December Holaaa desde Santo Domingo!!

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Rhoda Wade
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Holaaa desde Santo Domingo!! Graham and Sharon Nichols US Home Church: Lewis Memorial UMC Evans, GA E-Mail: Nichols4Ecuador@gmail.com Web-Site: www.nichols4ecuador.org Skype: graham.sharon.

John 1:14 Saludos friends, family and church family, Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

1 Holaaa desde Santo Domingo!! Graham and Sharon Nichols US Home Church: Lewis Memorial UMC Evans, GA Web-Site: Skype: graham.sharon.nichols December 2016 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 Saludos friends, family and church family, Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We pray this mission letter finds you well, full of hope, and filled with His Goodness! Please pray with us as we seek to please God and embrace His fulfillment in us. December Mission News folks, the month of December was fuller than most more Visa renewal process in Quito, Sunday School every Sunday, Children s Ministry in the Montoneros Community, Christmas Celebrations in the Communities we serve, food shopping to feed the hungry, food basket deliveries, birthday parties, family dinners, Christmas Eve gatherings and finally family from the US in Ecuador to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, oh yea, and we had Thanksgiving in December for 40 in our home sooo there are not adequate words to describe all the God Moments, ministry among the little people, JOY, sweat, tears-happy tears and sad ones, and love and hugs that went on in this place over the past 31 days, so photos, lots of photos are gonna help us with the blessing of sharing the Mission of Jesus in Santo Domingo with you all. Here goes and know this truth, it s still, in the midst of an ever-changing World, an incredible blessing to be in this place among these people at this time in history who also call us family! Be Glorified LORD!! Thanksgiving a la Casa de los Nichols in December with some of our favorite peeps in the Southern Hemisphere, and music, devotion, lots of hugs and love and laughs and awesome food each family brought one food to feed 40 a buffet at the foothill of Bomboli our Santo Domingo Mountain our only one! It was a lovely starry night to share a US tradition outside with our ECU friends and family.

and a lovely dinner in the new home of our godchildren, Daniel and Génesis. Grocery Shopping to feed 10 families.

2 The JOY of serving together with our Bishop of the Evangelical United Methodist Church of Ecuador, Rev. Silvo Cevallos the family Sarabia and Davicho s Birthday lunch after Sunday Worship, Karol s Birthday celebration at her abuelita s home, her mami passed away earlier in 2016, and the family Zurita, and a lovely dinner in the new home of our godchildren, Daniel and Génesis. Grocery Shopping to feed 10 families. We brought along 2 of my Sunday School teachers who know better than we do the best items to buy that will be of the most benefit to the families and specially to help meet the needs of new mothers and children. Génesis and Gabby are both blessings to us and those we serve together! We were gifted by some incredible people who know the needs of our people here and gave from their hearts so we could shop and provide a basket of food for some of our most needy. We live in an area surrounded by some of the poorest in the Coastal Region and we have people who literally have nothing to feed their children, and what they do have they go without so their children can eat. These children are part of our ministry programs and are faithful to be in Sunday School and in-community for ministry. We see great need, and not just at Christmas, and many of you responded and we are grateful for your giving hearts. You helped make 102 people cry but tears of relief, and JOY.

Ministry in the Montoneros Community is always full of children no matter the time of year. They are a JOY and love so much learning more about Jesus.

3 There was Blessing after Blessing while delivering the food baskets. Some of our families have life events too personal to be part of photos. These children asked straight out to have their pictures taken. All our families are precious, some have multiple issues, and some have lives more difficult than most could ever imagine. Ministry in the Montoneros Community is always full of children no matter the time of year. They are a JOY and love so much learning more about Jesus. We need to buy more tables and benches, if anyone wants to help us with this project, please. We are growing faster than we can sit still and this is Santo Domingo, so the sun and humidity destroys most everything. But we continue to grow in the love of Jesus. Sunday School is rocking every Sunday morning we are full-up with little people and we now have 2 males on the 2 nd floor helping our teachers! I am so proud to have Daniel and Klever part of the SS program. Christian male examples are few and far between and these 2 men of God are great role models for our children, especially for our boys. We are grateful for their willingness to serve.

275 bags were filled thank you for helping us provide for this project.

4 Candy bags were provided for our children and adults in Community Ministry that we were able to help provide for and put together in the place we have Children s Ministry every 15 days. 275 bags were filled thank you for helping us provide for this project. A bag of candy is all many of these children receive for Christmas and it is a treasure to most. A $2 bag of candy.

presented a drama, music by a couple of youth, an adult choir, a Christmas message from the Pastor and lots of JOY among the crowd.

