First of all, thank you for your prayers both for me and for my friends in the Sudan. The status has not changed yet so please continue to pray for safety as she has been in captivity now for over 40 days. Please also continue to pray for her supervisor and my good friend who is still under the stress of negotiations and feeling like his hands are tied in this process.

This last week I journeyed to Minneapolis where I was commissioned as a missionary at our annual meeting. It was a very special time during which not only were we presented before those gathered but we were also surrounded and prayed for. It is such an incredible blessing to feel lifted up before the Lord and interceded for as so many of us prepare to head out to our various countries. If you are interested in seeing the service it can be found at http://vimeo.com/12618765. If you don't want to see the full worship service, I believe the commissioning begins at about minute 38.

At the annual meeting I was able to connect with a couple of the leaders of the denomination from Ecuador and it was very encouraging to spend time with them dreaming and visioning so many options for ministry when I return. They are very excited about my arrival and I too am anxious about my return.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. Continue to pray as I seek support. It has been an incredible year during which I have met some amazing people and encountered incredible opportunities to share the Love of Christ with others. I have been blessed in so many ways by so many people this year but I am ready to be back in Ecuador. I am hoping that all of my support will be in by the end of July so that I can travel no later than the beginning of August.

2. Pray for Joey as he is only a week away from Suicide Greek. No, Suicide Greek is not the official title of the class, it is a term commonly used by seminary students who take a year long Greek course compressed into six weeks during the summer. Joey has been spending a lot of time studying the alphabet as well as memorizing around 80 words so far. Pray that he will have the energy and endurance to sit through the many hours of class as well as the discipline to put in the time he will need to invest in homework.

3. Pray for Pedro in Ecuador. He visited us here in Chicago a few weeks ago and I had the privilege of some very good conversations with him. We have agreed to do a comprehensive Bible survey when I arrive in Ecuador. Pedro is interested in continuing to get to know the Lord deeper so I told him I would love to read through the Bible with him from beginning to end.

It's hard to believe that it's almost been a year since I returned from Ecuador. I've traveled quite a bit throughout the last year, spoken at a few churches, been in many homes and have had an amazingly blessed year. It has been such a blessing to get to visit with so many friends and family and hear how the Lord is working in your lives. I am so thankful for the privilege that it is to share in those works and blessings with you. Thank you!

Well, after a short jaunt through the South, North Carolina, Georgia and Kentucky I am back in Chicago and back to the work of helping my parents with some of the work on their remodel as well as time at the warming center and with Earl. Earl surprised me yesterday by showing up at my parents house and hanging out with me for the day. Earl was surprised when that meant painting. On Wednesday we will again be walking the streets of Chicago together. Please join me in praying for the various men and women that we encounter, that the Lord would give us his eyes to see them and his heart to love them in whatever way he would allow us to participate in their lives.

Prayer Requests;

1. Continued prayer for support. I am slowly getting the support that I need in order to return. It has been such an amazing blessing to see God's involvement in this process as so many have expressed a desire to both pray for the work in Ecuador, pray for me and provide the financial backing that doing missions in Ecuador requires. As of today, the official % on my monthly report puts me at about 64%. While in a previous report I had mentioned being above 70% that was based on verbal commitments that are not yet officially counted by Covenant World Mission. So what does this mean? As it stands right now I am $20,000 short of my full two year need. Once some of those other pieces are put on the books it will cut that number in half. Thank you for your continued prayer.

2. Continued prayer for Earl and the warming center as well as the men and women that the Lord puts in my life as Earl and I hit the streets.

3. I would like to ask a favor of you. I don't see our relationship as a one way street in which you pray for, and support me. I desire to be praying for you as well. At any given time when I am speaking to you via chat, e-mail, phone etc I will ask how I can be praying for you. There is no need to wait for us to be in conversation to tell me how I can pray for you or your family. Would you please, at any time, respond to any of my messages and just share with me how I can be lifting you up, interceding for you and bringing you before the Lord. It is such a privilege to be able to go to my savior in prayer so don't hesitate to share with me.

Finally, I wanted to share two things with you. 1. The Covenant finally was able to get my online giving option up and running. The link is http://covchurch.kintera.org/give/swenson. I will also be updating the give button on the website so that it includes this option. 2. I was asked to preach at my home church in Chicago on mission Sunday. The sermon was recorded and as a few people have asked to hear it I put it on the website as well. It can be reached via Clicking HERE.

Blessings from Chicago.

Josh

This week Earl and I decided to mix things up a little and by mix things up I mean really shake the dynamics of our weekly encounters. This week we hung out on Wednesday rather than on Tuesday! It was a little unnerving at first but going to, "The Window," for breakfast brought a nice sense of comfort that helped me get through the day.

