With the Deitering family

We have had a busy but productive and fun couple of months. The Deitering family is on furlough at this time and we are enjoying getting to know them even more. They came to NY for a visit in Oct and last week we spent time together at The Master's Mission. Our week at the Mission was very good. We learned a lot of practical things and we got to meet the new candidates that are going through the training this year. Pray that the new candidates year at TMM would be a good one and that God would prompt some to come to Ecuador.

You know how much we enjoy having the international students here every year from the University of WV. Well, on our way back from spending time at TMM, we stopped in Morgantown WV. It was great seeing some of the students we have hosted over the years. We went to Church on Sunday and attended the international students Sunday School class. It's so encouraging to see the growth taking place in the lives of those attending. It was a nice surprise to see Jane there. She is a student that stayed with us this year. She had never been to the church before and she told me she felt that God told her she should go. She was so happy she did because she got to see us. She is not a Christian but I believe God is working in her heart. Please keep her in your prayers. She has a husband and a 20 month old baby in China. She gets to fly home this Christmas to see them.

The children's Sunday School program at FLUMC is going well. We had a harvest party for the community at Camp Findley and it was a lot of fun. A lot of people came and hopefully this can be the first of many years to do this. We are also planning a Christmas party for the community at Camp this year as well. Our prayer is that we would get to know the community more through events like this and as we get to know one another more and more we could help each other and be a part of each others lives. Getting to know the kids is just an open door for us to know the parents and meet the needs in our community.

We have had several opportunities to be the speakers at several Mission Conferences this year. What a great way to be stretched and to grow. God has been faithful in opening doors for us. It's amazing to see the different ways people have come together to help us in this journey. From writing letters on our behalf to using their talents to make and do things to help us. From big things to small things, it all adds up to what God is doing in the "bigger picture". Thank you all for what you are doing for Him! Thank you for your continued prayers and support. We still have kept our goal for being sent out in the spring of 2011. As the time approaches it almost seems impossible that we could get everything ready and have what we need by then but we will keep pressing onward and see what the Lord does.

Some more things to pray about:

We would like to keep our home here in NY because by time we serve our first 4 years and come home on furlough our two daughters will be 18 & 17 and may stay in the states. Please pray that the right people would want to rent from us. We do have people that will oversee that and keep up on maintenance.

Many of you know we have Great Danes. Cain & Leda have been a part of our family before we were called to the mission field. It is our desire to take them with us to Ecuador but we want to do what is best for them and us. Kevin Deitering thinks it could be a good opportunity to have the dogs in Ecuador not only for protection but also because people would be curious and it could help get to know them more easily. And because it would help us, especially the kids to adjust to living there. Please keep this difficult decision in your prayers.

Love & Blessings,

Tracy (writing for) Marshall, Tracy, Devin, Cameron & Kaiden Dixon

A Wonderful Summer

Kaiden with friends at camp.

Last week was Camp Findley's 75th annual Family Bible Camp. This year was our 8th year to attend, except for missing last year while we were at TMM. I have to say I LOVE Family Bible Camp! With the thought of this possibly being our last year to be a part of Family Bible Camp before we head to Ecuador made this year even more special. It is so good to see old friends and make new ones. It's good to see the kids having such a great time. It is so good to learn under so many great teachers for an entire week. Dr. Johnathan Case taught on God's Triune Hospitality and used many examples from the scriptures. I especially loved that he would go through the scriptures he used verse by verse. Dr. Jerry Ward taught the discipleship hour on The Problem of Evil. It was very interesting and thought provoking. Bishop Al Gwinn was our evening preacher. He is such a gifted man that touched all our hearts.

We have continued to visit churches and it continues to be so encouraging. People are genuinely interested and supportive of what God is doing in Ecuador. It makes this journey so much clearer. We will continue to walk in the plans of our hearts as God guides our steps. A couple of weeks ago we spoke at our first Mission's Conference as the missionaries! We have several mission's meetings we have been invited to coming up so please keep us in your prayers. As we have been visiting with churches, doors have been opening for us all around.



A few weeks ago Bandage (our worship band) played on a platform boat out on Findley Lake. I swore I would never do that again, because the first time we set up on that boat was a few years ago for the boat parade on the 4th of July and with all the boat traffic causing waves, I almost lost Precious (my bass :) in the lake! But I was assured by my band mate Wayne that this would not be like last time & I'm so glad I agreed. It was a blast! People were coming all around to hear us play. People were pulling over and getting out of their cars & boats were floating up to listen to us worship our God in the most unusual way.


