Missionary Prayer Letter- March 2008

"He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming soon" Rev. 22:20

OUR FAMILY

• This month Genesis had her tenth birthday. With the exception of Genesis, all our daughters - were very sick with the flu. Anita was very sick as well, but she has recovered quickly. Then Joselito was admitted to the International New Clinic in Quito with Pneumonia. He was very sick for three weeks and was hospitalized for treatment in the Vozandes Hospital. He has been very weak from the antibiotics.
  
• The weather in Quito is very cold, for the first time we had temperature of 5ºC- this is very crazy!
  

OUR MINISTRY

• This month was irregular because of Joselito's illness, but we continue serving to our Lord Jesus.
• Anita continued teaching at Candelaria Baptist Church every Wednesday on the subject of the Christian Family.
• We celebrated the first session of our School of Ministry. Anita was the teacher because Joselito was still too sick to get out. We had seventeen students from the rural areas. The subject of the course was Family Counseling. It was a positive experience for Anita to share her studies in this area, because she has finished her Masters program in Christian Family Therapy
  

MISCELLANEOUS

• The Ecuadorian Baptist Convention made a five year agreement with the Pinchincha Baptist Association for the administration of the Quito Faculty of the Ecuadorian Baptist Theological Seminary. As Rector, Joselito hopes that this ministry will be very effective and strategic for our churches in the Andean area.
  

OUR PRAYER REQUESTS & NEEDS

• Praise the Lord for Anita and her Masters degree. The graduation ceremony will be in October.
• Pray for Joselito's health. He is now doing much better, but will continue with the medical treatment and will have to rest.
  

With love in Christ: Joselito & Anita Orellana. (Galatians 2:20).

Missionary Prayer Letter- February 2008

“He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming soon” Rev. 22:20

OUR FAMILY

• Anita and I celebrated our thirteenth marriage anniversary on February 28. We are very excited to live out our commitment of service to our Lord Jesus. We are also very glad for our family and for our vision for our future. Praise the Lord for all He is doing.
• The weather has been very cold in Quito. We received a significant blessing this month from a donor. The donor gave us the finances necessary to totally pay the debt for my truck. We give many thanks to our Lord Jesus first and foremost, and then to this lovely family.
  

OUR MINISTRY

• This month we continue offering pastoral support to our brother Walter Chavez. His physical condition is terminal, but his spiritual condition is wonderful.
• We are doing premarital counseling with a Christian couple from Candelaria Baptist Church. The wedding ceremony will be in April. Also we continue teaching a class every Wednesday on the subject of, "How to be a Christian Family"
• Joselito shared a special conference for young people on the biblical meaning of the love. It was a wonderful experience to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus to this group.
  

MISCELLANEOUS

• Joselito took an intensive course in Vision International University on "Projects Design" in order to meet the final requirements for graduation.
• Joselito was accepted into another doctoral program with Vision International University. He will start the program in March. He will work toward a Doctor of Ministry, with focus in Missiology.
• We had an important meeting with the board of missions agency in Ecuador. We met to discuss a special agreement with our agency in the USA.

OUR PRAYER REQUESTS & NEEDS

• Continue praying for Anita and her graduation project. She is excited but at the same time is stressed out in the process.
• Praise the Lord for His provision to pay off the debt on our truck.
• Pray for Joselito's upcoming academic program.
  

With love in Christ: Joselito & Anita Orellana. (Galatians 2:20).

Missionary Prayer Letter- January 2008

OUR FAMILY

• Anita and Bethlehem went to see her mother and our Baptist church in Puerto Lopez (Manabi province). She had a nice time with her family and Bethlehem enjoyed the beach…she was VERY excited to play on the beach! My daughters are growing marvelously under the grace of the Lord.

OUR MINISTRY

• Our whole family spent the month in Yaruqui (30 miles from Quito). We attended their evangelical church every Sunday, but mainly went to visit a very good friend, Walter Chavez, who is dying of cancer. He is very sick and considered a terminal patient at this point. He is an engineer, was president of the Ecuadorian Baptist Convention, and president of our home church in Quito for many years. He is a wonderful Christian. It was a beautiful experience for us to enjoy fellowship, sing praises to the Lord, study the Bible together, tell stories, and share our lives.
• Joselito preached one Sunday in Yaruqui and also offered a special marriage conference while we were visiting. The topic of the conference was The Meaning of Love.
• Joselito preached in Candelaria Baptist Church the final Sunday of the month. We continue leading the study on the Christian Family each Wednesday.
• Joselito is writing two books this year: The Christian Family, A Pastoral Perspective; and the other, The Principal Problems of Ministry in Latin America.
  

