The Archidona Deiterings

January 2012 Update

2012-01-30T09:11:00.000-03:00

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

2011-12-15T20:03:00.005-03:00

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

2011-11-23T16:33:00.004-03:00

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

2011-10-25T23:16:00.007-03:00

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

2011-09-06T22:06:00.003-03:00

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

2011-08-30T16:08:00.003-03:00

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

2011-07-08T14:48:00.002-03:00

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, ?

May 2011 Update

2011-05-30T12:32:00.001-03:00

Dear friends,

It’s a rainy Monday morning here in Archidona. We are always glad for the cool weather that rain brings, but we’ve had so much of it lately that we are ready now for more sunshine and less mud. I think this rain is to help us sympathize with the spring you all in Ohio have been experiencing. The boys have invented a pitching game they can play on the porch and the girls are thinking of building a tent for their dollies. Kevin will most likely have a day of accounting and office work, probably with a run to the post office worked in somewhere. He is also organizing and buying supplies for when the rain does stop. He has been working on putting a lean-to off the side of the garage. It’s coming along nicely and will give us extra room for the batting cage we brought back for the neighbor kids.

When we got back in March, Kevin was asked to help lead a Bible study with the local firemen. It has been a great opportunity for him and really an encouragement too. They keep it simple, reading a passage of Scripture and discussing what they’ve learned. It’s always exciting to see God’s Word working in the hearts of people who are sincerely studying. Please pray that these men and women are drawn closer to the Savior through this.

We are hoping to start an English class once a week for our neighbor kids. They are really excited to learn more and are already off to a good start since they are over to our house nearly every day listening in on our conversations. We’ve caught them imitating us and their accents are pretty good! We plan on keeping it fun with lots of songs and games. Maybe this will help them succeed in their English courses as they get older.

Thanks again to all of you for your prayers and support. We love hearing from you and hope you are doing well!

Beka for us all

April Update

2011-04-18T15:13:00.002-03:00

Dear friends, Hello from the sunny land of Ecuador! We landed safe and sound the first week of March and we are so glad to be in this home again. Our neighbors came by within hours of our arrival to welcome us back and to ask questions about our stay in the US. It was fun to share pictures of the snow! We realized how much we had missed our life in Ecuador and how familiar it has grown. The kids even commented that the food here tasted "normal" to them. :) The boys are getting excited as we near the end of the school year. They look forward to summer time freedom. Tessa is working hard at remembering Spanish so she can communicate better with her friends that come over to play. And Evie is working hard on potty training (not really). She still rules the roost as youngest, but her days are numbered. As we look around us here in our neighborhood and in the town, there seem to be more opportunities for work than ever. Kevin has put to use the information he received at a foundation in Florida for growing tropical plants that are rich in vitamins. We have a shade shed in the back yard and lots of experimenting going on with baby plants all over the place. We hope this may give us a chance to meet new people and to help in a practical way. We are still having the kids over for Saturday morning Bible class. We find it maybe the most fulfilling thing we do here and we pray that more kids will come as we get to know them. Baseball is going strong and the boys are putting to use some of the new equipment we brought back. A huge thanks to those of you who made that possible! We are planning a summer camp for these kids that will give them some constructive fun during the school break. Please pray that we will have good ideas and use the time well. A few more of our prayer requests are: 1) That we will not have to pay high duty tax on the items we have air freighted. Kevin will be going this week to pick them up in Quito. 2) That we will use every opportunity as the Lord brings it and trust in Him for the results. Many, many thanks for your support and prayers. Please keep in touch! Beka

January 2011 Update

2011-01-24T17:02:00.004-03:00

Dear friends and family,

Our time here in the US is flying by and our March 2nd departure date is rapidly approaching. We have had a wonderful time thus far and have been trying to balance work, fun and family.

January has been a busy month. We have spoken in 2 churches: Continental North Mount Zion and Galion Alliance Church and will be speaking Epworth Methodist in Lima the 28th. It's been nice to reconnect with old friends and give a report of our work in Ecuador.

We've also been trying to take advantage of this time home to help prepare us for our return. I have been taking some courses online and also spent a week in Fort Myers, Florida at ECHO studying agricultural development. We are very excited about applying what we have learned to our ministry in Archidona.

We have enjoyed being home, but are getting very excited about going back.

Prayer requests:

That we make the most of our last month here in the US
Packing
Wisdom and provision on purchases that still need to be made-generator, satellite phone, etc.
Baseball ministry in Ecuador. We would like to take more gloves to Ecuador and are accepting donations. Click here to find out how

We would like to thank you for your prayer and financial support. God has been faithful in meeting our needs through people like you.

Kevin for Beka, Ezra, Joseph, Tessa, Evelyn, ?

Support Address:
The Master's Mission
PO Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771

Baseball for 2011

2010-12-31T11:44:00.004-03:00

I know that we are in the middle of winter but it's never too early to think about baseball, right? Actually, we are thinking about baseball quite a bit as we are getting ready to go back to Ecuador. We began playing baseball with neighborhood kids back in May of 2009. Sports like baseball have been one of the most effective tools for us to get out into the community and get to know people and has opened doors for ministry. As a result of those relationships we have established through sports, we were able to start a Saturday morning Bible Study for interested children and had a weekly attendance of around 12 to 15 kids.

When we started out we only had 4 gloves, a few balls and one bat. Baseball equipment is not easily found can only be purchased in the larger cities and it is very expensive for the children we are working with. Over the last year in a half, many of you have donated baseball equipment, for which we are very grateful. We have given many of the gloves(20) to the kids that show a commitment to playing regularly so that they can practice on their own at home. As a result, our supplies are getting depleted. We also hope to expand the baseball program to more kids and even to other communities. As we look forward to going back to Ecuador on March 2nd, we would like restock our baseball supplies.

We have a need for: more gloves, balls, and catcher's equipment.

If you have any of these items that you would like to donate, please contact me at:

kevindeitering@yahoo.com

or send the items to the following address:

Kevin Deitering
6048 Road 8E
Leipsic, OH 45856

Thanks!

December Update

2010-12-11T14:33:00.002-03:00

Dear friends and family,

"Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow......"

That line from the famous Christmas song has been heard around our house almost every day for the last 2 months. Even little Evie is chiming in with the refrain. Finally it has happened as we have had a couple of dustings over the last few weeks. The kids were even able to make a snowman yesterday, but there were tears when we came home and the snowman had melted away.

We had a great time in the month of November, highlighted of course by Thanksgiving with family. We have so many things for which to be grateful.

We also went down to The Master's Mission in North Carolina and were able to catch up with old friends and make some new ones. Both Beka and I were given opportunities to speak to missionary candidates about life and missions in Ecuador. Pray for the candidates and staff as many are seeking direction for where the Lord will have them serve.

We have also been blessed by being home around our church family. We are humbled by their generosity and the special friends we have.

We are beginning to understand what it means to have two "homes." When we are in one place, we tend to think about everything we miss from the other. There is so much we love about both Ecuador and the US. We are very glad for a period of time to be close to our families and for the chance to celebrate Christmas together with them. Our hope is that each of you will have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Kevin, Beka, Ezra, Joseph, Tessa, Evelyn

November Update

2010-11-15T17:31:00.001-03:00

Dear frends and family,

We've been back in the US since September 30th and it hasn't taken long to get busy, busy, busy. I have been landscaping with my brothers part time. Beka has had to set up house in our rental in Ottawa, Ohio. And the kids have enjoyed playing with their long lost cousins. The kids are disappointed that we haven't had a blizzard yet. We are trying to convince them that the snow is right around the corner.

We have traveled quite a bit since since arriving. We have spoken at a church in Ohio, 1 in New York and now we are at The Master's Mission for meetings and a little R and R.

We are looking forward to spending the holidays at home with family. This will be the first time since 2005.

We want to thank you all for your financial and prayer support. Both enable us to be able serve on the Mission that God has called us.

Kevin

October Update

2010-10-14T13:51:00.001-03:00

Dear friends and family,

We've had a whirlwind last few weeks, but we are feeling settled and are so happy to be touching base with our family and friends in Ohio. As we left Ecuador this time, we realized how much it had become home in the last year. We've made many new friends and have come to love many aspects of the Ecuadorian culture. So it was a bitter sweet departure as we said good bye. Then, when we arrived in Houston, we had the surprise of hearing about the police riots that had taken place in Quito the day we left and how the military had taken over the airport. The Lord was watching over us even though we had no idea there was any danger. Needless to say, we were so grateful to make it home on schedule!

Ottawa will be our home for this winter. Kevin will be working with his brothers in the family's landscaping business, and the kids and I will be enjoying the library, the YMCA, SNOW (the kids can't wait!), and being close to both sets of grandparents. We plan on speaking in a few churches and visiting the ones in our area that support us. We look forward to being part of the Cable Road Alliance family this winter!

Beka

Back in the USA

2010-10-01T09:45:00.003-03:00

Dear friends and family,

We just wanted to send out a quick update to tell all of that we made it safely to Chicago. Little did we know, Ecuador was erupting into chaos while we were in the air between Quito and Houston. The police were protesting a new law which will change and in some cases, reduce, their wages. Yesterday, the police blocked roads, the airports were shut down, and the president, Rafael Correa, was assaulted with tear gas, and held captive in the police run hospital. He was rescued by the miltary, which continues to be loyal to him, last night. Correa continues as president. The US Embassy in Ecuador has told all US citizens to stay home. I spoke with a friend in Archidona yesterday and he said that all the police have left town to join the protests, so there is currently no security. The airports continue to be closed. This situation is very surprising as President Correa is one of the most popular presidents Ecuador has ever had. You just never no what can happen from one day to the next. There was no build up Follow the Yahoo link to get the whole story.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101001/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_ecuador_protest

We are grateful that the Lord protected us. In Houston, someone mentioned to us that the military had taken over the airport in Quito shortly after we had left. We are grateful that we were able to make it out in time and be able to be here with family for Josh´s wedding.

Thanks for praying for a safe return.
Kevin

Families in Ecuador

2010-08-29T12:41:00.005-03:00

Over the past several months, we have been asked certain questions about our family as we go about our daily lives. It has made us realize just how different and truly sad the lives of many here are.

Upon seeing that we 4 have children, the gas station attendant asked Beka if I was the father of all 4 of them, and was seemingly surprised when she said, "yes".
One of the employees of a small local grocery asked if Beka and I were actually married and seemed somewhat shocked when the answer was once again, "yes".
At a soccer game last week, a little girl was playing near us and saw Beka's ring. She asked what it meant, and Beka explained that I gave it to her when we married. The girl quickly replied that her daddy won't marry her mommy.

Several of the neighborhood boys are being raised by their mothers or by their grandparents. Other families have been split up due to immigration.

What is happening to the family?

I recently read an article in a prominent Ecuadorian magazine called Vistazo. It was particularly eye opening and helps us to better understand the culture and society where we work.

The title of the article is "Pagan justos por pecadores" or translated, "The just or righteous paying for sinners." The article explains a new child support law. With the new law, if a man refuses to pay child support, his next of kin must pay, or be put in jail. There is currently an elderly woman serving time in prison because her son, who lives and works in the US, recently stopped paying child support. The judges, who apparently have a loose interpretation of the law, seek the wealthiest relative of the "dead beat dad" to pay the support that he refuses to pay. Hence the title of the article.

Obviously, many are upset to see innocent people being put in prison for the crimes that others have committed. One of the legislators who helped pass the law says that drastic measures are needed in order to combat this negligence on the part of the fathers. Do two wrongs make a right? I don't think so. However, the fact there is such a law reveals something far more profound than the legalities of the law: the breakdown of the family.

Some very sad and staggering statistics come out in this article:

80 % of children and youth have seperated parents
200,000 cases of unpaid child support
2 million women are the heads of their homes(single mothers)

Let's take a deeper look at the statistics. Ecuador has a population of 14,573,101 (July 2010 est.) Approximately 31.1% of the population is between 0 and 14 (male 2,312,610/female 2,220,378) or a total of 4,532,988. The statistics show that 80% of chlidren and youth have seperated parents, which means that 3,626,390 children are living in homes with only one of their birth parents! This number would be higher if you would include youth between the ages of 15 and 18.

Two million women are single mothers. If the average woman has 2 children(a very conservative estimate), 4 million children to do not have the presence of either their birth father or a step father.

What kind of society can you have where the men are absent from the lives of their children? It translates into one of the most corrupt countries in the world. According to mibazaar.com, Ecuador is the 25th most corrupt nation in the world, resembling the lawlessness of Somalia or Haiti more than the transparency of New Zealand.

How do we reverse these negative trends? I'm convinced by God's Word that the only way to truly change lives is through obedience to His Word, beginning with salvation from our sins by faith in Christ Jesus alone. Being a Christian is much deeper than where we attend church on Sunday. Being a Christian should effect every area of our lives, and especially how we interact with those around us-that's called obedience; obedience in loving my spouse, training my children, etc..

August 2010 Update

2010-08-11T23:02:00.004-03:00

Hello family and friends! It’s a busy morning here with school underway and Kevin out working on the house. He has been welding windows and overseeing the building of a platform for our water tank.! I’m always surprised when I go out there how much has been accomplished each week. We are beginning to feel the pressure to complete as much as possible since we only have 6 more weeks here in Ecuador.

I feel like I should explain better what our plan is for the building on the property. Our long term goal is to live in that community (San Pablo/San Luis), establish relationships over time, begin working with children through Bible Studies and sports, and one day start a church in the area. So, for now we are building a garage slash shed slash house. One friend has told us this is technically called a “shouse”. I like that. We will live in it when we move to the property and from there decide whether we need to build a house or simply add on to what we have and build a separate garage.

Now here is a GREAT piece of news: when we return to Ecuador in March we will be joined by another family from The Master’s Mission! The Dixons will be living in our Archidona house, acclimating to the climate and culture and learning the language. We are so excited and thankful to have help and fellowship on the way. Please pray that all goes smoothly as they prepare to move their family to Ecuador.

When we come to the States we will be flying into Chicago the last week of September and attending my brother Josh’s wedding the second of October. Then we will come home to Ohio and set up house. We will be in the States until March 2^nd, 2011. It is a new experience for us having to arrange for a home and vehicle on furlough, but we are praying that the Lord will provide. We just found out this morning that the vehicle will be taken care of. What wonderful news! Our thought is to find a home in the Lima area which would put us close to both sets of grandparents. So you can be praying that this will work out. Thanks!