I am beginning to sing "it's the most wonderful time of the year!" which can only mean one thing, the international students are coming! Next Thursday the bus will arrive with 40+ students from The University of West Virginia that our church family will be hosting for four days of fun. We take them to Niagara Falls on Friday, have a picnic at the Post's on Saturday and they get to attend a lakeside worship service with us at Camp Findley before they head back. Some of these students have just arrived in the states from what ever country they have come from. Most have never been in an American or Christian home. It is such a great opportunity to show them love. Every year that we have had students in our home has always brought blessings to us and I'm sure to those we have opened our home to. Please keep this ministry in your prayers. I think it is such a great opportunity. These people come to the US to study and then go back to their own countries. If we can reach them while they are here, they can go back and become missionaries to their own countries!

Right now our oldest daughter Devin is at Kingdom Bound at Darien Lake. It is a 4 day Christian event that we have attend several times. This year our whole family was not able to go but we were able to send Devin with Teens on Fire. Teens on Fire is our local youth group. The area churches have combined which we all feel is such a great idea. Why have 5 separate youth groups when you can have 1 large one with many great leaders, right?

Last night we had our Sunday School meeting. We are excited about the direction our Sunday School program is going. Many more people have stepped up to become a part of teaching our kids. Please pray for our efforts in this area. Pray that we will be effective teachers to whomever God brings to us, whether it be 2 kids or 50.



Thanks again for your many prayers, support, encouragement & friendship,

Tracy (writing for) Marshall, Tracy, Devin, Cameron & Kaiden Dixon

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

We have been doing a lot of visiting lately and it has been great. It has been amazing to finally meet people who have been praying for us and sending us support in our efforts to get to Ecuador. I have to tell a little story because it has been such an encouragement us. When we were training at The Master’s Mission we received support from a church we had never heard of before. I even wrote to them asking if perhaps someone made a mistake and it was supposed to go to someone else. I did not hear back from them but we continued to receive support. The second Sunday we were back in N.Y. the pastor from that church was visiting our church and the mystery was solved. We decided to visit this church recently. It was like a postcard, a little church way out in the country all by itself, nestled in the rolling hills. We went inside and sat down. It was the smallest church I have ever been in. Our prayer card & newsletter was on a little bulletin board in the sanctuary. There were maybe 15 people there, including us. To know that God has placed us on their hearts and they are being faithful to Him to pray for us and send us financial support is the most humbling thing I have ever experienced. It reminded me of the widow’s offering in Mark 12. They were so happy to see us and finally meet us in person too. It was a great day! We plan to visit more of you soon. We want to meet you and thank you personally from the bottom of our hearts for the blessing you are to us!

Our goal is to be in Ecuador by March of 2011 and things are going at a nice steady pace. I believe we are now at about 28% of our monthly income needed, which is up 10% since our last newsletter! We have applied for our passports so that is another thing to check off our list of things to do. We have finally finished our detailed outfitting list as well and can have that available for anyone interested in seeing it. Just let us know. Maybe I can figure out how to put up a link on our blog.

In April we took a trip back down to The Master’s Mission. It was nice to meet the families and individuals that are going through the training this year and to hear where they are in their future plans. It was also helpful to get some more detailed direction on where we need to be in our planning. We also stopped in Ohio to visit the Craig family who have become our missionary mentors during this time of preparation. The Craigs served in Kenya through TMM for 20+ years. They visited us in NY this spring and helped us with our prayer cards and spoke with our friends at Findley Lake UMC about how they can help in our preparations for Ecuador.

Once again we can not thank you enough for your prayers and support in this journey we are on. It means everything to us!

Love & Blessings!

Tracy (writing for) Marshall, Tracy, Devin, Cameron, & Kaiden Dixon

Spring Update

We have a lot to share with you in this update. For starters the board members of The Master’s Mission met in Jan. and accepted us to serve as missionaries through TMM. We are still hoping to serve in Ecuador. At this time we are in the process of raising support with the goal of being sent to Ecuador by March 2011. We are at about 18% of our monthly income and 5% of our outfitting expense. If you would like a detailed list of our outfitting needs we can send one to you. We are excited by the progress we are already making.

