February 2010

Below are some updates from Shell! I will be sending out a printed "snail-mail" newsletter in the next week or two. If you do not already receive my printed newsletters, please send me your address and I'll get you added to the list!

A Look Back...

• December 19th: David and I arrived in the United States for the very first time together!
• December 24th: We were able to celebrate Christmas with my parents, brothers and sisters-in-law and niece.
• December 28th: My sister was able to join us for another celebration. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law could not make it.
• December 30th: David and I hopped on a plane and flew back to Ecuador.
• December 31st/January 1st: We celebrated the New Year with David's extended family...about 60 people!
• January 6th: Classes started back at NSMS and David was already back at the hanger, working away.
• January 8th: I received a Visa stamped in my passport that says I am officially an Ecuadorian resident!
  
• January 13th: David and I grieved with the LaBouef family as they buried their 2 year old son.
• January 30th: I organized a cookout with David's friends to celebrate his birthday (which was on February 1st).

Looking ahead - How you can pray and praise with us!

• Praise God for the amazing visit we had to the States and for the chance for family and friends to finally meet David.
  
• Pray for the LaBouef family as they continue to deal with day-to-day life without Joshua. Pray for Matthew, a student in my class, who is old enough to understand the loss and sees how it effects his parents.
  
• Praise for the opportunities God is giving me and David to become involved in the ministry of "Casa de Fe", the orphanage here in Shell. Rosa (12 years) and Nanki (4 months) are now both attending church with us each Sunday and spending part of the afternoon together. (See their attached picture!)
  
• Pray for Nanki as he will have surgery on his leg the week of February 22nd. A group of volunteers is coming from the States to perform several surgeries, including Nanki's. It looks as though they will need to straighten and lengthen his bone.
• Praise for God meeting all of our practical needs (food, shelter, clothing) as well as some blessings (trip to the States, the purchase of a used recliner and couch).
• Pray for our relationship with Rosa, that we will be able to demonstrate what a true love relationship should be. She comes from an abusive background and has a distorted view of husbands and fathers.

December 2009

A Look Back...

• November 13th: Our school held a Poetry Night. It was a huge success!
• November 26th: I was able to cook a traditional Thanksgiving meal for David and his dad. I loved sharing some of my culture with them.
• November 27th: The MAF missionary community shared a progressive Thanksgiving dinner. We loved sharing food and just spending time together with our MAF family here in Shell.
• December 5th: David and I were blessed to attend the wedding of his cousin in a nearby city. It was great to see David's family that live away and we don't get a chance to visit very often.
• December 10th: Our school presented a Christmas program to kick off the Christmas season. Many people from the missionary community attended, as well as several Ecuadorian friends. I was able to bring my Spotlight students since we usually have English practice on Thursday evenings. They really enjoyed singing some Christmas carols in English!

Looking ahead - How you can pray and praise with us!

• Praise God that David received a 5-year visa for the States!!! Thank you for all of your prayers concerning this recent request.
• Pray for safety as we travel to the States to visit family and friends. We leave Ecuador on December 19th and return on the 30th. We hope to see as many people as possible while we are in for this short visit, but family is definitely a priority for us. This will be David's first trip to the States. We're excited he will finally get a chance to see where I grew up and to meet more family and friends that weren't able to attend the wedding, especially my grandparents.
• Praise God for the blessing that baby Nanki has been to us. He is a joy to have each week and it's been something new that David and I are able to experience together. We're getting plenty of practice changing dirty diapers!
• Praise God that meetings David led with the ALAS employees were a success. They were able to make a clear plan for the next year of service.
• Pray for my relationship with Rosa, a 12-year old girl from Casa de Fe (where Nanki also lives). Because the children at the orphanage don't receive much one-on-one attention, I am hoping to spend more time with Rosa, who comes from a very difficult childhood. We made and decorated Christmas cookies together and I plan to continue to cook with her on a regular basis. She is a sweet girl with a great attitude, but is still healing from her past. Pray that Rosa will experience God's unconditional love and form a relationship with Him.