MISCELLANEOUS

• Joselito is now the president of the Palm Ministry in Ecuador . He goes to the mission office every Tuesday except when he is helping with groups from USA, or has a family priority.
• Also we are taking care of cases of pastoral counseling in Candelaria and in our home church, especially family counseling.
• Joselito continues teaching in the education program for the Ecuadorian Baptist Theological Seminary. The graduation ceremony will be in March.
  

OUR PRAYER REQUESTS & NEEDS

• Pray for Anita and her final project for graduation. She is working very hard.
• Pray for Joselito's new books he is working on in 2008
• Pray for the administration of Palm Ministry in Ecuador
  

With love in Christ: Joselito & Anita Orellana. (Galatians 2:20).

Indigenous Ministry

Christmas Photos!

Missionary Prayer Letter- December 2007

OUR FAMILY

• We are so thankful to you for your help, love and care for us during this year 2007. Have a wonderful Merry Christmas and a nice new year. We wish for you all blessings from our Lord Jesus in 2008.
• Thank so much for your support for us during this year. Serving together with you for the Kingdom of God has been a wonderful experience in the grace the Lord. We appreciate your spiritual partnership. That's the most important thing for us!

OUR MINISTRY

• Joselito preached at the wedding for one of the leaders from Candelaria Baptist Church. We also had special Christmas celebration with the couples that are attending our weekly conferences about the Christian Family.
• The marriage conference that Joselito shared in our home church this month focused on the meaning of love. We had a special commitment ceremony among the Christian couples.
• Joselito sent his new book, Toward the Identity of the Baptists, to the USA for publishing!

MISCELLANEOUS

• We held a special program with puppets, film, and games in our neighborhood to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of Quito.
• We went on a few days vacation to the countryside for Christmas and the end of 2007.
• We had the opportunity to see my first pastor/missionary Mel Neill and his wife Charlene (she was my first Bible Teacher in Sunday school thirty five years ago). Brother Mel preached in Candelaria Baptist Church. They are living back in Texas now.

OUR PRAYER REQUESTS & NEEDS

• Pray for Anita and her final project for graduation. She is waiting on the green light to move forward.
• Praise the Lord for my new book: Baptists: Their Heritage & Message
• Pray for the debt we owe for our car, and our monthly budget.
• For the new year and the current responsibilities with Palm Missionary Ministries in Ecuador

With love in Christ: Joselito & Anita Orellana. (Galatians 2:20).

Missionary Prayer Letter- November 2007

OUR FAMILY

We are growing in the grace of our Lord Jesus. We are enjoying His great blessings on our lives. We know that suffering and needs are a special component in the Christian life, but always He completes His work.

OUR MINISTRY

• We had the final session of our School of Ministry for 2007. Joselito taught the course, Survey of Church History, over five days with eight hours of instruction each day.
• Anita also helped by coordinating the logistics for the course.
• We finished with a Christmas party with games, songs, gifts, and a delicious special dinner. Two students completed the program this month.

MISCELLANEOUS

• We had our annual board meeting of the Board for our mission in Quito. Our president, Art Patray who is based in Miami, was present and Joselito was named president of Palm Ministry in Ecuador.
• Joselito went to El Carmen (Manabí province) to visit the Baptist Church and to give a special gift to an old brother who previously worked with Sammy Simpson, a former missionary. While on the trip, he visited the Baptist Church in Alluriquín, and shared a special family conference. Joselito was pastor at this church for eleven years when he was very young, from 1982 until 1993.
• Joselito had a strategic planning meeting with the Ecuadorian Baptist Youth Board.

OUR PRAYER REQUESTS & NEEDS

• Pray for Anita and her studies. She is very tired and stressed as she works to complete her final project.
• Thanksgiving for the provision of our Lord Jesus, but please continue to pray for our monthly budget needs .
• We have a significant debt for which we need prayer. We bought a truck for our ministry and need to pay $9000. The interest is very expensive in our country, 17% each month, so this is a signficant need. Please pray for this need and for provision from our Lord Jesus.

