GIVING IT AWAY

        One of the gifts (and challenges) of living in Ecuador is that we are seen by many as “rich North Americans.” In a country where minimum wage is under $2/hour, there’s a lot of truth to that perspective. We have a wealth of opportunities and resources simply by virtue of our passports! When we are frequently asked for financial help, we want to be thankful for the reminder of the abundance in our lives, even as we look to wisely share what we have.  

Photo: Duane Birkey

        Each month we budget for benevolence opportunities and it is YOUR generosity that frees us to give. We thought you might enjoy hearing how your donations have blessed others recently:

• Paid a month’s rent for a single mom between jobs (she’s got a new job now!).
• Covered some test fees for an AAI alumna applying to U.S. colleges (she won scholarships and is now studying in Chicago).
• Helped with repair costs on another missionary’s car.
• Made a loan for a street vendor to buy a heavy-duty umbrella like the ones pictured above (she’s paying us back in flowers!).
• Purchased a new school uniform for a needy boy.
• Bought groceries for our church's food pantry.

        All of these gifts have occurred in the context of relationship—our relationship with the people God has put in our path, and YOUR relationship partnering with us financially through HCJB Global. It is such a joy to be able to pass on blessings to others and we want you to know that your donations to our work with HCJB have a long reach. Thank you for your trust in our stewardship!

RECENT HAPPENINGS (IN PICTURES!)

Summer School: The rowdy crowd Beth led music
and chapels for this summer (in our elementary atrium)

First Day of Class: It's not just new glasses making
Dave look more scholarly; this year he's an adjunct
professor with Northwestern College, teaching
"Life of Christ" as dual enrollment for the AAI high
school students who want college credit.

Entre Nosotras: The kick-off for our moms' group at
school. Pray for Beth as she continues teaching in
Spanish. She's excited for this year's theme of receiving
God's love in order to give God's love.

With grateful hearts,

Dave & Beth and kids

BUDDHISM, COMMUNISM, ATHEISM, AGNOSTICISM, WITCHCRAFT, AND CHRISTIANITY?

Dave with some 2012 grads from the AAI

What do Buddhism, communism, atheism, agnosticism, witchcraft and Christianity have in common? They are all worldviews embraced by the students in my (Dave's) Bible classes this year. Yep, you heard me right! I have the challenge and tremendous blessing to work with teens who are convinced either that Jesus never lived, that Buddhism is the only reasonable religion, that faith in a Divine Being is the source of the world's greatest evil, that witchcraft can heal a wounded soul, or that knowledge of absolute truth is impossible. I love my job! Seriously, what other job can have you discussing historical evidence for the person of Jesus at 8a.m., debating the philosophical foundations for absolute truth at 10a.m., praying with a hungry group of Christ followers at lunch, and hearing the confessions of a practicing witch after school? This is our new current reality at the Alliance Academy International (AAI). Please pray for continued Holy Spirit-given wisdom to love these students well! I believe that Jesus was on to something: by our love (which can mean listening to an eighteen-year-old atheist rant and rave about the hypocrisy of Christians) people will know us to be disciples of Jesus.   

Lina, our own 2027 grad of the AAI? 

 INTERCESSORS UPDATE

In short, the Intercessors CSO (Christian Service Outreach) went very well. Thank you to all who prayed for this new ministry! It has been a great experience to challenge, encourage and equip students to be prayer warriors. 

The Intercessors show off their team T-shirts

For many of the students, prayer became a more natural expression of their faith. This was most clearly demonstrated when the students were given the task of planning and executing a fifty minute chapel service dedicated to the theme of prayer. When I first challenged them with this task, they couldn't believe I would entrust a whole chapel service to them. To their own amazement, the service was very well received. Each student shared a mini-lesson on a different kind of prayer. Once the teaching was done, each student oversaw a different prayer station. For the next 35 minutes, students moved around the chapel engaging in a variety of kinds of prayer. I was so proud of my students for stepping out of their comfort zones. Some students commented that this was the best chapel all year. Others insisted that this kind of student-led chapel should happen more often. 

Intercessors now has a core group of student leaders who have tasted and seen the power of God through prayer. This ministry will start its second year with a lot of momentum. How encouraging to see these young men and women respond to the Holy Spirit's work in prayer! 

Students at prayer during chapel

WHY BETH IS LIKE A HOT DOG

A friend recently said being a missionary is a little like a hot dog. Everyone knows what a hot dog is, but we're a little unclear about what all goes into it. Dave's work as a Bible teachers is kind of like an all-beef wiener... we can pretty much picture the ingredients. But Beth? More like a mystery-meat frankfurter. There's a neat freedom in being able to fill up my time with a variety of ingredients, and I'd like to share some of the joys of the mix of my life recently.