Meanwhile we are really enjoying our last weeks in our Archidona home. Our house has become the place to be at 5 o’clock in the afternoon. About 15 boys from the neighborhood come to play soccer or baseball every day. They have a habit of coming half an hour early and waiting on the road till we invite them in. Then they come pouring through our gate. It is a wonderful time, and our boys look forward to it each day. They like to sit and talk on the back porch and play with Evie. You can imagine their delight when she started saying “hola” this week! She is their little pet and generally gets away with murder. Tessa is happy with kindergarten classes underway, but finds lots of time to play with the kitty and ride bike and be a cowgirl.

We look forward to seeing some of you when we are home! We hope you are all well, and we thank you again for your support of our work here, your notes of encouragement, and your prayers.

Beka

July 2010 Update

2010-07-13T11:12:00.000-03:00

Good morning friends!

The day has gotten off to a beautiful start here in Archidona. It is misty and cool and when we woke up there were thunder clouds up on the mountains. But the sun was shining too and we saw a rainbow crossing one of the peaks. The morning sun always shines on the tops of the mountains across the river before it reaches us. What a peaceful sight. Another reason it is peaceful is that Kevin has taken the three older kids out to the farm to get started on the day’s work. That is one of the treats of summer, going with Daddy first thing in the morning.

The month of June was especially hard for our family. First I came down with a fever that we thought was dengue, then we found it was really Hepatitis A. And two weeks later, to the day, Kevin had it too. It was an entire month of sickness and was very discouraging at times. It was a reminder of how we need to depend on God’s care for us and the strength He gives for each day. Now we are much better and I like how Kevin put it: “Feels like we are coming out of a fog.” We are enjoying eating good food and playing hard again. Please pray that we will be careful not to do too much as Hepatitis is known for relapses.

One thing that kept us sane through all this was Sam’s visit. He spent two weeks helping with the work we didn’t feel up to yet, playing with the kids and being a real companion and friend. Thanks to his help, the roof of the garage/house was put on in two days!

It seems to me, who is not a part of the work each day, that progress is obvious on the shed/ house now. The floor is finished, the roof on, and the walls are two meters high. Kevin is making windows this week. We are grateful for the diligence of our workers and glad to see things moving ahead.

A quick update on our little ones: the boys are finally selling the chickens they have worked so long to raise. There is a small restaurant up the road that sells the chicken soup our area is famous for. People come all the way from Quito to have a taste, and right now they are tasting OUR chickens. The owners have been by each day this week to buy from the boys. Little Evie, in an attempt to be like her big sister, can be seen carrying around paper and crayons and looking through books very studiously. But still her favorite thing is to have her feet rubbed. And Tessa is just surviving until school starts. She can’t wait to be in kindergarten.

We send our love to all of you and hope you are having a wonderful summer! Thank you for your prayers, friendship, and support.

May 2010 Update

2010-05-12T15:27:00.006-03:00

Hello to all! We are enjoying some unusual weather in Archidona this week. It is 68 degrees, and we are freezing! It feels like a blizzard has hit and left us all stranded in our homes huddled beneath our cozy quilts. It has been a wonderful break from the heat and we are finding ourselves getting more accomplished in the house and reading to our hearts' content.

Work on the new property is going well. The shed floor is being poured this week, so that means lots of concrete mixing. We are building this garage with the plan to live in it while we build the house. So there is more work going into it now, but it will be very useful in the future as a garage and guest house. We are very grateful to have good workers. They have been showing up regularly and putting in a full day's work. That has made this project go smoothly. Little by little, we are getting to know the neighbors and the people in that community. It takes time, and with the experience of life in Archidona under our belts, we have better expectations for how things will go when we move to the new place. We would appreciate your prayers concerning this. Our goal is to be good neighbors, to help meet some of the needs we see in the area, to establish relationships, and to teach God's Word when the opportunity comes. In the meantime, we are trying to those things right where we are now.

We continue to have a children's Bible Study here on Saturday mornings. We have around 10 kids come from the neighborhood to sing, hear a lesson from God's Word, and to play games. On Sunday mornings, we are able to bring some of the kids with us to church.

The boys finished out the school year last week and spend their new free time building a boat in the corner of the yard. Some days the rain makes a huge puddle right around it, like their own personal lake. Tessa is looking forward to her birthday next week. She will be five and can't wait to begin reading lessons. She likes to spend time with the new kitty she named Sally, and the new kitty likes to sneak into the house and curl up on her bed. Evie is really going places now! She walks tilted forward as if that will help her get there faster. She is a Daddy's girl and will try to climb into his lap. She know's how to relax and loves to have her feet rubbed, a real cuddle bum.

After he graduates from the Air Force Academy, my brother Sam will be visiting us for two weeks in June. It is always a treat to have a family member come see what life is like in our neck of the woods. He will be a huge help with the shed project, and if all else fails, we can set him to weed whacking and killing boa constrictors. We hope to show him some of our favorite places in Ecuador and introduce him to the famous "chonta curo" (our local edible grubs).

Thanks again to all of you who help us with your support and prayers! We hope you are all well and enjoying summer!

Beka for us all

Click here to see some photos.

Man made disasters?

2010-04-20T22:13:00.004-03:00

Two weeks ago, it rained for several days up in the headwaters of the mountains, which caused the local rivers to rise. With the rivers already at their limit, the floodgates literally opened. It rained here for about 7 straight hours. In the early morning hours, a mudslide crushed a house and killed 2 teenage girls here in Archidona. Later in the morning, the flood waters rose in Tena, the provincial capital, and flooded a large part of the city and displaced over 300 families. In several smaller communities, entire houses were swept away, crops were destroyed, and roads were washed out. The government declared a state of emergency for this area.

Many are blaming "global warming" or "global climate change" for the disasters, going as far as calling them "man made" disasters. While floods and other natural disasters are a reminder that we do live in a fallen world, there are other man made disasters that have far deeper implications on our society, and no amount of relief or money will clean them up or make them go away.

Over the last several months, we have observed that the deterioration of the family is of epidemic proportions and is an ever-present reminder of the curse of sin. A friend of mine recently told me that his father is from a prominent family here in our small town, but the man has never acknowledged that he is my friend's father. Our children's Spanish tutor was recently abandoned by her husband, leaving her to care for their daughter alone. Many of the neighborhood kids are being raised by single mothers or by relatives. These are what one could call man-made disasters that will have far deeper implications on society than the recent floods. Just imagine how this effects not only the people who are directly involved, but society as a whole.

As emergency funds come flooding in (no pun intended), roads are being repaired, and new homes are being built. In 5 years, the flood will be a distant memory. However, the consequence of sin will still be visible. The scars of being an illegitimate son or an abandoned wife will still be around. No amount of money can clean up this man made mess. Only the Gospel can effectively do that. God can tranform lives and societies.

As missionaries living here in Ecuador, it is our desirere to be a visual aid of the Gospel. Not that we are perfect, but we pray that people will see a Biblical model of the family in us. Please pray with us that God's truth will give comfort and relief to people who need it so desperately.

March 2010

2010-03-09T13:23:00.003-03:00

Hello to our family and friends!

We are enjoying a quiet Tuesday here. Kevin has been busy getting the building started at our land. He and the workers are putting up a bathroom first and will then start on a garage to provide storage space for building materials. THEN we can start the house. Yesterday, I had to explain to Tessie that it may take quite a while to get the point where we can live in our new house. She was ready to move today. Speaking of moving, our Evie is now taking a few steps at a time and receives hearty cheers whenever she does. She puts everything in her mouth and her favorites are crayons and bugs. The boys are still grinding corn daily for their flock of chickens but we are finding that animals can be high maintenance sometimes. We have had several get sick and die. Joe usually sighs and says, "Well, it's a part (of the curse) of sin." They are looking forward to the soccer season starting up soon, and Kevin is already playing with a neighborhood team. It has been lots of fun for us all to watch and cheer them on! I always giggle when I see Kevin out there standing a good foot taller than all his teamates. I have met ladies from the neighborhood and it is nice to already have the connection with many of their sons playing baseball with Kevin. So that is a quick update on each of us!

We enjoy the friendship of many of our neighborhood boys. They come nearly every day to play soccer in the late afternoon and, of course, Saturday they are here for baseball. It has happened several times now that they will bring up questions about why we are here and what we believe. So we have decided to have a Bible lesson for them on Saturday mornings and will begin this coming weekend. We want to take the opportunity we have been given to influence these kids and we want to build on the relationship we already have with them. It is exciting to be doing this in, what we feel, is the correct order. It has been easy and natural to invite them (since they are here about every day anyway!). Please pray that we will do well, teaching them in a simple clear way that they can understand.

About a month ago, the Ecuadorians celebrated Carnaval, which is their version of Mardi Gras, the beginning of Lent. One evening, Ezra was sitting up with us watching the news and there was a program showing highlights from the celebrations in different cities. In the mountain region, there was held a worship service to the earth. It showed the leaders in their native dress, chanting and dancing to gain the favor of the earth god and to request rain for their crops. We were all a bit surprised to see a pagan worship service on the evening news, but it served a good purpose in reminding us that people all over the world still worship idols and false gods. It is becoming increasingly popular in Ecuador for people to return to the pagan gods of their ancestors. Sometimes we wonder how our children are affected living in this culture, and that night we remembered back to the Bible story we had recently read of Aaron and the golden calf. It's not hard for them to imagine how it must have been in the ancient times when God's people chose to follow an idol. We hope that the truth of God's Word will shine even more clearly when the darkness is close around them.

We thank you all again for your prayers and support and especially for the words of encouragement you send. We hope you have a wonderful week!

Beka for us all

January 2010 Update

2010-01-16T11:58:00.004-03:00

Dear friends and family,

Kevin and the boys just headed out of the driveway to go fishing. Exciting times! Actually there was a whole truck full of neighborhood boys who wanted to go along. When they are riding in our truck, the guys like to chant, “USA. USA.” We are not sure why, but it always makes us smile. And the location for this adventure? The tilapia pond at our property. One of the guys borrowed a net from his relative and they hope to come home with a tub full of fish. It is a tricky business and makes one appreciate each bite of fish on his plate. Just a few weeks ago, we ate fish from our pond for the first time. It was rewarding! While you eat, you think of all the work you’ve put into your food: the countless trips down the trail to feed the fish, the morning you spent catching them, cleaning them (Joe is a pro), and finally rolling them in the flour and frying them to golden perfection. So, with a little luck, we will be enjoying tilapia again soon. While we are on the topic of food, I’d like to announce that we have harvested sweet bananas and green bananas from our own trees. Our favorite snacks are “chifles”, made by frying thin slices of the green bananas and eating them with salt and ketchup (very much like French fries and oh-so-good with a cold glass of lemonade), and “choco-bananas”, bananas dipped in chocolate.

It’s been a fun week. Kevin sat down one evening and designed a logo for the t-shirts we are giving to the boys who play baseball on Saturdays. We decided it was high time we rewarded them a little for their diligence. They have been coming faithfully for six months now, and we have purposefully waited to give them any sort of reward in order to see who would last. So many times the kids here are involved in a program just to receive whatever hand-outs there are and then they stop attending. But we feel these guys have shown they can work hard and be faithful, so we are going to surprise them!

We ask that you pray for the pastor’s wife from the Alliance church here. The doctor found a tumor in her breast a week ago and she will be operated on soon. Her name is Gloria. The family has gone to their hometown on the coast to be close to relatives through this time. Kevin is filling in for two weeks while they are gone. We have enjoyed getting to know the pastor and his family over the past few months. Gloria has been an encouragement to me because she is a woman who loves her work in the home and is content being a helper to her husband. We are praying that all goes well with the surgery.

Many of you already know that we bought land in September hoping to build a house on the property and work in the nearby communities. Since then, we have seen just how many needs there are in the area and feel excited about planting a church there in the future. We are hoping that our current house will be used by future TMM missionaries. In order to build a house, we have calculated that we will need $20,000. We know that many of you want us to be specific about our needs, so we are giving specific figures this month. We thank God that our needs are consistently met through friends like you.

May you all have a prosperous 2010!
Beka

See more photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinbekadeitering/

If you are not a Facebook friend, click here as you can also see photos and blog updates.

Support Address:
The Master’s Mission
P.O. Box 547 Robbinsville, NC 28771
http://www.mastersmission.org/

Mailing Address:
Casilla Postal 15-01-61
Tena, Napo
Ecuador

Goals for 2010

2010-01-07T11:44:00.003-03:00

It's hard to believe we are already in 2010. (Twenty ten or two thousand ten?) We are now going on our fourth year of ministry here in Ecuador. Here are some of our goals for this year:

1. Build a home and move to our property in San Luis
We hope eventually raise enough support to be able to build a home in San Luis. San Luis is a small indigenous community near several other communities. There are no churches in the area. We want to move there, be good neighbors, and eventually begin a church.

2. Strengthen the relationships we have with the youth through sports
Our home has become a bit of a hangout at times for neighborhood boys. We have been playing baseball and soccer with them and have been able to share some of our lives with them. Most of the boys don't have their fathers around due to either divorce, work, or immigration. Pray that we would be able model a biblical family for them and that we would have opportunities to share the Gospel with them.

3. Be good neighbors
Sometimes, it's frustrating to put up with some of the cultural differences between us and our neighbors. The staring, the loud music, the fights and the immodesty are some things that can get under our skin some days. However, the Lord has called us to be different and to be patient. Pray for opportunities to be good neighbors. One neighbor would like to watch some Creation DVD's that we have and we're hoping he might be interested in eventually studying the Bible. Another neighbor girl comes with us to church on some Sundays.

4. Establish Home Bible Studies
We are already helping a woman in San Pablo, a small town near San Luis, with a Kid's Club she has on Fridays. Her health is poor so we're not sure how much longer it will continue or if it's something we will have an expanded role in. She also spoken to us about visiting people in the community and perhaps beginning a Bible Study in one of the homes. We would also like to begin a Bible Study in our home here in Archidona.

5. Continue to visit remote communities
I(Kevin) have been visiting 2 remote communities and would like to visit more. Please pray for my health and stamina as I visit these communities. I need to walk 2 to 3 hours in knee deep mud to get there. Sanitation is poor and the water is bad. However, when they invite you in and offer you food, you need to accept. Pray that I might be able to boldly teach God's Word in my visits.

Thanks to all of you who make it possible for us to be here through your prayer and financial support.

May you all have a prosperous 2010!
Kevin

See more photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinbekadeitering/

If you are not a Facebook friend, click here as you can also see photos and blog updates.

Support Address:
The Master’s Mission
P.O. Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771
http://www.mastersmission.org/

Mailing Address:
Casilla Postal 15-01-61
Tena, Napo
Ecuador

December 2009 Update

2009-12-06T19:58:00.003-03:00

Dear family and friends,

Season’s greetings to all! We hope you are enjoying this time of year as we are: the lights, the music, the special surprises tucked away for Christmas morning. And for us ladies, this time of year means a few extra hours (or days) spent in the kitchen, does it not? The kids are looking forward to our buckeye- baking day. We want to invite a dear friend over to teach her how to make good old Ohio buckeyes. We can’t wait! In the evenings, we like to turn the lights and music on, sit on our porch, and pretend that it feels a little chilly out.

