This is the day the Lord has made!

 

I have this verse posted outside of my classroom this year and it is a daily reminder to me that each day is the Lord’s and because of that we can rejoice in it! We can rejoice even in the days when things are difficult and know that even the hard days are days the Lord has made!

Ecuador has been in a severe drought, the worst drought in the past 60 years! Most of the electricity in the country of Ecuador comes from hydroelectric plants and in all of those reservoirs the water levels are very low. We are beginning our 3rd week of rolling blackouts. The first week we only had electricity for 12 hours a day. Thankfully, we have been having nearly daily rains for the past week so this week we are only losing power for 4 hours a day, from 2:00-4:00 AM and 8:00-10:00 PM. Last spring we had some electricity cuts and made the decision to buy a small generator. So it is getting used again these days. It is enough power to keep our refrigerator cold, keep the internet on, and be able to use a couple of lamps during the evening hours. We rejoice in the rains God is sending our way and for the electricity we do have!

Ecuador imposing overnight blackouts as drought saps hydroelectric power capacity

Ecuador Is Literally Powerless in the Face of Drought

Also because of the drought, we have had some severe wildfires close by. A couple of weeks ago, Quito was covered by smoke, and school was canceled for 3 days. Well, actually we met online. Many people had to evacuate and some lost their homes in the fires. We rejoice that God provided safety for us!

Ecuador battles wildfires near capital as drought grips South America

Scott started a new Hebrew class 2 weeks ago with about 40 students. Opportunities to reach people from all over continue to increase. He now has Spanish speakers connecting to his classes from 15 different countries. Scott is able to continue his studies and preparations for class even when the electricity is out because of the generator. In fact this evening he is teaching class using the generator. The blackouts keep some of his students from being able to always join class and makes it difficult for some of them to have enough time online to do their homeworks, but creativity and extra patience go a long way to help them achieve success.

Kristi’s school year continues on. The school also has a large generator, enough for teachers to use internet, projectors and have lights on during the day. This year in some ways is going better for Kristi but she has 1 student who is very difficult. Please pray that this student would awaken a desire to make changes in their life, and allow others to love and help them. Pray that Kristi remains consistent and loving toward this student in particular. We rejoice that God is with Kristi through the hard parts of her day with this student!

Scott continues struggling with his health. There are many days when he is not able to eat very much. He has tried many different kinds of medications and now is going through quite a few other tests trying to find an answer. His primary care doctor is sending him on to a specialist and he has an appointment with this new doctor next Monday morning. Please pray that we can find answers! In the meantime we rejoice in the day the Lord has given us and trust him with Scott’s health!

We are so thankful for each one of you and your faithful support for us through the years! We are thankful for your prayers for us! They make a difference! Looking back at the past month, we have faced a lot of difficult situations, but God has been with us and because of Him it has been a good month and we rejoice in it!

A Crazy Wonderful Summer

We are back in Quito after a whirlwind of a summer.  We drove over 5,000 miles, visited 9 states and 2 countries, and slept in 13 different beds. It really was a wonderful summer as we got to see each of our children and granddaughters, parents, and some of our sisters and families, as well as visit several of our supporting churches and individual supporters. Thank you to each of you who hosted us and encouraged us in many ways during these 7 weeks! Here are some of the highlights! God’s provision of a reliable car Sharing about our teaching ministries Time with our 2 granddaughters (and their parents) in California Celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary

A summer job for Lindsey in a physical therapy office in Kansas allowing us to spend some quality time with her So much encouragement from the supporters we were able to visit Time with Joel and Jaden including helping them put siding on a backyard shed A trip to the Dominican Republic to celebrate a 2nd wedding for Luke and Chase in the country where she grew up

Kristi is back to teacher meetings at school. She is expecting 24 sixth grade students starting the middle of next week. Pray that God gives her energy and lots of love for this new group of students. Scott is getting ready to start a new Biblical Hebrew class before the end of September. He has lots of interest once again so pray that each of the new students will follow through by faithfully doing their studies. This week he resumed meetings with his other 3 Hebrew classes. Pray that his students return energized after a long break and ready to learn again. Also pray for Scott as he is busy once again creating lessons, grading and helping his students.