November 2009

Here's a little update of what Beth and David are up to in Shell, Ecuador!

• October 8th - Beth celebrated her 28th birthday with a party from students, dinner with friends, and a trip to nearby Baños with David and friends.
• October 23rd, 24th, and 25th - David attended a mission's conference in Machala (the coast of Ecuador) to represent Alas de Socorro del Ecuador. He had a great time meeting other Latin American missionaries in Ecuador and was able to share about the ministry of ADSE with others.
• October 31st - Our church had an evangelistic outreach in "downtown" Shell, with worship, a video created by the youth group, and a short message. Many people attended and heard how they can have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
• November 1st - We started taking care of a baby Nanki who lives at the orphanage (Casa de Fe) here in Shell. Every Sunday we will watch Nanki for the morning and part of the afternoon to give Patti Sue (who runs the orphanage) a break from taking four babies to church with her. If you want to read more about the ministry of Casa de Fe go to http://www.lacasadefe.org/.
• November 4th - Beth led parent/teacher conferences at school. She feels blessed to have the support of the parents of her students and appreciates their help in the classroom from time to time.
  
• November 7th - We attended the funeral of Elian Orellana, a 6-year-old boy from our church who has been battling cancer. The funeral was very God-honoring and the family focused on God's wisdom throughout the service. Please continue to pray for the Orellana family as they deal with their loss.

Ways you can pray and offer praise with us:

• Pray for David as he has an appointment with the US Embassy on Tuesday, November 10th, at 9:00am. He is applying for a tourist Visa so we can visit West Virginia around Christmas time.
  
• Ecuador is experiencing severe droughts right now and the government has started rationing our electricity (which is run by dams) every day. Pray for rain!
• Praise God for a generator the MAF missionaries are allowed to share with the hanger during our black outs. It keeps our food from spoiling by keeping our freezers and refrigerators running, allows us to have water through our electric water pump, and also allows us to have fans running during these extremely hot and humid days.
  
• Pray for a meeting that the employees and missionaries of ADSE will have on Friday, November 13th discussing plans for 2010. David will be leading this meeting.
• Praise God for the opportunity we have to help at Casa de Fe by taking care of Nanki each week.
• Pray for Nanki's club foot, that money will be provided for the surgery he needs so he can return to the jungle to live with his family.
• Pray for the Orellana family at this time of loss.

October 2009 Update


I will be sending a prayer letter out in the next couple weeks, so this monthly update will be a short one! Just wanted to let you all know that I recently put some pictures up on the internet if you care to check them out. I've also put a link below to our wedding photographers' blog. He put up a few pictures, as well as a video.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2128483&id=42204432&l=4c70021ed3
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2130946&id=42204432&l=afa87b50b1
http://www.boekell.com/blog.htm

Love,
Beth and David

September 2009






A little update on what's been going on in my life and ministry in Shell, Ecuador.

• July 20th - Celebrated in the wedding of a good friend in West Virginia: Praise God for the wonderful visit I had with family and friends.
  
• August 8th - David and I exchanged vows in front of our family and friends in Shell. (See attached pictures!): Pray that God will give us wisdom as we adjust to living and serving together.
  
• September 2nd - I started my first day of school teaching Kindergarten. I have 8 students this year. I am also teaching 2nd grade Science and Social Studies each afternoon, as well as Art to the entire school two afternoons a week: Pray for patience and creativity as I teach our youngest students.
  

A look into the future!

• September 7th - David submits his final project for this semester and has a month of vacation: Praise that we have more time together in the evenings, when he is normally in class!
  
• September 11th - "Back-to-School Night": Pray that I will clearly communicate my goals and expectations to the parents of my students.
  

We are blessed by your continued prayers!
Beth and David - Or is it David and Beth??? :-)

So, for some reason, this whole blogging thing has been a real challenge for me to keep up with. I don't know why, but sending out monthly e-mail updates is much more my style. So, I've decided to keep up with this blog, posting my monthly updates here, as well!

That said, I will post previous updates I've sent out. And, when March rolls around, you'll see a new one!

Enjoy!