Well, my family has lots of good news to share this month. Sarah and Jason both got engaged over the Thanksgiving weekend, truly giving us much to be thankful for! It is exciting to see the family expanding and growing. We tell them tropical honeymoons are the greatest.

Our kids are doing well, and we appreciate those of you who pray for them, especially for their health. They just came through a down time, probably a combination of bugs that were going around and parasites. But they are on the mend, and it is good to see them with lots of energy again. Kevin just took them out this morning and bought the boys their first “real” soccer cleats. Soccer continues to be great fun for them and a learning experience as they interact with other kids. Next week, they are scheduled to play on the only nice grass field we have in town. Woo-hooo! Nearly every night, the neighborhood boys call at the front gate, asking for Santi, Joe, and Mister (they love to call Kevin “Mister”, but with their accents it sounds like “Meestair”; and “Santi” is Ezra’s nickname, taken from the Spanish for his middle name, James). So, the guys will race around, throwing on their shoes, grabbing the soccer ball, and running across the street to the field the guys . Tessa and I will finish getting the supper on and then take Evie for a walk in the stroller, keeping tabs on the game and enjoying the sunset. It is a delightful time to be outside, finally cool after the heat of afternoon. We meet neighbors on their way home or out for a stroll like us. I have told Kevin often that it is by far my favorite time of day.

As many of you know, we purchased land close to a small community a few months ago. Much of Kevin’s time lately has been spent doing improvements on the property. He and the workers spent a week cleaning and surveying the land. They also have cut down trees as needed for making fence posts. It is quite an experience watching how the Ecuadorians use a chain saw to cut posts and even boards from a tree. They have repaired the old fences which enclose the land and have prepared pasture for our cattle. Yes, Cattle! We knew it was necessary to do something with the land to keep it from growing back into jungle and our best option was to put a couple of cows on it. They have already eaten and trampled down the tall weeds and given the place a “cleaner” look.

We would ask that you pray for us to have wisdom as we consider the possibility of eventually living on our new property with the hope of starting a church and being a light in the community. There are lots of uncertainties still: timing, what to do with the house here in Archidona, how to go about making the place a good home for us when we build. At the same time, we want to be faithful with the opportunities we have here, especially with the kids that come each week for baseball. Some of these boys have no daddies at home and very few good role models. They just take to Kevin and respond well to his firmness and discipline. And some days they come with interesting questions. I can tell they want his opinion on things. So we ask that you pray for these boys. Thank you so much for all the support and encouragement you are to us and we wish a very Merry Christmas to all!

Beka for the Deiterings

See more photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinbekadeitering/

If you are not a Facebook friend, click here as you can also see photos and blog updates.

Support Address:
The Master’s Mission
P.O. Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771
http://www.mastersmission.org/

Mailing Address:
Casilla Postal 15-01-61
Tena, Napo
Ecuador

December 2009 Update

2009-12-06T19:29:00.005-03:00

Dear family and friends,

Our kids are doing well, and we appreciate those of you who pray for them, especially for their health. They just came through a down time, probably a combination of bugs that were going around and parasites. But they are on the mend, and it is good to see them with lots of energy again. Kevin just took them out this morning and bought the boys their first “real” soccer cleats. Soccer continues to be great fun for them and a learning experience as they interact with other kids. Next week, they are scheduled to play on the only nice grass field we have in town. Woo-hooo! Nearly every night, the neighborhood boys call at the front gate, asking for Santi, Joe, and Mister (they love to call Kevin “Mister”, but with their accents it sounds like “Meestair”; and “Santi” is Ezra’s nickname, taken from the Spanish for his middle name, James). So the guys will race around, throwing on their shoes, grabbing the soccer ball, and running across the street to the field. Tessa and I will finish up getting the supper on and then take Evie for a walk in the stroller, keeping tabs on the game and enjoying the sunset. It is a delightful time to be outside, finally cool after the heat of afternoon. We meet neighbors on their way home or out for a stroll like us. I have told Kevin often that it is by far my favorite time of day.

As many of you know, we purchased land close to a small community a few months ago. Much of Kevin’s time lately has been spent doing improvements on the property. He and the workers spent a week cleaning and surveying the land. They also have cut down trees as needed for making fenceposts. It is quite an experience watching how the Ecuadorians use a chain saw to cut posts and even boards from a tree. They have repaired the old fences which enclose the land and have prepared pasture for our cattle. Yes, Cattle! We knew it was necessary to do something with the land to keep it from growing back into jungle and our best option was to put a couple of cows on it. They have already trampled down the tall weeds and given the place a “cleaner” look.

Beka for the Deiterings

October Update

2009-10-24T12:10:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

We wanted to keep you up to date as to what has gone on in our ministry here in Ecuador over the last month.

In September, we sent out an update about a possible land purchase of 15 acres outside a community called San Pablo. San Pablo is a small community located about 10 kilometers or 25 minutes outside of Archidona. It has a small police post, two "tiendas" or carry outs, a rural health clinic, a grade school and a small high school. It is surrounded by several smaller communities, some of which do not have any common services such as suitable water and sanitation.

Three weeks ago, we decided to purchase the land. There are no churches in this area and we hope to eventually be able to move to and work in this area. Logistically, this would be an ideal area to begin a new church. However, we recognize that only the Lord can make this work, and we will wait on his timing to begin such an endeavor. In the meantime, we plan on getting to know people in the community and using the opportunities that the Lord gives us. Last week, I met an older woman who gives a Bible Lesson once a week for children in the community and she has asked us to help.

I (Kevin) have also been able to visit some of the communities deeper into the jungle. In September, I accompanied a medical team from the San Pablo health clinic to a community called Ishkiñampi. It is located about 4 hours from our house here in Archidona: an hour in the truck and then nearly 3 hours hiking into the jungle. The team included a Kichwa guide, a dentist, a nurse and the doctor. We spent 3 days and 2 nights there and I came away very excited about the possibility of working more in that community. I have told them that I would like to visit them once a month and would like the opportunity to teach the Word of God.

I returned to Ishkiñampi for my second visit last week. The school there gave me permission to give the children a lesson from the Word of God, so I taught them about God´s Creation and the Fall of Man. The people there seem open to the Gospel. However, pray for wisdom as we deal with these communities. There is a tendency to embrace any ideology, philosophy, or religion if there is a promise to receive things materially. Many religious groups and even some Evangelicals have gone to other similar indigenous communities and have offered them generators, class rooms, and other things that are good and helpful, but seem to blur the lines between those who are genuinely following the Lord and those who are simply involved because they are hoping to receive material things. We want to teach, for example, that a man changed by the Gospel and the Word of God will no longer spend his money on moonshine, but instead, will provide for his wife and family. In that way, the Gospel brings about material change. With the life changing power of the Gospel comes personal responsibility that will radically change these communities.

If you want to read more about Ishkiñampi and my two visits there, click on the following links below:
Ishkiñampi I
Ishkiñampi II

We would like to thank you all for your faithful prayer and financial support. Please pray that the Lord will continue to open doors for us.
Kevin

See more photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinbekadeitering/

If you are not a Facebook friend, click here as you can also see photos and blog updates.

Support Address:
The Master’s Mission
P.O. Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771
http://www.mastersmission.org/

Mailing Address:
Casilla Postal 15-01-61
Tena, Napo
Ecuador

October Update

2009-10-24T10:24:00.006-03:00

Ishkiñampi

2009-10-15T16:40:00.010-03:00

Yesterday, I went to Ishkiñampi (not Ishkiñambi as previously written) for the second time. I told them during the first visit that I would like to visit them once a month in order to teach God´s Word and talk about ways we can improve the community. Last week, I informed some of the locals that I happened to see in San Pablo that I would be there this week.

We left Archidona in a heavy rain at 5:30 AM. I took the Hyundai so that I could take as many people and supplies as possible. I was a little concerned with the truck’s ability to make it up to Para since it is not four-wheel drive, but I figured with all the weight in the back, that it would be OK. We arrived in Para at 7:00 AM and parked the truck at a local’s house who said he would watch it for us while we hiked to Ishkiñampi. We waited around for 30 minutes, hoping that it would stop raining or at least slow down. While we waited, the guide and the 3 other men with me began to drink a little sugar cane moon shine called “trago” or “veinticinco”. The smell of the alcohol is nauseating, especially when smelling it on the breath of the others. It smells like the combination of rubbing alcohol and raw meat. We finally left the trailhead at 7:30 AM in a heavy rain. The trail, as always, was a muddy mess. Parts of the trail actually became a creek bed during the heavy rain, but that also happened to be where the ground was harder and so that’s where we walked.

Upon arriving in Ishkiñampi 2.5 hours later, we stopped by the house of Claudio Salazar. Claudio is one of the leaders of the community. He actually is a high school graduate and is very articulate with a vast knowledge of subjects ranging from medicinal plants to Barak Obama. He and his wife, Maria, were in Archidona the previous day in order to bring their sick son to the Shaman, who happens to be Maria’s father. While at Claudio’s house, I was given a bowl of chicha de yucca. I don’t particularly mind the taste of this drink, but I don’t care for the water they use to make it (nor does my body a day later).While we drank chicha, Claudio asked if I would be his son’s padrino or godfather. I tried to explain a couple of times biblical baptism, and baby dedications, etc. I’m not sure he ever fully understood, but he insisted that I least think about it as he wants his son to be influenced by someone like me, which is very flattering.

After drinking as much chicha as I could muster, we went over to the school. As we arrived, the director of the school was standing on the front porch of the store/bar of the village with one of the 3 teachers of the school. The store sells pop, tuna, suckers, and of course, trago or moonshine. The director motioned to us with his hand to wait a second, and then he came to greet us. A month ago, when I first met the director, I noted his neat dress and clean clothes, despite being in a muddy place. He seemed like a mild-mannered man who was well respected in the community. This time however, something had changed. It was clear from his countenance and his squinty bloodshot eyes and undone shirt that he had been drinking. As he spoke, it removed all doubt. The repugnant smell of trago flowed from his mouth. He came up to me and shook my hand, thanking me for the visit and invited me to come accompany him to the school.

We went into the school and I greeted the children. There are 20 children who attend the school. They range in age from 6 to 12. Some of the kids had boots, but most were barefooted. Other than the bare feet, most of them look relatively happy and healthy, despite a steady diet of only rice, canned tuna and chicha. I told them that I would like to speak to the adults, and have time for a short Bible lesson with the children. They organized an agenda for the meeting. Kichwa Indians love the formality of meetings. The meeting was opened by the drunken school director who welcomed me, the representative of The Master’s Mission (TMM). As I was being addressed, I couldn’t help but to feel like I was looked upon as the chicken who lays golden eggs as he once again mentioned the needs and wants of the community. He was followed, or interrupted by Claudio who was upset that the president of the parents association was not present and seemed to be using this as an opportunity to criticize her. Most of the speeches were in Spanish, but when they began to argue, it quickly switched to Kichwa.

After the argument died down and order was restored, I stood up and told them that my first visit had left a deep impression on me. I said that they had become my friends and that I saw the many physical needs of the community. I went on to say that the biggest need was spiritual and that a change of heart would bring about more long term permanent change than 10 new computers for the 20 students of their school. I went on to share how Jesus had changed my life. Several of the men readily admitted that a change of heart was needed, but didn’t seem to be particularly interested in having their hearts changed.

I also reminded them that the foundation, or TMM, was not here to hand out money and give them things. I told them that our principle function is to teach God’s Word. However, I will use my influence to try to help them as they solicit funds for various projects to help the community. Most of the men seemed like they understood this, although the inebriated school director seemed a bit surprised.

After another heated argument between Claudio and the school director in Kichwa, the meeting was brought to a close. The director gave me permission to do a Bible Study with the children, but mentioned that it would be better pedagogy to do something fun with the kids so we could “become friends”. I wonder if it’s good pedagogy to be drunk in front of the students while at school, during school hours? So, after taking the advice of the well intentioned school director, I taught the kids 2 songs. After breaking the ice, we gave a lesson on God’s Creation and the Fall of man. In other words, how we got here, and why the world is the way it is today. The kids did a good job paying attention, and one of the sober teachers actually seemed like he understood a little bit of the stories.

By 11:45, I concluded my study with the children and we were invited to the makeshift kitchen/dining room to eat a plate of beans, rice, tuna, banana and yucca with an oat drink or colada on the side. After eating the meal and trying to make small talk with the teachers and director who were coming down from their trago buzz, we embarked on our return journey.

Before leaving, we went to Claudio’s house to pick up a couple of chickens he had given me to pay back for money I had loaned him the day before. We put them in a bag and carried them home. The trip home on the trail was rather uneventful. We went much faster as we didn’t stop to rest as much. I did manage to fall at one point, which was rather embarrassing. As I started to fall, I put my hands down to brace myself and my hands sunk into about 6 inches of mud. We all laughed and continued. We also came across a drunken Indian passed out on the trail. We stopped for a moment to make sure he was just passed out and not dead. When we got about 20 feet away, he sat up and began to scream like a baby. Later, Ruben, the guide told me that the man was his brother. When we arrived at the end of the trail, Claudio and the guide stopped by a house and apparently bought another bottle of trago. I say apparently as I didn’t realize that they had bought more until we got back to Archidona and realized that they were all drunk as skunks and apparently had finished a bottle on the way home. In Archidona, we unloaded some sacks of naranjilla at the market that they had brought back from Ishkiñampi. That brought my day with them to an end. It was 4:00 PM.

So, what are my observations? I have never seen people so controlled by alcohol in my whole entire life. The only thing comparable would be the heavy drug users and drinkers that I knew (and was) during my college years. However, the majority of them (or should I say “us”) still managed to obtain degrees and become productive or semi productive citizens. The typical rural Kichwa male is unable to function without trago. If it’s cold, they need trago to warm up. If they’re hiking, they need it to give them strength. If they are happy, they need it celebrate. If they are sad, they need it drown their sorrows. So when do they not drink? When the men sell their produce in the markets, the majority of them spend their money before getting home on trago and their wives and children never see a dime.

The other troubling observation is that I daresay these people would become Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses or any other cult if they were promised something materially. Of course, they wouldn’t really become one of those aforementioned groups, but they undoubtedly would give lip service to any creed or religion in order to receive something. They are not ideologically tied to any religion besides Shamanism, but not opposed to any other religious view, especially if it could lead to material gain.