Another prayer request is for Scott’s health. He has dealt with stomach issues for many years, but this past spring it got so bad that he could barely eat and was losing weight. He went through a treatment of 2 antibiotics as well as different acid reducers, etc. and got better for a short time but then was struggling again. He just finished up another 2 antibiotics. He is slowly feeling more normal but still super careful about what he eats. Please pray for a complete healing for Scott and that he can gain some weight back as well. We would also ask you to pray for Joel and Jaden. They feel called by God to foster to adopt an older child. They have been working on it since last December when they met a couple of teen sisters. Unfortunately, that fell through in June. They are now waiting and looking for another child. Pray for God’s guidance for them and for the right child to be placed with them!

This week marked 22 years of living and working in Ecuador! It brings back memories of arriving with 3 young boys! We are so thankful for God’s faithfulness through the years! He has used many of you to make it possible for us to be able to be here in Ecuador and we are so thankful for each of you, your interest, prayer and financial support!

We celebrated a special 4-year birthday!

God-given Unity

 

We’ve been thinking about unity a lot lately, related to both ministry life as well as family activities. In March we made a quick trip to Chicago for the wedding of our son, Luke, and Chase Trautwein. Chase is also a missionary kid from the Dominican Republic, has a heart for people and loves adventure. The wedding was beautiful and we had some great highlights: having the entire family together including several extended family members, time with our 2 granddaughters and even getting to be present when Lissie first started walking.

We had an amazing time celebrating Luke and Chase! We are thankful to God for another daughter-in-law added to our family. Luke and Chase are living in New Hampshire. Luke is working at a facility for foster children and gets to take small groups out on fun adventures. Chase is working as an ER nurse.

Please pray for them as they begin their new unified adventure together!

Scott stays busy teaching 3 classes of Hebrew a week. In one class he has students united from three separate continents! They are connecting for class from Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Italy, and Ecuador each week. Learning Hebrew seems to be the new thing to do. Unfortunately, we have seen people in Ecuador who use Hebrew to make the Bible say what they want it to say, so we believe it is important for some faithful Christians to learn Hebrew and be able to defend true doctrine. Scott’s most advanced group has been studying for around 3 years and are able to understand many things as they read in their Hebrew Bibles.

Working with the Ecuadorian Quichua church continues to be another of Scott’s responsibilities. Through the years we have often seen a lack of unity among the many groups of Quichua churches. One of these groups recently received papers from the government recognizing them as an approved organization of churches. Thankfully, they are a group which is biblically sound. Please pray with us that others will join this organization and that God would produce supernatural unity between them.

We recently met a man named David at our church. He is a Jew who is learning to know Jesus. He and Scott have begun to meet together as he wants to learn more about Jesus. They have been talking together about how the two testaments fit together with one important and unified message. Pray for Scott and David to have productive conversations. The war in Ecuador against organized crime continues, but it doesn’t affect our daily lives very much. There are parts of the country where we should not go, so we are being a little more careful than normal in that respect. It seems like just about every day new criminals are being captured. Sadly, sometimes they are also freed later when the judicial branch of the government says there is not enough evidence to hold them. This happens even when there is general consensus that they are guilty. And yet, we recognize that is the price to be paid for living in a country that cares about protecting the innocent, which we all know is important. Please pray that law abiding citizens and honest government officials will band together in unity to defeat the rampant evil forces in this nation. Here's one brief article among many options you could read if you want more information:

Thanks for uniting with us to help make a difference in Ecuador and even beyond!

