When does a boy become a man?

He becomes a man when he needs to.

When Ann introduced you to Jonathan on Saturday she called him a child. I call him a man.

Even though Jonathan is just 15 years old, he is a man. He has to be.

Jonathan’s mother abandoned the family when he was 4. And his father walked out of Jonathan’s daily life not long after.

Jonathan lived in the jungle with his grandparents when his father moved to the city to find work. But last year when death took his grandparents, Jonathan’s father didn’t return. He stayed in the city – with his favorite son – and left Jonathan alone to care for himself.

Living in the jungle is isolating, which is why most people in Jonathan’s community are quiet and reserved. However, Jonathan is quiet for another reason as well; he’s hurting deeply.

And this is why I say he is a man. Jonathan refuses to succumb to the temptation of silence and isolation.

When we visited him on Friday, he allowed us into his home and shared his story with us. He embraced vulnerability, trusted us, and rose above the lies poverty is trying to convince him are real.

In the midst of poverty, from a life of loneliness, Jonathan demonstrates a rare nobility. He stands tall.

Although his life is incredibly difficult, Jonathan is maturing personally, spiritually and morally in the Body of Christ.

When a boy needs comfort he turns to his mother, or he turns to things in this world. When a man needs comfort, he turns to the Lord.

Jonathan told us that sometimes when he’s lonely he rests in his hammock and sings to God.

Jonathan isn’t a man because of his wisdom and behavior in desperate circumstances, although those are characteristics of manhood. He’s a man because he knows that God’s grace is sufficient for him, that God’s power is made perfect in human weakness.

When does a boy become a man?

He becomes a man when he needs to, regardless of age. For some, manhood comes at 15. For others, it may come at 50. And for a few, it may never come at all.

Being an adult male and being a man are not the same thing. A boy becomes a man when he understands and consistently demonstrates through humble surrender to God that the Lord’s strength abounds in human frailty.

From what I saw in Jonathan, I think I can learn a thing or two about being a man.

Sponsor a child in Ecuador.

Sponsor a child in Jonathan’s child development center (EC-273) or a center near him.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

From Emanuel Student Center (EC-273) in Ecuador.

We find Jonathan in the jungle, off the banks of the Amazon. He’s fifteen.

He is scared. He shakes like a thin leaf in wind.

“My mother, she runs out on us when I was four.” He tells the translator this.

His voice’s a whisper, not even a ripple.

“I do not know where she lives.” I don’t need translation to know his fear, hear how his voice quakes.

“I have seen my mother only once in my life again.”

Jonathan keeps twisting his own hands, a wringing out of pain.

“My father, he leaves the city when my mother runs out. He brings us back to the jungle, so my grandparents can help us live.” A skinny hen clucks behind him.

“But there is no work for him here and he goes up the river to work at a village.” Jonathan glances out towards the Amazon.

“So, his grandparents are still here?” I look towards the translator —

The translator repeats the question in Spanish.

“No.” Jonathan shakes his head. “No grandparents anymore.”

I am trying to understand. Make sense of this.

“So you are here alone?” I glance up at this hut propped into sky. At all this jungle.

“My father, he takes my brother with him when he goes.”

I nod slow.

And why not Jonathan?

“My brother is my Father’s favorite.”

“My father tells me to stay here. My father leaves me alone here.”

Something flashes – and I understand. And I don’t at all.

Someone named him Jonathan — but no one loves Jonathan like a brother.

No one loves him like their own soul.

Jonathan is a boy abandoned in the jungle. And only for a moment —

I am looking into the whites of his eyes.

How do you turn away?

What do you say to a son right between the ages of your two oldest sons, a son with no courage left, both halves of his heart leaving him here at the edge of the Amazon river – the river streaming on without him?

How do you abandon a child to poverty when you’ve looked right into the begging whites of his eyes?

Read the entire post by Ann Voskamp.

Visit compassionbloggers.com on a daily basis to experience the highlights of the Ecuador blog trip through the words, pictures and videos of the team.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

What does poverty mean? It all depends.

What does poverty mean to a child orphaned by cancer and abandoned by his father? It means he has to learn how to dream again.