Some of the main ingredients in my hot dog:
Levi, Dave and Luke on the slopes of
the volcano Cotopaxi

In January, I taught four classes of moms from the Alliance Academy International about sharing the gospel with our kids. What a thrill to see the lights go on as we discussed that the gospel is bigger than just saying a prayer for salvation; it means the power of the kingdom of God has entered history to renew the world! I've got four more classes coming up in April (topic: praying for our kids) and am planning some informal gatherings for moms who want more.

Beth (middle of top row) with the smallest of the four classes
that meet for Entre Nosotras (Between Us Ladies)

A favorite ingredient in my life is Wednesday morning moms' playgroup. Anywhere from four to eight moms regularly gather at our house to share lives while the kids romp. One mom told me, "There's no place else like this group, where everyone understands what it means to be a cross-cultural family, to deal with the family dynamics, the paperwork... Wednesday is my favorite day of the week!" I agree!

All these playgroup moms are blessed (and challenged)
to be in cross-cultural marriages

Music is another key part of the hot dog of my life. I fill in directing music at our church from time to time and recently had the honor of playing in a special prayer meeting for "Freedom Sunday" to raise awareness about human trafficking. This issue is very real in Quito and I invite you to join me in making it a focus of prayers and action.

Playing with an amazing Ecuadorian violinist, who
also happens to be one of Dave's students at school

Finally, there's a dash of this and that to spice life up: lots of hosting, some mentoring, some work in the school nurse's office, and some communication with friends like you... who I hope now have a better picture of what goes into this busy Ecuadorian hot dog!

PLEASE PRAY WITH US!


We need YOU to stand with us in prayer about the following issues:

• The government is moving to increase control over private schools like ours, which may affect our ability to teach Bible as we do now. Meetings and paperwork are still in process.
• Spiritual Emphasis Week just wrapped up at school, with some of the strongest chapel speakers we've seen. There were good responses from many students; now the task is to have good follow-up from staff. 
• Dave continues to mentor a number of young men, several of whom are not believers. He desires wisdom and insight for navigating these relationships. 
• Dear missionary friends here are on a rescue mission to provide a home for 60 orphans. Many obstacles remain before they can take guardianship of these needy kids. Read more here about how to help them out. 
• The Latin American Region (LAR) or our mission is in a time of seeking and prayer for the future. As HCJB Global shifts to focus more on unreached people groups, we need to determine what this means for LAR, a largely evangelized area. Some of our fellow missionaries are relocating to other regions, others are focusing on training Latin American nationals for mission work among unreached peoples. 

The powerful Creator of this volcano is also
powerful to answer our prayers!

JOIN THE TEAM!

It's simple to partner with our work with HCJB Global. Check out how below or on the side bar. And thank you!

Aaron enjoys a volcano of a different kind: cake!

Evangeline is blessed to be part of
a community of people like you!

DEAR FRIENDS,

Thank you for journeying alongside the Saavedra family throughout 2011, blessing our work with HCJB Global and the Alliance Academy International (AAI) with your prayers and financial support. Your partnership makes possible the following encouraging stories:

Thumbs up from Luke

1.    As part of their study about missionary work, Dave assigns the students in his Acts course a project in which they research and design their our mission trip. This year's group was particularly enthusiastic about the project and several young people expressed interest in making their hypothetical trips a reality. One of these is an Ecuadorian young lady who wants to travel to Brasil to work with street kids there. How exciting to see the passion for service being passed on to the next generation.

2.  Another one of Dave's students recently shared in chapel about the wonderful works God did during her summer trip Zambia. Dave had actively fundraised for her mission trip in his classes, so many of his students felt an investment in her service. It's great for them to hear some of the results of giving up their pocket money for their classmate.

3.  While on the school campus one day, I (Beth) was stopped by a teacher who wanted to share a story about Dave. She needed to do a classroom observation of a fellow teacher and the high school principal recommended that she watch Dave. Though the teacher was only required to observe for 10 minutes, she told me the class was so engaging that she stayed the whole hour. She appreciated the warmth and openness of the atmosphere and the good rapport Dave has with students.

We know very well that such a positive response is the fruit of your prayers for us and the students at the AAI, and we thank you with our whole hearts for serving along with us.

Merry Christmas from our family
to you!

END OF THE YEAR GIVING

The work we are part of in Ecuador is a joint endeavor with you. We want to let you know about some of our current financial needs.

• Health care premiums are going up $100/month for us in January. 
• Dave's much-repaired work laptop finally died completely, necessitating the purchase of a new one for just under $700.
• While driving up a steep mountain pass, the radiator casing of our 1995 Trooper cracked. Fortunately, we were able to coast downhill to a mechanic and eventually get it repaired for just $200. We're grateful labor is so inexpensive here. 

If you are willing and able to help out with any of these costs, we would be greatly blessed. All donations to HCJB Global are tax-deductible and should include account #110518. Check out bottom of this page for more information. Thanks so much for considering giving!

