Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Door of Hope

FEED MY LAMBS = 40 GRADUATES

40 Sunday school teachers trained and already in action to raise up little disciples of Christ in 25+ churches. For the first
time in Ecuador this new course from FLET was offered to a group of indigenous churches of Pichincha. It took 4 months
meeting twice/month for 6 hours. We began by studying what the Bible says about teaching children, what does a good SS
teacher look like, what are the needs and characteristics of kids at different ages. The course than took us to effective teaching
tools and techniques to be used in developing a 4 point technique to develop any Bible story. Each student had to prepare
and present each of the 4 points to me or Tim and the rest of the class. It was amazing and they learned so much.
One highlight was 10 year old Jenifer who came to every class to help her grandmother who can’t read. They worked together
to learn and added much emotion and attention to all the students. Teaching this course was one of the best and
fruitful things we did this year. I plan to repeat this training with several more groups in the coming year. Pray that these
seeds will produce abundant fruit for the King for many years to come.

BRICKS AND MORTER

Almost 3 months of building brick by brick results in not just a beautiful building but sooo much more.
1. New, improved and larger worship area.
2. Space to divide groups of kids for more effective learning.
3. Better attention without distraction from passers by and late arrivals.
4. No more flying papers and craft supplies.
5. Less cleaning time due to blowing dirt and leaves.
6. Brick oven = fellowship and blessing.
Receive a big shout, hug, and applause from all of us a Puerta de Esperanza and Compassion International EC 162 for all you do to
make improvements possible to grow God’s kingdom.

JOIN WORSHIP AND BAPTISM SERVICE

On the 15th of September we had the privilege at the Door of Hope to host a joint worship service with the Methodist
church of Quinche. We worshipped and celebrated baptisms together followed by a fellowship meal. The Bishop of
the Methodist church who is also the pastor in Quinche, Pastor Silvio Cevallos and myself baptized 24 brothers and sisters
that day. The water was frigid but the hearts were warm. It was a great experience for both congregations to celebrate together
and to grow deeper into relationship with one another. Doubly exciting to celebrate the church’s second anniversary.
What a way to celebrate God’s movement in the Kingdom and His love for each of us.

TIM´S PURSUIT…TO MOW THE GRASS

It all started 2 months ago with “I just want to mow the lawn.” (the entire lawn is still not done) He mowed
with the lawn tractor for 30 minutes when the steering went out so he stopped, took it apart, welded it and was
off again. 20 minutes later the pulley broke so he got the push mower out which has seen better days. He
tuned it up but still didn’t start so he took out the older mower, stripped some of its parts to get one mower
working….nope…3 days later he was at it again after driving 3 hours to get parts. The part for the tractor is the
wrong size but he got the push mower running enough to mow the ministry areas before the Christmas parties.
The grass is getting tall even though we have not had much rain. He then tried to fix the old weed eater
but it did not want to be resurrected either. As you can imagine, this 2.5 acres has consumed several machines
and a good portion of Tim’s patience but we will not give up just yet. And it all started with a noble desire to
cut the grass.
He has also spent countless hours (days and weeks) keeping the overworked truck running. Now you have
heard of a few of the reasons he is always so tired and skinny. At least we have victory in Christ!

TIM TO USA

Once again Tim will be on the move in the USA. His trip will begin in FL for The Mission Society Global
Gathering in mid Jan. He will then base out of the Atlanta area until mid March. Several churches have asked
him to share but there is still room to make your request. Please contact us via email to set up a time to hear
about a first heart account of what God is up to in Ecuador. We are trusting God for new support since the
reality is we have many aging supporters and there are MANY opportunities out there. Daina. Kevin and
Esther will continue ministry in his absence so keep them held up in prayer. The battle rages for the hearts and
minds of kids, youth and adults all over the world—we need your help more than ever.

“Never tire in doing good, for at the proper time you
will reap a harvest if you don’t give up.”

We have had a busy season of teaching, preaching, blessing and building. 4 Christmas celebrations with lots of
new faces and hearts to plant seeds in. We made progress with bathroom walls and an office for Compassion
with a roof which will be the floor for a youth meeting area in 2014. We thank you all for the part you play in
keeping us here to be your hands and feet which will impact eternity. You always ask us what we need so here
are a few things. RAIN, youth room, computer lab, library, a well so we can plant and grow what we serve the
kids 3-4 meals/week, cabinets and storage, cabinetry workshop. I hope that is a good enough wish list in addition
to funding training and discipleship. God is amazing, you are amazing so to God and each of you we say
THANK YOU for allowing us to serve with you.

BE PART OF PUERTA

The Danger in Abundance

Heavy rains make the grass grow—along with it the weeds grow even faster. Be diligent to pluck out the weeds before they take over. Or the job of cleaning the weeds can get so overwhelming that you just learn to enjoy the weeds and forget about the beautiful lawn or flowers. The same is true for us when He showers down His blessing. Are you comfortable?

