SAAVEDRAS SEND OUT 2016!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Saavedra Kids Update

Levi Matteo Age: 12 Grade: 6th Hobbies: Reading book series & playing strategy board games 2017 Goals: I want a big part in the sixth grade year-end play. I want to practice driving the car more (parent note: this only happens on private, off-road property!). I want to host lots of game nights with friends. I want to keep running the media (lyrics, sermon slides) at church. Luke Isaiah Age: 10 Grade: 5th Hobbies: Learning science facts and comic book sketching 2017 Goals: I want to start learning to drive. I want to design a video game. I want to do some big paintings on large canvases.  Aaron James Age: 8 Grade: 3rd Hobbies: Playing soccer and entertaining friends and family with humor 2017 Goals: I want to keep playing on my soccer team. I want to get better in math and social studies. I want to run a 5K road race. I want to have sleep overs with my friends. Evangeline Joy Age: 7 Grade: 1st Hobbies: Composing and singing songs and cooking with mom. 2017 Goals: I want to make every recipe in my Princess Cookbook. I want to play violin. I want to get baptized. I want to have a cooking-themed birthday. I want to read chapter books.

2016 Highlights 2017 Opportunities and Prayer Needs Beth’s News: In addition to being our lead pastor at La Viña, Oscar Palma is also a music teacher. He has long held a vision to open a school of music as a means of outreach into the community, as well as to train up musicians and songwriters to serve in the church and to shape and influence the broader Ecuadorian culture. God is bringing that dream closer to reality through an unexpected source: the influx into La Viña of Venezuelans fleeing the instability of their country. Recent arrivals have included several music teachers, a production studio owner, and a Christian business consultancy team.  With their expertise on board, Viñarte, our music school, will open in February (our kids will be some of the first students!). And our congregation’s first songwriting workshop yielded three worship songs toward a total of ten that we plan to record for a 2017 album release. Currently, most of the songs we sing are Spanish translations of well-known English worship songs, so we are excited to “home-grow” music that speaks from and to the heart of our Latin culture here. Please pray that the community of La Viña can complete these projects with great skill and creativity.  And pray that I can draft top-quality English translations of our new songs for our English-speaking service.  Thanks! Dave’s News: Please keep our school community in regular prayer as the regulatory and financial difficulties faced continue to mount. This has contributed to the planned departure (at the end of the school year) of a larger number of staff than usual, especially in leadership positions. Please pray for the hiring process occurring now to fill those positions, that God brings anointed people with the right fit of talents and passion.  And pray for our hearts as we prepare to say goodbye to good friends, while at the same time staying open to and invested in sustaining the school community. And speaking of prayer, a bright spot for 2017 is Dave’s work with several student leaders. He’s been training six students to increase student awareness and engagement with intercessory prayer. Starting in January, these students will be leading a weekly prayer meeting at which all secondary students are invited to pray for each other and the campus.  Please pray that these students will be encouraged and empowered in this much-needed student-led ministry. From All of Us:  Your prayers and financial support of our ministry in Ecuador with Reach Beyond mean the world to us! Thank you so much for partnering with us to make our work possible. We hope that you are encouraged to see your giving making an impact here in Quito. And we pray that you continue to see God’s love and transformation in your lives in 2017. May we all joyfully jump into the adventure that He has for each of us this coming year. With love and thanks, Dave & Beth, Levi, Luke, Aaron and Evangeline

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