Ecuador

Kevin and Rebekah Deitering

Missionaries with The Master's Mission since 2003

February 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

Greeting from Archidona, Ecuador. We hope your new year has been gone 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

August 2006

Deitering update

Dear Friends and Family,

It's hard to believe that it's already August! Much has happened since the last time we wrote.

The Family

All three of our little ones have grown so much this summer. Ezra still enjoys playing anything that involves a ball and riding his bicycle. Joe can often be found hauling things in his dump truck to some imaginary construction site (namely our garden). And Tessa is well on her way to being a two-legged creature. She performs to the delight and applause of her two brothers who don't understand the many implications of this development. She is also queen of the slide and will perch at the top and hold her own while the boys try to climb the chute. The three of them are a sweet relief from the hustle and bustle of the day.

The House

The remodeling project is finally complete thanks to the help of several friends and family. It was a very stretching experience, but we are glad that we did it-I thinkJ. We put it on the market a couple of weeks ago and have had several inquiries. Please pray that we can sell it in a timely fashion.

The Visas

After sending in the stack of required paper work to the Ecuadorian Consulate in Washington D.C., we expected to wait for several weeks or even months before we would be issued our visas from the Ecuadorian government. However, we were pleasantly surprised to open our mail box seven days later only to find our visas. Seven short days-wow! We see it as just another way in which the Lord has worked on our behalf.

What's next?

We hope to be able to sell the house within the next month. After selling the house, we will be moving down to the home base of The Master's Mission in North Carolina, where we will spend our time packing, making last minute purchases, and preparing for our big move to Ecuador. Hopefully, we will be in Ecuador some time in October.

Support

We would like to thank you for your continued prayer and financial support. Please pray that the Lord would continue to meet our needs. Have a great summer!

The Deitering's Update
December 2005

I was bundling the boys up to go outside one afternoon: squeezing their feet into boots, stuffing their hands into their mittens, wrapping scarves around their necks, and putting Chap Stick on their cheeks. Kevin looked up from the USA Today he was reading and asked, "You want to know what it's like in Ecuador today? Sixty-eight degrees and partly cloudy." Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Even though it is COLD here in Ohio, we have been enjoying winter. There has been snow on the ground to play in; good for tubing behind the four-wheeler, making snow men, and shoveling (Ez has really taken a shine to it!) Joe has discovered the joy of eating icicles fresh off the gutter. His main priority while playing outside is to keep his hands warm. Once, at grandma and grandpa's house, his fingers got cold and Kevin's dad took them in his hands and blew on them. So now he marches in the house after playing in the cold, rips off his mittens and holds his hands up to me saying, "Blow. Like Paw Paw does." While indoors, Ezra and Joe enjoy playing ball, building tents, and chasing each other. They still love books, but I've noticed they prefer playing together more these days. I love to see the fun they have and the mischief they get into. Joe kissed me good-bye the other morning and said he was going to drive semi truck for the day. I gave him Kevin's lunch box and he set off across the living room floor. Ezra soon asked if he could go along, so it was the two of them in a corner behind the piano being truckers. I was soon busy with breakfast and not paying much attention when Ezra ran in the kitchen a bit bothered and said, "The truck is on fire and Joe won't let me eat any lunch!" I am so grateful for our children who bring us joy each day and give us reasons like these to smile.

The holidays are here and it is such fun to sing the wonderful old Christmas songs, decorate the house, make the lists, and bake the extra batches of cookies. We look forward to spending time with our families this year as we have ever since we were married (nearly five years ago now...yikes!). We approach this Christmas time knowing that it will be a while until we share one together again. My brothers are making college plans and we will be moving to Ecuador in the fall, so we do not take for granted the meals shared and the evenings spent together. It's good to know that distance does not determine how dear we are to each other. And it's good to remember that we are celebrating the birth of the One who changes not. -Beka

It's hard to believe that we are less than a year away until our departure for Ecuador. Just like most of you folks, we're so busy with life here and now, that it's hard to imagine all of the changes that lie before us in just nine months. I take great delight in knowing that our Lord is unchangeable and steady; that he is our Rock.

