The Diocesan library continues to be a main project for Trish, as she sorts through several boxes of donated books.  She also finds herself starting to seek funding for the refugee project for 2009, as well as attending to the daily, continual needs of people with scarce resources and the constant issues of how to pay for rent, food, and the routine needs for their families.

These times have been very significant for both the visitors and Ecuadorian companions as we together are challenged, empowered and changed by the relationships of eating, working, living and sharing together.

When we started a new letter about things here for us in Ecuador, it was April, but clearly now it will be a May 2008 update.

Holy God, faithful and unchanging: enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth, and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love, that we may truly worship you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Trish is going to have surgery on Monday morning at 9am to remove a kidney stone, widen the tube that runs from the kidney, and take out a section of the tube.

Some on our email list are asking about what is going on with the situation with Colombia and how we are doing in Quito right now.

In January we, and particularly Chris, started in earnest preparing for one of three annual meetings that the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church has. The February 2008 meeting was held here in Quito.

Thanks to the purchase of a pickup truck last month we have had more flexibility in traveling to visit congregations that are not in Quito and more overall opportunity to continue the work that we are doing.

Much has happened since we sent out our last update in early May, which is why it has taken us 3 months to get this one together instead of the usual month-and-a-half. Here are some of the highlights: