RUMBLING AWAY!

A recent view from our roof

Lava is percolating under the flanks of the volcano Cotopaxi, thirty miles south of Quito. Volcanologists say this giant, which has slept for over a hundred years, could erupt any day. The plumes of smoke we can see from our roof confirm it! As we watch the English service of La Viña grow week by week, I (Beth) am reminded that so much spiritual growth is like the fire and steam inside a volcano, often unseen, but growing in power nonetheless. My prayer for our first Sunday service was just that someone besides our own family would show up! The emotional rollercoaster of hope and discouragement I’ve felt week by week (mentally reviewing whom we’ve invited and wondering why some don’t come) has shown me how very far I still have to grow in trusting God with whatever results come from our obedience. Yet while a few church services have felt quiet as Cotopaxi over the last century, we’re slowly seeing life wake up, even celebrating a good friend's baptism in a service that held 70 adults and kids. The Spanish service continues to grow, as well, and a third service (in Spanish) will be added mid-November. Praise God for that!

Beth baptizes a longtime friend

Please pray with us that we keep connecting with English-speakers seeking God and a faith-community here in Ecuador. We’ve been hosting a full growth group each week and would like to see another English group open soon. We also need more musicians and children’s ministry volunteers to help out as we grow. Finally, please pray for our hearts, that whether life is quiet or an erupting volcano, we will trust God and obey his call.

P.S. We aren’t in the path of potential lava flow here in North Quito, but people closer to the volcano have been evacuated for safety. Please pray for protection and provision for the many farmers and city-dwellers near Cotopaxi. Pray also that emergency-response plans the government is orchestrating would work smoothly and effectively to deal with any mudslides, ash fall, water cut-offs, and earthquakes. Thanks! 

LEVI TAKES A LEAP

Mopping up mud and feeding pigs are two activities our nearly eleven-year-old son, Levi, is looking forward to as he heads out on his first mission trip. His grandparents, Americo and Kathy, invited him along for a workshop with indigenous pastors in rural Chimborazo province, several hours from Quito. Please pray that God cultivates a servant heart in Levi, as he helps with cleaning, cooking, animal care, and the kids’ club run by the local church. We greatly appreciate partners to keep him in prayer as he is gone from October 28-31. Thanks! 

Church leaders of San Bartolo, Chimborazo,
where Levi will be an all-purpose helper

CAR UPDATE

A big high-five goes to those who have donated to our car fund. We are nearly a third of the way to our goal of $10,000. Our Trooper has been getting extra miles the last few months, as Dave runs the unofficial church shuttle for the Viña English service. This Sunday he made five trips back and forth from church. Please considering making a tax-deductible gift toward this project here, adding a comment that it's for the car fund. Thanks! 

A BRAND-NEW THING

For I am going to do a brand-new thing.
See, I have already begun. Don't you see it?
I will make a road though the wilderness of
the world for my people to go home.
Isaiah 43:19a  

“Let it go! Let it go!” exclaims a popular tune sung by little girls from the U.S. down to Ecuador. While I’d question of few of that song’s lyrics, God has certainly been asking this girl to “let go” of a lot in recent months: resigning from the school board, stepping out of leading music at church, wrapping up leadership roles with women’s ministries... 

The words of Ecclesiastes 3 resonate deeply, “There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth… a right time to embrace and another to part... a right time to hold on and another to let go…” (from The Message). Thankfully, even as I’ve been letting go, God’s been filling me with hope, looking forward to what he has in store for us next! 

Pastor Len gives us his benediction

Already, God has been directing us into a “brand-new thing”. For the past eight years, we have been blessed to be part of an inter-denominational congregation, English Fellowship Church (EFC). However, God has been orchestrating a move for us, reconnecting with our roots in the Vineyard Church (of which there is one - La Viña - here in Quito). With joy and tears, we were recently commissioned by our pastor at EFC to go out to serve with La Viña.  

Something EFC has done well, and which we hope to emulate at La Viña, is to use English as an evangelistic tool. Currently, La Viña’s services are exclusively in Spanish. However, there are many English-speakers in Quito, both ex-patriates and Ecuadorians who want to practice their English skills. We are thrilled to be joining in the effort to grow La Viña into a bilingual church, with an English service kicking off on August 23.  Dave and I are currently hosting a weekly “growth group” in our home and are praying for providential connections with people who are both spiritually seeking and looking for a place to speak some English. We would really value your prayers as we launch into this “brand-new thing”! Thanks!