The fact that we're leaving soon is becoming more and more of a reality. Many of my co-workers and students know of our plans already. I plan on making an "official" announcement in the next couple of months to my students. Please pray with us that the Lord will use this time and that He will give me wisdom and the right words to say.

Our support has been great the last few months and we are very grateful for the outpouring of generosity. We are at about 40% of our monthly support and 35% of our "outfitting" support. Please pray with us that the Lord will continue to provide for us. Our target date is still set for September of 2006 but there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done before going; not just preparations for Ecuador, but remodeling and selling our home is one of the big projects yet to be done.

Thank you all for your support. We hope that 2006 is a pleasant and memorable year for you and your family. -Kevin

Archives:

October 2005

Dear friends and family,

Summer is coming to an end with chilly mornings, bright clear days, ripe tomatoes from the garden, and the return of the football season. Ezra just ran by with his helmet on, and he is now trying to teach Joe to hold the football so that he can kick it. Kevin is back to teaching. It is hard to believe that this is his third year already. Each year seems to get a bit easier. We are all enjoying watching Tessa these days as she learns to smile and laugh and coo. The boys are quite busy with their usual pastimes: tractor watching, riding tricycles, watering and weeding our landscaping, and playing ball.

We have spoken in five churches in the area since our last letter. Thank you for praying for us! We have been so encouraged to visit these churches and make new friends. At each place we’ve been, the people have been so gracious and kind. They have welcomed us into their congregations and shown true interest in our plans. It is heartening to see fellow believers striving to live obediently and serve the Lord wherever He has placed them. We are excited to have opportunities to share how the Lord has led us and to challenge others to consider long-term missions. Please continue to pray for more churches to invite us to speak, and for wisdom to know just what to say.

Another highlight of the summer was our trip to TMM in August. We took my brothers, Jason and Josh Smith, and our nephew and niece, Alex and Elizabeth Deitering. The boys spent most of their time working on the Mission grounds. They dug and built an outhouse, and planted trees and grass.

Elizabeth was a wonderful help to me taking care of the kids, and she also cleaned cabins for the candidates coming in the fall. She baked cookies, made meals, cleaned, and even washed the boys’ socks. What a girl! When they weren’t working, they were swimming, or playing basketball, or target shooting, or playing games, or watching movies. Needless to say, we brought them home happy but very tired. We have good memories from our week together.

-Beka

A Note from Kevin

As Beka mentioned, it has been a great summer. We have enjoyed our short trips throughout Western Ohio and the opportunity to

meet many new people. The Lord continues to show His faithfulness to us.

Our target date for leaving for Ecuador is around September of next year, a year away. This date, of course, is contingent on our monthly support. We would like to thank many of you for your faithful financial giving and prayer support. The financial support we get before leaving for Ecuador goes toward “Outfitting” expenses. We recently sat down with Mike Welty, the Field Director of the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Ecuador, in order to discuss our Outfitting expenses.

Plane Tickets for two adults, and three children.
Visas
Immunizations
Two years worth of clothing-not a problem for me and Beka, but a little more challenging for the three kids
An automobile to be purchased in Ecuador
Household appliances and miscellaneous items which are to be purchased in Ecuador

We are at about 20% of our monthly goal. If you would like to support us, please send your contribution to:

Kevin

June 2005

Dear friends and family,

Hello from us Deiterings once again! Except now there is one more of us. Yes, Tessa Rose was added to our family on May 18^th. She weighed in at 6lbs. 11oz. and measured 19.5 inches long. She is a healthy baby and arrived safely, for which we are very thankful. She never lacks attention with two big brothers to kiss her and cuddle her. And she is one tough cookie when it comes to noise. I think she is most content when her brothers are rip-roarin’ all around her. Ezra has been a gentle, responsible big brother from the very start. He does a great job holding Tessa, and when she fusses, he admonishes her, “No you need cry, little girl. That makes us sad.” Joe is a very busy guy, but frequently takes time to kiss his little sister. He proved his love one day by offering Tessa one of his precious Skittles. It’s amazing how quickly new babies become part of the family.

