February Newsletter

SAVAGE SIGHTINGS
                      UPDATES
Day to day life continues steadily forward as for several hours a day we plug away at studying & learning Spanish. It is hard to believe we are approaching the end of our year in fulltime language learning. When we stepped off the plane we knew very little Spanish and had a difficult time even ordering food. However, slowly but surely God has enabled us to learn and we are becoming more and more functional in Spanish. Of-course some days are better than others, but overall we are beginning to see the results of the fruit of our labor and of your prayers, support, and encouragement.
This is exciting to us, as we know that without knowing the language it is almost impossible to communicate the truths of God’s Word with people and that of-course is the reason we came.
I (Brad) have shared my testimony (in Spanish) and taught a small Bible lesson at the local church we attend. I was also asked to preach (in English) and did so with the help of a translator. The pastor has asked me to prepare a lesson every few weeks or so. This is a great opportunity because I get to practice Spanish and teach God’s Word!
Thank you! Thank you all for your much appreciated and much needed prayers!

                                                      February 2013

Prayer Request

Pray that we continue to advance in our language capabilities

Pray for our vehicle situation here Pray for continued relationships to be

built

Pray for us as we plan our 1st furlough

Specifically: For a vehicle to drive while in the USA & for other opportunities to share at churches

And a voice came from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all you His Bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great. Revelation 19:5

     Planning a Trip Back to the USA!

We are planning our first furlough to the USA toward the end of this year. The dates are October 16, 2013 thru February 12, 2014.
We hope this time is not only encouraging but also refreshing to us as we prepare to return to Ecuador.
While in the states we are available to preach, teach, or share our experiences thus far in Ecuador to you, your church, or Sunday School class.
Our available dates are listed on the right. We will schedule times on a 1st come 1st serve basis, but would love to come and share our hearts or preach the Word.

                                     Vehicle Needed
As of yet we do not have a mode of transportation while in the states. We need a vehicle that seats at least 6. If you or your church has one or knows of one we could use or rent (cost effectively), PLEASE contact us so we can make arrangements. Thank You!

Available Sunday Dates

November 17th & 24th
December 1st, 8th, 15th, & 22nd
January 5th, 12th, 19th, & 26th
*** We are also available during the week as well.***

Dates Already Reserved
October 20th (FBC Macon, TN)
October 31st – November 2nd
(Global Outreach Conference: Tupelo, MS)
Nov. 3rd – Nov. 10th
(Global Impact Conference @ Kirby Woods Baptist Church)

                        Special Request

We have been in Ecuador for 11 months, and during that time we have taken taxis or buses everywhere we have gone. This is interesting at times because there are six of us and the average taxi here is a small Kia type car. Learning to take a bus here has been equally challenging especially when we all go. The buses (although larger) attempt to pack in as many people as possible and redefine your limits of “personal space.”

Although it has been unusual and difficult not to drive for 11 months, it has been manageable. Manageable because we have been in full-time language school and our need to travel a lot has been minimum. However, as we approach the end of language school and begin to transition from full-time language learning to work in the missions’ fields of Ecuador we are in need of a car. A former missionary in Ecuador has generously given us a car, but is has been in need of many repairs to make it functional and as of yet it has not been out of the shop. There is another important issue with the car as well. If eventually we are able to get that vehicle it only seats 5 persons safely, and unfortunately someone will have to sit in the back trunk area. We are praying that funds will be provided for a larger and more reliable vehicle.

Our special request is to fill a NECESSITY for not only for our missions work here, but also for the safety of our family. Cars are more expensive here than in the USA but we can find a used-roomy but reliable van for $20,000 to $25,000. We ask that each of you please PRAY and ask the Lord to see if He is leading you to contribute to this need. If you are led to do so please donate to Global Outreach International, P.O. Box 1, Tupelo, MS 38802 account # 3698 or go to www.globaloutreach.org and scroll down to our names and click donate & write “For Vehicle account # 3698” THANK YOU!

Contact Information
Brad & Kim Savage
Alayna, Carolyn, Kyle, & Gray
(901)405-4747
savageb@globaloutreach.org
savagesinecuador.blogspot.com

Please Send Donations To:
Global Outreach International P.O. Box 1

Tupelo, MS 38802 Account # 3377 orFor Vehicle Account # 3698

2

Happy New Year Ecuadorian Style!

