January 2012 Update

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from a wet and soggy Archidona, Ecuador. The temperature rises to 85 or hotter every day, but it just doesn't seem to dry up these days as we are in what people here call "winter"...go ahead and laugh.

Back in September, we asked that you would pray with us so that we could get our resident visas. This would save the time and hassle of renewing our visas every year as is required by a new law. In December we were finally issued the visas and the paperwork was finalized last week! Thanks for praying!

Beka continues to teach English class on Friday afternoons. It is quite amazing how much the kids are learning and even better, retaining. They are old pros at singing several songs in English, ranging from BINGO to Lord I Lift Your Name On High. Every week it seems like somebody new shows up.

Back in December, we started another Bible Study for adults and children together. It has been rewarding to work with this group as they have really enjoyed studying God's Word and seem more free to talk and even ask questions. Please pray for the individuals in this group, that the Lord would continue to reveal Himself to them through His Word.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!
Kevin

Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas to all! We hope this finds you enjoying the holiday season and finding time for the things that are truly important. The kids have helped string lights all over the porch and are planning a Christmas Eve program for Daddy. Tommy is thrilled to be playing the part of baby Jesus this year. We've discovered that Ecuadorians love oatmeal raisin cookies, so that is going to be my gift to our family friends. They don't melt like chocolate buckeyes. A good tradition we have here is the holiday gift basket. Instead of sweets and fruit, the baskets are filled with cooking oil, rice, sugar, beans, and popcorn. It's a practical gift, always filled with the most commonly bought groceries. It has reminded me that gifts need not be expensive or unusual, they just need to come from a heart that cares for the other's well-being. So we wish for each of you a Christmas that is not too busy; with plenty of time for cuddling with your loved ones beside the lighted tree, preparing those special gifts, and singing the carols. From our family to yours: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Beka

From Kevin

It kind of seems odd to be talking baseball in December, but that is what I'm about to do. We just concluded the first ever baseball league here in Archidona. We called it The Christmas Cup (la Copa Navideña). It was fun and challenging to organize the league, put the kids in uniforms, and teach them some important lessons that we can learn from sports-like how to be a gracious winner, how not to be a sore loser, how to resolve conflicts, what it means to commit to something, and how our decisions effect those around us. Really, sports are a microcosm of life itself.

One of the more gratifying things of the baseball tournament was to see how the boys from San Pablo progressed from literally knowing nothing, to winning 2 out their final 3 games and finishing in second place. Not bad for a bunch of kids who prefer to practice barefooted and without ball caps.

The Lord has been using baseball for us to establish meaningful relationships and to be able to naturally share God's Truth with others. A few of our friends seem very open to the Gospel. Please pray that the Lord would continue to draw them to Himself. Also, pray for San Pablo, for the kids we are working with, and that God would allow us to one day plant a church there.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be having a Christmas Party with our English class and Bible Study kids. We will be giving a bag of candy, the traditional Christmas gift for kids here. For some of these kids, it's the only present they will receive. Pray for these kids, that God will make the seed that is being sown grow.

We would like to thank you for your faithful prayers and financial gifts. You make it possible for us to be here and to serve.

Kevin

SUPPORT ADDRESS:

The Master's Mission

PO Box 547

Robbinsville, NC 28771-0547

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We find ourselves far from our homes and families, but at home here and blessed in so many ways. It's really good for me to stop my daily activities, sit down, and try to communicate what we are thankful for this year.


-As always, family hits the top of the list. Where would we be without each other and our children? They bring sweetness to our lives and make ministry happen easily and naturally. We are glad to be in this together, experiencing the hard times as well as the happy times side by side. And speaking of family, we are especially grateful for our newest member, Thomas Otmar Deitering. Mommy is thankful he sleeps through the night already. :)

-We are thankful God has given us work to do that is fulfilling. The activities we are doing with kids keep on growing and we've branched out to the little community of San Pablo not far from here. We pray that through baseball and English class we can reach their lives on a deeper level and introduce them to our Lord.

-Friends are extra special to us this time of year. We have invited a few friends to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. We'll try to treat them to turkey American style with all the trimmings. It's clear to us that sharing the holiday makes it more special for us too.

Much love from our family to yours!
Beka

October 2011 Update

Dear friends and family,

It's a rainy Wednesday morning here in Archidona. We are grateful for the rain as it settles the dust a little and gives us a chance to work on other things, like finally write an update.

When we returned to Archidona in March, it was our prayer that the Lord would help us to creatively reach out to others, which would give us credibility for sharing the Gospel. He has been faithful in giving us ideas and energy, and He has given us more joy in serving Him than ever.

Beka continues to teach English to kids on Fridays. It makes me laugh when I walk up to the house and hear Beka leading the neighborhood kids in "The Hokey Pokey", BINGO, and other favorites. One of the moms commented to Beka that every night, her 2 sons sing their favorite English songs together.

On Saturday mornings, we have around 12 children who come over for a Bible study. It's been fun to teach them some new songs. We put John 3:16 to music and it's becoming a favorite.

Our baseball program continues to grow and now I have help. A younger couple from Cuba showed up at our house one evening a month ago. They had heard that I was teaching baseball and the husband wanted to help. He has faithfully shown up to every practice since then and has a great rapport with the kids.

This week we have begun to teach kids in San Pablo how to play baseball. This is the community where we are hoping to eventually begin a church some day. On Monday, a 7 year old boy pulled an "Ucuy" out of his pocket to share with me. An "ucuy" is like a fat wasp that people usually eat fried and with lots of salt. This one wasn't fried, but the kids enjoyed watching me eat it.

Please pray for all the acquaintances and friendships that we are making. Pray that we would win their confidence and be able to effectively teach them the Truths of God's Word.