What does poverty mean to the great aunt taking care of him, and his six year old sister? It means fear. Fear that someone may take the children away from her.

What does poverty mean to a mother who lost her two-year old child to pneumonia while waiting at the hospital for treatment? It means the Body of Christ is a refuge.

What does poverty mean to a man once persecuted because of his faith? It means he becomes a pastor and serves His Savior for 28 years and counting.

What does poverty mean to a boy who learns about Jesus Christ on a regular basis? It means self-respect, self-esteem and the ability to love.

What does poverty mean to you? I don’t know exactly.

But I do know it’s an opportunity to provide an opportunity. And it means possible discomfort and sacrifice.

It definitely means joy too.

It means hope for one who may have given up hope.

It means a future.

What does poverty mean to a child without a sponsor? It means a sponsor is needed.

To the masses of poor, poverty means dependence, marginalization, scarcity, incapacity and restrictions on rights and freedoms.

Poverty is defined by the World Bank as hunger, lack of shelter, being sick and not being able to see a doctor. It’s not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty means not having a job, fear for the future and living one day at a time. Poverty is powerlessness.

But the most important question we need to ask ourselves and each other is,

What does poverty mean to God?

Photos by Keely Marie Scott and Patricia Jones from the Compassion Bloggers trip to Ecuador.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

From Vida Abundante Student Center (EC-431) in Ecuador.

“Is that kind of persecution still common in Ecuador?” I asked Pablo, one of our translators, over the sound of rattling windows as we bumped down broken roads.

“Among the indigenous people it is, yes.” And I didn’t expect such barbarism still lingered. Not here. In a democracy? In my hemisphere? In a developing nation?

I leaned across the aisle and turned an ear.

“Two years ago my friend, George,” he began. “George was teaching the bible and they came and poured gasoline on him. He kept preaching. They told him to stop or they would light a match. He kept preaching. They lit a match and threw it on him. Nothing happened. He kept preaching.”

Pablo was grinning. Becoming more and more animated with each sentence.

“They kept lighting matches and throwing them on him. Nothing happened. He kept preaching! And many know Jesus after that.”

Read the entire post by Shaun Groves

Visit compassionbloggers.com on a daily basis to experience the highlights of the Ecuador blog trip through the words, pictures and videos of the team.

And follow the team on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss a single thing.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

What is poverty?

Poverty is a termite eating away at a child’s heart, mind and self-esteem. And poverty is a liar.

Poverty is overwhelming, frightening and debilitating, but not invincible.

Poverty is a monster. Poverty is a cancer. Poverty is a thief.

Poverty is a prison cell with the key in sight, but just out of reach. Poverty is a lack of opportunity.

Poverty is a plague, chain and a cockroach. It’s also the most ridiculous thing in the world.

Where is poverty?

It isn’t in the future for our children.

All photos by Keely Marie Scott from the Compassion Bloggers trip to Ecuador.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

From Carita Feliz (Happy Face) Child Development Center (EC-478) in Ecuador.

At one point during our visit we walked to the back of the home, where the family owns a small plot of land that’s adjacent their grandfather’s land. The soil was rich, the land was tilled – but the family hadn’t finished planting all of their seeds.

A staff member from the Child Development Center asked us if we’d like to help, so Kelly, Patricia and I each grabbed a handful of corn. We’d turn over a section of soil, drop in four pieces of corn, then walk another foot and repeat the process. We did this over and over for about half an hour, moving from row to row, visiting with Rosa Maria and her children as we planted.

And on the third or fourth row, I looked down at what we were doing, and I thought, This is it. THIS IS IT.

Barring something totally unexpected, I’ll never witness the harvest of those seeds.

But.

I’m no less invested in the outcome just because I may not see it in person.

Read the entire post at BooMama.net.

Visit compassionbloggers.com on a daily basis to experience the highlights of the Ecuador blog trip through the words, pictures and videos of the team.

And follow the team on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss a single thing.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Our team of Compassion Bloggers will be in Ecuador later this week (Nov. 8-12, 2011).