 

A NOT-SO-NEW THING

Our ‘95 Trooper hit its 20th “birthday” this year, and is requiring increasingly frequent cash-infusions to keep it running. We are asking for help to purchase a newer vehicle—something that will seat all six of us, with room for a friend or two, since giving rides is a super helpful and appreciated way to serve the community and to network.                   

"Wario" the Trooper has served our family over six years.

Cars maintain their value here far beyond what they would in the U.S., so we may be able to sell our car for a decent sum. However, car prices are also sky-high because of importation and the low depreciation. When you see Ecuadorian car prices, you’ll wish you could bring your car here to sell it—too bad only new cars can be imported (with import taxes upwards of 40%)! Here’s a list of a few popular cars in the U.S. and what they’ve been selling for in Ecuador:

· 2005 Nissan Altima—$18,000

· 2006 Honda CR-V $23,000

· 2009 Toyota Corolla $21,000

· 2010 Ford F-150 XLT $33,000

· 2011 Honda Odyssey $50,000

· 2012 Chevy Cruze $25,000

Don’t see your car? See if you can find it on this site (click "filtrar por marcas" and then "mostrar listado completo" to find your brand).

To keep maintenance costs down, we’d like to buy something under 10 years old, which means we aim to raise around $10,000, to add to what we make selling our car. Our hope is to buy a Kia Carnival mini-van. You can make a tax-deductible donation to our account with Reach Beyond, specifying “Car Fund”. And even if you can’t give right now, would you please pray with us for this big need to be met by our big God?  We would be so grateful!

A number of our partners have needed to discontinue regular giving recently, so we're looking for friends to join the team! Click here to give. Your financial partnership with our work with Reach Beyond keeps us going! And your e-mails and calls keep our hearts going! We would love to know how we can pray for and encourage you, too!

Every blessing in Christ to you!

Dave & Beth & Saavedra kids

NOT SUPERWOMAN

Even walking in the rain is great with this guy!

“I need to tell you something, but I don’t want to hurt you.”  Our January date night had been full of reminiscing and dreaming up until Dave spoke those fateful words. “How do you feel about things at home?” he asked.    

Honestly, I knew life had been chaotic. I was in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) two mornings a week, in Entre Nosotras at school every other week, involved in the school board, and had led music six recent Sundays. With all the December social festivities, there hadn’t been much time for family. “I feel like things at home are slipping,” Dave gently continued.  

It was true. I couldn’t remember the last time I had reviewed spelling words with Aaron or practiced at the keyboard with Luke. And I felt awful about it. In BSF, we had just read that when marching out of Sinai, the Israelites organized their camp with God’s presence in the center of them. I had been convicted at that time that my “doing” for God was edging out my “being” in God’s presence—and being with my family. I knew I needed God at the center of my life again and that to get there, I would need to say “no”. I love to help others (read also: I’m a total people pleaser) so it’s tough for me to say no to activities and even harder to end prior commitments. Yet I know I need to trust God to provide for needs I cannot meet, and to lead me to the needs that he is actually calling me to meet—like serving my family. That hard conversation on our anniversary was a gift—to remind me that I am not Superwoman, but a child of God, who needs to keep listening, learning, and centering on Jesus. I’ve been reordering my priorities and phasing out some activities and I appreciate your prayers that I can hear and obey God’s direction for the future!

SAAVEDRA KIDDOS

Levi, Evangeline, Aaron (birthday boy) and Luke

Our children are enjoying school at the Alliance Academy International, though with the typical dramas of childhood, too. We are so grateful that they are learning in an environment jam-packed with Christian teachers.  Add in their grandparents living nearby, and they have so many wonderful role models in their lives. Our kids do periodically struggle with feeling lonely because of being from a different cultural and language background than nearly all their peers. Please keep their tender hearts in your prayers, that they would be brave and persistent in connecting across barriers to their classmates. Thanks!

Hiking outside the city

Carnaval (the Tuesday before Lent) is
celebrated here with water and foam fights

Crazy Carnaval hair