OUR FAMILY

Thomas is almost 2 months old now. He is getting big and is the center of attention. We have spent a few days in Quito doing paperwork, like getting both his Ecuadorian and American passports.

Evie enjoys being a big sister. I often take her with me when I run errands, and she gets showered with potato chips, suckers and gum at nearly every hardware and office in town.

Ez, Joe, and Tessa are well into the school year, and are becoming bigger helpers to Beka and I all of the time.

Today, October 26th, is our 5th anniversary of service here in Ecuador. Time has gone by very fast. We have gotten many bumps and bruises along the way as we clumsily learn a new culture and how to work in it. We have made many mistakes along the way, but God is good and has helped us to learn from them.

I would like to thank all of our friends, family and even strangers, who have given sacrificially for us to serve here over the last 5 years. Your support has often served as confirmation from the Lord that we are just where He wants us at this time.

Kevin

Birth Announcement

Thomas Otmar Deitering was born on September 5th at 1:30 AM. He's around 6 lbs and 20 inches long. We are very grateful for a safe delivery and a great doctor. We named him Thomas after my father and Otmar after my grandfather. Mother and child are both doing well.

Kevin

End of August Update

Dear friends and family,

We are on our last week of summer vacation here in Archidona, and looking back over the last few months, what a wonderful summer it has been! This August Kevin ran a "Summer Vacation Baseball Camp" for our neighborhood kids and also for any kids in the area who were interested. We had three weeks of practices every morning, with the little ones coming first (when it was cooler) and the older ones later. For some, it was the first time they had touched a ball, and it was exciting to see them work hard and improve little by little. For the ones with more experience, Kevin prepared drills and by the end of the month had them pitching their own games, catching, sliding into base, and making double plays. Another thing he enforced day after day was a cheerful, supportive mindset among all the players. He allowed no back-biting or grumbling, and we noticed a real difference in them as time went on. Here, it is common for a kid to complain to the coach and urge him to take out a player who is struggling, but Kevin taught them to encourage one another, especially if a teammate was having a tough game. Another lesson they learned was to take care of the field. Twice, they cleaned the field after other groups had used it for soccer tournaments and left it a mess. Kevin reminded them that we do what is right even if no one else does, even if no one else notices. It is amazing how well sports can be a medium for teaching deeper principles.

So, to wrap up the Baseball School we invited another team from Quito to come and spend the weekend here and play two exhibition games. It was a real God-send to discover this team: they are part of a Christian organization that uses sports to reach the kids in Quito with the Gospel. We invited the parents of all the children as well as the local authorities and businessmen in town who have been supportive. Before the games we had a devotional time with the players led by the coach from Quito. We then passed out their brand new uniforms (which included bright red socks, and they wore their pants high to show them off). We had a wonderful turnout with many parents coming to see what baseball is all about and people stopping on the road and watching from their cars. They were, after all, the first baseball games ever played here in Archidona! I was sitting in the stands with the parents and did my best to explain the game as it went along. By the end of the day, they were cheering and shouting since they could make more sense of it all. We served lunch for the players and their parents and at the end of the day we presented the visiting team with a plaque and our own guys were given medals for their participation. This was a surprise for them and there were lots of shining eyes. The team from Quito had a blast in the jungle-- they went swimming at the local pool, held a real live boa, and walked down to the river after the game for another swim. We were glad to give them a chance to get out of the city and have some country fun!

I guess to sum it all up, this was a huge encouragement in what we are doing here with the town kids and baseball. We have prayed all along that the Lord would use this to help us develop more friendships and to be a testimony for the Gospel. Now more than ever, people are getting an idea of why we are here and appreciating what we are able to offer. It's exciting to think that many of you have had such a vital part in making this possible and we thank you again for your generosity.

Beka

July 2011 Update

Dear friends and family,

Greetings from rainy Archidona. It seems like the rain hasn't stopped since the beginning of April. I know many of you in Ohio can relate. Since it's raining again today, I thought I'd write a quick update.

The rain has put a damper (no pun intended) on lots of of our activities with kids here in the neighborhood. Also, since it's the end of the school year, many kids go on vacation and stay with relatives in other parts of the country, and some just simply forget what day of the week it is as there is little or no structure in their lives since they are on Summer vacation. Sometimes, it is discouraging to not have as many kids show up, but we know God is in control, and the kids usually come back around in August.

The rain has also effected our plants that we are trying to get established. One plant, moringa, did great in the shade shed, which is a more controlled environment, but has not faired so well in the rain. We have another batch growing in the shade shed that we are keeping there until the rainy season ends. I'm hoping that we can have at least one tree established by the end of the year so that we can start taking cuttings from it. We hope to be able to share this highly nutritious plant and our knowledge of its uses with our neighbors.

On July 16th, a group from Cable Road Alliance will be joining us for a week. We are excited to have fellowship with friends from "home" and to be able to spend a week working with them in ministry here. We hope to do a Vacation Bible School in San Pablo, a small community where we have purchased land and hope to one day move to. Please pray for this and other activities that we hope to do that week, such as teaching English. Also, please pray for safety travelling and overall good health while they are here.

In August, we are thinking about doing a baseball camp and league. We are not sure if we are going to do it yet as much depends on everyone's schedule, but we and the kids are excited by the possibilities.

Finally, most of you know that Beka is due on September 6th. She feels great, but due to the size of the belly, we are wondering if it might come earlier. Please pray for continued good health for Beka and the baby.

We would like to thank all of you for your kind notes of encouragement, prayers, and financial support.

Sincerely,
Kevin for Beka, Ez, Joe, Tessa, Evie, ?