5 The evening came to celebrate the Birth of Jesus in Community and feed the masses spiritually and physically. So many we could hardly count. Those 275 candy bags went fast after everyone was served a plate of chicken, rice and salad, but first Sharon opened the program in prayer and a short message, and then the littlest children presented a drama, music by a couple of youth, an adult choir, a Christmas message from the Pastor and lots of JOY among the crowd. This annual event is also part of the church s evangelism we are hoping to see many of these new faces in our children s and adult ministry programs in 2017! Christmas Eve was a blessing to the Nichols living and serving in Ecuador, the Sarabia s, a big part of our Santo Domingo family, invited us once again this year to their home for a wonderful meal, secret Santa gifts and fellowship with this dear family who God has graciously added to our lives. We missed part of this family this year, our Luis, Adry, Amy, Matias and Luisito are now living and studying in Spain. On scholarship from the ECU government. God willing, they will be back with the Sarabia-Nichols family for Christmas They are missed, loved and prayed for every day! But we sense God has great plans for them.

6 Christmas Day came and our children and youth were wonderful celebrating Jesus. The youth, years old sang and did a lovely job our children 3-13 years old presented a drama, and making up the multitude of Angels, they sang a non-traditional Christmas song, Vine a Adorarte ~ Here I am to Worship 100 voices strong and they were fabulous as a Church full Worshiped together the Greatest Gift to ever be given to the World. To God be the Glory! And so, dear people we are a bit tired but we are blessed and we are happy and we are also a little sad to not have been at home in the US with our family and Church family over Christmas but we are indeed at home here as well in the place where we were created to be. Pray for us please there are lots of Kingdom works happening here and ministry is growing and we have plans to take the Gospel into another new community soon this means 4 communities plus Church ministry more work but more opportunities to be an example of Jesus in the lives of the lonely, the abused, the abandoned, left behind by the World Jesus will not leave them behind He died for them too and He has placed us here for His purpose it is our calling in Christ and it is a privilege. May the Creator of the Universe, of ALL things, be Glorified in us and through us, and heaven help us; in those we are here to help make disciples who will in turn make disciples it s how we each change the World for someone it s how we each change the World, period. We praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow. We are soo very grateful for the support we have received and continue to receive in prayers and financial blessings which helps greatly to keep us going in the direction God is moving in our lives to the places and people He places in our paths. As ministry continues to grow and spill over into other communities filled with children nearby GLORY!! we are humbled to be included in the lives of all the people God generously gives us to love and to be able to help to keep warm and dry, and now cool and dry equator living!! And along the way the blessing and calling of feeding them spiritually and emotionally and physically. Please prayerfully consider joining Jesus in His mission alongside us feeding hungry tummies and sweet little hearts as we be the Gospel for the people as empowered by His Good and Faithful Spirit. We simply cannot continue in His service here without your prayers and financial partnership and support. We thank God for you all! God bless the faithful who have kept us going and continue to be blessings in our lives and in the lives, we are called to serve and love into the Kingdom together. Thank you!! It is an incredible JOY!!! Yours in Christ, Graham and Sharon

All donations may be made to: The Mission Society P.O.

org/give For giving Missionary support please use the Give to a Missionary form and specify the 4-digit code 0368 OR you may just type our names Graham and Sharon Nichols The thing that makes a

Graham s (our) niece has been married to an Ecuadorian gentleman for over 30 years from Quito and Santo Domingo.

7 All donations may be made to: The Mission Society P.O. Box Norcross, Georgia Nichols Support #0368 on the memo line OR Via The Mission Society s New Website Giving Info: For giving Missionary support please use the Give to a Missionary form and specify the 4-digit code 0368 OR you may just type our names Graham and Sharon Nichols The thing that makes a missionary is the sight of what Jesus did on the cross and to have heard Him say, GO. Oswald Chambers And finally for December 2016 our NC family came home to Ecuador to visit. Graham s (our) niece has been married to an Ecuadorian gentleman for over 30 years from Quito and Santo Domingo. While in Country we were invited to have a lovely New Year s Eve meal at their family farm about 28 miles from where we live. Who could have thought 30+ years ago, when we first met, that our new nephew would be living in our first home State of NC, USA and we d be living in his first home Country and home city in Ecuador, SA only GOD could make this happen! It was a JOY to see them all especially our very handsome 21-year-old great-nephew who is a Junior at UNC Chapel Hill! Vayaaa Tarheels. Please feel free to forward, mail-out or print our Newsletter for your Sunday school class, small group, Church or friends Thank you!! Bendiciones!

Fundraising Idea Packet

Fundraising Idea Packet We are so very happy for your desire to join us on this mission trip to Haiti this year! We hope you ll enjoy it as much as we have over the years. We work hard to make sure you