After breakfast Earl and I headed to an office that provides services for the homeless of Chicago. In addition to help obtaining legal documents people can also get some clothes, a shower and at times get medical attention. After his shower, Earl met with a nurse practitioner. As I had mentioned in the past Earl's legs have been swelling and causing him quite a bit of discomfort. Upon inspection the nurse told him that he had likely damaged the vessels in his legs due to his many years of smoking. Earl doesn't smoke any more but the damage is potentially done. In addition the the possible vessel damage, his lack of rest and constant walking have exasperated the situation.

Earl was told that in order to better assess the situation he would need to get some blood work done as well as be very agressive about losing weight. The weight issues gravely affect all of the concerns. If they do determine that there is extensive vessel damage Earl will have to undergo surgery to graft vessels into his legs. When Earl came out of the office he was visible shaken by the news and the need to take immediate action.

After the clinic we took a trip down to the church where we met with Pastor Aaron. Earl shared his news with Aaron and I shared my concern. Earl is normally a very self sufficient man. He is always looking out for others but rarely seeks help for himself so I asked Earl if he was willing to allow us to help him. I think his initial reaction is NO but I believe he understands the gravity of his situation and he accepted our offer to find ways to help him. We shared with Earl that we feel it is our responsibility as his church family to participate in proactive ways to help him.

That night Earl stayed at the church where he said he didn't sleep but was at least able to stay off of his feet for an extended period of time. I hope to be able to continue to seek options through the church so that we can help Earl be reconciled to his health.

I share this with you because I asked Earl if I could and I know that you will pray for him. He welcomes and desires your prayers for his health.

I saw Earl at the warming center on Friday and he looked refreshed though it was obvious that the burden still weighed heavy. He had spent the night at the penthouse which is better than the EL but still not a good solution.

Please pray that we his church family will be able to care for Earl during this time. He is in need of a place where he can recover as well as a diet that doesn't consist of carb heavy nutritionally empty meals. Those are not options that exist on the street.

Please continue to pray for Woody and his friends. I did not see him at the warming center on Friday but his buddy Carrey was there and he said he had not seen him in a few days.

Finally, thank you for your continued prayers for my own process as I continue to seek support. Your prayers are always an incredible source of encouragement. I am now up to 70% of my needed 2 year budget. Thank you so much for your faithfulness in prayer and support. You are a constant source of blessing to me.

(Image of Earl working on Eyes on the Street)

It's been a couple of weeks since I last wrote. There were some things I needed to take care of last week so Earl and I didn't meet. As usual, I've got people wanting my help with their website and last week provided some time for me to do that.

Right now I'm sitting inside of an ingDirect Cafe with Earl. We spent most of the day running some errands up and down the EL, having breakfast at the Window and lunch at the Greek Orthodox church, with a quick trip to our church to pick up some clothes. As you know, Earl and I have been brainstorming a website that will be a resource for the homeless of Chicago. That is the reason for our current location. Last week and this week I spent a little time putting together a basic website with a control panel that will allow Earl to begin inputting some of the information. Right now he is learning how to add new pages / links as well as edit their content. Next week we will focus on inserting images so that as people see the resources they can also match them visually. Earl says's that he has access to a camera so he is going to start taking photos of the various locations as he visits them.

If you want to see the site and some of Earls postings please visit http://www.fcunited777.com (remember this is in progress)

The photo is of Earl at the Harold Washington Library downtown Chicago...we were working on Math for his GED.

Prayer Requests 1. PRAY FOR EARL: Earl is has been dealing with some swelling of the legs. In addition he has not been sleeping well. THe lack of sleep is affecting his legs because he doesn't really ever stay off of them long enough. He is getting some medical assistance by way of water pills but please pray for Earl's health as well as some rest.

2. PRAY FOR WOODY: Woody is another friend who comes to the warming center on a regular basis. He has been on my heart a lot lately as I have bumped into him on the street a few times as well as had some conversations with him at the warming center. Woody is a really good guy who can't seem to shake alcohol's hold on him. This is an issue he acknowledges but he is surrounded by other guys who spend all their time and money drinking. I believe Woody wants to live a different life than that but finds it difficult to break the pattern. Please pray for Woody and his friends as well as the volunteers at the warming center as we seek to share the love of the Lord with them. May the Lord reveal himself to Woody in a mighty and gracious way.

3. SUPPORT; As you know I have reached 50% of my needed funds for the two year commitment. I has been an overwhelming blessing to watch as so many people have come along wanting to be part of the work that the Lord is doing in Ecuador. Your prayers and commitment to the Gospel in Ecuador is inspirational and sustaining during my time here in the states. Thank you for your generosity of time and resources.

