Ecuador Report

C r i s a n d D a n i e l a J o n e s
Prai se
Youth growing in
their faith
Three new Young
Life clubs
A vehicle!
Prayer
That more youth
will be restored
For new
leaders
For provision for
vehicle
expenses
A p r i l 2 0 1 4
Greetings friends,
from Ecuador!
We have just
returned from our
annual disciple-
ship camp and are
encouraged to see
the fruit of the
ministry since last
year. We have an
increasing number
of youth who are
consistent and
growing in their
walk with the
Lord. I am begin-
ning to see sincere
expressions of
relationship with
Jesus from many
of them. It is incredi-
ble to see how God can heal and restore what has been broken by the enemy. I regularly hear
stories here, of parental abuse, that shock me. It's not so much that each story shocks me (I know
plenty of people who have suffered similar abuse in the US) but its the sheer regularity of it here
that gets me. It seems like the majority of the youth here have been beaten and/or suffered verbal
abuse, on occasion or regularly, by their fathers or stepfathers and sometimes mothers. I realize that
alcohol and poverty are big factors but it remains hard for me to get my head around. (continued)
Needs
Increased monthly
support
Pay off vehicle
Support
Send checks to:
CornerStoneI nternational
POBox192
Wilmore, KY 40390
Note UntoLife,
UL-Outreach or
UL-Vehicle on the
memo of your check.
Automaticmonthly
donationsareavailable!
Donate by Paypal/credit
card from CI website:
wwwcornerstoneinternational.
org/staff-jones/
Donated Bibles for youth at 2014 Discipleship Camp
2014 Discipleship Camp
P a g e 2
Cris and Daniela
But Godchosethe
foolishthingsof
theworldtoshame
thewise; Godchose
theweak thingsof
theworldtoshame
thestrong. God
chosethelowly
thingsof thisworld
andthedespised
thingsandthe
thingsthat are
nottonullifythe
thingsthat are, so
that noonemay
boast beforehim.
1Cor 1: 27-29
Its just normal life for many kids here. No wonder so many youth harbor anger, hurt,
and unforgiveness. My friend Ivan, director of Young Life in Ecuador, shared his
experience growing up with a severely abusive father who regularly beat him, his
sisters, and his mother. He told me that he hated his father but that somehow, little by
little, Jesus took all that hatred away years ago. Listening to him talk amazed me
because I would never guess now that he had gone through those things.
I recently began discipling a young man by the name of Christian. I have known him
for over a year and I could see that he had a lot of potential in the Lord. Some time
ago, he accepted Jesus in Young Life and has been involved, on and off, with the
ministry since. Christian lives with his stepfather and mother who have had three
other children. His stepfather is a typical case. These days he tells me that things are
better than before but his stepfather has been severely abusive in the past.
I think Christian suffered more being his stepfathers only non-biological child. On top of the
physical abuse, his stepfather would regularly buy things for his younger brothers but not for
him. He never received gifts for his birthday or Christmas and his stepfather generally ignored
him, even in public. We study the Bible together twice a week now and he is learning a lot. I
hope that one
day Christian
will grow into
the potential I
see in him and
maybe even
become a
leader in
Young Life.
We have had a
growth spurt in
the ministry.
Just this year,
three new clubs
have begun and
there are now
four function-
ing Young Life
clubs in
Ecuador (Shell,
Puyo, Quito,
and Cuenca).
As is always the case when things grow quickly, there are blessings as well as new challenges.
As the interest in Young Life grows quickly around the country, so does the need to train lead-
ers and raise funds.
One of our on-going needs has been transportation. With the way things
are growing, travel has become even more of a necessity. So, we have
purchased a vehicle due to a gracious, zero interest loan! We are thankful
that God has met this need and believe that He will provide the means to
pay it off quickly.
Owning a vehicle will raise our monthly budget by about $300. Vehicles
are expensive here but they tend to retain their value, which is a great ad-
vantage. We would be so grateful for help to pay off the $10,000 we owe
on the car or any amount toward our increased monthly expenses. (see
Support, pg1)
Cris and Christian
Vehicle!
New Club in Cuenca