END OF THE YEAR CELEBRATIONS IN ECUADOR

In November we celebrated Levi's 7th and
Lina's 2nd birthday.

December 6 is the celebration of the founding of Quito.
We took in an exhibit of statues of Ecuador's famous
hummingbirds at a nearby park.

Christmas came early when Dave's brother Steve visited
with his family over Thanksgiving

Our boys represented at the church Christmas program...

...playing Joseph, a shepherd, and a cat.

And a Happy New Year!

STANDING IN THE NEED OF PRAYER

How often do we say to someone, "I'll pray for you," and then in the busy hum of life, we forget? How often, when someone shares their burdens with us, do we stop to pray for them right in that moment? These were questions on Dave's mind when he decided to start a prayer team as a new Christian Service Outreach (CSO) at the Alliance Academy International (AAI). 

The CSO program offers high school students a chance to volunteer and serve in the school and surrounding community through a variety of groups such as:

• hospital visitation
• serving meals to the poor
• mentoring middle school students
• playing with kids at an orphanage
• running Sunday School and AWANA's clubs

The groups are sponsored by AAI staff and meet weekly. Dave's new group of eight guys and three girls is called Intercessors and meets every Friday during lunch.

Dave with most of the Intercessors. There are six sophomore
boys serving, which is an exciting reflection of the spiritual
leadership we see in that class.

Some students walk the campus, offering to pray for people they meet, while others are available to pray with people in Dave's room and to pray through prayer requests given during the week. The members include a young man who was an atheist when he first met Dave, a girl who had never prayed with someone face to face in her life, and a boy who was agnostic when he first came to the AAI. The intercessors just had a great team building retreat and are ready to dive into their ministry. Would you take a moment right now to pray for them, please?

Finishing a ropes course on the retreat.

A SPANISH SPEAKING NURSE AND MOM

It's what I want to be! Nearly five years after I (Beth) last wore my nurse's uniform, I am stepping back into my scrubs. The AAI needed substitute nurses and I welcomed the opportunity to be on campus with my husband and sons, as well as the chance to get to know more students and to hone my nursing skills again. I'm glad it's only occasional work, since I treasure my time at home with Aaron and Evangeline. But it's good to be meeting many of the students Dave talks about and to be practicing Spanish with my youngest patients,  who often forget their limited English when their tummies are hurting!

I love seeing these beautiful faces on campus.

Another new venue has opened for me to speak Spanish: in a group for mothers of AAI students. Entre Nosotras (Between Us Women) began five years ago with just a handful of women and has grown to over ninety ladies who meet in four different groups during the week. Please pray for me on Thursday afternoons as I co-facilitate our group discussions of the book Una Madre Conforme al Corazon de Dios (A Mom After God's Own Heart). After spending the last few years in the mostly English-language bubble of home life with my kids, I'm ready (though a little nervous) to jump into more Spanish-language ministry.

AN ENGLISH SPEAKING SUMMER

Our whirlwind five weeks in the U.S. this summer were packed with beautiful celebrations and reunions. We wish we could have seen more of you and are grateful for the visits we did have. Thank you for your prayers and your time and for showing God's grace to us while we traveled. We are thankful for you, our English speaking friends!

Nine cousins (aged 7 and under) spent a week all in one house.

Our Evangeline, the reluctant flower girl

Beth's family gathered from three continents for her
sister Rachel's wedding.

With love and gratitude,

Dave & Beth and kids

TIME TO CELEBRATE

Celebration is in the air. Five children of HCJB Global missionaries are graduating from the Alliance Academy International (AAI) this year. It is an honor to have played a part in their education. Mentoring and discipling young people is the main focus of Dave's work in Ecuador, but a terrific additional benefit is to support the work of other HCJB Global missionaries by offsetting the cost of their children's educations. Because our work is funded by amazing people like you, the salary the school would otherwise pay Dave is instead used to lower the tuition costs of HCJB Global missionary kids.

HCJB Global's high school seniors for 2011
(and proud missionary parents, too)

We celebrate the work that God is doing in these students' lives and we're thrilled about the work that God is doing through the lives of their parents. We congratulate the following students (parent professions in parentheses): Elizabeth Hartwig (hydroplant engineering/national missionary training), Joseph Kurtenbach (communications/teaching), David Quiring (teaching/nursing), Trevor Weeks (radio engineering), and Josh Zook (radio engineering/human resources).

Thanks to your support, young people are getting a great schooling experience and the financial burden on the parents to provide a quality education is lightened. For next year, HCJB Global will have students at AAI whose parents work in health care, media, community development and education. Thank you SO MUCH for partnering with us to bless both young people and their parents. We are blessed so that we can be a blessing and we celebrate being able to do that together with you!

