Greetings and Happy New Year to you all from Quito, Ecuador!
I want to start by saying how good and faithful the Lord
is. We’ve seen His continued provision
and faithfulness even in times when I haven’t felt worthy of it. God is moving in the hearts and lives of many
of our students here at AAI and I’m so excited to see what He is going to do
starting here in 2018.
PERSONAL UPDATES:
Carolina is doing well overall. It was a really rough start for her and all
the teachers in Elementary this year, but they are handling everything like
champions. She is part of a club
volleyball team, but hasn’t played the last few months due to a bad hamstring
pull. Pray she gets better soon. She really loves playing, and having that
outlet is really good for her.
Joaquin and Milena are doing great. They love their teachers and being here at
the school. They are both currently in
basketball after school and taking piano lessons, so they are keeping quite
busy.
For myself, it’s been somewhat of a roller coaster at times,
but I keep moving forward knowing that God is good and He is working in and
through me. I am keeping really busy
these days because I’m the head Varsity Basketball Coach. Our season goes to the end of Feb. It’s a great opportunity for ministry and I
love the group of guys, though it can definitely be a big challenge at
times.
MINISTRY UPDATES:
In September we started classes and the first few days we
had Welcome Week. One of the days we
invited some alumni to come share as a panel.
To sum it up, it was a powerful time for both students and staff to hear
all that God was doing in their lives.
Most of them wanted very little to do with the Lord while they were
here, but now they are on fire for God!
It’s such an affirmation that there are seeds being planted and watered
for the kingdom here at AAI.
In September, I started promoting what I’m calling “Deep
Discipleship” groups, a voluntary Discipleship group for students who are
hungry to go deeper in their walk with Jesus.
I put out the invite and had 20+ students sign up. The trick was to find times in their schedule
that would work. My goal was to gather
them together once a week during their study hall. The office thought I was nuts because the
schedules are so different and complex.
I got their schedules and prepared myself for a long day to figure it
all out, but only after about 10 minutes I had 4 different groups organized
with the same study halls. So, I
currently have 4 Deep Discipleship Groups (2 groups of 6 and 2 groups of 7)
that I meet with every week and I love it.
It’s by far the area of ministry I’m enjoying the most this year because
I’m ministering to groups of students who want to be there…who want to go
deeper with Jesus.
In October, we had a powerful Spiritual Emphasis Week. We had a guest speaker, a local youth pastor,
come speak to the kids and many were impacted.
Many students came confessing some deep-rooted spiritual issues in their
lives and we had the opportunity to minister to them and see many set free,
particularly in the area of depression and suicidal thoughts.
Our Chapel and DNA Program (Discipleship, Nuturing
and Accountability) is going well
overall. We are following a set
curriculum this year, taking students through 8 Core Roots of
Discipleship. It’s really a great
program, but it’s also very tough because all students are required to be in a
group and many are totally uninterested in the things of God. But like the alumni shared, seeds are being
planted. We don’t trust in what we see,
but in the work of the Holy Spirit who brings light and life to even the
hardest of hearts.
In December, my parents came and we had such an amazing
time. My mom and dad both had the
opportunity to minister to everyone here at the school (Christmas Assembly, 8th
Grade Christmas Celebration, Deep Discipleship Groups, MS & HS Chapel
Services). It was such a blessing!
Also, as we do every year, we try to do something fun. This year we all took the train to see the
volcanoes. It was such an amazing
trip. We had great weather and could see
everything so clearly. Christmas and New
Year’s was a lot of fun, though it rained hard on New Year’s Eve. As always though, we had an amazing
time.
I sincerely recognize how blessed we are to get to spend
that amount of time with them. Some
teachers here haven’t seen their families in a few years and when they do, it’s
for a week at most. Having them here
with us is so special, meaningful and fun for all of us.
Coming up the first week of March, we have our 2nd
SEW. I’m so excited that a group from
South Bend is coming to lead the worship that week (The Skagg’s family, Taylor
Urban, Chad and Tony…part of the group from when we do the Worship Night’s back
in South Bend when we’re home). I’m
expectant for God to do some big things in the lives of students and staff that
week.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
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We are thinking a lot about the future. We really want and need to know what God’s
will is for us long term. Are we to
continue here at AAI, start a ministry here in Quito or does God want to lead
us somewhere else?
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In thinking about the future, we know God is our
provider and he will provide for our every need, but we also recognize that we
are not able to prepare for the future financially based on our current
income/circumstances. We are especially
thinking about college for the kids. We
are praying for God’s wisdom & creativity for how we can make money…through
a business, rental property, etc either here or in the US. Please pray for us regarding these
things.
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Pray for my basketball team. Most on the team are not believers. I’d love to see God do a great work in their
hearts and lives this season.
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Pray for our teachers, students and
leadership. We desperately need an awakening
and revival here at this school.
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Pray for our upcoming SEW and for our DNA and
Deep Discipleship Groups.
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Pray for our family and our marriage. Pray that Jesus would be the center of
everything we do and desire as a family.
To close up, thank you all for your love, prayer and
financial support. We truly couldn’t be
here and do this without it. You guys
are part of God’s work here in Ecuador.
We love you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Lord bless you all!
Caleb, Carolina, Joaquin and Milena
