Hello from Idaho. (Written by Maggy this time.)

The Meads are travelling again. This time it is for the training that David needs before going to Ecuador. We are at the MAF headquarters in Nampa, Idaho.

It was a long trip, but without any major inconveniences. We are all getting used to the new daily routine. David is happy because after having gone awhile being inactive in aviation, that will be all he will hear about and work on for the next 2 months.

We give thanks to God for being here as it means a lot for us. First it is because of God that we are here and he has made it possible for us to serve him in Ecuador. He has provided for us in every sense; materially as well as spiritually, ever since we decided to be obedient and serve in Ecuador.

This month has been very hard for me because of two pieces of very sad news. First, my uncle in Ecuador has passed away and the second is that my nephew has unexpected health issues. But I want to share how our Lord has been faithful and good to me so that he will be glorified through this testimony.

This sickness of my nephew can be corrected with surgery and he can grow up normally. His skull is not growing as fast as his brain, and that could lead to brain damage. The recovery will be very difficult because it is very near his brain, but I know that the Lord will protect him just as he has done up until now. I am sad about my uncle, but God will cure my sadness little by little.

The Mead family is doing very well and is enormously grateful for the support each one of you has been though your prayers.

We will return to Tampa on the 16th of April and we will only be there for 2 months when we will be travelling to Ecuador on June 14th.

Our prayer requests for the next few months are:

• · We need to find an apartment in Quito for a month.
• · That there will be no problems with the shipment of our belongings to Ecuador.
• · For our older children that God will help them with the change that they will go through as they say goodbye to all of their friends in the United States.

We commit everything we do to God,

David, Maggy, Joni Karina, Joshua, Jonathan, Jennifer

Hello from Alaska!

This week I am in Soldotna, Alaska visiting Mission Aviation Repair Center, or MARC. (www.marcalaska.org) Yes, we are still headed to Ecuador in June, but the opportunity arose to accompany a friend I met in North Carolina (Mickey Duyck) to visit the mission in Alaska. Mickey is looking to possibly join them and in talking with him, I realized that MARC is conducting a portion of their operations the same way that Alas de Socorro – Ecuador is planning on doing things in the near future.

While February is a terrible time for a guy who is not fond of the cold to go, the timing was right and I felt God was blessing the opportunity. It is very cold and snowy, but much milder than they are used to. I still have had the opportunity to experience the differences in operations with giving consideration to the weather! I am grateful that I won’t be shoveling much snow in Ecuador!

ADSE plans on expanding their operations to add a maintenance repair station to what they are currently doing. The goal is to work on airplanes owned by others and generate additional income to subsidize the mission flights that are now being conducted. MARC has been doing just that for many years now, and I felt that I could benefit from their experience by paying them a visit and learning all I could from them. After getting the blessing from the leadership in Ecuador, I have travelled up and have been very warmly received by the staff at MARC. They have also kept us very busy as their hangar is full of airplanes needing maintenance, so I am glad to be of use to them as well.

I have been here for about 5 days now and will be returning to Florida on Friday, the 12^th. It is interesting to discover that even having visited southern Peru, I am currently the farthest distance that I have ever travelled from Florida and still, technically in the U.S.!

I have been able to gather a lot of information that will be very useful to take to the Ecuador program when we arrive in June. God has blessed this visit and it will be very nice having the people here at MARC to talk to and relate to as we grow into the new form in Ecuador. One of the very interesting things that I have learned, outside of the nuts and bolts of operating a mission/commercial aviation program, is the impact that aviation has on a community that is so cut off from the outside world.

Alaska was the choice to visit because of its similarities to Ecuador. There is a sparse population totally cut off from cities because of terrain and rivers. Airplanes are the only practical way in and out and people in both countries depend on them. Aviation is very expensive regardless where in the world it is, and the population of both Ecuador and Alaska are economically challenged. Because of that, aviation seems to be very exclusive and difficult to attain. But through various ministries that are incorporating flight instruction into their outreach programs, villages that have been closed to the gospel are now opening up and allowing the Bible teachers into their homes! It is very exciting to see this in action and further drives my desire to use aviation and training directly in our ministry.

We’ll be travelling to Idaho on February 19^th to start the standardization training with MAF for both pilot and mechanic roles. The older kids are looking forward to playing in the snow! They will both have to enroll in new schools in Nampa, so please pray for them as they, once again, have to change schools in the middle of the year. They both have a good attitude, so that makes it easier on us.

The training in Idaho will last until April 15^th, and we will return to Tampa on the 16^th. Praise God that all our expenses for the trip have been taken care of and we have been provided for!

