Joy International.

Matthew 10:24
And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

We had another missionary sponsored last week, so we are down to only 9 more missionary women to be sponsored. Please continue in prayer for those sponsorships these next couple of weeks.

Blessings to each of you this week, and may God bring someone into your path to hand you a glass of water because you need to be replenished.

His,
Vickie