This has been a great month of ministry in Ecuador for us with lots of exciting things happening. God has been on the move in powerful ways with vacation Bible school, evangelism, visits and preparing God’s people to teach His children.

BIBLE SCHOOL

We started the month with VBS with the help of Dewey and Diane Howard from Ooltewah, TN. , Graham and Sharon Nichols from Ecuador as well as Kevin and Esther from Chaquibamba. Without the help of all of these folks and many others that have not been mentioned we could not have done this. We had about 80+ children each day and we learned how Daniel loved God with all of his heart, mind, strength and soul. We had a lot of fun learning, playing and singing. We closed the four day VBS with a worship celebration with our children and their parents, closing this time with prayers for each family. We give thanks to God for all those who helped, as well as those that continue to sustain us in prayer.

EVANGELISM

Many of you know that our son Kevin is studying at the Nazarene Seminary. One of his classes was evangelism and which required a practical application. The professor and entire class chose to come to Chaquibamba. The afternoon of Friday the 23rd they started making visits to homes in different sectors of our community. They invited many folks to the Jesus Film that they would be presented in the evening in the same volleyball court we began ministry in 6 years ago. We had about 100 folks show up to the movie, some new faces and some old ones. We had a few accept Jesus for the first time. Praise God for these Seminary students and their call to share God’s plan.

VISITS

Many of you know that we were in Monterrey, MX before coming to Ecuador. We made many friends in Monterrey and continue to maintain these friendships. We recently received a visit from some of these friends. Elia Rosas, Marco Antonio and Gabriel were here in Ecuador attending a seminar. They contacted us and asked if they could visit us before returning so I picked them up and we had a great time reminiscing and praying for one another. We have been so blessed to have made many friends that we can call our brothers and sisters in Christ all over this world.

PREPARING GOD’S PEOPLE TO TEACH HIS CHILDREN

As I write this Daina is doing something she loves to do. She has the privilege to teach 50+ how to teach God’s word to children. She is teaching to a group of indigenes Quechan Indians. They represent 20 some churches. What a privilege it is to get to be a part of helping these disciples preparing to make disciples. God is so good, and we have the privilege to be a part of His goodness.

THANK YOU

Thank you so much for your support and your prayers. It is such an honor to be partners with you in ministry here in Ecuador. Please continue to hold us and the ministry God has given us in your prayers.
FRUIT4THEKING, Tim and Daina Datwyler

BE PART OF PUERTA

The Danger in Abundance

Heavy rains make the grass grow—along with it the weeds grow even faster. Be diligent to pluck out the weeds before they take over. Or the job of cleaning the weeds can get so overwhelming that you just learn to enjoy the weeds and forget about the beautiful lawn or flowers. The same is true for us when He showers down His blessing. Are you comfortable?

MY GOD IS SO BIG

By Daina
My God is so Big, So strong and so mighty. There is nothing my God cannot do. He is the father of my greatest desire. He is inexhaustibly interesting and He invites me to sit in His presence. How awesome is that? He is also the supreme reconciler because He wants His kids to love each other, just as every parent desires of their children. We regret that we have neglected the desire of God to be intimately connected, even across continents. Forgive us that we focus more on who we see rather than all of you who He has united us with. Our desire is to share with you all that God is doing here in the hearts and lives of His children, then another need

A GIFT

Let me introduce you to Luis, a 5 yr old who is a joy to me. We call him Luchin because his brother who is really his uncle is also named Luis. He came to us by way of his grandmother who is a faithful sister in Christ. His mother gave him to her because her boyfriend and his family could only accept her if she had one child so she chose the younger brother. He has suffered much through this transition with unstable emotions and he comes to tears easily. He is doing much better now thanks to some stability and much love. His grandma has been given another chance to raise a son in the Lord, she has 9 older children, most raised in a loud and violent home without Christ to give them guidance and hope. We come alongside the family as they love Luchin into the larger family of God, please lift them up with us.

PLANTED ON THE ROCK

By: Kevin
I got married!! Esther and I started dating in February of 2011, got engaged in October of 2012 and got married on April 21st of 2013. The wedding took place at my parents’ house/church Puerta de Esperanza. We wanted to cement the idea that we were planting our family on the rock of Jesus Christ so when we took our vows, instead of kneeling on an altar, kneeling on a flagstone that has our initials and a cross engraved on it. We were incredibly blessed by the youth from church who worked incredibly hard as waiters and waitresses at the reception. We are living at my parents’ house for now while I finish seminary. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have faithfully supported my family through your prayers and giving all these years because I would never have met my wonderful wife if it weren’t for you. She will write to you in a future update so you can see for yourself what a gift she is. We could use prayer for wisdom in the next few years of transition as we seek God’s will in serving Him.