During the week you will get a glimpse of what it is like to live in this beautiful country. Whether or not you sponsor a child in Ecuador, you can follow this journey through the eyes of:

• Amanda
• Ann
• Keely
• Kelly
• Patricia
• Shaun
• Melanie
• Sophie

As we share about this trip, we welcome any questions you may have. So be sure to check in often to read firsthand what God is doing to eradicate poverty in Ecuador.

Do you tweet? Follow the team on Twitter.

Don’t have a Twitter account? Not a worry – you can always follow the latest news about this trip here or at compassionbloggers.com.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

We began our ministry in Ecuador in 1974, with the Child Sponsorship Program. In 2002, we started the Leadership Development Program and in 2006, the Child Survival Program.

Country Director

Fernando Puga joined our ministry in Ecuador as Country Director in 2001. Before this, Fernando was a civil engineer and had his own consulting firm.

And during the 1990s, prior to having his own firm, Fernando was Executive Director at the World Bank, working to reform elementary education curriculum and promote the concept of school networks in poor areas of Ecuador.

In 1999, he was named Vice Minister of the Interior of Ecuador.

Fernando holds a Master of Structural Engineering degree from Escuela Politécnica del Ecuador University in Quito.

Implementing Church Partners

Implementing Church Partners are local churches in Ecuador with whom we work to deliver child development programs and ministry in the field.

• Spiritual Climate
  Catholicism is the main religion in Ecuador, comprising over 80 percent of the population, while Protestants comprise just over 10 percent of the population.

  However, Catholicism is diminishing and Protestant evangelical denominations are growing.

  The indigenous people practice unique religions, often combining pre-Hispanic traditions with the Catholic faith. Throughout the country, people are free to practice whatever religion they choose with no fear of persecution.



• Unique Challenges
  One challenge we face in Ecuador is the high number of broken families. Many mothers are head of their home, and many fathers have multiple homes and families. This results in even more extreme poverty as the fathers cannot provide for multiple households.

  Poverty often leads to abuse, and many women are victims of abuse from the men in their lives. Many children in Ecuador are being raised in this environment, which interferes with healthy development particularly with their sense of confidence and self-esteem.

  Other challenges in Ecuador are a the lack of job opportunities, low quality of education, lack of access to adequate health care, an increase in the number of child workers, and child abuse in homes and other environments.

• Typical Contributions
  The Implementing Church Partners provide personnel, logistical support, professional representation, local management and their relationships with other organizations.
• Partner Development Activities
  We have a partner development program focused on teaching skills, managerial skills, project management, follow-up and monitoring. We also provide training on family topics.

  Additionally, we give support through occasional radio programs, monthly newsletters and yearly meetings with pastors and church leaders.

Child Survival Program

• Caregiver Literacy
  We offer quarterly literacy classes that cover basic literacy skills, such as identification, reading and writing of the alphabet, simple words and numbers, as well as activities to develop skills for day-to-day literacy, such as reading prescriptions, instructions, food labels, etc.
• Income-Generating Skills
  We offer monthly workshops that teach different skills depending on the mothers’ needs and interests.

  The most common workshops are beauty (haircuts, manicures and pedicures), knitting, ornament making, and making hygiene products such as shampoo, chlorine and disinfecting liquid.



• Health Care
  We encourage mothers to utilize the free health services offered at public hospitals and government health centers. Some Child Survival Program centers have agreements with other health care institutions to receive free or discounted medical checkups and medicines.

  If there are any children or mothers who cannot access adequate medical care at the public hospitals due to the hospitals’ lack of equipment or supplies, we provide additional ministry funds for them to go to a private hospital or doctor’s office.

• Nutritional Support
  Every month, each Child Survival Program center provides baskets of food for seven mothers and their children. The criteria for receiving these baskets are mothers who have just given birth, mothers and children who do not have adequate nutrition, and mothers and children whose families are in extremely hard circumstances.

  The food products included in each basket are specific to meet the needs of the individual families, and the budget for each basket of food is $20 (USD).

• Involvement of Fathers
  We have parent meetings, contests and sports competitions to encourage the fathers to become involved in the Child Survival Program.

  During home visits, program implementers make an effort to talk to the fathers about the importance of their involvement in their child’s development. However, many fathers do not want to attend program activities because most of the attendees are women.



