Waiting for the Lord | May 2025

Jeffrey Mayfield
6 days ago
3 min read

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

~ Lamentations 3:24-26 ~

Today marked 4 weeks since our return to Ecuador. As we are slowly easing back into the ministry, you could say that we are in a waiting period. It is easy to get busy, and we have a lot of desires and ideas, but we’ve been praying that the Lord would provide clarity regarding what He wants us to do - who He wants us to minister to, how to strategize in order to develop redemptive relationships. Biblical waiting is an active waiting. As we wait, it doesn’t mean that we just sit around and do nothing. Rather, as we trust that the Lord will guide us in ministry, we continue doing good to those around us. We meet with people, we listen, we encourage. We also hope in Him. We trust God’s timing and direction, and we rejoice that the waiting is never wasted when we keep our gaze on Him.

In some ways, we feel as if we never left. In other areas, we are still getting back to normal. We took the first week to unpack, clean our house and establish some normal rhythms for our family. Ecuadorians are not known for their dishwashing skills, so we had to wash all of our dishes before we used them! When we purchased our home from Jeff’s parents, we had some projects that we wanted to complete, but we didn’t have time before we left for the States. We’re thankful to have time to begin some of those projects before our ministry schedule starts to fill up. We are all glad to be home.

Regarding the ministry, we’re thankful that our teammates continued the ministry while we were gone. The Bible Institute is on a break for the summer, but Jeff is looking forward to participating again when it resumes in the fall. This month he is preaching on the ordinances of baptism and communion. There is a baptism planned for July 13th, so the timing is very appropriate. The Catholic church causes so much confusion on these two topics, so it is helpful to have clear teaching to review and clarify what God’s Word teaches.

Lisa remains occupied keeping the home, food prepping, and planning for the next school year. She has enjoyed meeting with several ladies in the church in order to encourage and reconnect with them. One of them said “Thank you for being part of my life.” What a blessing it has been to be actively involved in their lives again! Thank you for praying for Dayán. He and Paulina have been meeting with one of our coworkers for a few months. Please keep praying for his salvation.

Thank you for your evident prayers for us as we continue adjusting and getting reestablished here. Overall, we rejoice in a fairly smooth transition. That doesn’t mean that it has all been easy, but we are thankful for God’s help even during the challenging times. Our hearts resonate with the words of Isaac Watts - “O God our help in ages past, our hope for years to come. Be thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home.”

In His service and yours,

The Mayfield Family

Jeff, Lisa & The Double Scoop

The Double Scoop:

The boys have adjusted well, and we are so thankful! They’ve enjoyed going back to the park, eating Ecuadorian bread, and yes, playing with our dog, Noel. Simon has been doing well with his Spanish and we appreciate how the boys have been outgoing and friendly to everyone, even with new people that they don’t know very well. Both boys are sleeping well at night (that wasn’t the case for most of the furlough), which helps Mom and Dad get their rest, too.