COURAGE, DEAR HEART

COURAGE, DEAR HEART   “But no one except Lucy knew that as [the albatross] circled the mast it had whispered to her, "Courage, dear heart," and the voice, she felt sure, was Aslan's...” -C.S. Lewis, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”

Last January, instead of making a list of New Year’s resolutions, I (Beth) picked just one word for 2016, that would center on my character and give me a vision for the future.    After reflection and prayer, I chose the word, “Courage.” In hindsight, that was   kinda nuts! Not long ago, I laughed out loud in recognition when I saw a meme that read, “You have no idea how far out of my comfort zone my entire life is.” Yes! I keep finding myself in crazy spots in which I’m sure the only reason I arrived is by God’s will, and the only way forward is to keep depending on Him. One place that happens these days is in a radio program I was invited to begin in September with HCJB, our mission’s station. Our goal is to reach women in their child-rearing years with an informal conversation about the experiences of being a Christian mom. I am a guest every other week of the two regular hosts, and we discuss a theme (such as “discipline” or “family devotions”) for about ten minutes and then take call-ins for the next twenty minutes or so. I still get nervous every time we go on-air, but I take heart seeing how God prepared the way for me to be open to this project through the “Ex-pat Sisterhood” video series I’ve been making over the last year with my friend, Mari, on her FB page (@inspiredbyfamily). She and I cover some similar themes (in English) to what I’ve been discussing on the radio (in Spanish), which is great practice, plus the mental release of “perfection” that doing live videos has required has also given me courage to try the same on live radio.    The other arena that requires a lot of courage (read: leaves me feeling terrified pretty often!) is our bilingual Vineyard church. Our Chilean pastor, Oscar Palma, asked Dave and me to take responsibility for the English-language service this school year. Oscar preaches in the English service once a month with a translator (usually me) and Dave and I teach the remaining Sundays, as well as overseeing English growth groups (we have just one currently). This has been an enormously stretching experience, and has given us a much deeper appreciation for the work of pastors everywhere! Just like Lucy, in Narnia (see quote), we know the strength to keep forging ahead comes from listening to the voice of our Savior leading us on. We appreciate your prayers for courage, hope, and wisdom so very much!   Teaching through our church's mission statement SCHOOL UPDATE We shared with many of you this summer about the challenges facing the Alliance Academy International (AAI) as it makes the transition to existing under the supervision of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education (MoE).  Arriving at compliance with the MoE standards, while meeting U.S. accrediting requirements and keeping our Christian distinctives is quite a bumpy road. We need your prayers for wisdom. One big change has been switching to block scheduling in high school, which means Dave has to re-work all his lesson plans for the longer class periods. He also sees his students fewer times each week, which makes building rapport more challenging. It is exceedingly challenging to fit chapel and discipleship small group times into the new requirements, so please pray for creativity and divine insight for the staff as they navigate all these obligatory changes. Thanks!   Creatively engaging our lively AAI students We Got Our Car!  At long last (but in God’s good timing!), we were able to complete the purchase a 2005 Ford Explorer at a reasonable price at the beginning of October. We were able to sell our car quickly to help finance the purchase. The kids christened the new blue vehicle “General Washington” and we have already been enjoying ferrying our family and loads of friends all over Quito and beyond. Thank you SO MUCH to all who gave and prayed for this process to be completed.   With gratitude, Dave & Beth,Levi, Luke, Aaron and Lina But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 15:57