Finally, what an outsider like me would perceive as their greatest need and what they perceive as their greatest need are very different. I come in and see one outhouse for a community of more than 50 people. The one outhouse goes directly into a creek.(See Photo) Their is no water treatment. The children have obvious parasite problems due to the water and walking barefoot. Men can't go a day without drinking trago while the women and children suffer from malnutrition. To many of them, the greatest needs of the community are computers and new desks for the school. Good things, indeed, but not the top priorities when the community is exposed to several health risks due to its poor sanitation.

The problems I see are so overwhelming. The ideas and enthusiasm I have are often tempered by non Kichwas who have written them off as an ignorant people destined for failure. So what do we do? We pray. It’s easy to look at the people in these communities and give them up for a lost cause, but who are we to say that? Aren’t we all basically lost causes without Christ? I know I was. We need to pray that God, who is Sovereign, will reach into the communities like Ishkiñampi and draw people to Himself and that He will grant them repentance from their sins. We need to pray that He will give them a desire to obey His Word and please Him with their lives. God does not work any differently here than He does in Ohio or the Bible belt.

Ecuadorian Government and Indigenous Conflict, Part 2

2009-10-07T09:19:00.005-03:00

It looks like the conflict between the indigenous groups and the Ecuadorian Government is coming to an end.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091006/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_ecuador_indians

Violence in Ecuador

2009-10-01T21:14:00.002-03:00

In the past week, there have been teacher strikes, and indigenous groups setting up road blocks as they protest mineral and water rights. Roads have been block here in Archidona and Tena with burning tire. Click here to read more about it.

Ishkiñambi

2009-09-27T18:56:00.005-03:00

Kevin on the way to Ishkiñambi

Dr. Abel Velóz

You never know how the Lord will use different people and open up different doors of opportunity for us. Here's is yet another example of how the Lord works.

Earlier this year, I met Dr. Abel Velóz. In May, he purchased a lot behind our house here in Archidona and we have been friends ever since. He is the Rural Health Director for the Eastern Part of Archidona, an area that includes 37 communities. Part of his job is to lead a team of doctors and dentists into each of these communities at least once a year. They offer basic medical care-mainly giving deparisiting medicine and vitamins to the children while the dentist spends most of the time pulling teeth.

Two weeks ago, I had a meeting with Dr. Velóz, and he invited me to accompany him and his team to a community called Ishkiñambi. It is about 4 hours from our house: an hour in the truck and then nearly 3 hours hiking into the jungle. The team included a Kichwa guide, a dentist, a nurse and the doctor. We spent 3 days and 2 nights there and I came away very excited about the possibility of working more in that community.

Here are some of my observations:

There are no bathrooms. There is just one outhouse in the entire community of over 50 people-mostly children.
Several of the children do not where shoes and walk in the mud.
No electricity
There is water, but it doesn't arrive to the houses at higher elevations.
There is a grade school, but after elementary, many of the children do not continue due to the distance between the community and the nearest school.
Travel between Archidona and the community could be much faster with a completed road.
There is an abandoned Catholic Chapel that has been visited just one time in 7 years by the Catholic priest.
Alcoholism is rampant. From 10:30 AM through 7:00 PM, most of the men and a few women drink moonshine.

The people of the community have asked if we could help them, both physically and spiritually. They have even offered us the use of the chapel. We are praying about how we can help. I'm thinking about visiting once a month, teaching God's Word, and helping out with community development. Please pray that the Lord would use His Word to change the hearts of the people living in darkness in Ishkiñambi.

Kevin

See more photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinbekadeitering/

If your not a Facebook friend, click here as you can also see photos and blog updates.

Support Address:
The Master’s Mission
P.O. Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771
http://www.mastersmission.org/

Mailing Address:
Casilla Postal 15-01-61
Tena, Napo
Ecuador

Another September Update

2009-09-18T22:26:00.002-03:00

Dear friends and family,

As many of you know, one of our main goals for this term on the field was to find an area where we could eventually move and establish a new church. One of the areas that we had been thinking about was a community called San Pablo, or San Pablo de Ushpayacu. San Pablo is a small community located about 10 kilometers or 25 minutes outside of Archidona. It has a small police post, two "tiendas" or carry outs, a rural health clinic, a grade school and a small high school. It is surrounded by several smaller communities, some of which do not have any common services such as suitable water and sanitation.

We are considering the purchase of an approximately 15 acre property, 2 kilometers outside of San Pablo, centrally located among other communities. This property is right along the main road, is high, drains well, and is suitable for building. The property also contains lots of wood, bamboo, and other materials that can be used for construction which will cut down on building costs. Finally, there is a spring on the property which could possibly be used for drinking water.

We are friends with Abel Veloz, the Director of Rural Medicine of this district. He has informed us of the great physical needs of the indigenous in San Pablo and surrounding communities. We also know that there are great spiritual needs in the area; alcoholism, witchcraft, and the lack of a strong work ethic plague these communities.

We believe that this property could be a key for the development of The Master's Mission in Ecuador, but most importantly, for the spread of the Gospel.

Please pray with us for wisdom and the Lord's leading.

Kevin

http://www.mastersmission.org/

Photos from Summer 2009

2009-09-13T14:16:00.002-03:00

Click here to see photos of our Summer in the States. Lots of photos of friends, family, baseball, and trains.

September 2009 Update

2009-09-06T19:55:00.002-03:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow, is it September already? Lots of things have happened since the last time we wrote back at the end of June, so in this letter we’ll try to bring you up to speed.

As most of you know, we spent a mini-furlough in the US this summer. It had been nearly 3 years since we arrived in Ecuador. It was a great time to catch up with friends and family, although we didn’t get to visit everyone we had hoped to visit.

In July, Mom and Dad celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and we had the privilege of celebrating with them and other friends and family members.

We also spoke in 5 different churches and were able to give a report of what we are doing here in Ecuador, and hopefully generate more interest in career missions both in Ecuador and world wide.

A few days before we left for our time in the US, we were informed that a new pastor would be coming to work at the church in here in Archidona. Samuel Sambonino and his wife Gloria have 2 sons: Esteban and Santiago. Samuel and his wife are originally from the coast. We look forward to supporting them and helping out at the church as needs arise.
Please pray for this family as they do ministry here in Archidona.

We now have more time to continue establishing The Master’s Mission here in Ecuador. We are hoping to eventually plant a new church in one of the outlying communities of Archidona or somewhere in this region. We are hoping that the Lord will raise up leaders from here and that more back home will answer the call and serve with us here in Ecuador.

The kids are back in school. Ezra is in 2nd Grade and Joe is in kindergarten. They are also back in “soccer school” a couple of days a week. Tessa is mommy’s little helper and Evelyn continues to charm everyone.

We brought a thermometer to Archidona with us. I’m not sure I really want to know how hot it is. The last 2 days, it has gotten up to 96 in the shade and 120 in the sun.

BASEBALL UPDATE

I would like to thank all of you who donated baseball equipment. We came back with around 50 gloves, 10 bats, catcher’s equipment, several helmets and bases. We have already had several opportunities to play. We are planning on playing on Saturdays, and hopefully by next summer, we can begin a Little League of sorts.

THANK YOU!

We would like to thank you all for your support. Your prayers and donations make it possible for us to be here. Several of you have mentioned that you have been praying for us and it's encouraging to know that although we are so far apart, your prayer is effective here.

Kevin for Beka, Ez, Joe, Tessa, and Evelyn

Béisbol en el Ecuador

2009-06-21T16:07:00.004-03:00

As we wrote in our last blog entry, we have begun a Saturday afternoon ritual of baseball.
We have around 15 kids when we play, but only 4 gloves. If you are interested in donating some of your old baseball gear, send an email to kevindeitering@yahoo.com. We will be home in July and August. See you then!
For more photos, click here.

June 2009 Update

2009-06-14T17:53:00.003-03:00

Dear friends and family,

It feels like it's been quite a while since I've taken a turn at writing. So, hello, one and all! Much has happened in the last few months here in Archidona. We have enjoyed relatively good health except for Kevin. About four weeks ago he came down with a fever and felt achy all over. We thought it was the flu and he rested for about three days, trying to recover. But the fever persisted and finally he went to the doctor where he was diagnosed with a kidney infection and given antibiotics. He came home, took the medicine faithfully, and rested some more. But the aches and tiredness would not go away. Finally, he went to the Red Cross office in Tena and had a blood test done. The results showed that he had dengue fever. This is a tropical disease (a virus actually) that is spread by mosquitos. Though usually found only on the coast, there have been a number of cases in Archidona in the last month. There is no known cure for dengue, the patient needs to rest and drink plenty of fluids and take aspirin for the aches. It was a long haul for Kevin. He is feeling almost himself again, saying he is at 95%. The kids are happy to have their playful Daddy back; they are out playing soccer, baseball, and basketball like usual. We are grateful that it was nothing more serious and reminded that our health is in the Lord's hands at all times wherever we live. Many thanks to those who prayed for us through it all.

Our thoughts are occupied with our visit home, making final preparations and putting together a schedule for the weeks we are in the States. The kids are very excited, counting down the days till they see their grandparents. We will be arriving on the 29th of this month and staying until August 25th. We are anxious to take in a few baseball games, eat hamburgers, and Tessie and I can't wait to shop at WalMart. :) The most important thing for us, though, is spending time with our families and catching up with our friends whom we haven't seen for nearly three years. Kevin's parents will celebrate their 50th anniversary in July, and we are so glad that we will be home to share in the festivities.

We do have a few prayer requests to pass on: that we will get through our list of "to do's" before leaving Archidona, that our travels would be safe and not exhausting (as traveling so often is), that our home and property will be safe for the two months we are away, and finally, that our time in Ohio will be refreshing. We really look forward to seeing many of you soon!
Much love,
Beka

Baseball!

Part of being in another culture is being watched. People want to know how the "gringitos" live. Admittedly, it's often annoying, but we try to handle it the best we can.

One good thing that has happened from being watched is that neighborhood kids have observed us playing baseball and have begun to play with us. We had around twenty kids last Saturday and 15 this week. Some parents have actually come by to watch and have encouraged us to continue playing and are happy that their children are busy as it keeps them out of trouble. One mother said she was concerned about the drugs and alcohol and was glad to see a responsible adult (I guess that's me) taking an interest in the kids.

Yesterday in a seperate conversation, I was told that Archidona has one of the highest rates of alcoholism in the country. A Sunday afternoon drive through the streets of Archidona would atest to that. It is not uncommon to see several men, passed out on the side walks from the sugarcane whisky that they can get for 35 cents a bottle.

So, I am excited that baseball and sports in general can be a healthy alternative and distraction for these kids and a way to be involved in their lives and their parents' lives as well.

This is where you can help. We have only 4 gloves and 1 bat. If you or anyone you know would be interested in donating some used baseball equipment that you have laying around the house, please email me at kevindeitering@yahoo.com. We would like to be able to bring back a suitcase full of baseball equipment.

See you soon.
Kevin

Click here to see some new photos

Baptism

2009-05-31T18:06:00.004-03:00

Today in Archidona, 3 girls announced publicly through baptism that they are followers of Jesus Christ. This evening, they will be partaking in the Lord's Supper for the first time. Pray for these 3 girls, that they will walk in obedience to God's Word. There names are Daniela, Kimberly, and Indira.

Kimberly, Daniela, and Pastor Harry Córdova

Love in the time of Dengue

2009-05-30T14:53:00.003-03:00

For those of you who don't know, that is a play on the Garcia Marquez's book "Love in the time of Cholera". Life here has not been quite like the book, but Beka has been very loving. I (Kevin) am going on two full weeks of Dengue. Week 1 included high fever, body pains, chills, burning eyes, and Kidney pains. Week 2 has just been fatigue and swollen glands and a little touch of the flu. I feel like I am getting a little better each day, but pray for a "speedier" recovery. Being sick gets old fast.

May 2009 Update

2009-05-18T15:04:00.001-03:00

Dear friends and Family,

It's been a busy couple of months since we have last written and lots of things have happened in that time. So here's a summary:

The Master's Mission Foundation has been approved and we are putting the finishing touches on all of the legalities. We started the process back in 2007, so we are relieved to have gotten this far.

I continue to help out with preaching and teaching here in la Iglesia Vida Nueva. Rumor has it that the National Church is going to send a full time pastor here within the next couple of months. In the meantime, Sandro Guerrero is taking more responsibilities, like the youth group, and teaching more.

I've also been busy with work here on our property. The maintenance in a climate like this sometimes seems to never end. Mowing, pulling weeds bothersome weeds, and working on drainage are some of things we have to do every week. Right now we're in the process of putting a bathroom outside near the workshop for the workers and our dirty little boys...

The boys wrapped up the soccer season a couple of weeks ago. There were tears as it came to bitter end with a loss. However, it was a great experience and fun to be involved in the community. The boys are already asking when the next season begins.

Exciting News!
We will be coming home this summer! We will be home from June 29th through August 25th. We will be speaking in some of our supporting churches, spending time with our families, and attending to some business and medical needs. My parents will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary on July 11th, an event that would be hard to miss. Of course, it would be nice to catch some baseball games while we are home, too! We have decided that due to the foundation being in it's infant stages, it would be best to spend less time at home on this visit. Hopefully sometime in the future we will be able to spend more time at home.

We would like to thank all of you for your faithful prayer and financial support. We haven't written as many personal letters as in the past due to postage rates soaring to $2 per letter. Take care and we'll see you in the summer.

Kevin

Click here to see some new photos.

New Photos

2009-04-30T15:47:00.001-03:00

Click below to see some recent photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinbekadeitering/

Ecuadorian Elections

2009-04-25T14:15:00.003-03:00

Here's a good article about the elections that will be taking place tomorrow here in Ecuador. The campaign running up to the elections has been pretty crazy. Just imagine sticker covered and flag waving pickup trucks full of people inside and out. Many of the trucks carry speakers playing music about their candidates. "Lucio, Lucio, Lucio por Presidente", for example. A regular ol' party on wheels. These trucks, with the politicians and their entourage, often visit the indigenous communities, where they pass out food, t shirts, alcohol and often times, empty promises all in hopes of winning their votes. This courtship between the politicians is hot and heavy during the campaign, but soon dissolves into disenchantment after the elections as unrealistic promises go unfulfilled and politicians find just how lucrative their new jobs of "public service" really are.

One of the most popular politicians here in the province of Napo is former president Lucio Gutierrez. He was actually thrown out of office after a peaceful coup d' tat of the people back in 2005. He is originally from Napo, hence the strong backing. However, the current president is probably a lock to win. It'll will be interesting to see what happens here over the next couple of years, especially with the failing economy. Here's the link again in case you missed it above.

