August 10, 2016
Steve and Hannah Skinner
Ministry Change
Dear (name),
We trust this letter finds you doing well. You are receiving this letter because you are on our mailing list - which means one of the following: 1) you currently support us financially, 2) you have at some time in the past given to our ministry, 3) or you requested to be on our mailing list.
We are excited to tell you that we will be changing ministries. We will be moving to Manta, Ecuador (on the coast) and leaving the Guesthouse Ministry. Manta is an area that was really affected by the Earthquake in April. Since the earthquake, we have taken 3 trips to Manta to help our OMS church there. We have helped with the soup kitchen and with passing out food and necessities to the victims of the earthquake. We have really enjoyed our trips there and have enjoyed getting to know the pastor and his family and serving alongside them. OMS has long-term plans for helping with the recovery, and since we have a church in Manta, it is a great place to start to help. But with these plans, it is essential for an OMS missionary to be in Manta as a point-person/coordinator. No other OMS missionaries are currently in Manta. We don't know all the details of our role yet, but we do know we will be helping to coordinate the OMS teams that come to Manta to help with the recovery/rebuild. We will also be working alongside Pastor Julio and Diana in evangelism and discipleship. Since the earthquake, church attendance has increased and many people from the community are asking for visits from the pastor and elders. We are just at the beginning of our talks with the OMS Ecuador Field Leader and OMS Headquarters in regards to the plans for Manta, so we don’t have it all figured out yet.
We were in Manta last week and we picked up 15 folders with a total of 86 requests for help. Our Field Leader spoke with Pastor Julio (pastor of the OMS Manta church) and asked him to have people from his church, along with pastors and members of other churches in Manta, to complete a questionnaire requesting help due to earthquake damage. Each of the 15 folders represents a church, and inside the folders were the requests for help, 86 in all. With this information, we will start the planning process.
Towards the end of last year, we both felt a strong desire to do more work outside of the Guesthouse ministry. We talked to the other OMS Ecuador missionaries and told them we wanted to be available to help them with their ministries, when possible. We helped one of the missionary couples in May with a mission team that ministered in the jungle. We really enjoyed that trip as well. So, with our trips to Manta and with the trip to the jungle, we both felt very strongly that we didn't want to continue for too much longer in the Guesthouse ministry, although we would do what was best for OMS and for the Guest House. Because of the earthquake, and the great need in Manta, it worked out for us to leave the Guesthouse sooner than we thought.
We already have an apartment and will be moving sometime in the first half of September. We will need to furnish the apartment, including buying appliances like refrigerator and stove. In the Guesthouse, we didn't have those expenses since the appliances were already there. We did have to purchase bedroom furniture and living room furniture, so we will be taking those with us to Manta.
We are excited and nervous for this change, but really feel this is what the Lord has put on our hearts.
Sincerely,
Steve and Hannah Skinner
Ecuador Earthquake Relief
If you are interested in giving to our ministry to help with the additional expenses we will have in Manta, please return the enclosed envelope or give online at www.onemissionsociety.org/give/theskinners2
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Steve and Hannah Skinner steve.hannah.skinner@gmail.com
942 Erny Dr steveandhannahskinner.blogspot.com
Greenwood, IN 46142 U.S. number to reach us in Ecuador: 260-220-9607
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