"...The one who plows and the one who threshes the grain might both expect a share of the harvest..." 1 Corinthians 9
I want to ask you to take a moment and pray. Pray for a harvest of souls this week as we begin VBS in the jungle. Over the last 5 summers, we have seen over 7,000 kids attend VBS and needless to say, hundreds of salvations. We have seen these kids integrate in local churches and grow in their faith. It is amazing to see kids that just five years ago, when they were 14 and 15 years old, are now working to teach in VBS and even some studying to be pastors! This week, with the help of a group of 55 youth from Alabama AIM, we will be sharing the gospel in four different corners of our jungle town.
We also ask for your prayers as we transition into our time in the USA starting next week. This is always a hard time as we say our "hasta pronto" (see you later) and leave our hearts behind, yet we are confident in the Lord and his timing and know that before long we will return, ready to move forward in His great work. However, we are also very excited to be able to share what the Lord has done in these five years on the field with all those who have made it possible.
Here's a little recap of our last term.
In five years we have as a family...
Grown by one with James Aidan! We are now a family of 6.
Grown a total of more than 5 feet in height.
Gained more than 100 lbs. (I am not telling who)
Completed 12 school grades.
In five years as our shareholders in harvest we have...
Had more than 40 girls in the new expansion of Hope House.
Served 35,000 meals in Ecuador Hope House.
Provided more than 5,000 hours of tutoring in Hope House.
Planted 15 new churches in Shuar jungle villages.
Trained 25 new native pastors.
Baptized more than 700 new believers.
Built over 200 linear feet of bridges in isolated communities.
Provided clean drinking water to over 3,000 people.
Had more than 30 Jungle Missionary Interns (JMI).
Built a center for training missionaries to reach the unreached.
From June of 2015 until June of 2016 we will be stateside raising our new budget for our next term in the Amazon Jungle of Ecuador. Although our time is limited we hope we get the chance to see you and share with you all that you have help us accomplish.
May the Blessing our our Lord be continually with you,
Joil and Leah Marbut
Drew, Will, Emelia and Aidan