Violence in Ecuador

Over recent months, and even for the last few years, tensions in Ecuador have been rising. We keep reaching new levels of violence, and last week was another unfortunate intensification in that regard. Maybe you heard something on the news. There were prison escapees, an attack on a television station that was broadcast live, doctors held hostage in a hospital, policemen killed, and more. We are concerned of course, but we are not in any immediate danger.   Although the tensions are high all over the country, Guayaquil remains the center of the conflict. To resolve the problem the president declared an "internal armed conflict", which basically means Ecuador has declared war on the dangerous elements within its borders. He named 22 different terrorist groups (read: gangs / organized crime / mafia / drug cartels) that are enemies of the state. The military has free reign to "neutralize" them.   The root of the problem centers around the drug cartels who are competing for territory in Ecuador and seeking to maintain drug routes from Colombia and Peru through this country to the US and Europe. Instead of serving as correctional facilities, the prisons are simply the center of the cartels' activity. About a fourth of Ecuador's 36 prisons are controlled by the inmates. That means they have the keys to their own cells, organize nationwide crime, conduct businesses, pay rent for better cells, or for having a bed, etc. The government is seeking to solve these problems, and that produces a backlash on the part of the drug cartels. Because the delinquents have the full backing of the international narcotics "industry" the solutions are not quick fixes. Ecuador will be struggling with this problem for months and potentially years to come. So far it has been slowly escalating and we don't know when the tide will begin to change. Thankfully, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and the United States are all increasing their support for the situation. Please pray for wisdom for all those who are involved in working to restore Ecuador to a land of peace and justice.

Read from the BBC How Ecuador Descended into Gang Violence

All schools have been closed due to the violence, so Kristi has been teaching online for over a week. This will continue at least until the end of this week. Beyond that, everything is uncertain. Please pray for Kristi and her students to adjust to the realities they are faced with. It’s kind of like living through Pandemic 2.0 and not too many of them are excited about it. As you know, online education sometimes decreases the posibility for truly positive learning opportunities. Pray for a soon return to the classroom. Also, pray for creativity and providential resourcefulness for Kristi with the challenging learning environment.

Scott’s dad is adjusting well to his new living arrangements. He really enjoys his assisted living apartment and is glad for having made the change. He is also making good progress with his health. Please pray for continued adjustment in these areas.

We had a great time with family over Christmas vacation. We gathered for a week in Arkansas with all our kids and grandkids!

We are now full of anticipation for Luke and Chase’s wedding coming up in March. Our next trip will be to celebrate their marriage in Chicago!

Caring for Dad and Caring for Kids

 

All of a sudden it seems like the weather has gotten a bit nippy—at least for me (Scott). Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I’m no longer on the equator. I took an unexpected trip to Omaha this week to help care for my dad. He has been facing some health challenges, and it became clear that it was important to work as a family to help with his care. Thankfully, we are seeing improvements in his health, but we are also faced with the need to make longer term planning. Dad believes it is time for him to move to an assisted care facility, and we, his children, agree. Today we chose a location, and this weekend we’ll be moving many of his belongings. On Monday we plan to transition him from hospital care to his new residence. We expect him to continue to gain strength and health in his new environment. These have been difficult days, but God has proved very faithful, and we are full of hope for a successful adjustment for Dad in the coming weeks. Please pray for the challenges our family is walking through. I (Kristi) am still in Quito finishing classes before Christmas vacation. Then I will join Scott and we’ll get to celebrate Christmas with our kids and grandchildren. It took most of the first quarter of the school year to get back into the routine of being back in the classroom but I’m so thankful for my 22 6th graders who keep life anything but boring. We just finished spiritual emphasis week in elementary where we looked at the life of Joseph and how God was a game changer in his life and how he also wants to do the same for us. We are getting ready for our Christmas program next week. As always, our schedules are changed upside down these days before Christmas but we still try to find time to continue with our regular classes. Please pray especially that my kids show kindness and respect to their classmates and please pray for me as I continue to challenge them in this area.

Quito Day games

Proudly wearing their new 6th grade hoodies and caps

Reading to 2nd grade

Spiritual Emphasis Week

Experimenting to learn about the different properties of water

Decorating the classroom for Christmas

Boring or Stable?

Sometimes it's fun to have new experiences, a change in routine, or exciting things to do. Sometimes it feels much better to return to one's familiar, day to day life. That which we might one day call "boring," can feel refreshingly stable on another.

Life has been a little more "stable" for us this month, but certainly not boring. We're starting to figure out our new routine and settle in to common tasks. Right now this feels much better than all the "excitement" of transition we had last month!

I (Scott) traveled to Guaranda last weekend and taught a workshop on Hebrew. The students were well-engaged and want to study more. I'm starting a new online course with them this evening. There are additional students who will join us from other areas as well, even one in Argentina and one in Italy. It looks like I'll have 25 to 30 new students for this course. Pray for God to bring those who could benefit from this study and to keep them faithful to do their work over the long term. I'm sure the next few days will involve several challenges as I seek to patiently lead students to use our online educational platforms. Pray for efficient learning not just with the language, but with technology too.

