Two Week Update
It's hard to believe we've been in London for two weeks already. But a lot has happened in those two weeks.
- Zoey, Zach, and AJ flew on an airplane for the first time; Ashley came over with me last year.
- AJ made it back to Panama City to live with Angie's mother; there's lots of other family around too.
- Zach and Zoey rode their first double-decker bus and underground train.
- Angie learned to use her new kitchen and new laundry room and go shopping without a Wal-Mart.
- We spent one day sight-seeing in central London.
- The kids' school books arrived and homeschooling began on Monday without AJ to help us with the technical brainy stuff like laptops and Ipods.
- We ate some good Chinese food and fish-n-chips, but no curry yet (I'm all about the food).
- Ashley found a nice souvenir portrait of The Beatles; she's not allowed to buy every one she finds.
- Zach climbed over our back wall from the neighbor's garden when we locked ourselves out of the house.
- We found a nice park with room to throw a Frisbee.
- Zoey learned to play badminton at the church and what it's like to have her own room.
- We all learned to use four different recycle bins; they're big on recycling here.
- I led a joint worship service and preached last Sunday followed by a BBQ; Pastor Brian is on sabbatical until the end of September.
- I helped with the Homeless Drop-In Ministry on Monday; about 70 came through for a meal.
- We met the combined youth group on Monday night with ten in attendance; 3 were Ecker kids.
- I ate lunch with a group of local ministers and led worship at a nursing home on Tuesday afternoon.
- I've attended four prayer meetings, two at Camden Road Baptist and two at Upper Holloway Baptist.
- I've also dealt with some discouragement this week (see article below).
Urgent Prayer Needed
Everything was going well until Tuesday. It was a discouraging morning. I had a meeting with the top directors at London City Mission and there is still a problem in their minds with my work visa in the fact that I acquired it through Pastor Brian's church and not them and now it has to be transferred over to them and the laws are so complicated.
To make a long story short... they haven't decided what they are going to do with me yet. I'm confident they like me and what I can do for/with the churches in London and the community but the visa is a big issue to them. Apparently there has been a lot of visa fraud with "ministers" coming from a certain African nation and LCM can't afford to have any hint of impropriety on their record. The whole situation is so very complicated that's probably about the best I can do to explain it.
So the bottom line is I may be forced to a fallback position of aggressively raising funds from the States or finding another ministry position on this side of the pond that provides a salary or a combination of both. But the jury is out right now. They haven't said no but they haven't said yes. In other words, all is not lost but all is not peachy at the moment. I still believe we are where we are supposed to be and God may have a greater plan we have not yet discovered.
Support Needed and Appreciated
We really appreciate your prayer support and gifts to our London ministry. You have been a tremendous blessing to us. If God prompts you to make a donation to our mission fund you can give a designated gift through FBC Clermont at 498 W. Montrose St., Clermont, FL, 34711. Make sure your check is made payable to the church and designated to the Ecker family. Our London address is at the bottom of the page and you can always send us email by replying to this newsletter.
We're Keeping the Light On for You
We are so blessed to be living in a newly refurbished three-story home furnished by Upper Holloway Baptist Church. It's amazing what they've done with a house built around 1920. I've included a few photos to give you an idea of how beautiful it is.
It's also in a convenient location for shopping and public transportation. We can even walk to church. It takes about 15-20 minutes to walk to Camden Road Baptist but only about 5-10 minutes to Upper Holloway Baptist. The neighborhood is a bit noisy compared to Clermont but we're getting used to it.
We can't help but miss everyone in Clermont but we're enjoying the cool weather and the people of London. I can't believe this is August. It feels like November in Central Florida. Our high temp today was 62 degrees!
By the way, there hasn't been much rain since we arrived -- until today -- but a lot of clouds. Both Saturdays were very sunny though. We took credit for that as Floridians.