• Transitioning Out of the Child Survival Program
  Children who are preparing to transition to the Child Sponsorship Program are taken once a week by their mother or caregiver to the 3-to-5-year-old Child Sponsorship Program classes. The objective of this is for the Child Survival Program children to play with the older kids and become familiar with their common activities.

  Also, some centers have a training plan for the mothers whose children will be transitioning to the Child Sponsorship Program. Once a month, they are asked to join the Child Sponsorship Program activities that are appropriate for their children or to attend a parent activity such as a lecture.

• Areas of Expansion for the Child Survival Program
  We plan to open additional programs in provinces in the coastal region and in the highlands because these provinces have extreme poverty and high vulnerability.

Child Sponsorship Program

Your sponsorship of a child in Ecuador provides a variety of benefits.

The children attend the child development centers after school.

• Meeting Times
  • 3 to 5 year olds: 4 hours a day, 3 days a week
  • 6 to 8 year olds: 4 hours a day, 3 days a week
  • 9 to 11 year olds: 4 hours a day, 3 days a week
  • 12 to 14 year olds: 4 hours a day, 3 days a week
  • 15 to 18 year olds: 4 hours a day, 3 days a week

  

• Nutritional Support
  Each child receives lunch every day they are at the center. A typical lunch consists of soup containing carbohydrates or vegetables and meat and a main dish containing carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables.

  Some child development centers offer snacks to the children before they go home as well, and it is very common to give additional food to children under age 5.



• Vaccinations
  The Ecuadorian government provides the necessary vaccines free of charge.
• Specialty Curriculum
  We use a certified curriculum for adolescents called “More Than Conquerors,” which was developed by our staff. We are, however, still working on the final portion of this curriculum, specifically the vocational training portion.
• Extracurricular Activities or Community Service
  The government in Ecuador is currently focusing on extracurricular activities for children in schools, so the Implementing Church Partners are coming alongside the already existing programs and offering new extracurricular alternatives depending on the local need and resources.

  Generally, the Implementing Church Partners offer soccer, art, music, dance and liturgy. A few Implementing Church Partners organize trips and camps.



• Vocational Activities
  We want adolescents to invest their time in school and to acquire skills so that they will have increased opportunities for earning an income in the future.

  Our adolescent program in Ecuador includes three to four hours of class per week. This program offers classes about nutrition, health care, educational reinforcement, access to libraries and vocational training. Adolescents also attend camps and go to youth group meetings on Saturdays.



• Parent Involvement
  Implementing Church Partners offer parenting classes once or twice a month. We feel that parent involvement is critical to the children’s success, so we have created an entire program that is aimed at strengthening parents.

  We encourage pastors to take charge of the families, training parents and involving them in different spiritual and academic activities.

• Areas of Expansion for the Child Sponsorship Program
  When considering areas of expansion we take into the consideration the following factors: the presence of other sponsorship organizations competing for territory, the quality of existing services, and the level of poverty.

  Given these three factors, we would like to expand into Esmeraldas, Manabi, Guayas, Bolivar, Napo, Pastaza and Zamora Chinchipe. These areas are in three zones: the jungle, the highlands (which are over 3,000 meters above sea level and where the poorest zones in the country are located), and the river basins along the coastal regions where there are frequent floods and extreme poverty.

Leadership Development Program

• Universities Attended
  The students attend government, private and Christian universities.
• Location of Universities
  The universities are spread all throughout the country.
• Working Students
  Some students work while they attend university, specifically those from the zone of Manabi because the university fees in that area are higher.
• Service Opportunities
  The students volunteer at churches and child development centers; they also perform community service at schools, parks, orphanages, retirement homes, jails and hospitals.
• Leadership Development Program Meetings
  The larger Leadership Development Program group meets three times a year to receive leadership training.

  In addition, students meet in smaller groups to do community work on a monthly basis.



• Specialty Curriculum Topics or Resources
  The ministry in Ecuador cover topics like entrepreneurship, the importance of saving, cost-benefit analysis, and decision making as it relates to the economy.

  In the area of physical development and health, we cover conditions and tendencies of the Ecuadorian family as well as the differences between Andean ancestral medicine and Western medicine.