Please continue to pray with me for the second half of the needed funds. My hope is to be able to return to Ecuador by June. MY friend Chet and his family are again leading a team from California into the town of Zancudo (Libio and Sixto) I love Zancudo, it's people and the team that is coming down and I would very much like to be available to again translate for them this June. In order to be able to travel at that time I need to have 80% of my funds in. The remaining 1/2 comes out to about $1000 a month that I need to raise. Thank you for your continued prayer and support.

Blessings.

Joshua

Thank you so much for all of your prayers this last week. I pray that you have been well as we enter into this Lenten season. Lent is such a great reminder to do some self examination and reflection. It is through reflection and self-examination that we can journey through our own brokenness with the confidence that we belong to the God of hope who conquered death to bring us life everlasting. Do not be afraid to walk through that darkness and into the light.

This week I had the pleasure of traveling the streets of Chicago with my friend Earl again. As the weather was a bit nicer we were able to visit a few more of his hang outs. We started out eating breakfast at the church on the DePaul campus again and then went downtown to the Harold Washington Library. Many of the homeless here in Chicago spend their days, networking with each other, finding out about the various goings on of the street and getting online to stay in touch with some family and friends.

Earl wants to get his GED and is planning on taking a free GED class starting next week. I have been helping him work on his math. This week he was trying to get through a chapter on division so we spent a couple of hours walking through the process as well as backing up and working on some of his multiplication tables. His homework for next week is to know his multiplication tables...it's hard to do division if you haven't memorized multiplication.

In addition to working on some Math Earl and I spent a little time brainstorming a resources website for the homeless of Chicago. I will be putting together a website that he will be able to manage. The idea is that he will be inputting information about food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, medical services and any other resources that the homeless might benefit from knowing about. He will also be spreading the word on the street and we will try to put some fliers up around the various hangouts. In addition we are considering putting together some kind of a job board for day labor type opportunities.

After all the brain storming and studying, Earl took me out to see his "penthouse". The building in the picture is one of the places that Earl stays over night. It is an old abandoned building. Earl will go there after dark and then sneak up to the top floor where he will sleep for a few hours before heading back out to the street. When he isn't staying at the penthouse Earl spends his nights riding on the Elevated Trains. He told me it's about an hour and a half long loop and then he has to get off the train and wait for the next one to depart. Sometimes he falls asleep and the conductor doesn't do a thorough check and Earl wakes up in the train yard.

Finally, after having spent the day traveling around Earl was excited to take me to a church that serves dinner on Tuesday nights. It's called the Dignity Dinner. We met up with Alex there, had dinner and Earl stayed to take a painting class. Alex and I headed out and he rode the train with me toward my house where we parted ways.

PRAYER REQUESTS 1. Ongoing prayer for Earl and the homeless of this City. Winter can be especially difficult. 2. Wisdom as I continue to spend time with Earl and meet many of his friends on the street. I want to know how to love my brothers and sisters on the street. I want to know how to be and embodied Gospel to them. 3. Continued prayer for the support raising process. The index climbed a few points over 50% this week but there is a lot yet that needs to be raised. I am confident in the Lord and his timing and provision. Thank you to all of you who have been called to join as financial supporters. Thank you to everyone who has been praying. Please continue to pray not only for the funds but also for my own mental, emotional and spiritual preparation for the work in Ecuador.

Blessings Joshua

It has been a long sometimes frustrating, sometimes discouraging but mostly blessed journey along the path of raising funds. There are days when nothing seems to be going according to plan and then I hear from someone who has been praying for me and my heart is refreshed and filled with joy. Your prayers and support have been an incredible blessing to me during these months back in the USA. Thank you for continued intercession as travel this path.

During my stay in Chicago I have had the privilege of volunteering at my church's warming center periodically. The warming center is a place that the church opens up on Friday's providing shelter from the cold to some of the homeless of Chicago. It is a time when we share a meal and stories with people who live on the streets. One of our regular warming center guests is a man by the name of Earl. Not only has Earl been coming to our warming center but also joins us in church on Sunday's as well as many of our other community activities. It hasn't taken long for Earl to become a friend.

On Tuesday I got to hang out with Earl on the streets. I had a great time getting to know him just a little better as we rode the trains and buses to and from the various warming centers where Earl spends his days. We started out with breakfast at the DePaul Catholic Church where we met up with our friend Alex (another warming center guest). After breakfast we headed out to another warming center where due to the snow storm we stayed for the rest of the day just hanging out, talking and playing spades with some of his other friends. It was amazing to watch Earl interact with so many people. It seemed that at every turn he was offering help, advice, socks or even just a smile to anyone we encountered. Earl was always the first to help serve others lunch and then just as graciously cleared the table when people were done. While in Chicago it has been my hope to be present and available to God and his work so I am hoping to make this Tuesday a weekly routine where I can continue to get to know Earl as well as some more of his friends. Please pray with me for Earl and his friends as I continue to get to know them and the Lord presents me with opportunities to share his love and the good news of his gospel.