Goodbyes, and Ecuadorian Truck Repair

2009-04-22T15:31:00.005-03:00

If you are a woman reading this blog, you may not find the following particularly interesting. If you happen to be a man and a "do it yourself" type, you might find this interesting. Last Friday, we dropped off our Peace Corps Friends, A.J. and Yvonne Hewitt in el Chaco as they have finished their 2 year service here in Ecuador. They'll be greatly missed. Anyway, on the way there, about an hour in a half into our trip, I realized I had no brakes, or very little. Yes, I should have known better, but I think I was braking too much in the curvy ascent to Baeza, and the brakes heated up too much. For those not familiar with the province of Napo, Archidona is at the elevation of 1,400 and Quito 9,300. Baeza is half way there, so yes, quite the ascent, with many, many curves (think of the Dragon's Tail in Eastern Tennessee, western N.C.). After we stopped for lunch(delicious trout from Baeza), the brakes worked a little better, if I pumped them. I mainly took it easy and did a lot of downshifting. We dropped off the Hewitts and returned home, "sin novedad" as they say here.

Yesterday, I stopped by a brake mechanic, and together we found the problem. The rear brakes got so hot, that the pads came off the shoes. Metal on metal, not good.... Well, in the US, you simply go to Auto Zone and get new shoes and a drum, or get the drum turned. Here, you get the shoes "remanchadas", which means, they take off the remaining pad and glue and rivet a new pad onto the shoes, all to the tune of $18. Not bad, and it seems less waistful. Let's hope they last, which they should as long as I don't drive like a Formula 1 driver on my way up(and down) to Baeza/Quito.

Unfortunatley, brakes have not been the only problem with my truck. A couple of weeks ago, we were on our way to visit our Dutch friends, Jan and Jose. They live about 20 minutes from here, and the road to get there is pretty rough. We got to a very rough spot in the road, a steep decline in the road where you must cross a ford, and then up hill. I thought to myself, "no problem, that's why I have four wheel drive". However the four wheel drive didn't engage, much to the chagrin of my boys who have unfortunately been stuck in jungle a couple of times with daddy. Fortunately, we didn't get stuck. I found out later that the problem is the four wheel drive actuator. I got the part number off the trusty Auto Zone Website and called my friend Juanito Paredes at a parts store in Quito. He found the part, and shipped it to me on the Ecuadorian version of the Pony Express~Cooperativa Banos~the bus.

TMM Ecuador!

2009-04-11T12:22:00.003-03:00

In April of 2007, we began the process of registering The Master's Mission(TMM) here in Ecuador. This would allow us and future TMM missionaries to enter the country under TMM missionary visas. This is important since many mission boards are phasing out, including the Christian and Missionary Alliance, with whom we currently have our visas. Although we do understand the various motives behind some mission boards leaving, we still see a huge need for a missionary presence, especially in the more rural areas of Ecuador.

Registering TMM has been a long process, with many government changes and requirements. We have often wondered if we would ever get registered and if this was simply God's way of shutting the door. However, two weeks ago, we received news from our lawyer that TMM has finally been approved and is now registered. This will mean more administrative work for me, but we trust that it will be worth it.

By the way, the name here in Ecuador of TMM will be "Fundación Misión del Maestro".

Please pray that the Lord would send more workers to serve here in this beautiful country to not only preach, but to also be a visual aid of the Gospel.

Kevin

March 2009 Update

2009-03-28T11:20:00.004-03:00

Dear Friends and Family,

It's been a busy two months since we last sent out an update. As most of you already know, on January 28th, Evelyn Maria was born. So far she has been a healthy little girl and receives much adoration from her older brothers and sister. She has entered the "smiley baby" stage, which keeps us all smiling too.

Beka's parents and brother just spent 3 weeks with us. We spent 2 weeks at our home in Archidona and one week doing some site seeing and hiking in Baños, Calacalí and Quito. It was a wonderful time for our families. Uncle Dan spent much time repairing the boys' bikes, learning and playing soccer, and holding his new niece. Grandpa (Jay) helped me with some projects around the house. We wired the garage and built a new compost bin out of bamboo. When Grandpa wasn't helping me, he could be found reading to and playing with the kids. And Oma (Ruth) was a huge help. She spent much of her time helping with laundery, cooking, and paying special attention to each one her grandchildren. And over the course of three weeks we spent much time catching up and talking about life. This morning I dropped them off at the airport here in Quito. There were many tears as saying goodbye never seems to get any easier.

In other news, I continue as interim pastor in our church here in Archidona. We are trying to get more poeple involved and handing over responsibilities to others in the church, preparing them for our eventual departure. Please pray for men like Sandro and Eduard who will be taking on a larger role in the church.

Besides ministry in the church, we have stayed busy with the boys' soccer. Ez is playing on the 10 and under team and Joe is playing on the 7 and under team. The boys play for a team called Club Pro Adelanto. It's been nice for all of to get out and be involved in the community and get to know some more poeple.

Thanks to all of you who faithfully pray for our family. We so much appreciate your support and we love hearing from you too!

Evelyn Maria

2009-01-30T19:22:00.005-02:00

Dear friends and family,

Here's a quick update that I promised. We decided to name our little girl Evelyn Maria. Evelyn is the name of my deceased grandmother, Evelyn Kaple, and is also the name of Beka's grandmother, Evelyn Warren Smith. We figured it would be a good way to honor both. Also, we wanted to choose a name which could easily be pronounced by Ecuadorians. Poor Ezra (Esdras) and Tessa have put up with much butchering of the pronunciation of their names. For Ezra, or Esdras in Spanish, most people can't quite get it and say "Extra" which is actually the name of some sleezy tabloid. For Tessa, people like to say "Taza", which is cup or toilet. The Italian nuns who run the hospital were very pleased with our choice of Maria for a middle name.

Beka and Evelyn were released from the hospital this morning at 10:00 AM. Before leaving, I had to pay for the delivery and their stay to the tune of $40. Yes, 40 U.S. dollars. We've decided to have 12 more. Just joking.

I have tried to upload some photos, but our wonderful internet is not up to snuff tonight. Check out our blog or Flickr site in the next couple of days to see some photos.
Kevin

Update to the Update/Birth Announcement

2009-01-29T11:56:00.003-02:00

Dear friends and family,
Last night at 11:53, Beka gave birth to a little girl here in Archidona. Mother and child are doing well.

Last night at we walked to church, which is about 1.5 miles away. Half way through the service, while we were singing, Beka gave me a look, as if to say something was happening, but nothing urgent. After church, Beka said that she thought it was time. So we walked home as fast we could, got the truck, picked up our Peace Corps friends who were going to watch our kids, and drove to the hospital. The hospital is here in Archidona. It's a Catholic mission hospital administrated by some Italian nuns and staffed by a few locals. Beka's doctor was on vacation, so the ER doctor delivered the baby. It's a much a different experience compared to anything you might expect in the United States; 5 beds in 2 hours, only one nurse, you need to bring you own things, i.e. towels, diapers, toilet paper, etc. Not exactly St. Rita's or Lima Memorial, but they did a good job.

As of now, our little girl has no name. We'll keep you all posted.
Thanks for praying.
Kevin

January Update

2009-01-29T11:15:00.008-02:00

Hello! We hope all of you are off to a good start in this New Year. It’s already promising to go quickly. Kevin and I celebrate 8 years of marriage this week, and we find ourselves looking at each other and saying, “But we don’t FEEL that old!” In many respects, we do feel like completely different people as we’ve grown and changed together over those years. But then again, how quickly it’s gone, bringing us our three little ones and landing us in a far off country. We are grateful for God’s guidance and protection along the way. He has made decisions clear for us as they have arisen, and it is by leaning on Him that we look forward to many more years as best friends.

After the Christmas holiday, we spent a week in one of our favorite vacation spots, Baños. We know what you are probably thinking when you read that name, but let it be known that the Spanish word “baños” has two meanings: bathrooms and baths. The town of Baños that we love is known for its natural hot springs and pools. It is only three hours from here but much higher in elevation, so we enjoy a cool dry climate for a change. We have made friends with the owner of a hostel and his wife. It is always good to sit by their big fireplace in the evenings and catch up with each other whenever we are there.

We are in full nesting mode as we get ready for the birth of number 4. We are putting ceramic tile in our kitchen and bathrooms as well as painting, and trying to wrap up other projects around the house. The ladies of the church gave me a baby shower last week. They love having a reason to get together, eat cake, and play games. I’ve noticed that they are almost like little girls when it comes to games; they have such a good time. We have posted some pictures of our silly antics. Hope you enjoy!

Our work in church is going well. Kevin continues as interim pastor so all of the teaching duties fall to him. He’s hoping to train a couple of younger men in the church so that he can share some of the “load” with them. Please pray for Sandro and Alex. Both of them are qualified to teach and Kevin would like to encourage them and have them start practicing soon. When it is time for us to come home on furlough, we do not want to leave the church without men prepared to teach.

A few prayer requests for the coming weeks would be: the safe arrival of our baby, wisdom in handling all the paper work required after the birth, health and strength for the work of each day. Thank you all so much for your prayers and love. We like to hear from you when you find time!

Sincerely.
Beka for us all

New Year's in Baños

2009-01-03T19:49:00.005-02:00

New Year's in Baños-Volcán Tungurahua

For more photos, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinbekadeitering/

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T23:16:00.004-02:00

We just finished a wonderful Christmas day here in Archidona. We have tried to maintain as much of our American customs as possible-Christmas tree, lights, nativity scene, and lots of good music. We started off with opening gifts-tools, bows and arrows, sandals, blankets, etc.. Following this, the kids spent just about the whole day playing with their new gifts-especially the bows and arrows. We saved our big Christmas meal for the evening, since it's not very fun to sweat onto your plate of ham and mashed potatoes. The ham, prepared by Beka, was the first ham we have eaten in two years. It was wonderful and we barely had any leftovers. Afterwords, the kids sang "Away in the Manger" and "Silent Night". Finally, keeping with our holiday tradition, we read some of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe". The kids are now in bed, winding down. It's been a good day. We are grateful for days like these, but most grateful for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Merry Christmas.

December 2008 Update

2008-12-18T15:32:00.005-02:00

Dear friends,

We wish to send all of you a very big “Merry Christmas!” We hope you are enjoying the holiday season and getting to spend lots of time together as family. When we think to our past two Christmases spent in Ecuador, we are so grateful that it is THIS year. We are glad to be in our own home, to have friends close to share the holiday cheer, to have our lights strung on the porch railing, and to be listening to the wonderful old Christmas carols. We are “real tree” people and thought we would have to go to Quito to buy a tree as there are none sold here in the jungle. We were not looking forward to the bumpy, dangerous trip. But our dear friends, Mike and Carol Welty, offered to buy a tree for us (they live in Quito) and send it to Archidona on a bus. Perfect! So on Tuesday, Kevin and Joe went to town, met the bus, and brought home our tree. It was in very good shape and should stay that way if we can keep it from falling over. The kids are helping me make buckeyes (you Ohio folk will know what those are) and frosted sugar cookies to give as gifts to the church families. These family traditions help us to feel “Christmasy” though the temperature and humidity are the same.

We had an exciting week: on Sunday night our golden retriever gave birth to five puppies. They are all light colored like their mommy, or “gringos” as our kids say. We have also added a kitten to the pet collection. It was given to us much too early, and Ezra had to feed it with a medicine dropper for the first several days. But now it is well on its way to being an ornery, feisty little fellow. It feels like spring time around here with all the animal babies.

Recently, we had a surprise visit from some friends who attend the Alliance church in a near by town. A group of ladies arrived in a taxi loaded down with plants to share with us. They brought banana trees, plantain trees, yucca, beans, and a tree called “wayusa” whose leaves make an excellent tea. We spent the morning getting everything planted and then had tea and cookies together. It was a pleasant surprise and we are proud to see how productive the back yard is becoming.

Thank you for praying for us, for our family and our work. The longer we serve as missionaries, the more we realize how interconnected the two are. We know that our testimony as God’s children depends on how we live our daily lives- how we work, how we treat each other as husband and wife, and how we train our children. Please pray that we will be careful to maintain a strong testimony. And we would also ask that you pray for the families of our church. We know that obedience to God’s word is the only thing that will bring lasting change in their sometimes chaotic lives. Please pray that Kevin will be faithful to preach God’s word in a clear and understandable way, and that he would have wisdom to deal with the various situations that arise. Thanks again! Your prayers are priceless.

May each of you enjoy a wonderful holiday season!

Beka for us all

Thanksgiving in Archidona

2008-11-29T17:24:00.003-02:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends up in the USA. While Ecuador is well known for it's many holidays, Thanksgiving is not one of them. There are holidays dedicated to the founding of every major city, the beginning of the independence from the Spanish as well the official independence. The week before Easter or Semana Santa is a national holiday as well as Christmas and New Year. I think it's safe to estimate that there are twice as many holidays here as we have in the US, but none giving thanks to our Maker for His many blessings. So as an American family, grateful for the Lord's provision and protection, we declared Friday Thanksgiving for us. We even had turkey which we bought in Quito last week.

Before eating, we read a Psalm of Thanksgiving and we each mentioned what we are thankful for. The boys are thankful for a dog, land to play on and good food. Tessa was shy, but in the end was grateful for good food, her pretty dress, and dolly named "Tessie". Beka and I are grateful for each other. We would never survive here if we were not best friends. We are also grateful for how the Lord has given us strength for all the work that we have had to do here in the last year. The work, both in ministry and around are property hasn't stopped, but it is not quite as crazy as it was 6 months ago, for which we are also grateful.

So that's a brief summary of Thanksgiving in Archidona, Napo. We hope yours was enjoyable no matter where you are.

November 2008

2008-11-18T10:24:00.003-02:00

Dear friends and family,
It’s a warm, but breezy Monday afternoon here. The laundry is flapping on the porch railing, and I find myself often running out to pick it up off the flower beds below. All the kids are taking a nap (even big Ez who needs to catch up after Sunday evening which runs late for us). Kevin has a meeting to attend at church but hopes to be home soon so that he can get more work done on the garage walls. We think we have finally figured out the seasons here: we are exactly opposite from the seasons in Ohio. So while it is fall going into winter for our families at home, it is spring going into summer in Ecuador. We’ve noticed that the sun has shifted to the south just as it does in winter in the US. So it is moving away from you and closer to us, and we think we can tell! It has been very hot, and it is almost unthinkable to go out without a hat. Joe has turned blonder than ever and it’s a cute contrast to his tan face and neck. We have enjoyed putting out a small garden to see what we can get to grow. But so far, the plants that grow volunteer out of our compost pile seem to be the healthiest of all. We have a few tomato plants and some cucumber plants that bear profusely, as only cucumbers can. I have mastered a simple pickle recipe with ingredients I can get here, and we ate the first jar at one meal. Oh, how we had missed pickles! Our guava trees are bearing well, and a lady at church gave me instructions for making jelly. After a first attempt that completely failed, I think I have it down and there is nothing like guava jelly on homemade toast (at least in our opinion). Last week, we planted peanuts and the boys are watching the ground like hawks to see them sprout. We would like to learn more about how to make our land productive and look forward to planting new things each season.