• Mentors
  The students have one month to find a mentor, and if they need assistance, the Leadership Development Program Specialist will help them.
• Career Placement Assistance
  The Field Office administers psychological and vocational tests to assist students in choosing their specific career field.

Complementary Interventions

Our core Child Sponsorship Program, while comprehensive, does not address all obstacles to a child’s healthy development. The Complementary Interventions program was created to work with our holistic child development model to provide additional services, such as our AIDS Initiative, Bibles for all children, disaster relief and clean water.

Generally, Complementary Interventions are addressed in three ways: urgent interventions in cases of emergency or disaster, planned interventions based on needs assessed by our staff in Ecuador, and planned interventions based on needs assessed by the Implementing Church Partners.

The most frequent interventions have been related to water purification, disaster relief, entrepreneurial ventures and infrastructure improvement.

VIDEO EXTRA

Our staff and church partners in Ecuador are dedicated to serving families in their community. This video — created by our Ecuador country staff — illustrates a spirit of service embodied by the young men and women they serve.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

I met Bill in November and we started dating almost right away. I was 38 and Bill was just a few years older.

One day the next April, he was getting ready for work. Something just felt off to him physically, and he dialed 911. He had an aortic aneurysm.

After surgery, he lingered a few days, hooked up to machines and heavily sedated because he instinctively fought the machines and tubes and because the pain was excruciating. I talked to him, but he was never aware enough to respond.

Then just like that, in his early 40s, he was gone.

It’s been a few years since Bill’s death, and I am still shocked that someone so young could be gone so quickly. But it happens. I am now very aware of this fact.

A number of years ago, I took Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace class through my local church. Being single, I had never thought much about additional life insurance. But the class talked about the possibility of giving to the church through life insurance.

As a sponsor of two girls, Kayirangwa in Rwanda and Litzy in Ecuador, that class made me think:

What happens to sponsored children when the sponsor passes? Do they go back on the waiting list?

Kayirangwa will be 13 in a few months. My perception is that it is harder to find sponsors for older children.

Group of children in Rwanda

When my employer had a sign up for extra life insurance I learned that for $9 a pay period, I qualified for a $150,000 policy.

Most people estimate the amount of life insurance they need based on their family situation. Will their spouse and children be taken care of? I don’t currently have those concerns. But what about two children I love as my own. Could having this policy provide for them?

I checked out Compassion’s website and learned that, yes, planned future giving is a possibility.

No, the money won’t go directly to my girls, but it can pay up their sponsorships until they leave the program and who knows what other countless good that money might do with very little extra cost to me each month.

I know I am in a unique situation without anyone else to think about once I am gone. Spouses and children do need to be taken care of. But can you set aside a portion for that child halfway around the world that you have come to love?

For now, I am healthy, and while I don’t want to dwell on the end, I like knowing that I have made Compassion International one of my beneficiaries.

My children often call me their Godmother. I suppose in that way, God has granted me children. And I love the idea that I am able to plan for their future in the same way so many of you plan for your biological children.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Amy Brooke has been a sponsor since 2007 – sponsoring a child in Rwanda and one in Ecuador. In addition, she corresponds with a boy in the Dominican Republic. She has a personal blog at www.amylbrooke.blogspot.com

If you’re interested in writing a guest blog post, we are happy to consider publishing it. Read our guest blog post guidelines.

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates

Karen is a 13-year-old girl who has been forced to mature quickly. Her parents left her when she was 2 years old and her two sisters, Katherine and Micaela, were 3 years old and 8 months old, respectively.

The girls’ parents were young, lacked experience and had serious problems as a couple, so they decided to get a separation. Their mother, who wasn’t even 18, chose to go back to Colombia, the country where she was born.

She left her three little girls under the care of Miriam, her kind sister-in-law who, little by little, became a mother figure to Karen and her sisters.

There’s no doubt that Karen’s life is full of the love of her devoted Aunt Miriam, who Karen calls “mom.” But it’s also undeniable that she’s lacked real family love.

Karen’s parents weren’t there to enjoy their little girl’s growth and to watch their precious daughter play.

However, when Aunt Miriam thought she was surrounded by nothing but tragedy, she found a light of hope.

