Please Pray

My Aunt Connie went into a diabetic coma this last friday night. Please be praying for our family as there doesn't seem to be much hope that she will come out of it. My mother and Katelyn will be going to the US to be with the family. Katelyn is a senior in high school and can't afford to miss many days of school, but she is very close to her aunt and will spend the next few weeks in the US. Pray that my mom is able to get some rest. Pray that my other sister AJ who was also close to my aunt will feel loved although she is not able to go. My dad is in Peru right now for meetings and is hoping to get an early flight to Ecuador so he can see mom and Katelyn before they go. Please pray that in this whole situation God will receive glory.

Alaina

Coffee Shop Tour!

This is a quick tour of the coffee shop, Subsuelo at the Alliance Academy in Quito, Ecuador. We are so privileged to have this space. Now that you know what it looks like, you can pray more specifically. Thanks so much!

For those that are wondering...Alaina is doing much better. She is on antibiotics to fight a bad stomach infection. We are actually both still fighting some stomach issues, but are on the mend. Hopefully no more emergency room visits for a looooong time.

Thank you all for your prayers.

Loren and Alaina

Subsuelo Coffee Shop!

Loren and I have been busy these last few weeks with getting this coffee shop up and running!

Thankfully we have the help of an intern Emily

who knows ALL about coffee!

Here is a picture of Loren and my sister Aujaleen painting the coffee shop.

It has been such a joy living in the same city as my family. We don't see them all the time, but when we do get to hang out it is a true blessing!

We are feeling more and more settled in our apartment all the time. I am enjoying learning how to cook on a gas stove, walk everywhere, speaking spanish, drinking juices, and buying wonderful fresh fruits and veggies!

This weekend we replaced my phone that was stolen! We got the cheapest one we could find because that one might be stolen again this next week.... (hopefully NOT!) It took us most of yesterday getting the phone replaced.

Here are some pictures of the coffee shop and wh

at it looks like now. In the photo are two of our team members, Emily and Dave. We will be having an event coming up this week called BYOM 5 (alive) CHOM which stands for: Bring Your Own Mug (5= 5th time we've done it) (alive just rhymes with 5) Coffee House Open Mic. The students love this time because they can bring their musical talent and show it off while the audience can enjoy great coffee and fellowship. When we had this event last month 110 people showed up! Our next one is this thursday the 18th. We love this time because the students who normally do not care about God will come to these events because they want to play their instruments. Pray that we can engage in great conversations about God with them through means of coffee and music.

Loren and I had the opportunity to be seminar leaders for the students half day last friday. This was a true blessing because we were able to speak to students about what was on our heart. I spoke to the girls about 'whats your worth' and Loren spoke about establishing a foundation in Christ before going off to college.

I really enjoyed my time with the girls who came to my seminar. I orchestrated my seminar to be different than a regular classroom setting. I had candles around the room and moved all the desks and brought in cushions for the students to sit on. I spoke from my heart about how our security must be in something that cannot be taken from us ie: Christ. I also had them think about what they didn't like about themselves then poured truth on them through scripture on how they were created beautiful. I told them any time they think of that aspect about themselves that they do not like, they must rebuke it because it is a lie! At the end I had them listen to a song by Bethany Dillon about how in Christ we are completely satisfied. I had a good response from the girls who came and they seemed to enjoy the interaction with games and stories. Thank you for your prayers. Please keep praying for these young women at Alliance who are attracted to the world more than Christ.

This are some photos of our Ingles Student Ministries team: Ashley, Adam, Loren, Dan and Dave working hard in our office. One day Adam and Dave came to work matching (Dave is wearing pink too but the flash took it away). It was a photo moment. We have a lot of fun with this team we are apart of.

Coffee Shop Shopping!

We have been BUSY these last couple of weeks figuring out our schedule at the school as Chaplains.

One of the best parts about our days so far is that none of them are alike! This last week we have been concentrating on getting this Coffee Shop running. We have been painting, shopping for supplies, and running all over Quito figuring out where on earth they even sell coffee supplies. Its been a good challenge.

These are some pictures of the crowd the coffee shop brings plus the initial pictures of what it first looks like, and we will update the pictures when we have it all painted!!

We love what we do here, and are continuously making those connections with the students about who Jesus is!

Loren is doing great with managing the Coffee Shop as well as getting back into Leading the Chapel Worship times. These students just LOVE him and its so fun to observe!

My schedule every day is different. For example I have spent lunch time with girls who are at In School Suspension, been a Sub for a sick PE teacher, lead small groups, and spend time in meetings, prayer, and at the coffee shop!

Thank you for your prayers! My cell phone was stolen on Monday, so that was a slight complication in my day. There are continuous events that could distract us from why we are here. Pray that we will keep our focus on Christ and Him glorified! Thank YOU!