Quito has bookstores with Christian materials readily available, but places like Guaranda not so much. Lately I've been taking books along with me on trips to sell at cost. It's a joy to see believers invest in high quality materials that can make an enduring impact beyond my presence in any specific place.

My students in Guaranda recently completed another course covering the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Last weekend three of my students completed one of their course requirements by giving a live presentation on their local radio station. I thought they did a great job!

Watch the video of their presentation here

I continue to teach classes on Monday and Thursday as well. You can also pray for our meetings on those days at 7:00 Central Time.

Kristi has a note to include about her new routine:
It has been stretching for me to be back in the classroom. I have 22 6th-graders and I come home exhausted most days. My class loves to talk and they love to learn, so it is a daily challenge keeping them on task. Please pray that I can develop good relationships with them and that they know how much Jesus loves them! And pray for daily strength for me.

In all fairness, her daily routine might be a little less stable than mine, and even a bit further from anything that could be called "boring." At any rate, we both need your prayers. We can't do this without God's help, and by his design, it's impossible without you lifting our needs before him.

Family, back to Ecuador, and a big election

 

Whew, it's time to catch our breath after about 3 months of intense effort to transition back to Ecuador! Now we are settling in and getting things back in order after being gone from our adopted country. Last weekend we successfully helped Lindsey move in to the dorm at John Brown University, in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. So far she loves college life! Of course, reality will be much different when new student orientation ends and classes start! Nevertheless, we are confident she will do well then too, when her studious side engages with the classwork. Joel and Jaden live just 10 minutes from campus which gives us even greater confidence. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for Joel and Jaden. Jaden is doing much better with her health because of the medications she is on. She is able to work online from home but often doesn’t have much more energy after that. This past week, her sodium level went dangerously high because of the medication she is on, so please pray that they can find the right adjustment for her. Scott is continuing to teach online Hebrew classes in Ecuador. Opportunities will certainly increase being in country, both for Hebrew and for other subjects. Pray for wisdom for Scott as he decides which things he should do and which things the national church is capable of doing themselves. A new group for Hebrew is already beginning to form for September, and others have expressed interest. Kristi has been working with a homeschool group online the past 3 years but is going back to work at Alliance Academy International. She will begin teaching 6th grade on Thursday and is expecting about 21 students. The school is growing again after losing 1/3 of their students during the pandemic. Lower elementary is back to having two classes for each grade as it used to be but upper elementary still just has one class in each grade level. That means that Kristi will be teaching everything for 6th grade. Please pray for her as she teaches some new subjects this year. A few weeks ago we were concerned about the arthritis in her knee. Thankfully, she has seen a lot of improvement with that. Although it is going to be a continuing issue, she feels mobile enough to at least fulfill her teaching responsibilities for now. Of course, this also means that after having children at home for 31 years, we are empty nesters. It is rather difficult to leave behind all of our children and return to Ecuador. David, Shelby, Evelyn and Elisabeth continue living in San Luis Obispo, California. We loved spending a week with them in California this summer and getting to love on our grandaughters!

We are also excited to announce that Luke is engaged to Chase Trautwein, a missionary kid from the Dominican Republic. A good friend of Luke from his high school days in Quito ended up being room mates and best friends with Chase. She introduced them. They have both been working at the same camp for foster kids in Missouri. Pray for them as they prepare for marriage.

Tomorrow is election day in Ecuador. A new president will be chosen, as well as an entirely new group of legislators. There are other issues on the ballot as well. This election is extremely important and tensions are very high. In fact three weeks ago, one of the presidential candidates was assassinated. Fernando Villavicencio was especially outspoken against corruption, organized crime and the growing problem with drug cartels. Unfortunately he paid a price for that with his life. Here is an excellent article from the BBC that summarizes the current situation and how it feels for those who are living it. Please pray that God would have his hand in the choices made tomorrow so that Ecuador can battle its recently growing problem of crime. Pray also that the church will thrive in this country no matter what the outcomes of the election are.