With love in Christ: Joselito & Anita Orellana. (Galatians 2:20).

Missionary Prayer Letter- October 2007

Our Family

Anita is fine. Our daughters are growing in the fear of the Lord. Michelle had her fourteenth birthday. She is well and very glad to be living with us. We are parents of a teenager now... Praise the Lord for her!

Our Ministry

• Joselito was one of the speakers for the Latin-American Congress of Young Baptists that met in Guayaquil for three days. It was a great experience because leaders attended from many countries of Latin America. Joselito shared about the Theological Principles of Baptists and what means to be a Baptist today (the topic of his next book).
• Joselito preached in our home church. The title of his sermon was, The Holy Scripture: Meaning, Content & Purpose.
• Joselito received a copy of his book, Commentary on Luke, from the Spanish Baptist Publishing House in the USA. I’m very excited for this blessing. Praise the Lord for this special gift in my life!
• Joselito preached on Caring for the Pastor at Candelaria Baptist Church for a Sunday service; and in a special ceremony for the pastor’s grandaughter’s fifteenth birthday. We also continue to lead a special weekly program on the Christian Family at Candelaria Baptist Church.
• We have continued with the family conferences in our home church. This month Joselito talked about forgiveness in the context of marriage. We are also counseling a few couples in our church.

Miscellaneous

We were in Pifo (30 miles from Quito) for a special meeting of our mission board. Beginning in November when the current president resigns, Joselito will be the president of Palm Missionary Ministries in Ecuador. The annual meeting will be in November with our president from USA, Art Patray. Joselito is working on the documents for that meeting. We are preparing a special report to PMM about us and our personal ministry.

Our Prayer Requests and Needs

• Thanksgiving for the provision of our Lord Jesus
• For our country and it’s new political constitution
• For Joselito’s next book that he is finishing in November. Pray for that please!
• Continue praying for our budget, we need to cover many debts

With love in Christ: Joselito & Anita Orellana. (Galatians 2:20)

New Books!

Missionary Prayer Letter- September 2007

OUR FAMILY

Our daughters started back to school this month. Also, Galilee and Bethlehem celebrated birthdays. Galilee turned 7 on September 28 and Bethlehem turned 3 on September 30. Anita began her studies in Pastoral Counseling. She is very excited, but also very tired. Our niece Michelle is now studying in the same school with our daughters. She is feeling so good, and we are very excited for this wonderful experience of the Lord's grace.

OUR MINISTRY

• Joselito shared the first Family Ministry conference in our home church (UBC). The topic was Marriage Communication . Fifty percent of those attending were unbelievers in Christ, and they were very broken by the Word of God. The people asked for another conference to follow this one held in our home church.
• We began a special conference program in Candelaria Baptist Church about how to be healthy Christian families. We are teaching the conferences every Wednesday for three hours over the next eight months.
• We had a special service in Guayaquil to recognize those who have served in the Latin American Congress of young Baptists. Joselito was the national counselor and preached a special sermon of encouragement. Also during this time we had a few meetings about the ministry of our Baptist Seminary. Joselito will resign from this responsibility within the next year.
• The next meeting for the School of Ministry was on the Kingdom of God in Cañar province. It was a Mission's week. Joselito went to visit four indigenous churches and communities: Caguana Pamba, Ingapirca, Ducur y Arriendo. It was a wonderful experience. He taught and preached every day for five days (ten hours per day). Every afternoon our students helped with special teaching for Sunday school teachers, taught husbands and wives, performed with puppets, and taught children and youth. We also had a special service each night. Praise the Lord for this time in our ministry!
• Joselito preached in our home church about biblical keys to keep anxiety under control.
• We went to visit the New Life Baptist Church and to encourage our brother in Christ who is serving there. We both helped; Joselito worked with the music and Anita taught

MISCELLANEOUS

• Joselito is helping at our home church with the special Family Ministry conferences and is preaching.
• We went to Alluriquin for the election of the new constitution in our country. Pray for that, as it is the most important election during the last twenty years.

OUR PRAYER REQUESTS & NEEDS

• Thanks giving for the opportune provision of our Lord Jesus.
• Please continue praying for our monthly budget, we need to get more donors.
• For direction from God about His specific will for us. We have many good things in our hands, but we want the specific ministries He has for us.