If you didn’t get the news before, the “new” airplane has been released from Customs in Ecuador and is now in Shell. Before it can fly, it still needs an Airworthiness Certificate which is supposed to take about a month. This airplane is special because it is only just a little bit smaller than the Cessna 206s that are being used in Ecuador and can use both Avgas and auto fuel. This is important because of the unreliable source of Avgas in Ecuador. Even just this week I was told that the latest shipment of Avgas was only half of what it is supposed to be. Please pray for God’s provision in that.

We commit everything we do to God,

David, Maggy, Joni Karina, Joshua, Jonathan, Jennifer

News and Prayer Requests from Ecuador

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I would like to begin the letter with the “Good News” though I have prayer requests to share with you. What I would like to highlight in this letter is the project of amending of the Statutes of ADSE, which were sent to the Ministries of Government, Police and Church and were returned early last week to Dr. Miguel Angel Puente, the lawyer in charge of the process, with the letters of correspondence indicating that they have been approved. We give glory to God for this.

About the propeller that we have been pray for awhile; after it having been inspected in the U.S., we have been told that it needs to be replaced with a new one. I hope that you don’t feel that your prayers have been in vain, on the contrary, they have served much to be able to ship it and now we know that this propeller is no longer safe to fly and must be exchanged for the safety of our clients, pilots and aircraft. In addition, we now have another propeller that needs to be sent to the U.S. and we don’t have one to replace on that aircraft and it is grounded.

On the airplane dubbed Alas 10, we have found that the firewall (panel separating the engine from the cockpit) has a crack. This airplane will be grounded until it is repaired. This is a complicated repair and we need the advice of other mechanics. I ask that you pray we will soon be able to repair it. For the moment, we will exchange propellers with the other airplane that is grounded so that we will have one flying and only one on the ground.

I ask that you continue praying for the airplane called “Alas 15”. It still has not been released from Customs and every week we hear the same thing: “This afternoon or tomorrow the papers will be ready”. After being released from Customs, we will need special permission for a pilot to bring it to Shell; we are hoping that it will be a speedy process and we are pleading to God for this.

Today there are many people, especially teachers, outside the hangar waiting to go to the jungle. They are seated or standing wherever they can because the waiting room is full. The bad weather, combined with having only two airplanes flying, are backing up the flights. I ask that you pray that God will give us better days to fly now that the teachers need to return to their schools.

A serious problem that you already know about is that the government has fallen behind in their payments and we are taking measures to be able to collect the invoices, but we need prayers because all human effort is nothing without the help of God and his permission. That is why I also leave this as a request for you.

Brothers and sisters, our ministry depends also on your prayers. You can be part of the ministry of ADSE even though you are not a pilot, mechanic, though you don’t work in the hangar. I leave this verse with you that reminds us that we are co-workers with God, who is the one who makes everything happen. You, together with us, work together in the same way, no one more than the other, but only God.

“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”

1 Corinthians 3:7-9

Sincerely,

David Montero

DIRECTOR

ALAS DE SOCORRO DEL ECUADOR.

January Newsletter

January 5, 2010

Happy New Year!

We trust that you have enjoyed closing out the old year as well as spending time with family and loved ones and are looking forward to new beginnings. We have enjoyed our holiday season very much as most of David’s family was in town visiting. The kids enjoyed some time off from school and we were able to spend much time together as a family for which we are very grateful.

As was mentioned in last month’s letter, David was able to get up to Dunellon, Florida to visit ITEC. It was an unexpected surprise to arrive just as Steve Saint was beginning a tour of the operation. It was an even more unexpected surprise to find out that the people he was giving the tour to was a missionary who worked for awhile in Venezuela and knew David and his family! The tour was fantastic and very eye opening to different forms of overseas work. Steve Saint and crew really have a huge heart for expanding God’s kingdom in a very effective way and are committed to enabling indigenous people to provide for themselves in low and high tech ways. I strongly encourage you to visit his website at www.itecusa.org to find out more about this vision and strategy. It is something that our family is taking closely to heart and plan on relying on in fulfilling the ministry that God has entrusted us.

We started watching the series “Missions Dilemma”, a video series by ITEC and have been very touched. This is something that anyone who is interested in missions on any level would benefit from. Mention it to your missions leader, your Sunday School teacher or whomever might be looking for material to use for group studies. It is an easy 7 part series that are about 30 minute segments designed for small group participation. You can see a trailer on YouTube. Just type in “Missions Dilemma” and it will come up. If you are in the Central Florida area, you would benefit greatly by taking a tour of the ITEC facility for yourself.