Summer is upon us, and while the boys and I divide our time between the garden and the backyard pool, Kevin is working for his brothers landscaping. Often he makes deliveries for the factory that they own, and whenever possible the boys ride along. On one occasion, Joe spent seven hours in the semi with Kevin. When they pulled into our drive, he made it clear that he was not ready to get out. He wanted more!

Our summer plans include speaking at several churches in our area. We have made ourselves available for any service or gathering. It’s exciting to get the ball rolling, but it is also a bit unnerving. We want to clearly communicate what it is we hope to do once we are in Ecuador. We want to represent The Master’s Mission well. But most importantly, we want to please the Lord with how we go about raising support. We would appreciate your prayers regarding this.

Finally, we also ask for your prayers as we face a year of decision making ahead. Packing, purchasing needed items, getting our shots, filling out paperwork: all the work that goes into leaving one country for another can seem overwhelming. May we have the wisdom to see what needs done and when. And may we be faithful to complete each day’s work with happy hearts.

Note from Kevin:

I have had many people ask what we will need to bring when moving to Ecuador next year, so I wanted to take some time to answer. Since missionaries to Ecuador are taxed very highly for items that they bring into the country, we will be buying most of our items in Ecuador. Our most immediate need in Ecuador will be transportation. The price of a vehicle in Ecuador is comparable to the price here. When we eventually move to the jungle, many other items will be necessary, such as a larger generator, but we will wait until we are closer to that move before we make those purchases. Please pray for this whole process, and that we may find favor in the eyes of the officials with whom we will be dealing.

The Deiterings serve on a faith mission basis
and are dependent upon the faithful support of many individual believers.

February 2005

Dear Friends and Family,

We hope this letter finds you all doing well. Can we all say that we’re ready for spring to arrive? Ezra and I have a daily conversation that goes something like this: Mommy, “Look, Ez, it’s sunny outside!” Ezra, “Go swimming? Go camping? Go hiking?” Mommy, “No, not until it’s sunny AND warm.”

As we look ahead to the next year, we have expectations and plans we hope to see fulfilled. We would like to speak to churches in our area and tell them about the work we hope to do in Ecuador. The pictures we took while we were there this summer should give people an idea of the beautiful country we will be in. We would also like to be faithful in the work we do in our home church, Cable Road Alliance. Kevin is now an elder and we teach the preschool age Sunday school class together and help with the AWANA program on Wednesday nights. Kevin is also coaching the church’s basketball team, which is more of a pleasure than a responsibility.

BIG NEWS!

While in Ecuador, we stayed for a couple of days in the jungle town of Tena. One morning we ate breakfast with the local pastor and his wife. After hearing that we hoped to return as missionaries one day, Solya, the pastor’s wife, commented with a smile, “If you want to be a pastor in the jungle, you need to have more children. I have seven!” We laugh about that conversation, because we are expecting again! I am due in May, and Ezra is sharing in the excitement this time. We enjoy both of our boys so much, and another little Deitering will only add to the fun.

Thank you all for the encouragement and support you continue to be to us. We are grateful to the LORD for providing for us each step of the way. We lean on Him for further direction in the coming year.

A Note from Kevin

I wanted to take this time to answer some of the most commonly asked questions that people have asked us. “What’s your time frame for going out?” I am currently working the first year of a two year contract as a Spanish teacher at Kalida High School, which means we will be here for sure until June of 2006-less than a year and a half away! If we have reached full support by that time, we will be on our way to Ecuador some time that summer. Money given in support of us before leaving for Ecuador will go towards our “outfitting” expenses. Some of those outfitting expenses include: plane tickets, shots, and a vehicle for while we are in Ecuador.

Another question I have been asked is: “How long do you plan on staying?” This is not a short-term trip. We are committed to spending the rest of our lives in Ecuador if it is apparent that the Lord wants us to be there. We believe that it is important for those around us to have “visual aids” of the Gospel. In other words, they will see Christ in the way we live and work together. Often times, it takes years to build trust and meaningful relationships that will eventually lead to people coming to a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ.