Before moving to Ecuador we knew there would be many cultural differences we would face.  The most obvious and most difficult being the language difference.  Day to day activities we took for granted in the USA became extremely difficult and tiresome for us here in Ecuador.  However, after nine months of language learning we function quite well in our day to day activities, and are increasing weekly in our conversational Spanish.

Aside from learning Spanish there are dozens upon dozens of cultural differences we have had to learn about living in Ecuador.  After living here for nine months we have encountered (in some manner or another) almost all of the different celebrations or holidays Ecuadorians celebrate.  Some are very much the same as in the USA like Christmas while others are non-exsistent in Ecuador like Thanksgiving.

However, some holidays are the same time of year, but celebrated in a different way.  One of the most interesting ones we have encountered thus far is the traditional Ecuadorian way of bringing in the New Year.  Like the USA they have fireworks, parties, and resolutions for the upcoming year, but unlike the USA they do two unique things.

Starting around noon on December 31st you begin to see men, teenage boys, and boys dressed up like women blocking the streets. They call them "viudas " (which is translated widows).  The key idea is these "viudas" are mourning their spouses (the ending year).  Typically they dance in front of the car, bus etc. until the driver gives them some money, usually a few cents. As the day progresses into night more and more "viudas" make their way into the streets.  As Kim and I learned the hard way it makes travel very slow because they are stationed about every 100 yards on most streets.

2 Viudas blocking the street

A group of viudas posing for a group of gringos

The second interesting thing Ecuadorians do is called "Año Viejo".  Many if not most Ecuadorian families and some businesses put a doll in front of their house or business.  These dolls range from small to very large, and they put mask on the doll ranging from Shrek to the president of Ecuador.  The dolls sit in front of the house until Midnight New Years Eve at which time they take the doll (Año Viejo) and burn them.  Burning the "Año Viejo" represents both saying goodbye to the old year, and burning away all the bad things that happened the previous year.

  

                      We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a great start to the New Year!

BAPTIST WORKING TOGETHER IN ECUADOR

Last weekend I attended the annual Ecuadorian Baptist Convention in Machala, Ecuador.  I met up with IMB missionary Johnny Maust in Riobamba, and then rode with him the rest of the way.  Johnny has been serving the Lord in Riobamba for 13 years.  

The population of Ecuador is around 15 million people.  The vast majority of the people are nominal Catholics (at best) who mix Catholicism with traditional religious beliefs.  Many Ecuadorians know about the Bible, but relatively few Ecuadorians know the eternal truths found within the Bible.  Like many of the pastors at the convention this past weekend we have a heart to "Reach and Teach" the people of Ecuador these eternal truths.  

Even though Baptist in Ecuador are relatively small in number they have a big heart for God, and a passion to spread His Word.  In the future we will work along side many of these pastors as well as other like minded brothers and sisters in Christ to help grow, strengthen, and reproduce believers in Ecuador.     

IMB missionary Johnny Maust with 2 brothers, both of whom are Pastors in Ecuador.


Kim and I and the children live near Quito, and Riobamba is about 3 hours south of us down the Pan-American Highway.  Riobamba and Quito are in the Andes Mountains.  Ecuador is divided into three parts: (West) the Coastal Region, (Middle) the Andes Mountains, and the (East) part of the Amazon jungle basin.  During our trip we saw a lot of change in the scenery and felt a change in the climate as well. 

Those are banana trees.  They line the highway for hundreds of miles near the coast of Ecuador, especially near Machala.  Ecuador is the number one exporter of bananas in the world.

Many houses in the coastal areas of Ecuador look different than the ones we usually see near Quito. 

It is against the law in Ecuador to drive a motorcycle without a helmet, but there is no laws requiring the passenger(s) to wear one.  Notice the small child in the middle on the left.  I have seen a family of 5 on the same size motorcycle.  

Sunday morning is a big day in many places in Ecuador to sale and buy all kinds of things in the open market.  This lady and her children were headed to the market to sale some items.

This man was taking a little nap before his next customer in the market.  

In Memphis I would have a cup of Starbucks to
go....In Machala, Ecuador this what I got
when I asked for a cup of coffee to go.

Coffe in a bag, but it was good.

