Life on the Line ...

Graham and Sharon Nichols US Church: Lewis Memorial UMC Evans E-Mail: [email protected] Web-Site: www.Nichols4Ecuador.org

Skype: graham.sharon.nichols

February 2015 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you

must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my

disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 (NIV)

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. †

February News … a month overflowing with the love of Jesus on the two continents we call home! Our Pandilla (women’s leadership band of the EUMC Jesús de Nazaret) planned for a day of celebration with the women of our church and community. We had an awesome evening sharing Christ with one another and enjoying an awesome meal together. This event was also the kickoff for our women’s small group Bible studies, giving the women of our church the opportunity to pray about being part of a small group and get to know others with the same interests. We received a few ‘women to be’ too, as some of our ladies brought their little girls and they too were a great joy. We are excited about all God has planned for the women of our church. †

Our Little Juliette from Río

Verde †

During February our Sunday School also

learned more of the love of Christ as we focused on having a heart like Jesus and loving our

neighbors as ourselves. The little people God gave us to love in

our ministry communities are

absolutely precious. Even on hard days when their little lives are harder than anyone’s ever should be, they wrap their little arms around our

necks and squeeze love into

us!! †

Just look at these sweet little faces … they are learning soo much about the life of Christ and how much He loves each of them as though there were only one of them to love. During this past month we have also been making our way to the Cross while learning about Cuaresma (Lent) and the great love of Jesus as He obediently walked His path to the Cross for each of us. We are praying and singing and learning and drawing and

making some really cool examples to remind us of God’s love through our Lord Jesus. †

The end of February we returned to Georgia, USA for an invitation to share the mission of Jesus among the people we serve during Roswell UMC’s 10th Annual Global Impact Celebration (GIC). Roswell UMC’s GIC was awesome and we were able to reconnect with our missionary pals, Arthur and Mary Alice Ivey, missionaries to Perú and our RUMC friends and family who graciously help to keep us in God’s service in Ecuador. Another incredible blessing for those we serve was the generous gift of light for our Río Verde and Montoneros families in Ecuador. Spear headed by our dear friend and mission supporter, John Pearson who received donations and purchased Luci Lights. We serve many families with little to no light in their homes. These solar powered light sources are an answer to prayer. The sun sets and rises at the same time every day and night on the equator and after 6:30 PM every evening there is no light to cook, clean, bathe and take care of their children. No light for the children in our communities to do their homework … and no light to study and read their Bibles. But thanks to these wonderful mission minded people … lives are going to be changed. We are soo incredibly grateful for the hearts of people who pray and give … we are surrounded by the Hands and Feet of Jesus who encourage us with their love for others and for us. Thank you RUMC. †

After a Spirit-filled GIC we are now at our Georgia home, Lewis Memorial UMC’s Parsonage in Evans, GA. God is sooo Good to us … giving us church families on two continents and a home when we are in Georgia through our home church. It is an incredible blessing to look out our kitchen window and see the Church Steeple on the Sanctuary we have called home for 24 years. We are grateful for all those who let God use them. Thank you LMUMC family. †

Luci Lights and

many of those whose lives will be a little brighter

because of generous hearts who gave light by sharing the ‘Light’ of the

World and caring for and loving others. It is an honor to be an extension of our USA churches in

ECU. †

We continue to be blessed by those God called us to serve. Lots of days they end up teaching us how we should live, forgive, and love one another. We see that a lot in Río Verde. With so little materially along with big life struggles to just get through the day they come with memories of many types of abuse among their own family members, these little people embrace us with more love than we could have ever imagined. It is our great hope they are drawn to us because of their Source of Hope living in us and through us. There are days when emotions are high and their hurt and anger runs deep when the ones who are supposed to love them to the moon and back break their hearts, over and over again. Even still, they come, and we ‘get to’ love them to the moon and back. We know Jesus loves them sooo much. We are trying our best not to judge those who hurt our children here … it takes a lot of prayer to live in this place … an impossible task without the power of the Holy Spirit and the love we have for Jesus and His children here. We pray for extra grace. There are lots of tears shed daily by these two very human missionaries … not all sad tears but lots of happy ones too when our children look to Jesus, the Source of their hope and healing to restore their broken hearts. It is breathtaking for us, but our God is Good and pours out lots of Grace. †

We praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow. We keep putting one foot in front of the other in the direction God is moving … it is hard some days but He is sooo Faithful … it is a great privilege to ‘get to’ be here for Heaven! Life keeps moving on over here and over there. And we praise God for you!! We are praying for you! Know that we love you! Please pray for God’s provision as we seek to please Him and serve Him in this place He has set us down … we simply cannot continue in His service here without your prayers and financial partnership and support. Please pray about 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 Spirit. There is Great JOY in being used

for the Kingdom. We are thankful and sooo very grateful!! †

We return to Ecuador and all those God placed in our lives there on March 18th.

January – March 2016 is our planned Stateside support raising furlough … if

you’d like for us to share the mission of Jesus where we live with your Church,

Sunday School class, Small Group or in your home please let us know, we are

scheduling now for 2016. May God bless you in ways you never imagined

possible as you love and serve others! †

All donations may be made to:

The Mission Society P.O. Box 922637

Norcross, Georgia 30010

Designate gifts:

“Nichols support # 368” [or]

via The Mission Society’s web-site www.themissionsociety.org/people/Nichols

(Click on the web address above then scroll to the bottom of the page to donate by Credit Card or

Electronic Funds Transfer)

“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

Please feel free to forward, mail-out or print our Newsletter for your Sunday school class, small group, Church or friends … Thank you!!

Our Mailing Address in Ecuador (Graham is known by his first name in ECU-Robert)

We LOVE hearing from you!!

Conjunto San Marino Robert y Sharon Nichols #39

Vía a la Bengala y Río Chila-Subcentro Salud Rosales Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Ecuador, SA

Cell: 0996758531 (MUST be written on any packages)

Bendiciones desde Ecuador!! (Blessings from Ecuador!!)

(If you received this newsletter by mistake, or simply wish to be removed from our mailing list, please

reply to this e-mail with the word "remove" in the subject line. Thank you!

With our adopted family in Quito,

David and Arleth †

Yours in Christ, Graham and Sharon Nichols

Missionaries to Ecuador serving with The Mission Society y IEMUE

Praising Jesus in word, action and song on the

equator!! †