We have been very thankful lately for how smoothly the work is going with our local church. Our schedule has settled into a nice routine and goes something like this: On Sunday mornings, Kevin teaches the adult Sunday School class and I teach one of the children’s classes. In the evening, we have service again at seven o’clock, and Kevin preaches for that. We like to keep Mondays to ourselves and have a quiet, catch-up day at home. On Tuesday afternoons, we teach a Bible class for the children that are part of the Compassion program our church runs. There are usually between 70 and 90 kids that attend, and we split them into four classes. Kevin is teaching through the Old Testament stories and we are now studying the life of Abraham. We have greatly appreciated the CEF materials and flannel graph that we have been given. They have been so useful! Wednesday evening, Kevin leads prayer meeting. This is a sparsely attended service, but we have enjoyed getting to know the folks who do come faithfully and praying for the needs of our church. Every other Thursday, we have a Bible study in the house of one of the church members. They are not able to make it to the Sunday evening service, so we go to their place. Two of the young moms in the group want to be baptized, so Kevin is teaching through a course on the fundamentals of our faith to prepare them for that. Then on Saturday evenings we have begun meeting with the youth in our church. It is refreshing to be working with young folks again. Next Saturday, we plan on having a game night at our house and serving them a taco supper. So that is a little summary of a typical week for us. Then there are the things you cannot put neatly into a schedule: the family that needs listening ears and counsel to work through a sad time, or misunderstandings and gossip that need dealt with at once, or the chance to talk with one of the workers about what we believe. We find it is in these unexpected things that we have the greatest opportunities and need the most wisdom. Many, many thanks to those of you who pray for us. Please continue to pray that our testimony as a family is clear and strong.

A Note from Kevin

As Beka wrote, life is a little more predictable these days. Besides “ministry” work, we keep busy here on our property with various projects. In the last month, we have done lots of concrete work and now we are putting up walls on our shed to provide shade and to keep the rain out. Thank God, I am not alone when I work. With concrete projects I have the help of Manuel Pizango and his son-in-law Franklin Yumbo. I have two men who help with the carpentry: Ricardo Pizango and his son José. Ricardo is a good man who has taught me lots about carpentry. He also likes to teach us Quichua, which is the native of language of the indigenous people here. We share many laughs as we “gringos” try to learn their native language. The churis (boys) do a much better job with Quichua than us rucus (old people). Pray for these men as none of them know the Lord. These men see into our lives more than anyone else, so as Beka requested, pray that our testimony as a family is clear and strong.

Also, pray for our church. Several of the younger Christians have made some poor decisions and have gotten into some pretty serious sin. Beka and I are trying to counsel them biblically. Pray that the Lord will work in their lives and that they will truly repent and decide to live righteously.

Deitering photos

2008-10-04T19:43:00.001-03:00

We forgot to put this link on our last update. Just click on it if you want to see some photos of Beka eating worms.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinbekadeitering/

October 2008 Update

2008-10-04T19:21:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

We hope this finds you all doing well! Our thoughts at this time of year always turn to home and we imagine how beautiful the fall colors must be. It is hard to miss it again, but we have much to be thankful for here. We have been relatively healthy lately, especially the kids. They seem to be developing tummies of steel. Our house is at a nice “comfortable” stage; there are still some things to be completed, but we are enjoying living in it and sharing it with others. The work in our community and in the church is progressing. We always find ourselves as busy as we allow ourselves to be, and it is nice to have so many opportunities.

First of all, here’s some news from the family front. Uncle Josh came for a visit all the way from Kuwait! He was able to stay for two whole weeks and we packed as much in as we could. He spent countless hours playing with our kids; everything from soccer to soldiers to swimming in the river. We took him to our favorite mountain town and hiked for a couple of days and ate steak each night. Probably the most memorable experience for us all was eating a local delicacy: chonta curo. It is a large white worm that lives in rotting logs. The folks here fry them and wrap them in leaves to sell in the market. Kevin and Josh went first and said the taste was “not bad”, so I let myself be pressured into trying one. They never told me about the texture. If you would like to see for yourself, we have posted photos on our Flicker site as well as on Facebook. I do believe the pictures describe it best.

Kevin has been continuing his work as interim pastor in our local Alliance church. His duties include teaching twice on Sundays, leading Wednesday night prayer meeting, and helping with the administration of the Compassion project. Each Wednesday, we give the Bible lesson for the kids who come for the program, about 85 in all. We started with Creation and have them memorize a verse each week. Some of them come back the next week and can still say the verse from the week before. That is encouraging! It is nice to be working with kids again. They are “fresh” and eager to learn. Kevin has also made it his priority to establish The Master’s Mission as a foundation in Ecuador. This is a must if we want to receive more missionary families to our field. With the passing of a new constitution in the last month, the legal requirements have changed somewhat, but we feel the need to persevere and try to see this through. Please pray that the Lord would make this a smooth process and that we would have wisdom for each step. And please remember to pray for more missionaries to come join us soon. Thanks!

Once again, a hearty thanks to all of you who support us financially and in prayer. Your letters, whether by e-mail or snail mail or just by posting a note on Facebook are always encouraging. It is fun to keep in touch!

Love,
Beka for us all

September Apology

2008-09-06T00:05:00.005-03:00

Dear friends and family,

We are terribly sorry for an e-mail that was recently sent out under "Deitering Update" along with "Mandy Moore Workout." Apparently a hacker or some really sick person has gotten our prayer letter list and is using it to send some very awful material. We will be working on fixing this situation.

Please accept our sincerest apologies.

Kevin and Beka

August 2008 Update

2008-08-21T22:55:00.004-03:00

Dear friends and family,

Here we are nearing the end of August and a little behind on our update. Here's a brief summary of what we have done this Summer here in Ecuador.

June: The pastor that we were working with resigned for personal reasons in the month of June.
As a result, I am now interim pastor of the Christian and Missionary Alliance church here in Archidona.

July: A group from our sending church, Cable Road Alliance Church, in Lima , Ohio, visited for a week. We worked on some construction projects here at the house (mixing lots of concrete), and painted the church. We also did Vacation Bible School(VBS) at our church. At VBS, we had an average of 80 kids per day, as it was quite a novelty to have a group of gringos here. We had a great time with our friends and especially enjoyed the fellowship with friends from home.
Also in July and August we worked at the Jungle Bible Institute, which is an intensive 4 week program for mostly indigenous believers from churches throughout the Oriente, the eastern region of Ecuador. The students study 8 hours a days, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. There are 4 levels and after completing all of the levels, the students graduate. This year, we had 35 students participate and 3 graduate from the 4 year program. I taught classes, Beka helped out in the kitchen, and the kids played and played.

August: After finishing the Jungle Bible Insitute, we spent 3 days in a mountain town called Baños, which is about 3 hours from here. It was a relaxing time with lots of good food, family time, hiking, and we were even able to catch some of the olympics while there. USA! Right now, we are in the process of building a block security wall along the street. Also, our neighborhood has been putting in a new sewage system and we have been called upon to help with that project as well.
This week, we are experimenting with an extension campus of the Jungle Bible Institute here at our church in Archidona. We have had an average of 10 students per evening. This week's class has been on "How to study the Bible."

Bug Bits
Of course, being in Archidona, we have seen our share of bugs. Someone ought to do a documentary the variety of ants that we see right here in our front yard. Red ants, big black ants, biting ants, etc. Just ask Joe and Tessa about the biting ants. Also, another many legged creature that is very common to see here is the tarantula. Whenever it rains a lot, they seek refuge on our ceiling and on our walls. They are supposedly harmless, but it's still hard to get used to seeing them crawling around. On our trip to Baños 2 weeks ago, I was wearing jeans and they felt very itchy, sort of like insulation. After driving for 45 minutes, I couldn't take it anymore so I pulled over to change into shorts. While changing, we realized that the itch was caused by a tarantula who made its way into my pants. No harm done, just a little rattled.

Baby Bits
The kids are doing well. Ezra is a big soccer fan now and when he's not in school or helping me, he plays with whomever is willing. Joe likes soccer, but also likes to climb and pretend to be a soldier, mountain climber and alpine skier. Tessa is a typical little girl who enjoys pretty things and loves to be with her brothers. And in case you haven't heard, Tessa will soon be a big sister. Yes, we are expecting "numero cuatro."

Well, that sums up what has gone on here for the last few months. We appreciate all of your prayers, support, and correspondence.

Kevin

Deitering Update June 2008

2008-06-07T14:52:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

It is a drippy wet Monday morning here. Ezra is out in the driveway mixing concrete with one of our workers. Kevin is spraying lacquer on the porch ceiling, and another worker is staining the walls in the living room. So Joe, Tessie, and I are in the bedroom trying to stay out from under foot. J It is exciting to see the changes made to the house daily. Last week the men stained the entire outside, and we really like how it turned out, a rich dark brown. This feels like a “last step” to having a finished house. The concrete Ezra is helping with will be used to pour the footer for the floor in our garage. The extra shade our garage roof provides has been greatly appreciated. Kevin welds out there now, and soon we will be able to park our truck out of the rain. He is welding brackets so that we can hang gutters and collect rain water. We have decided to try to make the best of all this precipitation and use the rain water for all our household needs. Gutters will also help prevent the mud holes that occur whenever we have a downpour. So that is an update on the house projects. We’ll try to have recent pictures posted soon!

Our kids are doing very well. The highlight of the week for Ezra is Monday night soccer at our church. A group of us get together and play for a couple of hours, and Kevin and I like to think that we are improving our game some. J It is always pleasant to play with the folks from church and has been a good way to make new friends. Joe is spending a lot of time with a new friend too these days. We have a new puppy, a sweet little golden retriever. She is very quiet and affectionate which is perfect for our kids. We like to take her on outings to the river. She loves to swim! I found Joe singing “Jesus Loves Me” to her one night before going to bed. Tessie celebrated birthday number three in May. One of her favorite gifts was a little tricycle, and she likes to whiz around my kitchen on the concrete floor. We found out recently that the people in town identify our church as the one where the little “gringita” attends.

Many thanks to all of you who have been praying for our work here. We continue with the Bible study on Tuesday nights and have enjoyed singing hymns in Quichua with the families who attend. We are picking up phrases here and there. This week, Kevin is doing the paper work necessary in order to conduct a Bible study in the local prison. One of the guards he met is a Christian. It is always exciting to see where there are fellow believers working, raising families, and being testimonies of God’s grace. We have started teaching the young people at church on Sunday mornings. They are an excellent group of kids, and it has really brought us pleasure to get to know them. Recently, we were reminded that our greatest testimony is with the men who work at our house each week. One especially has been asking lots of questions about the Lord. He seems to have a tender heart at times and we are praying that the Lord will draw him to Himself. We hope and pray that our testimony as a family will be clear and strong and that we will always be ready to answer the questions that come.

Once again, thank you so very much for all the prayers you offer on our behalf and for the support so many of you generously give. We hope you are all doing well!

April Update

2008-04-04T16:45:00.002-03:00

April 4, 2008
Dear family and friends,

Hello from our very own home in Archidona! Yes, we have been in our house for three weeks now. It feels like an accomplishment to have come this far, and we are enjoying settling in. Of course, there is still work to be done, but we are tackling it at a more “normal” pace. Kevin is welding window protectors this week- the last thing to be done to make our house secure. I have been painting in the kitchen and bathrooms and trying to remember in which footlocker I packed what and wishing (once again) that I were a little more organized. J The boys seem to be in their natural habitat. They love to play soldiers in the yard, climb the fruit trees, and race to rescue their little sister from bugs. Tessie got stung one day while eating lunch and ever since has been terrified by bugs. Thank heavens for big brothers! Something we all love to do these days is plant things. We have missed having our own yard, and now we are making up for lost time. We have three banana trees, two coconut trees, several sugar cane starts, a vine that produces loofa sponges, and flowers planted so far. Another favorite pastime is watching birds from our porch. There are so many beautiful varieties, and we really would like to find a book to identify them. The river is a half-mile walk down the road, and it is always a treat to take a dip on a hot afternoon. So that is a little glimpse of our new environment!

As we have worked on the house over the past four months and lived in Archidona, we have observed quite a bit. We had often heard that drinking was a vice in the jungle communities, but we hadn’t realized to what extent. We see now how it controls their lives and their families. Often, men work a few days a week and earn just enough to get by, then they go off with their friends and drink away the rest. The wives, meanwhile, are home washing clothes and feeding children and trying to maintain the home with insufficient means. It is very clear to us that the problem is not a lack of jobs or money. The problem is sin. There are jobs. Men can provide well for their families by working hard and faithfully. But they choose what is easiest and seems most satisfying at the moment. We saw this with the men working on the house. Sometimes they would simply not show up because they had been drunk the night before. Sometimes they would come asking for an advance in pay so that they could keep on drinking. One of them was hospitalized because he had drunk so long that he was near death. A few of them have come and asked for forgiveness and Kevin has been gracious and given them work again. They have all noticed that Kevin is different- that he is not controlled by drink, that he provides for his family, and that he works faithfully.

From Kevin

We've been staying busy on the teaching and preaching front. We continue with the two Bible studies and one discipleship class. I was also given the opportunity to preach on the Second Coming of Christ at a revival service in Pano, a community 40 minutes from Archidona. We are grateful for the opportunities to share God’s Word, but realize that equally important is how we live on a daily basis, that being a Christian isn’t just a Sunday and Wednesday thing. It ought to show in every area of our lives-in how we work, play, and in how we interact with one another. Pray that the Lord would use us here as Ambassadors for Him and that people will see that the difference isn't necessarily cultural, but Christ working in us.

We finally have put some more pictures on our Flickr site. Click here and check them out.

Kevin

February Update

2008-02-05T22:49:00.000-02:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Greeting from Archidona, Ecuador. We hope your new year has been going well for you and your family. We have enjoyed 2008 and have felt loved because of all of the gifts, e-mails, and cards. Thanks for remembering us and making Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries special for us and our kids.

The house project continues. It rains a lot here anyway, but it has been particularly rainy here the last 3 weeks or so. We try to work through, but some days it's just not possible anymore. We hope to be living in the house by the end of March.