One of the bigger considerations we have in our move to Ecuador is the option of a vehicle there. There are some rules governing the importation of vehicles. The vehicle must be a model year of no more than 3 years old at the time of import. For us that means any vehicle we might take with us would have to be a 2007 model year or later. Furthermore, it can not have an engine any bigger than 3.0 liters. Upon doing some research, that limits us to essentially 5 seat vehicles in the $22,000 and up range.

A 5 seat vehicle is pretty impracticle for a family of 6, even though the child seat laws are much different in Ecuador! Additionally, even when we sell our car here, we would have nowhere near enough to purchase a vehicle in that price range, much less pay to ship it down. Shell is a very small town where everything is within about a 15 minute walking distance. Taxis are plentiful and are pretty cheap. A dollar would get us anywhere around town, if needed, and the busses going to Puyo, the large town about 20 min away are frequent and only cost a quarter each way.

Maggy grew up in a small town and no one in her family owned a car and David also is very accustomed to walking and using public transportation in South America. We feel that we can manage very well without the headache of trying to purchase and ship a vehicle for ourselves for the time being. Vehicles in Ecuador are available, although they are much higher in price than the US. We will see what the future holds for us, but for the time being, we will be very content to not have to worry about taking a vehicle with us.

What we are praying about and asking God’s direction in, is the purchase of a small airplane to take with us to do training and ministry in. Let me be sure to make clear that ADSE already has airplanes there to do their flying with. It is not my responsibility to take my own airplane to do the flying that I will be doing. What we are considering is a small, fuel efficient airplane that would be effective in primary flight training for the locals and indigeneous. Remember, ADSE needs qualified Ecuadorian pilots who love and serve God! Those have been difficult to find.

We feel strongly that part of our ministry in Ecuador will be to train and equip the next generation of pilots and mechanics who will continue the work that is being done. A small airplane that is ideal for this type of training can be had for about the same price as a used car and we feel would be a much more effective tool for us than owning a vehicle. There is a lot to think about and do in that department and there simply is not enough room to write about it all here in this letter. David has much more information about this effort and if you would like to know more, please feel free to ask.

Please pray with us that God will supply as he sees fit as we continue to commiting all of our plans to him!

Please visit our blog at http://davidmeadfamily.blogspot.com for more updates.

We commit everything we do to God,

David, Maggy, Joni Karina, Joshua, Jonathan, Jennifer

December News Update

Greetings again from us as we update you on the goings on in our lives and in the ministry God has entrusted to us!

We have so much to be grateful for in this report! Last month we expressed some pressing needs and we have seen God provide again in such a wonderful way.

First, let me report on the banquet that was held to inform others in a more personal way about our journey to Ecuador. It was a great turnout as a little over 100 people attended! Thanks to those who came and those who weren’t able to make it but sent their best wishes and donations to us anyway! God raised up many people who commited to keep us in their prayers and keep in touch with us while we are away. He also challenged many to give generously and enough money was raised on that evening to finance all of our one-time expenses to get us through the rest of our training and to Ecuador! Praise him, he he is so good to us!

We have decided to fly to Idaho for the training in February. It is much less expensive than driving and friends there in Idaho have offered us the use of their vehicle to get around in once we are there. Another huge blessing from God!

In the mean time, God has shown David several ways to become more prepared and equipped to go to Ecuador. David has been doing research in ways to make the transition to the nationally run format less painful and more productive. (Read past letters from our blog to get up to speed on the transistion.) That search has lead him to a group in Alaska (MARC – Mission Aviation Repair Center) that is doing things in a very similar way to what the group in Ecuador is trying to accomplish. That is – open the business to the general public charging normal rates to be able to subsidize the mission operations. The fine folks at MARC have agreed to spend some time with David and give him valuable pointers in making the same thing work in Ecuador.

So David will also be travelling to Alaska the first week of February to spend time with them. Not a pleasant thought for the “Jungle Boy” to be in Alaska at that time of year, but God will be gracious, we are sure!

There are other opportunities that David has to become more informed of operations of a business of this format that he will be taking advantage of locally as well. Visiting ITEC, Steve Saint’s organization to research and provide effective ministry tools to the indigenous people will be one stop as well as several other aviation companies local to the Tampa Bay area.

God has also provided David with somewhat stable work in the hangar working on airplanes at the flight school that he used to teach at. (He has been able to get some work instructing as well, but has been intermittent.) That will also let him see the inner workings of the operations of a for-profit organization and give him continued experience working on airplanes.