The Clymer Hope Houses Project is complete! Here are some exciting *details: Project began late Oct. finished Feb.17. Approx 47 people helped with the project from 9 different churches and 5 denominations. The goal of Hope Houses is to help the “working poor” obtain a house, help put the house into “move in” condition, connect them with a local church, mentor them in finances, home maintenance and repairs, parenting, marriage, as well as help them meet other physical and spiritual needs to help them be successful in our communities. A convenient payback plan will be put into place for the family that will not be burdensome, but help assure a feeling of ownership and also assure that there will be finances for the next project. (*taken from Charlie Hodges report on the project)

The Findley Lake UMC’s praise bands (one of which I (Tracy) am a part of) put on a concert to benefit Bert and Roberta Anderson, who are not only friends of the Findley Lake UMC but local missionaries stationed in Haiti. The mission guest house which can house up to 40 people was destroyed. The medical clinic/hospital that the Anderson’s direct and live above and the orphanage sustained structural damage and have already been repaired as well as part of the security wall that surrounds the clinic. The plan is to build a new orphanage and turn the existing orphanage into the new mission guest house. Work teams will continue to be sent until the project is complete. It is very encouraging to hear stories from the Andersons of God moving in the hearts of the Haitian people despite the devastation.

Marshall continues to teach the kids, while I assist, on Sunday mornings. Small group on Saturday night continues to be a blessing. I have been meeting with a couple of my friends on Monday afternoons to lead a bible study. It has been a great opportunity for me to continue to learn and grow. Monday evenings our home is filled with friends for dinner. We were using this night as a make up time for the adult Sunday School class but since the lessons have ended we have continued to get together and plan to continue some type of learning.

The kids enjoy their pets. Not only do we have a house full of Great Danes, but we have Lionhead rabbits. Devin spends hours at the sewing machine to make them outfits and Cameron sets up photo shoots. They even had a rabbit wedding, complete with bride, groom and bridesmaids. We now have baby bunnies as a result!

My original plan for our dogs was to train them as therapy dogs. I have been taking care of an elderly stroke patient who also suffers from dementia. One of her struggles is that she had a dog she dearly loved and misses. I have been able to help fill that void by bringing one of my dogs with me when I take care of her. Although not certified, I feel like I finally have my therapy dogs.

Cameron has been attending Bright Lights meetings with a friend and Devin has been working afternoons at a nearby farm feeding calves. Kaiden continues to be a help to Marshall on the many work projects he is involved in.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support! We are truly blessed!

(Tracy writing for) Marshall, Tracy, Devin, Cameron and Kaiden Dixon

  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Last year at this time our family was training at The Master’s Mission. This year we are home in NY awaiting acceptance to serve as missionaries through TMM. Hopefully we will serve with the Dieterings in Ecuador in the near future. Marshall is busy working and the kids and I have been busy with home school. Life seems normal and we are enjoying our time here with friends and family and enjoying being a part of our community again.

If you have been able to read our blog, you may remember reading about Marshall heading up a work team to help a single dad in Ripley with three little girls whose home was destroyed by flooding. Now he and many others have the opportunity to help a new family in Clymer. They are calling the project Hope House and plan to continue to bless families in need. If you would like to learn more about Hope House or would like to help in any way, feel free to contact us.

Marshall & I have been working with the children in our church. I have mostly been helping Marshall in whatever way he needs me, seeing how all of our students at this time are boys. They have really enjoyed having Marshall as their Sunday School teacher.

Every other Saturday evening our home is filled with Christian friends that want to learn more about the Lord. Jeff Rotunda along with Marshall put together a study. Right now we are watching a series of videos from Answers in Genesis about Life, the Flood, Creation, Heaven & Earth & more.

Another thing most of you may know about is that we had a litter of Great Dane puppies the week after we moved back home. I’m happy to say that we have found wonderful homes for them, which is a real blessing. I didn’t think it would be an easy task to find 10 homes that met my standards at such short notice, but God provided. We decided to keep one of the puppies. His name is Breech, for obvious reasons. He is the puppy on the left. Cain (the dad) is pictured on the right. We will not be having more puppies, as Leda was spayed.

We now have a teenager in our house! Devin turned 13 last month. She is such a joy to us. Kaiden will turn 4 on Christmas day & is VERY excited this year for his birthday. Cameron will be 12 in March. She continues to have a lot of the same interests as me, medicine & music. Strange combination!

Please continue to pray for us. Pray for the Hope House project and for future projects. Pray as we minister to the children. Pray for our future, whatever the Lord has for us. Pray for the work in Ecuador.

Most importantly thank you for all you do for us!

Love & Blessings!

(Tracy writing for) Marshall, Tracy, Devin, Cameron & Kaiden Dixon