Ecuadorian Snow!

Kyle calls it Ecuadorian snow, but in fact it is hail.

In the Andes Mountains of Ecuador there are two season (Summer aka the dry season and Winter aka the rainy season.) Summer starts about March of every year and goes more or less through September.  During the Summer months it rarely rains and it is very sunny.  Though the temperature never gets above 80 degrees it can be pretty hot at over 8,000 feet when the sun is right on top of you.

During the Winter months it typically rains every afternoon, but sometimes it can be rain for several days without stopping.  In the Winter the temperature is in the 70's but it often feels much colder (especially at night) when it rains. So far our time living here has been in the Summer.  However, a month after moving into a different house we were welcomed to the rainy season by  few days of heavy rain and hail.

When the hard rains and hail began to fall we learned our house has numerous leaks in the roof.   Workers came this past weekend and repaired the roof (we hope), but we will find out soon enough when another hard rain falls.  Chalk this up to another great cross-cultural educational experience as we deal with owners and workers to get the needed repairs.

For now we are warm and dry as we work at learning the language and the culture.  We pray soon, with God's grace, we will know the language and the culture well enough that we can help reach, disciple, and train the people, believers, and leaders of Ecuador!

Nickel & Dime Size Hail.

Buy One Chicken Get One Chicken Leg Free...

A free chicken leg!  A deal you cannot refuse.

A few days ago Kim & I were at a local grocery store named "Mega-Maxi" doing some much needed grocery shopping.  Kim went down the meat isle to quickly pick up a few things, but when she returned I noticed she had a grossed out look on her face.  She was holding the chicken pictured above.  I asked her what was the matter and she stated chicken juices got on her when she picked up the chicken because they had attached a free chicken leg to the side.

We laughed about the incident (well I laughed), and it reminded us of a few other unusual or culturally different things in grocery stores here we have learned about since living in Ecuador. 

 1.  When you unload your shopping cart to pay for your items you then just push it to the side in the middle of the isle.

2.  A family of five will strategically place one member of their family in five different checkout lines to see which line turns out to be faster.  When the fasted line becomes obvious the other four members of the family will merge into that line with many more items.  (This one has ruined my short line on more than one occassion, but is a perfectly acceptable practice here.)

3.  There are two different ways people get a receipt.  One is "factura" and the other is "consumer final".  This in particular caused a great deal of confusion for us our first month or so.  You see they would ask, "factura?"  Of-course like any good American male who really does not understand but does not want to look like he does not understand I responded, "si."  At which point the cashier would begin asking me a long series of questions while I stood there dumbfounded thinking I have cash can't I just pay.

We now know to say "consumer final"  and I have mostly stopped saying "si" to questions I do not understand.  Shopping goes much smoother, but there is still an occasional free chicken leg that gets thrown into the mix of things when we least expect it.

September Newsletter

The Savage Sightings

September 2012

For His lovingkindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord is everlasting.  Praise the Lord!  (Psalm 117:2)

Carolyn, Kyle & Gray having a picnic in our backyard.

Recently we moved to a different house in the same area of the Los Chillos Valley.  The move was brought about when we learned we were being exposed to dangerous gases and fumes. We praise the Lord for providing another house so quickly, and removing us from danger.  Our new house has proven to be a tremendous blessing and it feels like home to everyone.  It is a great reminder of God’s continuous grace and provision for us.

We visited "Old Town Quito."

Updates

Our Spanish comprehension is increasing “poco a poco” – that is “little by little” as we continue our studies.  In context, we can hold basic conversations.  We are excited about our remaining six months of language learning that will bring us to a sufficient level for communication.  We are eager to be able to “reach and teach” here in Ecuador.

At this point it is difficult to communicate with any kind of depth. However, we have been giving out pocket-sized copies of the Gospel of John in Spanish as well as directing them to the church we attend Iglesia Biblica Bautista.  These booklets are a great resource and one of the tools we plan to utilize in the future.  We use the ones pictured below.  If you would like to donate some for us to hand out please contact us via phone or e-mail for more information.  Thank You for your continued prayers and support! 

Please Pray:  Language learning, culture adjustment & opportunities to share God's Word!

Contact Information:  Brad & Kim Savage - savageb@globaloutreach.org - 901-405-4747