The family is doing very well, thanks be to God. The kids are healthy and progressing well in school and their other activities. Karina had a big concert the other evening as part of her Advanced Women’s Chorus group from her school. She is really enjoying music. Josh also has a chimes recital coming up. What a blessing to have two kids who excel in music! The young ones are growing much faster than we would like!

God has blessed us tremendously and we are grateful to him.

Alternative to the Holidays

I want to start out saying that I am not trying to be preachy or anything. I have just had this on my heart and wanted to share my feelings openly.

A couple of years ago, a dear friend of mine invited me to research a few articles he had read on the origins of some of our favorite holidays. Truthfully, it really didn't surprise me to find out that there are some deep and direct idolatrous roots in most of them. I had never been a fan of using bunnies, eggs and chocolate to celebrate Jesus's resurrection. But I did really enjoy the tree, the lights and the presents associated with his birth.

But to be honest with myself, the worst sin the Israelites committed over and over to truly incur God's wrath to its fullest, was the sin of idolatry. I felt very convicted and our family made some changes in what we do in certain times of the year. In doing so, we completely got rid of all our Christmas stuff and ceased to do anything that is traditionally associated with Christmas. This included asking our other family to abstain from giving gifts to our children.

My parents still wanted to do something for the kids and hit on a great idea. They gave my kids a catalog from Samaritans Purse and allowed the kids to select an item of a certain value to be donated on their behalf. The kids loved that even more than presents! And how much further can food in an empty belly go than some toy that will be discarded from boredom or break?

So this year, we will be doing the same thing. I encourage you to think about this for yourselves. Instead of buying pretty lights, buy some chickens for some kids in Africa. Or buy some rice for starving kids in Asia. The list is about endless of something that can be done for ETERNAL value. Remember Jesus's words: "...for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat..." Matthew 25:31-46

We're also going to go a step further this year. All the time we would have spent getting a tree, putting up lights, shopping for presents, etc, we will be spending with a charity like Big Brothers, Big Sisters spending time with kids who just need someone to give them attention. Kids don't need toys. Kids don't need presents. Kids need food, love and attention. And those mostly come pretty cheap.

There are many ways to give these things to those who do not have them. Together, we can make this season last an eternity for others.

Missions Awareness Banquet

On November 6, we held a banquet to inform our friends and family in the area of what God was leading us to do in Ecuador. It was a very lovely evening!

Plans leading up to the event went very smoothly. We could see God's hand at every turn as he provided for all the details. It was my first time organizing an event like that and with God's help, it went off very well. First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace offered the use of their facility which was beautiful. They set up and took down all the tables and chairs, so all we had to do was minor cleanup of the stuff we brought. They have a very nice facility that was very conducive to this type of event.

Friends of ours offered to cater the event for about cost. They are great cooks and did a good job. We had grilled chicken, salad, rice, beans, veggies and tres leches cake for desert. After dinner, we moved into a stage area for the presentation. Mitch York, a great friend of ours and missions supporter, was MC. Brian Behal, MAF recruiter was near us that week and was able to come and set up a display, answer questions about MAF and give a history of what MAF does and what the program in Ecuador is all about.

I spoke about our family, our path to this point and what we will be doing in Ecuador for the foreseeable future. There were so many details that I wanted to share, but it would have gotten very long winded! I kept it as brief and concise as possible with the hopes of getting to spend more time in the coming months discussing things in smaller group settings when possible.

My Aunt Pat, Mom and sister, Marianne helped out tremendously by making the center pieces. they made little dioramas of jungle airstrip scenery with airplanes and different details on them. They were great! All the kids who helped with the serving got to take one home if they wished. They also made these little miniature crates that served as donation boxes.

It was such a great night. We had 103 people in attendance and have received about $6500 in donations! We had put out a list of our estimated expenses to get through our next step in training, our trip to Ecuador and other incidentals like Visas and Passports. This amount slightly more than covers all those expenses! Praise God for his timely and precise provision!

We are so grateful to the support and encouragement that was shown to us that evening. It is a reminder that God indeed has us work together as a body and that it is not possible to do it on our own. It was symbolic of a wedding for us. We stood before witnesses to tell what God was doing in our lives and others took a part in that work. We now feel even more responsible to live our lives and handle ourselves in a manner that would be pleasing not only to God, but to those who are standing with us. We are simply members of a team that God has put together to carry out a facet of the work to further HIS kingdom, for HIS glory and HIS honor.