Through her neighbors, she heard about a local Compassion-assisted child development center – where the main objective has always been to serve boys and girls from Guasmo Sur, a poor neighborhood in Guayaquil City on the Ecuadorian coastal region.

Miriam registered Karen at the Damasco Student Center when Karen was 5. It was the beginning of an unforgettable and incredible experience.

Karen made new friends, interacted with others and lived new adventures of games, surprises, trips and a lot more.

“I always loved the development center. Here I play with my friends, have fun, learn new things and have a really cool time.”

And that’s not all! The Damasco Student Center has given Karen the opportunity to make a good friend thousands of miles away. Her Compassion sponsor, Kyoung, is a Korean lady.

“Kyoung has been a great blessing to my life. I love to read her letters at home.”

Every letter from Kyoung is a valuable treasure to Karen, and each letter has a message of hope, encouragement and love. With sweetness and gratitude, Karen remembers something she shared with her sponsor:

“My daddy was in jail a while ago, maybe about a year. I told my sponsor and said that I suffered a lot for that reason.”

Kyoung replied,

“Trust in the Lord because He’s going to make things work and everything will be all right.”

Even Miriam, Karen’s aunt, remembers,

“My brother passed away. He was Karen’s favorite uncle so she was in a lot of pain, but her sponsor comforted her and gave her the courage she needed. She told her life goes on and cheered her up through the distance.”

But maybe the most crucial intervention of Kyoung in Karen’s life has taken place in the spiritual area. Karen honestly admitted,

“For many years I only attended church because the tutors at the child development center asked us to; therefore, I felt obliged to [go]. I shared this with my sponsor.”

What did Karen’s sponsor do? She prayed for her! Kyoung prayed for her sponsored girl to start going to church because she wanted to go; to feel it within her heart.

Until she was 11, Karen attended Sunday school only because she had to. Then she received the letter from her sponsor that read,

“I’ve been praying for you to go to church and to not turn your back on God.”

Those words made little Karen shudder and opened a door for a miracle. What had been an obligation and a tedious commitment suddenly turned into a strong desire to go to church and enjoy the presence of the Lord and the company of her friends, brothers and sisters in Christ. Karen remembers,

“With tears in my eyes, I ran to my mom and showed her my sponsor’s letter. I promised to faithfully attend the youth group services every Saturday, and I still keep my promise.”

Karen’s sponsor’s faithful and persevering prayer commitment brought about a dramatic turn in Karen’s life. For about three years Karen has shown genuine commitment, loyalty and joy for everything related to the Lord. She loves to praise Him, finds His Word delightful and enjoys every single thing she learns at church.

“The other teenagers and I just love the worship times directed by Brother Roberto. He motivates us to feel God’s presence and praise Him. Every time we pray, we feel like He’s actually listening.”

When she was 12, Karen decided to accept Jesus as her Savior.

“It happened during a wonderful worship time at a special service for the youth group. I accepted Jesus as my Savior. Nobody forced me; I walked in front of the congregation because I wanted to.”

Miriam, Karen’s aunt, doesn’t go to church on a regular basis because she works very hard as a maid to provide for her three nieces.  But she’s aware of the importance of God’s preeminence in the life of every human being. With full conviction she affirms,

“My family has been richly blessed since Karen joined the child development center. She learns about the Word of God there. I’m so happy that Karen goes to church instead of being anywhere else wandering around.”

It’s the era of telecommunications and cybertechnology, but traditional correspondence still has relevance – even when it takes more time to reach its final destination.

It’s a fact that “old-fashioned” letters have the power to give encouragement, hope and love. Kyoung has exchanged simple conversations with Karen about their countries’ traditions and their daily activities, but beyond all that, they have had a positive influence over each other’s lives.

There’s no doubt that Karen has, in a way, experienced the love of a mother when she prays and God starts working. And Kyoung has had the chance to bless a little girl as though Karen were her own child – her “little angel,” as she calls her in her letters.

Kyoung represents a true source of hope, encouragement and love to Karen. Their friendship is a beautiful example of how God works through caring Christians to change the world … one child at a time!

My Account l Sponsor a Child l Help Babies and Moms l Crisis Updates