We are enjoying the many opportunities for preaching/teaching that we have here. We are studying the book of John in two home Bible studies and I will be leading a Discipleship class beginning this Thursday at our church in Archidona. One Bible study is at a bakery/home of Marcelo and Mercedes. They are young believers and we have had a great time with them. The other Bible Study is outside of Archidona with the Grefa family. Please pray that the Lord will give the people we are working with a hunger for His Word.

The family is doing very well. The boys continue to be big helpers and Tessie continues to speak "Spanglish."

That's it for now.

Kevin

Click here to see some pictures.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

2007-12-27T12:31:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

“Saludos” or “Feliz Navidad” to all of you up in North America. We are experiencing our second Christmas in Ecuador and our first in Archidona. I have to admit, I wasn’t in much of the Christmas spirit, considering that it hardly looks like the Christmas season here on the equator. On Thursday, we bought a Christmas tree in Quito. I expected the Christmas tree (a small cedar) to be needle-less and covered with mud after the 4.5 hour journey from Quito to Archidona, but I decided to give it my best effort anyway. To our pleasant surprise, the tree remained intact and relatively spotless.

On Friday night, we decorated the tree as we listened to Handel’s Messiah and other Christmas favorites. It was a wonderful time as the kids were literally jumping for joy as they decorated the tree and put out a nativity scene. It seemed a little odd sweating as we decorated the tree, so we just pretended that grandpa put one too many logs on the fire. We are grateful that we can continue our little family traditions no matter where we are in the world.

The building project is going well. The house is all framed up and we will resume construction in a couple weeks when we have the metal roofing. I continue to work with Paul and Polico on the project. This will be the base of operations for The Master’s Mission (TMM) here in Ecuador. Pray for safety and a solid testimony at work and in the community.

In the month of December, I was given an added boost from Andy Jamieson, who came to visit us along with his wife, Rachel, and their two children, Timothy and Danika. Andy and Rachel graduated from TMM in 2006. Besides the house project, we enjoyed some great times of fellowship and did some site-seeing as well. We also visited some areas of the country where we would like to see TMM begin a work one day.

Besides the house, we’ve been busy at our church in Archidona as well as helping out at a church in Ahuano once a month. Our church here in Archidona has a pastor and is a relatively healthy church. The church in Ahuano, however, has neither a pastor nor a teaching elder. When going to Ahuano, we leave Archidona at 5:00 AM. When we get to the river, we cross in a canoe for 25 cents each. Church service in Ahuano begins at 6:30 AM to accommodate those who sell at the market on Sundays. We’ve been there three times, and there are usually around 5 adults. At the children’s Sunday school after service, we had around 15 children. Please pray for the church in Ahuano.

On the family front, we are all doing well and staying relatively healthy. Ez and Joe “work” with me at the house nearly every day. They spend most of the time hammering already bent nails (bent by daddy) in scrap boards. They also like climbing trees and eating guayaba, a small fruit common here in the jungle. Tessa continues to be the princess and likes to follow her big brothers around the house-sometimes causing problems. We are grateful for each of our children and are grateful that we can do ministry as a family.

We would like to thank you for your faithful prayer and support. If you would like to send support or a one time gift, please send a check to:

The Master’s Mission
PO Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771

Have a great 2008

Kevin

November Update-a long one

2007-11-17T15:01:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

Hello! We would like to thank you all so much for your prayers over the past month. Our move to Archidona went very smoothly. Though it rained almost the whole way, the roads were in decent shape and the truck made it safely. We are getting all settled into our new home and surroundings. We are renting a small place across from the Alliance church while our house is being built. It’s wonderful to be able to walk to church on Sunday mornings, though we are not always on time even being so close! J Possibly the hardest adjustment so far has been the roosters that crow from five to six o’clock every morning, but we are learning to sleep through them. Our end of town is very quiet. We have a bread store one block away (excellent, fresh bread every morning!), a gym across the street, and the river just a five minute walk down the road. The power goes out often, so we like to have lots of candles handy, and the boys use it as an excuse to wear their flashlights on their belts.

Kevin dove right into work on the house as soon as we got here. He’s working with a carpenter and his assistant, Polico and Paul. This past week they have cleared the land, marked out the dimensions of the house, and poured the concrete bases on which the house will sit. The bases are made of concrete and stand one meter high. They allow air to pass under the house and will keep it off the wet ground. To mix the concrete, they made a sort of “floor” of boards on the ground. They hauled stone and sand from the river and mixed it with shovels on the floor they had made. This is a good example of Ecuadorian construction methods, and it works quite well! Now Kevin is purchasing wood and taking it to a saw mill where they sand the boards to be ready for the house. The boys go with him whenever they can and are adding new words to their vocabulary daily; words like “pala” (shovel), “caratilla” (wheelbarrow), and “martillo” (hammer). The men working with Kevin are so good to them and find all sorts of little jobs they can handle.

Tessie and I walk up town about every other day to buy groceries or run errands. It is a nice way to visit people from our church since many of them have shops or hardware stores in town. We usually make new friends too. We met the butcher last week and he told us when to come so that we are sure to get fresh meat. We buy our water from a truck that comes buy three times a week. And we get fresh milk from a farmer who brings it to town and sells dairy products every morning. Mike and Carol Welty gave us their milk pasteurizer that they used when they first got here 35 years ago, and it serves us well. On Saturdays, we often go to Tena (the capital of this province, about 10 miles away) and buy fresh fruits and vegetables at the market there. We even found a store that carries Corn Flakes!

We thought it would be nice to let Ezra tell you about a typical day in his busy little world. So this next paragraph is from him.

In the morning I have school. I do flashcards for Reading. I read in my Reading book. Then I write sentences to practice my writing. Mommy asks me Math questions and answer them. Then I count by 10’s, 2’s and 5’s. Later in the day, I do History and Science with daddy. Then I play for a while, and daddy stops by and brings me to work. I hammer, mix concrete, shovel sand on the trailer, give stones to Paul and Polico. Some days, Joe and I go swimming in the river.

Comments from Kevin

Geography 101
Now that we live in Archidona, Napo, you’ll be hearing the names of lots of new places. Here are the names and a brief description of places pertaining to this region.

Oriente- The name of the eastern region of Ecuador which is made up of mostly jungle/rain forest.
Napo- The province (like a state) where we live. Napo borders Pinchincha, which is where the capital of the country, Quito, is located.
Tena- The provincial capital of Napo. Tena has around 10,000 people (estimated). Tena is about 15 minutes from where we live. It is THE “major” city of the Napo province, where you can buy just about everything you need.
Archidona-The town we live in. Archidona has around 4,000 people (estimated). You see many mestizos (indigenous/Spanish mix) and indigenous. The downtown is always bustling with activity. The shops vary from hardware stores, to feed stores.

Meteorology 101
A long time Christian and Missionary Alliance worker here in Napo, Ramiro Paez, has commented that there are two seasons here in the jungle: Rainy and Flood. It’s a fairly good observation. I told Beka that in working on the house, I spend most of the day wet-either from sweat or from rain. Due to the heat, the rain feels good when it comes, so I’m not complaining.

Other Observations

In spending just over two weeks here, working with Polico and Paul and driving to surrounding communities, I have seen some very interesting, and at times, disturbing things. A serious vice here, especially for the indigenous or nativos is alcoholism. It is common to see, 7 days a week, at any hour, both men and women stumbling along the streets, or passed out on the sidewalks. Sundays are the worse, as they spend the day that many of us set aside for worship and family, in a drunken stupor.

The mere fact that I and the men who work for me do not spend our days drunk and that we work a full 8 to 10 hour work day without drinking is a strong testimony to some.

Please pray for out testimonies here in this community where the Lord has placed us. Please pray also that over time, people will realize that our lives are different because of Christ, and not culture.

Thank you all for your prayer and support.

Click here to see more photos from the Deiterings

Napo Address

Kevin and Beka Deitering
Casilla Postal 15-01-61
Tena, Napo
Ecuador
Please do not send any packages worth more than $200 or that weigh more than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds).

Support Address

The Master’s Mission
PO Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771

Moving Day

2007-10-29T23:40:00.000-03:00

Hello to everyone. This is a quick note to let you all know that we will be moving to Archidona, Napo, on Tuesday, October 30. Archidona is around 5 hours from Quito. Please pray for safety as we travel and move all of our belongings. We hope to start building next week, so please pray for that as well.

Our new address is:

 Kevin and Beka Deitering
   Casilla Postal 15-01-61
   Tena,  Napo
   Ecuador

Kevin

Update on New Constitution

2007-10-08T17:28:00.000-03:00

On September 30th, the citizens of Ecuador voted for the representatives for the Constitutional Assembly. There were 3,000 candidates, but only 130 were chosen. In Ecuador, it is mandatory for all adults to vote. After voting, they receive cards that show that they have voted. Without this card, Ecuadorians are unable to do all government related transactions. The problem with this system is that many Ecuadorians who are either apathetic or exasperated by the political system, simply hand in a blank ballot. They are able to obtain their voting card, but are not truly engaging in democracy. As I wrote earlier, the verdict is still out on whether or not this will be a good thing or a bad thing.
Here's an article from the Financial Times about this future constitution.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/20d1f0b4-7033-11dc-a6d1-0000779fd2ac.html

Here's another article explaining more about President Correa. The author of this article says that it is unfair to compare Mr. Correa to Hugo Chavez, the megalomaniac leader of Venezuela. I hope he is right.
http://www.mexidata.info/id1555.html

October Update

2007-10-07T20:00:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

Hello to all of you. We have been here for almost a year now and Ecuador is feeling more and more like home to us. We are now used to most of the sites and smells. We’re no longer surprised by what we might find in our soup, but still at a loss for how to handle chicken organs.J Driving here is no longer such a traumatic experience for me. Grocery shopping is no longer quite so stressful for Beka.

While we are getting used to being here, we still have our moments of missing home. Sometimes, the smell of the afternoon rain here in Quito reminds me of autumn in Ohio. Other times watching our kids cap off a day of hard play with the simple joy of eating ice cream reminds me of being a kid-in Ohio. Sometimes, we just miss the company of many of our friends and family back home. Seeing from afar that the Buckeyes and the Indians are doing quite well brings out quite a bit of sentimentality as well.

With all the changes, adjustments, distant phone calls and staying in touch by e-mail with you back home, we are so grateful that the Lord has allowed us to serve him here in Ecuador. Thank you so much for your prayers and support for us.

Goodbyes

Soon, we will be saying goodbye to our friends here in Quito as we will be moving to Archidona at the end of October. We have made some great friends here-at church, Anabel, Beka’s Spanish teacher, and other missionaries who have been such a big help. Saying goodbye is always difficult, but we are looking forward to the challenge and the opportunities to serve in Napo. Remember us as we will be busy this month saying goodbye and making preparations for the move.

Address Change

Since we will be moving to the province of Napo, we are changing our address. Please send all letters and packages to:

Kevin and Beka Deitering
Casilla Postal 15-01-61
Tena,Napo
Ecuador

Please do not send any packages worth more than $200 or that weigh more than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds).

Thanks again for your prayers and support.

Kevin
Click here to see pictures from the Deiterings in Ecuador

Support Address
Kevin and Beka Deiteringc/o The Master's Mission
PO Box 547
Robbinsvill, NC 28771
http://www.mastersmission.org/

Ecuador getting a new consititution

2007-09-23T19:57:00.000-03:00

Ecuador is currently in the campaign process as it will be electing delegates to go the Constitutional Assembly. One can not listen to the radio without hearing constant political promises and propaganda. Everywhere we go we see signs saying to vote for a certain party(there are over 150) or politician, and we have even gotten caught up in a couple of political parades as we travel around the country. Time will tell whether or not this constitution is a good thing or bad thing. Check out this link from the Miami Herald to read more.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/246662.html

September Update

2007-09-08T17:23:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

Greetings once again from Ecuador. We are back in Quito after spending parts of July and August in the jungle. Here are some of the things going on.

It's September and the kids are starting school. School here is quite a bit different. Parents spend a nerve racking week trying to get their children registered for school. Public education here is really not free as parents have to pay for registration fees, uniforms, books, school supplies, etc. It is a very stressful time of year for the parents. Some of the schools have three shifts of classes. The first group goes to school around 7 AM, the second at around noon and the third at 5 PM. I guess they are getting the most of their school space.

Speaking of school, we began school with Ezra two weeks ago. It's fun to see his little mind grow. Beka continues Spanish classes with her tutor Anabel. She has become a good family friend.

Our little Tessa has chicken pox right now. Despite having the pox, she is as sweet as ever. The boys don't have it yet, but we suppose that it's just a matter of time. Joe just turned 4 and is enjoying his nifty new flashlight he received as a birthday gift and working with me in the mornings. He'll be a concrete expert soon as he's helping me make concrete fence posts with Pastor Fernando here in Quito that will be used for a future enclosure. Ezra loves to spend his afternoons helping too.

The soup kitchen and Club de Niños at our church here in Quito begins again this next week. It will be interesting to see how many kids are there after taking the summer off. We are hoping that someone will step up and take some of our responsibilities as we will be moving to the jungle in November. I continue to preach and am now working with the youth, and Beka continues to teach the Children's Sunday school.

As mentioned, we'll be moving to Archidona in November. I have made drawings of our future house, but the official plans must be made by an architect. We are looking forward to getting started on the building. Please pray for this project.

Once again, we'd like to thank all of you for your prayers and support, enabling us to work here in Ecuador.

The Deiterings
Click here to see more pictures from the Deiterings.

August Update

2007-08-12T20:35:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

It’s been quite a month. We just got back to Quito after spending a month in Archidona, Napo for the Jungle Bible Institute. Archidona is where we will be moving to in November, so it was nice to get a glimpse of what our lives will be like when we move there. First, I want to share highlights from the Jungle Bible Institute.

The Jungle Bible Institute is an intensive one month course in which the students are offered the same classes that they would take in a Bible College. This institute is open to everyone, but is attended mainly by students from the Napo province, or the jungle. Courses include everything from Child Evangelism to an Overview of the Bible. We had around 25 students this year, from the age of 15 to 50. Most of the students were teenagers or in their early twenties. It was fun to be around young people again. We also enjoyed hearing another language, Quichua, from the students. Most of these kids grow up speaking Quichua and Spanish, with the ones from farther into the jungle speaking more Quichua. It was interesting that for many of us there, Spanish was our second language. I expressed interest in learning a few….very few phrases and on the last day a couple of the boys gave me a New Testament in Quichua, from which I began to read aloud, causing many giggles among those present. J

The Institute kind of had the feel of a summer camp. There was lots of studying, but also time for lots of playing volleyball, soccer, swimming in the river, and time to hang out and have good fellowship. This is a pivotal time in the lives of these young people and it was very exciting to see many grow spiritually. Please pray that these students will come next year, and that they will put into practice what they have learned.

