PRACTICING THANKSGIVING

November 2018

Practicing gratitude has been hard work this year! At times Dave has struggled to find joy in his work, while Beth has battled with some physical ailments, including shingles.  Being thankful in all circumstances has been a significant challenge these last few months.

Levi is grateful to be learning guitar from his mom

It is for this reason we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We have found that looking over our photos from the last year has been a meaningful practice.  While reviewing pictures from the last year, God can remind us of the many moments of grace along the way.  These blessings have come in the form of timely visits from family, new relationships with students, and surprising financial provision.

Luke is grateful for good friends to help him navigate middle school

We are all grateful to have our permanent resident visas

We want to share with you images from the last year that have stirred up hearts of thanksgiving in us. And we'd love to see a picture or two from your past year that remind you to practice gratitude. Thanks!

Aaron is grateful for visits with cousins

Lina is grateful for playtime with friends

Dave is grateful for the opportunity to pray and play
with his new students from the junior class

Beth is grateful for the encouragement
she receives from these wonderful ladies

Prayer and Support Needs Please pray that Beth would continue to be healed from her bout with shingles.  In addition, pray for Dave to have renewed joy in serving his students and the Alliance Academy International community. We continue to seek new monthly supporters for our ministry with Reach Beyond here in Quito.  If you are interested in joining the team, feel free to contact us or visit our Reach Beyond project page here.

New Season & New Project & New Support - September 2018

As September begins so does the season of newness.  We want to thank everyone for the continued support and prayers as we adjust to the new rhythms of life and ministry opportunities.  We are all very excited to see what God has for us in the 2018-2019 academic year at the Alliance Academy International (AAI).

Luke and Levi making new friends

Levi has started his 8^th grade year with a handful of new classmates and teachers.  He looks forward to being involved with sports, music, and drama. 

Luke has begun 7^th grade and has joined Levi in the band. He loves the new freedoms of middle school and especially likes his science class. 

Enjoying the paddleboats at a park close to home

Aaron (5^th grade) is enjoying having Jennifer Kendrick, our neighbor, friend, and the only other Reach Beyond missionary at AAI, as his homeroom teacher. 

Evangeline (3^rd grade) is likewise thrilled to have our dear friend, Patrick Pinho, for her teacher.  It is such a blessing to have meaningful friendships with our kids’ teachers. We deeply value the input of other godly adults into our kids' lives.

Last year, Beth recorded lead vocals for a worship song written by a church friend. This fall, Beth joined the filming of the music video that our church, La Viña, produced to accompany the song. La Viña aims to continue sharing musical resources with other churches throughout Latin America, particularly in the Vineyard Movement of which it is a part.

Dave is really looking forward to teaching his favorite classes ("World Religions and Cults" and "Heaven and Hell: Visions of Sin and Grace") for a whole year, rather than just a semester.  He has been enjoying all the new students, mostly Juniors, in his classroom. 

We are so very grateful for the newest monthly supporters of our work with Reach Beyond.  We continue to look to add to the monthly support team to make up the current shortfall. If you are able and willing, please visit the following site to join the team today!

https://reachbeyond.org/missionaries/read/david-and-beth-saavedra-1

Reconnecting and Renovating

The much anticipated summer has arrived and with it a flurry of activities in and outside the home. As we enjoy this season of reconnecting and renovating we are struck by the incredible mystery that Christ would call us friends.  We see this summer as another reminder of the Father’s desire to lavish his love on us, for no other reason than he enjoys doing so.

Reconnecting: Family Reunion

Shortly after classes wrapped up at the Alliance Academy International (AAI), my (Dave’s) brother Steve, sister Carla, and her two sons arrived in Quito for a family reunion. This was Calvin and Jonathan’s first journey to their ancestral lands. We loved showing them the diverse beauty of the Ecuadorian countryside. 

A second part of reconnecting was to reunite my brother with his son, David. David had been living with us and attending the AAI since January, shining in basketball and connecting well with friends.  It was an honor to include him in our family, seeing him mature and come to love Ecuador as we do.  David is returning to Thailand for his sophomore year. 

Renovating: Dave's Classroom

After a decade of teaching, I am renovating my classroom and teaching model. I requested to extend my "World Religions and Cults" and "Heaven and Hell" courses to a full year. This will give me the space for more creative engagement with the course material. I also plan to use a "flipped classroom" of student-led investigation, while using learning centers to empower the students. 

Renovating: Support Levels

After 12 years on the mission field, we see a gradual downturn in our support levels, as life changes naturally prevent some donors from giving. At the same time, our family of six’s basic cost of living continues to rise, particularly educational expenses. We find ourselves with a shortfall of  about $1000/month. 

Currently, about 90% of our monthly support comes from our original donors, who started their giving twelve years ago.  We are profoundly grateful for that faithfulness! 

Our hope and goal now is to increase partnership with friends who have seen our ministry firsthand from living, working and visiting with us in Ecuador.  If you are an Ecuador friend, would you please prayerfully consider monthly partnership with us to help make up our shortfall?

Thank you!

UPS and DOWNS

We’ve been roller coasting up and down and all around lately and want to share with you a bit of the ride.

DOWNS:

The big trough over the past few months has been our son Luke’s health. He has been having intensely itchy allergic reactions all over his body, and despite visits to a top-notch allergy doctor, we have yet to determine a cause or a very effective treatment regimen. Missed school, missed sleep, rotating treatment attempts, and trying to eliminate the endless possible allergens are all taking their psychological toll on the family. Please keep us in your prayers in this trying time. 

Another emotional valley came with the decision to close the English service we’ve been part of the past several years (and headed up a good chunk of that time). The responsibilities involved kept increasing, and I (Beth) could not give the full-time attention required, on top of running our active home and addressing Luke’s health needs.  As sad as I feel to close that chapter, I’m also grateful for the wonderful people we met and grew with. We have encouraged our community to view this shift as a chance to integrate more completely into our vibrant Spanish-language congregation.

Prayers of blessing in our final English service

UPS:

We are finally official residents of Ecuador and proud owners of national ID cards, which will facilitate maaany transactions for us. So long as we meet physical presence requirements for the next two years, these visas are essentially permanent, and we couldn’t be happier. The only downside is we won’t make it to the U.S. this summer, but we’d love to have you visit us here.

Dave’s Koinonia project (where AAI staff pair up for monthly hosting of students for meals at home) has gotten off to a great start, with over 50 middle and high school kids involved. Our own family has had such fun opening our home (and even inspiring some impromptu pillowfighting). Memories!

Our kids enjoy having the high school students over to play

MORE PICS FROM THE ROLLERCOASTER:

A birthday photo of Abuelita Kathy with the five grandkids
she currently has in Ecuador

Assistant coach Dave with the AAI JV soccer team

Levi (top) on the stage crew of the AAI's spring
theater production

Our dining table surrounded by students and teachers -
just the way we like it!

Thanks so much for riding along on this roller coaster with us through your prayers, your messages, and your financial partnership, which makes what we do possible. "Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness," (Lamentations 3:21-23)

Warmly,
The Saavedra Family