ENCOURAGING WORDS

We all enjoy an uplifting word from time to time, so with joy, we share this good news with you:

• A student who is a self-professing atheist sought out Dave recently to tell him he really appreciated his Bible teaching. 
• The student feedback from the "sex-talk" seminars both of us gave has been very positive. 
• Several weeks ago, a young lady was baptized at our church and afterward, she told Dave that taking his class was one of the reasons she decided to get baptized. 
• Dave was just recognized by a vote of AAI staff and students as the 2010-2011 Outstanding Teacher for the high school. His plaque reads, "By word and deed, your presence has enriched the lives of students... and served as an example for all." The high school boys gave Dave a standing ovation when his name was called. 

  

  Dave with his small group at the Jr. & Sr. Class banquet

• Dave was asked by the senior class to give the address at their Baccalaureate service on June 12. The entirety of his speech will be drawn from Scripture quotations. 
• An old tradition at AAI has been to hold baptismal services at the end of the school year. This June 12, that tradition is being resurrected as four seniors (including Joseph and Josh -- mentioned above) take the plunge before they leave for college. Beth will be leading music at the service. 



Beth helps lead music at a recent

Sunday Service at our church




• We are encouraged by your words, too, so we are really looking forward to spending some time this summer with many of you in the U.S.!

CELEBRATE SUMMER

June and July will find us in the U.S. and we can't wait to celebrate time with as many friends and family as we can squeeze in! We expected to be in Quito over the summer, but since Beth's sister, Rachel, is getting married, we're flying up for a five week visit. Yay! We will be in IL from June 21-July 11 and in MN from July 12-25. We will share in the following churches (follow the links for service times, directions, etc):

• June 26: Palos Bible Church, Palos Heights, IL
• July 3: Fellowship Church, Carol Stream, IL
• July 10: Trinity Vineyard, St. Charles, IL
• July 17: Hope Christian Church, Shoreview, MN
• July 24: To be determined...

We hope to connect with more friends, as well, so please drop us an e-mail (if we don't beat you to it) to arrange a get-together. We have more stories to share and we are eager to hear some of yours!

With grateful hearts, 

Dave & Beth Saavedra

and Levi, Luke, Aaron and Evangeline, too. 

So, How Can We Pray for You?

It's one of our favorite questions to be asked. As we head into April, I (Beth) keep thinking of the saying "April showers bring May flowers," and I am hoping that the showers we get this month are showers of prayer support that will flower into good news in the future.

So, how can you pray for us? Here's the scoop for April:

DAVE:

Time hanging out with the kids is always a treat!

• It's the time of year when lots of students (and teachers) are feeling burned out. Stamina, or even better,  enthusiasm, is definitely needed.
• A., a student who identifies as non-Christian, just thrilled Dave by asking him to fill out a college recommendation for an evangelical school. This young man is one of the most engaged students Dave has and recently told Dave that he never wants to miss his Bible class. Yay!  
• Crime is still a very real issue for students. The family of one student is planning to move back to their home country after a traumatizing break-in and confrontation with thieves. Another student narrowly escaped pursuers on a motorcycle who were chasing him for unknown reasons.
• Lunch and prep periods continue to be popular times for students to seek Dave out. It is a blessing that requires balance so that grading and class preparation can still get done.
• The counseling department is hosting a day of seminars for students, with the theme "Controversial Topics - Things People Have a Hard Time Talking About." Please keep Dave in prayer on April 18, when he co-presents to high school boys about "Purity vs. Porn."

BETH:

Our three year old took this shot. It depicts my life pretty well!

• I'm also going to present a seminar at the counseling summit. My topic is for the high school girls: "Healthy Female Sexuality." I'd like to be able to encourage students through the teaching and hopefully open doors to more mentoring relationships in the future.
• Child-rearing is where the bulk of my energies go on a daily basis. Both Aaron and Evangeline have had major separation anxiety recently, which has been a test of patience.
• Friendships with two young believers (and fellow moms), Margarita and Kim, are a source of real joy and opportunities to share about following Christ. The challenge is to find time to talk and pray and play together in the midst of busy lives.
• I have been having recurring health issues with my eyes over the last few months and am looking into the possibility of corrective eye surgery. We want to carefully weigh options and make a wise decision about this.

ALLIANCE ACADEMY INTERNATIONAL:

• The school is currently looking for secondary English and computer teachers, elementary teachers, an IT support technician, speech therapist and music teacher. Please help us spread the word! For more information, check out our web page.
• For a neat overview of the school (and - at the end of the video - of the country of Ecuador), take a look at this new video:

THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers! What an encouragement to know our family and the students at the school are being faithfully remembered before our Father God! We are blessed to be serving together with you and we are eager to hear how we can be praying for you, too!

Peace of Christ,

Dave, Beth, Levi, Luke, Aaron and Evangeline Saavedra

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