PRAYER / PRAISE REPORT

I first of all want to praise the Lord for his faithfulness and provision. This week my support got to nearly 50%. Thank you so much for your prayer and faithfulness in support. I still need to raise another $1200 a month so thank you for your continued prayers.

Thank you also for your prayers concerning my back and the herniated disk. It has been nearly five months now since I stopped taking pain killers and am thankful to report that most days I have no pain at all while on other days the pain is merely a minor irritation.

Blessings

P.S. Earl is the guy in the gray beard...in case there is any confusion...

Yes I know the title sounds like a load of fun...kind of like the circus is coming to town. Perhaps I'm not unlike a circus or at least a makeup wearing employee of the circus.

Well, my first year in Ecuador and my time with Youth World is officially up. I had a wonderful summer working along side Chet and Katie Williams leading short term groups into the jungle with the Waorani. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Waorani. They are an indigenous tribe from Ecuador that gained a world renown in 1956 after killing five missionaries that attempted to make contact with them. Shortly after the martyrdom of these five missionaries, one of their relatives was able to move into a Waorani village and begin to Minister to them. Sixty years later I have the privilege of entering into their villages and into relationships with them.

It was an amazing blessing to be in the village of Ñuneno this summer during an evangelistic campaign put on by the organization Ecuador for Christ. The whole week was an incredible blessing but one particular situation and person really touched my heart. I want to tell you about a young 17 year old girl named Valeria. Valeria is the daughter of a Waorani woman who most likely worked as a prostitute in one of the nearby cities. Valeria's father is a non Waorani, likely a colonist that moved into the area from Quito or one of the other sierra cities.

In the Waorani village during that campaign, Valeria stood out like a sore thumb. She is a tall woman with very distinct (non Waorani) features. I first encountered Valeria when my friend Sixto (from Zancudo) and I were sitting next to her watching a soccer game. Sixto in his standard evangelistic fashion began to ask her questions about her life and her future. Valeria's answers were those of a hardened angry young woman who's goal and purpose in life is FUN. When Sixto stepped away for a little while I overheard Valeria say to one of her friends that she lives to drink, smoke and have sex. I didn't need to hear that to know it, her persona said it all.

I began to ask other Waorani about her and soon found out that Valeria had been living in the nearby city of Coca where she was rumored to be a part of an organ trafficking gang who kidnaps children who they then kill and exploit for organs to be sold on the black market. At this point my cynicism decided that this girl was beyond hope. I continued to talk to her and attempt to share with her but still always felt like I was speaking to a wall. Every encounter I had with her cemented my feeling that she was beyond hope.

I praise the Lord for the fact that there is no such thing as a hopeless person. The final night of the campaign I was sitting next to Chet during the service when he pointed out to me that Valeria looked to be crying. The following day after all of the other tribes had started their journey home I had a chance to speak to Valeria and much to my humbling joy found out that the Lord had been softening her heart that whole time. She admitted to being in tears that night and told me that she had no desire to go back to her life of sex, drugs and alcohol. She testified to the transformational power of the Holy Spirit and said that she was a new creation. I was able to request a Bible for Valeria and continue to pray for her as the Lord continues to work in her. I am humbled by my lack of faith and vision but glory in the the Lord's amazing love for his children.

Please join me in keeping Valeria in prayer. Her journey will not be an easy one. Please pray that the Lord's grace and mercy will be showered upon her every day and that she will come in contact with others of faith that can encourage and teach her as she journeys with her savior.

As for myself. I will be returning to the US on the 3rd of September. As you know I have decided to leave Youth World in order to join the Evangelical Covenant Church as a missionary. I will still be working in Ecuador and will continue to use Soccer as the platform for sharing the Lord's love with others. I will also likely have an opportunity to teach in a missionary training seminary that the Covenant has here in Ecuador.

So, I return to the US to re-visit the support raising process that so many of you have partnered in with me. I will be in Houston from the 3rd to the 9th of September after which I will be going to California until the 30th. My journey will then take me to Chicago for a few weeks and then to Utah and Colorado before returning to Chicago.

Please pray; 1. That I will be able to clearly share what the Lord is doing in Ecuador 2. That my support team will come together 3. For the people with whom I have been sharing here in Ecuador.

Stay tuned for more updates regarding my travels. I would love to see you if you are available.

Blessings from Quito.