Our childr e n had a blast, and it was hard to come back to Quito. It is a little boy’s dream to live in the jungle, lots of swimming, soccer, riding bike, pop sickles, and friends with whom they can play. At least they have something to look forward to in November. We noticed a considerable improvement in everyone’s Spanish. Tessa continues to speak Spanglish. We think she picks whatever is easiest to say. The other day, Beka asked her where her hair tie was and Tessa said, “No sé” which means “I don’t know” and she went off to look for it.

I, Kevin, have been asked to play for the town of Archidona in a basketball league open to cities from the Province of Napo. I didn’t realize until the opening ceremony….yes, ceremony….that it was such a big deal. It is fun to be involved in the community in this way. I just hope and pray that I don’t blow my testimony by nailing someone with one of my elbows. J

Over the next couple of months, we’ll be wrapping things up here in Quito, and getting ready to make the move to Archidona. We’ll be building a house, so please pray for the planning process as well as the funding. Also, pray that we will finish well here in Quito with our work at Cristo Vive and that others will step up in our absence.

Thank you for your faithful prayers and giving.

Ecuador Address:
The Deiterings
c/o The Weltys
Casilla 17-11-04955
Quito, Ecuador

Support Address:
The Master's Mission
PO Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771

Deitering's Blog

Deitering Pictures

July Update

2007-07-08T22:37:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

It’s been a very busy summer for us so we’ll share some of the highlights with you. In June we attended an Alliance Prayer Conference for 4 days in Atacames on the coast. It was a great and much needed time of fellowship and fun with other families.

A few weeks ago, we worked with a group from Maryland at an Alliance church on the south side of town. It was a great group to work with and they worked very hard. The church is in the process of building class rooms. It was nice for us to work on the other side of town and get to know the group as well as Pastor Erwin and his congregation.

We just returned from the jungle as we attended the Ordination of Walter Solorzano, a pastor in Archidona, with whom we’ll be working very closely. The celebration was a neat picture of the many cultures here in Ecuador. There were many from the coast, as Walter and Maria Fernanda are from Machala, a city on the coast. From the jungle, many area pastors and other believers came to show their support for Walter. And of course, our family of “gringos” accompanied by Craig Kerns from Lima rounded out the very diverse group.

Kevin has been busy getting prepared to teach for the Jungle Bible Institute which starts on July 16th. We will be there for two weeks, teaching Hermeneutics, and the book of Acts and Missions. This will be a great time for getting to know others in the jungle region, which we will be our home in November. Please pray for the teachers and the students of the Jungle Bible Institute.

We will have our last Club de Niños until September this Wednesday. It’s been a good year with children, and many who aren’t from Christian families have been very consistent attendees. Please pray for Daniela and Dario, two of our most promising, that they will continue to attend and the Lord will use our work in their lives.

Our children are busy this evening floating their new canoes in our bathtub. The boys are looking forward to spending two weeks in Archidona this month: riding bikes, swimming in the river, digging holes in the yard, and reading books in front of the fan on hot afternoons. Tessa draws smiles and comments wherever we go. She is affectionate with her brothers, but can sometimes be very demanding too. She likes to say, “I love you,” to each one of us. But when someone does not respond, she starts shouting it. They have all been good travelers this month. Thank you for praying for their safety and health.

It's always great hearing from you and a special thanks for your prayers and support.

Ecuador Address:
The Deiterings
c/o The Weltys
Casilla 17-11-04955
Quito, Ecuador

Support Address:
The Master's Mission
PO Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771

Deitering's Blog

Deitering Pictures

June Update

2007-06-03T18:39:00.000-03:00

Hello friends and family!

Greetings from Ecuador! We see in the news that our friends and family back in North America are experiencing weather in the 90's while we here, at the equator, are spending our evenings in front of a cozy fireplace to stay warm.

Here's an update of some of things that we have done since the last time we wrote:

We purchased land in the jungle on the outskirts of a small town called Archidona, Napo. We were amazed that the whole transaction only took us two days as we have grown accustomed to waiting much longer in taking care of business here in Quito. As of now, we are planning on making the move to Archidona in November.
Beka continues to be busy with language study three days a week. She and her tutor, Anabel, have become great friends over these past 6 months. She will be studying right up until the time we move to Archidona.
We continue to be active at our church here in Quito, Cristo Vive, preaching, teaching, working in the Soup Kitchen, and working on the building project. We just harvested around 60 pounds of potatoes that we will use at the Soup Kitchen.

Prayer Requests:

The Soup Kitchen/Study Table- We recently expanded the soup kitchen to two days a week. We have around 15 kids attending each day. Pray that the Lord will use this endeavor to reach these children, many of whom do not come from warm loving homes.
Club de Niños- We continue to work with children on Wednesday afternoons, after the Soup Kitchen. It's been great to see the kids come consistently as we have been singing fun songs, teaching through the Bible, and playing some fun games. I think several of the kids come just to fatten up on Beka's wonderful cookies, but that's OK with us.
Carlos and Gabriela- This is a couple from a Bible Study on the other side of Quito we have been working with. They have four children and are currently separated. Pray that the Lord would work in this situation.

The Kids

The kids continue to grow and bring joy to our lives. Today, Ezra and Joe ate their food as quickly as they could so that they could go outside and watch a couple of elderly women butcher their chickens. The boys were happy to watch and the women were delighted to have a couple of little "gringitos" in their company. It amazes me to watch our kids rapidly eat cow stomach, clams, and other exotic foods that I have to will myself to eat.

We want to thank all of you for your prayer, support and communicating with us. It means a lot to know that you are thinking about us.

The Deiterings

Ecuador Address:
The Deiterings
c/o The Weltys
Casilla 17-11-04955
Quito, Ecuador

Support Address:
The Master's Mission
PO Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771

Deitering's Blog

Deitering Pictures

E-mail Address
kevindeitering@yahoo.com

Hello Saskatchewan

2007-04-30T21:21:00.000-03:00

We have noticed that we have several people(or the same person) checking out our Blog from Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan. We would like to know more about you, if you wouldn't mind e-mailing us at kevindeitering@yahoo.com. Look forward to hearing from you.
Kevin

April Update

2007-04-28T00:52:00.000-03:00

Dear friends and family,

We hope this finds you thawing out in the cold northern regions! It is nice to hear of gardens being planted and farmers able to get into their fields. The weather you are experiencing now is much like what we have in Quito all year around: lots of rain, bursts of sunshine, chilly nights, wet mornings, and the general feeling that things are green and growing. Our kids like to look for slugs every morning on the driveway and hunt for earthworms in the puddles at the park. They also keep a sharp eye on the tree outside our dining room window. About three months ago it was pruned to within an inch of its life and had not a single leaf left, but now it has sprouted and is growing nice and bushy again. We all marvel at how quickly plants grow in this climate.

Kevin’s last few weeks have been occupied with paper work, what the Ecuadorians call “tramites.” This word reminds us of a few English words such as, “tramatic” and “trauma”. This is rather fitting. To get any official paper work done here requires many minutes, if not hours, of standing in line only to be told you need to transfer yourself to another line, quite likely twice as long as the first. We are learning to keep our important documents in order and to have extra copies available for whoever should demand one. It is all part of being foreigners, and it does get easier as time goes on.

At the beginning of the month, Kevin purchased a welder and was able to use it on the church building project. He is grateful to add this useful tool to his collection and looks forward to using it in the future. Kevin has continued to preach in our church each Sunday. I only regret that I am not able to listen to him more since I am teaching Sunday school while he preaches.

In the last month, our kids have been picking up on the language quickly. They have spent time with church friends and seem to have a new phrase under their belt each week. Ezra is a faithful little helper with Tessa. He helps me daily with chores around the house and is plodding along at his reading lessons. Joe continues to tickle our funny bones with his unique ways of saying things. While I was putting him to bed one night, he asked me for a drink, saying, “Mommy, the water in my mouth is dry.” And one night while riding in the car he mentioned, “It’s getting nighter and nighter.” I am scrambling to write down what I can remember. Tessa discovered dolls this week, and walks around with one of my old ones. She is very motherly, wanting to have it re-wrapped every time its blanket falls off. Joe is getting handy at that. J We are grateful for healthy kids who keep smiles on our faces each day.

And as for me, I continue on with my Spanish classes, work at home, and work at church. I am glad that as my language skills progress I am able to have deeper friendships with the ladies at church. I guess I never realized how vital communication is to relationships. It is something I have always taken for granted, but now every complete sentence feels like a small victory! In our Sunday school class, we are working our way through the stories of the New Testament. I have some older kids who attend the class and help me keep an eye on the little ones. They are teaching us their favorite songs and we are learning new ones together. It is rewarding work.

Many thanks to all of you who pray for us so faithfully! Thank you for letters, e-mail, and encouragement along the way. We love hearing from you!

Sincerely,

Beka for us all

Click here to check out our Blog

Click here and check out some of our photos.

Support Address:
Kevin and Beka Deitering
c/o The Master's Mission
PO Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771

Ecuador Address:
Kevin and Beka Deitering
c/o Mike and Carol Welty
Casilla 17-11-04955
Quito, Ecuador

March Update

2007-03-24T23:21:00.000-03:00

Greetings from the Deiterings! It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for 5 months already.

Typical Schedule

We’ve continued to work at Cristo Vive Church with Pastor Fernando Ceron. This is what our schedule typically looks like at Cristo Vive:

Sunday- Kevin preaches or teaches Sunday school, Beka teaches the children’s Sunday school. Also on Sunday afternoons, Kevin goes to the south side of Quito to help with a Bible Study.

Tuesday-Soup Kitchen/Study Table for children

Wednesday-“Club de Niños”-Kids Club for children 3-13.

The rest of the week- Kevin stays busy with construction at Cristo Vive. Beka is busy juggling language study with her normal work at home. She studies three days a week with her tutor, Anabel. She has been making great strides.

Future Ministry

We have been discussing the possibility of moving to the jungle after our year is up here in Quito. We made a visit a couple of weeks ago and were very excited about the potential ministry opportunities that we saw. It also looked like it would be a great place for us to live as family-lots of adventure for the kids! We would work in the area of leadership development on more of a regional level.

About our Kids!

And now for the part everyone is ALWAYS interested in. Ezra, Joe, and Tessita. Ezra continues to love reading lessons, and the daily stories are a fun treat for us all. He has mastered riding his bike without training wheels (because they fell off, actually). And after the initial scare, he realized that it wasn’t that hard and has never looked back. He and Joe love to ride in the park after a good rain and splash through the gigantic puddles. Joe loves pizza nights, building fires, rolling down hills in the park, and reading the “Little House” books before bed. Stories of panthers and Indians are his favorite. Tessa’s language development reminds me of my own. She is learning new words every day, usually pronouncing them wrong at first, and rarely putting more than two together at a time. But to hear her talk is way cuter than to hear me. She has finally reconciled herself to wearing “vinchas” (hair clips) and bounces around with her tiny pony tail bobbing behind her. They have all stayed relatively healthy, and we are grateful for that, to be sure. Please pray that we will be wise parents to face the challenges and constant decisions along the way.

Prayer Requests

Wisdom in making the move to the jungle, buying a house, ministry, etc.
Please prayer for strong stomachs and good health.
Current work at Cristo Vive

Click here to see pictures from the Deiterings in Ecuador

Support Address:
Kevin and Beka Deitering
c/o The Master's Mission
PO Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771

Ecuador Address: (Mail takes about 7-14 days, if it gets here)
Kevin and Beka Deitering
c/o Mike and Carol Welty
Casilla 17-11-04955
Quito, Ecuador

Blog address:
http://deiteringecuador.blogspot.com/

Ecuador Fast Facts
Did you know that in a recent study that Ecuador was named the sixth most corrupt nation in the world! See link for details. Pray that the Truth of the Gospel will change that!
http://www.data360.org/graph_group.aspx?Graph_Group_Id=478

February Update

2007-01-31T22:11:00.000-03:00

Dear family and friends,

We hope this finds you all well! We so much appreciated the letters and e-mails and gifts we received over the holidays. It really helped us to feel close to you, our loved ones. After Christmas, we took a trip to the Ecuadorian coast, to a town called Manta where the Alliance has a guest house. We enjoyed the warm, salty sea air, eating fish, and spending time “just us.” It was a wonderful break and helped each of us to get rid of our nagging colds. We returned home refreshed and ready to jump back into the saddle. The days have been flying by with language school, work at church, preaching, and teaching the kids on Wednesdays.

Progress on the church building is coming along. Kevin is looking at helping with electrical work and welding in the next few weeks. He likes the variety of work that comes his way. Our church is in the process of starting a soup kitchen for needy kids in the community. They will provide one meal a week to begin with and later maybe add more. It is exciting to see our congregation work together on this and get everything organized. Families are donating dishes, spoons, and cups, and the ladies are putting together a wholesome and economical menu.

Kevin has been preaching through 1 John in the month of January on Sunday mornings while Pastor Fernando has been teaching a class on baptism. We’ve also continued the “Club de Niños” on Wednesdays. We have around 20 children there every week. It’s encouraging to see so many come consistently.

We had the opportunity recently to experience a real Ecuadorian tradition. Our pastor’s daughter celebrated her fifteenth birthday, and we were invited to join in the festivities. For a Latin American girl, it is her “coming of age,” and a time of real rejoicing. For our pastor’s family, it was a time to remind their daughter to follow the Lord with all her being and to guard her heart as it says in Proverbs 4. She was positively elegant with a beautiful pink dress and her hair done up fashionably. She had several little companions, girls from the church dressed all in white and trying their best to act as grown up as they looked. We sang several songs, had special music, and her father challenged her to love and obey the Lord. Then we all enjoyed a delicious Ecuadorian meal with big pieces of cake and tea for dessert. It was a special evening and we were honored to be included.

Our little ones are all thriving on the warm sun and fresh air. Joe has mastered riding his bike and can be seen whizzing around with Ezra at our park. He is very proud and has named his bicycle “Lady” after Roy Rogers’ horse. J Ezra started reading lessons and is pleased to be REALLY doing school. He is anxious for the day when he can read books on his own. Tessa has added two new words to her expanding vocabulary: doddie (for doggie), and Doe (for Joe). We like to call her the “Queen of Cristo Vive” (the name of our church). She receives plenty of attention when we are there.

Many thanks for the prayers and support you have sent our way. We are grateful for each of you and think of you often.

Please pray for:

Cristo Vive Church. We are hoping that more men will step up into leadership, but this takes time.
Soup Kitchen for children at Cristo Vive
Language Training
Good Health

Sincerely,

Kevin, Beka, Ezra, Joe, and Tessa