Ben & Jane Mock
Establishing Churches in Ecuador
October, 2004
Dear Praying Friends,
It hardly seems possible, but Jane and I recently passed our 25 year mark as
missionaries. We "celebrated" this milestone tending to our regular duties of
services and meetings practically every day of the week, not to mention Jane's
counseling schedule, which can, in crisis situations, call her out at all hours.
Our Menıs Fellowship group in Cayambe treated me to a special gathering to
recognize our silver anniversary in the ministry, along with a surprise birthday
party for yours truly. The festive event was crowned with a banquet of guinea
pig, quite an honor in the culture here.
While we had every hope and intention of obtaining our childrenıs visas for
travel to the U.S. in order to take a fall furlough, thanks to Homeland
Security, the citizenship paperwork for our children has again been delayed, and
we simply cannot leave the country until the process is finished. You may
recall that our little ones are adopted, and as natives of Ecuador, changes in
American immigration laws after 9/11 have greatly complicated the naturalization
procedure for them. At this point we have been given an appointment at the U.S.
Consulate in Guayaquil, Ecuador for February, at which time their visas will be
issued, hopefully. If all goes well we would then plan on beginning our
furlough in the summer of 2005. Speaking of furlough, in the past several
months we have received notice from a number of churches that our support is
either being reduced or suspended, due to pastor changes, economic hardships in
the congregation or "shifts in mission policy." Please pray that our income
will not suffer further setbacks, and that as we plan our furlough for next
year, I will not only be able to report to our faithful supporters, but can also
present our work to new churches. It seems strange after 25 years of service to
think of having to do deputation again, but such are the realities of missionary
life.
Following a year of careful planning and preparation, the Sixth Annual
Independent Baptist Womenıs Retreat was a great success, as over 120 ladies
gathered from nearly 20 congregations to enjoy a time of fellowship and
encouragement. Jane worked hard "behind the scenes" to keep things running on
track, as this was the first such meeting in which no missionary ladies were
included among the conference speakers. In keeping to our policy of indigenous
work, Jane had helped train and coordinate a team of 12 national pastorıs wives
and local church workers to conduct the teaching sessions and various forums
held throughout the retreat. Comments that this was the best meeting yet were
unanimous, and the Lord richly blessed, not only in edifying all those who
participated, but also in the salvation of three precious souls.
In our ongoing efforts to bolster national leadership, I am currently working
with a group of ten lay preachers in the church in Cayambe, providing them the
guidance and opportunities to learn by doing. In some cases, long time "bench
warmers" are proving to be quite pastoral behind the pulpit, and we are praying
for the Lord to single out those who can move on to greater commitments, to
provide more laborers for the harvest. As always, we would like to express our
deepest appreciation for your supplications, concern, and investment in our
labors.
In His Care,
Ben and Jane
Sent by Bethel Baptist
Church, Richmond Hill, GA * Sent through WBF Mission Agency, Arlington, TX
Casilla 17-11-6592 Quito, Ecuador * Tel. (011) 593-2-236-0517 *
bmock@andinanet.net