Who will you be working with? While in Ecuador, we will be working as TMM missionaries under the umbrella of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA). It is our desire to eventually end up in the jungle working in rural or remote areas, which is where Ruben Larson and other CMA missionaries began their work in 1924. When we visited Ecuador in the summer of 2004, we visited the jungle province of Napo. While there, we met with Mike Welty, and the Provincial Pastor (District Superintendent). They told us that they saw a great need to train leaders within the church, and to simply be a resident witness of the Gospel. With the CMA’s focus on the urban populations, these needs are being largely unmet. The partnership between TMM and the CMA will enable us to continue the work begun by great CMA missionary pioneers like Ruben Larson.

In 1926, Ruben and his wife Grace, moved to the steamy jungles of the Oriente in Ecuador, with their fourteen month old son, Ricky. Larson, who would later help form HCJB Radio, was instrumental in establishing one of the first mission stations in this region of Ecuador in the small town of Tena. Besides being a messenger of the Gospel, he played an integral role in helping the Indians of this region to receive better treatment from the Government of Ecuador. Larson won the respect and admiration of many in Ecuador, and he paved the way for the missionaries who followed. Today in Tena, now a city of around 30,000 people, one can still see reminders of Larson through schools and churches that he himself helped to establish. Now, nearly 80 years later, Beka and I plan on moving our family to this same region.

If your church or group would like us to come and speak, please feel free to contact us.

April 2004

Since graduating from The Master's Mission(TMM) in the summer of 2003, we have been pursuing opportunities to serve somewhere in Latin America. In keeping with TMM's philosophy of new missionaries serving with senior missionaries in order to adjust and help learn the ropes, we looked for a like-minded couple with whom we could work. Since our home church is a part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (CMA), we decided to pursue work with Mike and Carol Welty, missionaries to Ecuador from our home church, Cable Road Alliance. Starting in the winter of 2004, we were in dialogue with CMA about the possibility of working with them. In March of 2004, the CMA gave their approval to us working with the Welty's in Ecuador.

TRIP TO ECUADOR

Before making the big decision to go, we decided that it would be beneficial to visit Ecuador, and to do an "exploratory" trip. From June 21^st through the 29^th, we were the guests of the Welty's in Ecuador. Ecuador, which is situated on the equator, is a relatively small country. It is about the size of the state of Nevada. In a relatively short period of time, you can travel from the hot and balmy rain forest of the southeast, to the rugged and cool mountains of the north. That is what we did. We spent about three days in the tropical province of Napo. We visited various schools and churches that were established by CMA missionaries. Some of these schools are very remote and can only be reached by canoe or a four-wheel drive vehicle. The people of this region seemed warm and friendly. They especially warmed up to us after seeing our blue-eyed little blondes, Ezra and Joseph. One Spanish phrase that became familiar to Beka is: "ojos preciosos," which means, beautiful eyes.

After leaving the jungle, we traveled to the mountains of the north. We went to the town of Otavalo, which is where the Welty's served as missionaries for about ten years. This region was beautiful with its patchwork of fields and pastures on steep hillsides. The Indians of this region have held to their traditional dress; long skirts for the women, with beautifully embroidered blouses, and panchos for the men. We enjoyed going to the world famous market where we could buy crafts, wool goods, and jewelry. We also visited three churches in the area. It was exciting to see so many full churches and to hear of the impact that the Gospel has made in the lives of the people.

FUTURE PLANS

We came away encouraged with the work that has already been done and excited about the potential for further work within Ecuador-especially in the jungle. We have decided that this is where we want to go! The Master's Mission and The Christian and Missionary Alliance are currently working on an agreement to solidify the partnership between the two boards. Please pray for all the details in this partnership, and for us, as we begin to outfit and raise support.

Support Address:

The Master's Mission

P.O. Box 547

Robbinsville, NC 28771

www.mastersmission.org

Our Address:

The Deitering's

14015 Road 15-M

Columbus Grove,OH 45830

Email Address:

kevindeitering@yahoo.com

More pictures from recent trip to Ecuador: