Merry Christmas 2025

Here’s our new living Christmas tree! Not as big as the one we left behind in Quito, it’s just 12″ or 30 cm tall. Hopefully it will prosper and grow in our new home and new life.

We hope and pray for a meaningful Christmas celebration for you this year, whatever your current circumstances. Jesus showed us both celebration and sorrow through His earthly life; He is faithful to be our Lord at all times.

Back in Oregon

We returned to Oregon May 30 and are making progress on all the things to do when you not only retire but also leave the mission field and return from a decade in a foreign country. After six months in a small rental, we’ve just bought a lovely house. (Contact us for our new address.)

Temporary Rental

Our New Home

The Journey Continues

Thank you for joining us on our missionary journey. It was wonderful to have people emailing, writing, praying, and donating so we could serve in Ecuador.

As Reach Beyond retirees we can continue to volunteer, both remotely and in person. We have tickets to visit Ecuador in January and February and will volunteer with an Ecuadorian ministry. Scott continues to serve as a member of the board of directors of Reach Beyond.

As volunteers, Reach Beyond will reimburse us for ministry travel and other ministry expenses. As long, that is, as our ministry fund has a positive balance! If God leads you to donate, our donation information is unchanged and you can still donate vía the “Donate” button in the sidebar on the right.

We are Thankful for:

God’s provision of housing and furniture
Our shipment from Ecuador arriving safely
Summer events and time with family
Sharing times with friends and donors
Kayaking – a new adventure!

Join Us in Praying for:

Ecuador, especially about drug-related crime and violence
Voz y Manos and Reach Beyond ministries
God’s leading in our future decisions
Full recovery for Jody’s fractured pelvis (it’s healing well!)

Bread-Baking Lessons in Quito

Kayaking

April 2025 Newsletter

Moving Back to the U.S.

We’ve got a date: May 30, 2025; we are in the midst of finishing almost eleven years in Ecuador. Scott is training others to assume as many of his duties as possible. Jody is working on the logistics of changing our household from Ecuador to the United States.

We’ll have a final home ministry assignment during the summer to say thank you to our financial and prayer partners and we will end our full-time connection with Reach Beyond August 31. We’ll continue as Reach Beyond volunteers; our plan is to return to Ecuador each winter for two or three months to volunteer. Scott will also continue to serve as a board member of both Reach Beyond and Voz y Manos.

Where are we going to live? Eugene, Oregon is the goal, as that’s where almost all of our family live. We don’t know yet if we’ll remodel our (pretty cool) gambrel-roofed barn or if we’ll buy a house. In the short term, we’re open to house-sitting and/or renting a small apartment. The scripture above (Isaiah 42:16) is a wonderful promise that God will lead us along “unfamiliar paths.”

Ecuador Update

Our November newsletter was written during three months of rolling electrical outages. Thankfully that ended December 18 as the rainy season began providing water for the hydroelectric plants. A lack of infrastructure maintenance is still an issue, so the long-term problems have not been resolved.

Staff Retreat

We had a four-day staff retreat with teaching, fellowship, and team building.

Galapagos

We visited the Galapagos Islands in early February, fulfilling a major sight-seeing goal. Other than Jody coming home with COVID which lasted two months, it was a wonderful trip. Here are some photos from t he trip.

Praise God for:

The privilege of a wonderful decade in Ecuador
A four-day staff retreat
Our trip to the Galapagos
All that God is doing through Voz y Manos and Reach Beyond here and around the world
Our financial and prayer partners (some started almost thirteen years ago)

Join us in praying for:

Wise government in Ecuador
Ecuador’s drug-related crime and violence
Repairs and maintenance of Ecuador’s electrical infrastructure
Our transition to the U.S.: for God’s guidance, provision, strength, wisdom, and grace as we finish here and start a new life there
Voz y Manos ministries and missionaries, especially as they adjust to Scott’s leaving

November 2024 Prayer Letter

Drought & Power Outages

Ecuador is in its sixth week of power outages. Up to 14 hours per day, they are sort-of scheduled, meaning the schedule can change without warning! Drought is the main cause; not enough rain has fallen where the hydroelectric dams are.

For us, it’s an inconvenience. A generator at the mission compound provides power for work. We have candles for our dark evenings. But for those who need daytime electricity to support themselves, it is very difficult. Please pray for rain in the right places.

Plans & Hopes

Lord willing, we will move back to the U.S. next spring. August 15 marked ten years in Quito, fulfilling our initial time frame of “three to ten years.” However, our hope is to return to Ecuador for two or three months each winter, as Scott sees multiple projects he can do for Voz y Manos and other ministries here.

If you are a donor to Reach Beyond on our behalf, we will be on payroll at least through July 2025. After that we will be volunteers and able to use funds in our ministry account for ministry expenses (such as travel to and from Ecuador) and to supplement our retirement expenses.

Work Changes

January 1 Scott stepped down as Voz y Manos’ interim executive director as Andrés Stäubli took over. Scott is enjoying having one main hat to wear, although he is still a member of the board of directors for both Voz y Manos and Reach Beyond.

As Voz y Manos’ finance director, he is training others to take over his duties. He also may do some accounting and advising from the U.S.

Jody “retired” from her volunteer position in the Personnel Office the end of September. Between major changes in the office, her declining eyesight, and reaching age 72, she decided it was time.

So what’s she doing now? She’s giving informal classes in bread baking and quilting to friends from the mission and from church. (A photo of a friend and student’s project is below.) She’s also organizing and planning for the move back to the U.S. – what to ship, what to sell, what to give away?

A Major Loss

A recent shock and sadness was the sudden passing of one of our long-time missionaries, Hermann Schirmacher, at age 57. Born in Paraguay and with family all now living in Germany, Hermann served faithfully for over 20 years, most recently as the executive director of The World Radio Missionary Fellowship, the organization we came to serve in Ecuador. For the last several years he commuted every few weeks between Germany and Ecuador. He is missed.

We thank and praise God for:

A milestone ten years of service in Quito
Graciously providing all that we need
Our colleagues who serve and those who are being served by Voz y Manos’ ministries

Please join us and pray for:

Rain in Ecuador
Guidance about our move back to the U.S.
Comfort for Hermann’s wife Irene and family
Improved economic conditions in Ecuador and a reduction in violence and crime

A Good Samaritan

I (Jody) have fallen two or three times a year here in Quito, mostly walking to or from work. As closely as I watch the sidewalk, I still manage to trip over some unnoticed obstacle. Usually I stumble, fall forward, and skin my hands and knees.

But ten days ago, instead of a forward-motion fall, I had a face-plant fall. My nose and my chest hit the ground hard.

I managed to crawl to some nearby steps and huddle there, trying to recover. My chest hurt enough that I found myself sobbing. This is not good, I thought. I was about 15 minutes into the 25-minute walk to work. Should I call Scott to come get me? But I wasn’t sure I could talk clearly. I felt very alone. I just sat for a few minutes, hoping I would stop crying and be able to function again.

People passed without noticing me. Then an angel named Elisabeth stopped to ask if I was o.k. It was hard to talk, but I told her I had fallen hard but would be o.k. Then I sobbed some more (poor lady). She felt my hands and said, “They’re cold.” She asked me where I lived but I told her I was going to work. She waited patiently for a few minutes. Then she flagged down a taxi, got me into it, and rode with me to work.

She told me she was a Christian and the name of her church. I told her the name of ours. She walked me to our compound’s gate and I told her I’d be fine from there. I told her she was an angel and thanked her sincerely.

I went to Scott’s office and cried some more (poor guy). Then he helped me clean the blood off my face and I went to work for a few hours.

I’m slowly recovering from banged-up ribs, and very thankful my injuries aren’t worse. But the most important thing is that I wasn’t alone, despite how I felt. God was with me, and He sent a Good Samaritan to help me.

September 2023 Newsletter

New Executive Director for Voz y Manos

In August the Voz y Manos Board appointed Andrés Stäubli as the executive director elect of Voz y Manos. Andres is Swiss-Argentinian and has served as a missionary in Ecuador for nine years. He will officially assume the directorship January 1, 2024. This four-month transition allows Andrés time to turn over his duties with his current mission and learn from Scott and others how to guide and serve Voz y Manos.

For us, this is a huge answer to prayer. It is wonderful to have the end in sight of Scott being interim executive director. Thank you for your prayers.

**Andrés Stäubli, Executive Director Elect of Voz y Manos**

New Missionaries

In August, Stewart and Anna-Claire Cusick, with their new baby Erin, joined the Shell Community Development team. They volunteered with us this last year. Their resident visas only allowed them six months outside Ecuador, but they returned to Northern Ireland in March, raised their long-term support, had a baby, and made it back to Ecuador with five days to spare. Stewart is a water engineer and Anna-Claire is a doctor.

Travels

Our eight-day Ecuadorian trip this spring took us to the remote town of Chillanes to visit Martha Cramer and Linda Ahrens, two recently retired missionaries with over 40 years of service each. Our second stop was Shell for meetings with our team there. We went on to Papallacta for an overnight Labor Day (May 1) retreat for all Voz y Manos staff.

Our eleven-week Home Ministry Assignment (HMA) took us to Colorado, Oregon, and Washington for Reach Beyond Board meetings and time with supporters and friends (38 singles, couples, or families). A highlight was a family reunion at the Oregon coast to celebrate our 45th wedding anniversary. Thank you for your prayers for our HMA. God provided the housing we needed and the connections we were hoping for with friends and family.

Praise God for:

An executive director to replace Scott
New missionaries
Safe and productive travels
Ten years with Reach Beyond (September 23) and nine years in Ecuador (August 15)
A fun outing to Laguna Cuicocha with friends (photos below)

Ask God for:

A smooth transition of executive director duties from Scott to Andrés
Wisdom for us: how can we best use our remaining time here and when should we leave?
Political stability and an improved economy for Ecuador
God’s grace and healing for our various health issues