Kevin & Esther

COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL

By: Kevin
Puerta de Esperanza opened a Compassion International project here in Chaquibamba, Esther is the Director, Daina is the children/spiritual coordinator, and Tim is the health/food coordinator while I am the education/youth coordinator. The project opened with 54 sponsored children that were transferred from another project that closed last year, in July we will be adding another 35 children ages 3-8. The kids come to the church 2 times a week: Thursdays after school and Saturday mornings. We are planning a youth retreat in early August and VBS for the kids in the same month. We could use prayer for God to provide people to help as tutors and coordinators, and for sponsors for the new kids.

Having fun playing games

GROWING PAINS

By Tim
God is on the move here at The Door. He is keeping us busy with opportunities to expand the ministry here and be a part of His growing Kingdom. Since we have partnered with Compassion International our ministry to small children has grown. As a result of this growth we have seen the need rather Daina has seen the need for some time to rent a small building closer to the main part of our town. This would be used for ministering to the small children so they will not have to walk so far on their own during the
week. Also this would be used to start a library for the community as well as a place for our youth to have Bible study and ESL during the week. We have found a location and worked out a fair price for the rent. But the enemy is in the middle of this and the owner of the building is being pressured by a different religious group to not rent it to us. Please join us in prayer that this stronghold would be torn down and that God’s will would be done . God is doing great things here and around the world but we
need to always be ready to move with Him when He calls us to do so.

Praising God with hands lifted high

“DAYS”

By: Kevin
Over the last couple months all around the world we have been celebrating lots of “days” Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Children’s Day. Here at Puerta de Esperanza we celebrated each one of them and each one of them had their own special surprises. Mother’s Day was a little strange for my dad and I because my mom left for the US the day before. We got to celebrate it with all the moms that come to church here and they were all very blessed. On Children’s Day we had lots of kids and played games and we watched a movie together at the Door of Hope cinema. Father’s Day was a wonderful time, although we only had 4 fathers present we were able to bless them on their day and a week later we had a special dinner made by their families. These celebrations where a big blessing for the families in this community where we serve. Please pray for God to guide us in how we can continue to gain influence in the community, to see more families come to know the transforming love of God in the face of Christ.

BE PART OF PUERTA

The Danger in Abundance

Heavy rains make the grass grow—along with it the weeds grow even faster. Be diligent to pluck out the weeds before they take over. Or the job of cleaning the weeds can get so overwhelming that you just learn to enjoy the weeds and forget about the beautiful lawn or flowers. The same is true for us when He showers down His blessing. Are you comfortable?

Door of Hope is proud to greet you at the start of a New Year when hope is at its highest.

May you and God have an amazing time getting closer and working together so all the world might know HIM. Let us also say thank you for joining God in His work as you partner with us in Ecuador. It is encouraging to know that YOU are ours and WE are yours. It has been a tough year in the world, especially for regions in the USA; please take comfort as we (kids, church, study groups, our family) keep you in our prayers. The following verse has been taught this year and we are living by it and claiming it for 2013.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all of your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

There is much to remember and thank God for the past year so I will just go over the highlights and our favorites of 2012 in list form.

1. began the year with the whole family in FL
2. Kevin is living in Ecuador, in seminary, in ministry and engaged to Esther
3. Ministry kitchen built and blesses weekly
4. Many new faces—we have 70-80 kids on Saturdays, new helpers too
5. Amazing youth ministry (growth in number and commitment to Christ)
6. 12 baptisms
7. Samaritans Purse shoe boxes (Christmas in February)
8. E-team built our playground and ministered to 25 youth
9. Compassion International project opens
10. Mission training conference with Nazarene seminary and other churches
11. Tuesday Bible Study in homes (my favorite)
12. Ministry patio built and in use

I could go on but you get the big picture so now for a couple of the greatest challenges we face; music for Sunday worship, communication with partners, septic tank collapse, LONG hours of heavy work which leaves us exhausted, visa renewals and living with less $

Goals and dreams for 2013

Expand and intensify time with youth and ministry to women
Fit English classes onto our busy schedule
More intentional discipleship/leader/teacher training
Begin new Bible Institute groups (FLET) and train tutors all over Ecuador
Improve frequency of communication with partners and churches
Increase support base up to full salary (USA visits, let us know if you want us to come to your church or other gathering)
Big dream—Children’s library in a rented building in Chaquibamba (the ministry center is too far our of the town and space is limited)

May God in all his wisdom and love grant you the desires of your heart, may He give you his desires to move your heart, and may He move you beyond your heart to touch hearts all over the world. Be blessed to be a blessing.

We thank God for you, Tim and Daina Datwyler (Kevin and Esther too)