And we are going to Ecuador

      For the past 10 months two young men have been working in a small village in Ecuador called Ahuano. Ahuano is downstream from Misahualli on the north bank of the Napo river. From what I have read we will be right on the edge of the jungle. For those of you who have read Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, Ecuador will bring to mind the five men who gave their lives to convert a tribe in the jungle of Ecuador. For those who have not read the book, I highly recommend it.

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We have committed to this mission post for two years and the whole family is very excited! We are excited to learn Spanish and Quechua. Some of you may recall of our Visa difficulties in the Philippines and their high cost. It seems that Bishop there in the Diocese of Tena has a much easier time getting Missionary visas (the other Missionaries have two year visas already) and the cost is significantly cheaper, so this does not seem like it will be a problem. The Bishop has picked a house for us to live that is right next to a church. There are two priests in Ahuano with more than 50 little villages, where we hope to help them (and possibly a couple teams of other missionaries)  reach out with the Good News of Jesus Christ!

The church is to the left and our house to the right! The Missionaries there, Matt Holland and Ryan Lawless sent us other pictures of the inside of the house. 5 bedrooms and 3 baths, wow!
Hope you enjoy our first look! It looks great to us! The Bishop was excited that “the father knows carpentry” because he thinks the house needs some repairs, well Praise the Lord that I do! I plan to take a good amount of tools as these skill have been useful in every mission post we have been to.

Please Pray for the Eckstine Family Mission to Ecuador!

quick post from my trip to the Philippines

Trip to the Philippines!

(a quick post)

      Recently our family experienced something we have not experienced many times and not at all since our family grew to 8, 9, and 10 children. I left to family.....I was gone for 18 days. This was very difficult, to be away from my family, thankfully the Lord knows each of our personalities and sent me to the Philippines. The Filipinos are such a family centered society so being away from my own family was made endurable by holding other peoples babies and enjoying their families! 

We went with our mission team in Malaybalay to San Isidro College: http://www.sic.edu.ph/ and got to hold a baby while the mothers are making pillows at a workshop hosted by the college. 

Malaybalay is such a beautiful place! We are praying the Lord will send us there!

 Joseph and myself with the Malaybalay mission team: The Romero family, Sarah, Rebekah, and Susanna.
Also in the picture some of our friends from the college and the president of the community at Isla Bonita. There is a special bond between fellow missionaries! What a privilege to get to visit the mission team!

Pictures of the Benedictine College Group that came for Spring Break. What an amazing group! There hearts were so open to follow what the Lord had planned for the week. I learned a lot. I hope to post more in detail....

In the center front row, our wonderful cooks!

Last two weeks in St. Lucia

     Some of you may have heard that we are leaving St. Lucia. We will be flying out on the 20th of September. We have been feeling the Lord stirring in our hearts that a change was coming. Spontaneously on the Feast of the Assumption, we decided to have a family retreat asking the Lord what did He want from us. After a week of praying as a family we believe the Lord is calling us not only back to the states but home to Oregon to be with family for a few months. We have not been in Oregon for almost two years and most of our family is there. Then at the end of November we will head back to Louisiana to our mission base and attend the "Year-End-Review" and then begin to pray and discern what is the Lord's will for us next and where He will send us. 

    Our family has been so blessed during our time here and we have grown much closer the Lord and each other. The children have experienced Priests and Religious of many different orders in positive ways that we pray they will dedicate their life to Him in one of these single hearted ways. 

    We are so excited to see what the Lord will do next in our lives. He is amazing and His Mercy is everlasting!




   We are so thankful for our time in St. Lucia and all the friends we have made. We have enjoyed serving here and St. Lucia will always be in our prayers.