Happy 21st Birthday Namibia!!!

Today Namibia is celebrating it’s twenty first independence day. Namibia has made great strides since gaining independence. It is politically stable, the economy is growing, there is no war or rumor of war in the country, most of the citizens are relatively happy, and it is an example to other African nations in race relations. We are absolutely blessed to be living in Namibia, and it is evident that God has big plans for the people of this nation. Please take a moment to day and pray for Namibia, for the next 21 years, and for the people of Namibia!

So today I am thankful for:

#27: Namibia, the beautiful country that we call home.

#28: Health. Since the fourteenth of February I have been trying to do at least one cardio activity each day, and I have been watching what I eat. Recently (and by dr’s orders) I have switched to a low GI diet. I have dropped 13 pounds and at least one dress size! I can feel my body getting healthier, my lung capacity is improving, and I hardly ever have asthma attacks now. I can really see a difference in my overall health!! Just post a question if you are interested in what I am eating or in what a low GI diet is.

#29: One of one time with the kids. In the last few weeks some of the older kids at school have taken to coming into David’s office to just hang out. It has been so nice to get to know the kids more in an out of class setting. I think we have lost that as we now are so busy teaching and working on getting the school to run smoothly. We will have some of the girls over for a sleep over this next weekend. Pray for them!!

#30: Sugar-free chocolate mousse. I have found the most delicious sugar free chocolate mousse packets here. Being low GI is not that bad thanks to these little envelopes of deliciousness.

#31: Today I am thankful for David Echols. We have had a rough couple of weeks. We spent an evening with some friends and their two babies. At one point the women left to go and breast feed. In that moment I felt more defective, and heartbroken than I ever have. They then came back into the room and talked for a long time about how great it is to have children, and the new things that their kids were learning, and how their lives are now different. It was a long painful night, but David was there to squeeze my hand and hold me when we got home. IF is a long, lonely and painful journey, but I have the most supportive and amazing man next to me, holding me up when I am ready to fold.

#32: Butterflies! This is a little weird, but in Science class I showed a you tube clip of the metamorphosis of a butterfly. It was amazing and hilarious to watch the kid’s faces and reactions. They were absolutely shocked! I heard whispers of “I don’t believe it! I can’t believe it!” It was a great reminded of the awe that there is in creation. To see the innocence on their faces as they discovered what God had placed on the earth for them was magical.
I think sometimes we all need to take a step back and remember the goodness of God, and we should do it with the attitude of a seven year old discovering a butterfly for the first time!

#33: The students in grade 6 and 7 who have showed interest in becoming Christians. I feel like we have a long journey with them. It is difficult, some of them have already changed their minds. We are trying to make sure the kids who are ready, and ready for the right reasons, and not just because their friends are, or because they think we may give them something. One of the kids actually said “They are going to get sweets and ice cream now because they want to be Christians” We are not sure where the kids come up with some of their ideas.

#34: My mom. Last week I got a text from my dad at 9:30 pm. It read  ” I am at the ER, your mom totaled her car.” I called immediately and he was unable to tell me much, just that they were checking her for a broken neck and pelvis. I was a wreck after that. I was freaking out, and every time I tried to call after that the connection was so bad I only caught parts of words. It was terrifying. I was getting ready to book a flight down there when my mom called me. She said she was being released and that no bones had been broken, but that she was bruised from head to toe, and she would need extensive physical therapy. I ugly cried after wards, when I thought about what could have happened. She was hit by a drunk driver in the passenger side. My mom said if you see the car you would be amazed that anyone walked away from the wreck.
Thank you so much to everyone who prayed with me and to all who sent messages of encouragement while I had no idea what was going on. God is good!!

#35: The sacrifice of Christ. In Colossians chapter one there is an epic passage about Christ, about who He is, about what He did for mankind. Take time today and go read it. You will not be dissapointed! Colossians 1: 15-23

What we prayed for.

Tuesdays nights are set aside for a staff prayer meeting. We meet together and then spend some time praying for the school, for individual students, and for other things that we fell may need prayer. The prayer meeting is an important part of what we are doing here. It gives a places for teachers to talk about the difficulties they are facing, and it is an opportunity to share what God is doing in each of our lives.
I would like to share the prayer requests with you, so that you may know specific things to pray for.

First we prayed for Japan, specifically for the church to rise up and show the people of Japan that Christians are generous and compassionate people. We prayed for warmer weather, as so many people are stuck without heat and water in really cold temperatures.

Second we prayed for Selma’s daughter. Selma is a lady who lives in the church building that the school is run out of. Her 15 year old daughter and the daughter’s friend were abducted two weeks ago. The friend was found in a trash can, raped, naked, unconscious, and with a massive head injury. She is in the hospital now, but can not remember anything and is therefore unable to help with the whereabouts of Selma’s daughter.
***I was just told that her daughter was found and it at home safe! I may pass on more details if we hear anything else.

Third we prayed for Mr. Gumbo’s work visa. His current visa expires on Saturday and we have yet to hear from the Ministry of Home Affairs about the renewal application. It would be a very difficult situation if he had to leave.

Fourth we prayed for the land that the school is trying to purchase. The school has been given the funds to build a new building, but is still in need of a piece of property.

Fifth we prayed for the Miller family, they are long time supporters of the school and they sponsor two of the kids in our school. The Millers are a hard-working and friendly family. Yesterday Mrs. Miller helped out in my second grade Art class, and Mr. Miller helped out in David’s discipleship class. We prayed for their safety as they will be traveling to the Northern part of Namibia this week.

Lastly we prayed for a boy who lives in Wisconsin. His name is Joshua, he is a young boy who has no immune system. His birthday is today and he asked that instead of gifts people donate money towards a child at Community Hope School. Pray for his healing!

Church!

We found a church here we really like. It is called All Nations Christian Church, it is a local church run by a German man and his South African wife. The church is attended by people from all over the world. The thing we love about this church is how friendly the congregation is. We tried three other churches before finding this one, and it seems like this is the one we will be staying with. After the service a lady chased us down and invited us to their Bible study group. We are looking forward to getting to know more people in the community, and to making some friends out side of school.

God is good!

Critter of the week…

A year ago today…

…we were in Colorado Springs being commissioned for the work here in Namibia. I did a post of it back then you can see it here.
It has been a year, a whole year!! So much has happened in the last year. David did a great little e-magazine to outline what we did, he even made a time line. Check that out HERE.

Looking back on that night, with a year passed now, I am even more overwhelmed by the love and support that we have received in the last year. Piked Peak Christian Church has been a pillar for us. In just a few weeks the leader of our missions team will come out to check up on us, the church handles our finances, and just today we received an encouraging email from there.

I guess what I am trying to say is thank you to all the people who are making it possible for us to be here, thank you to all the people who pray for us everyday, thank you to all of you that care so much about us. We could not be here doing any of this without the support system that we have.

Thank you.

A thousand gifts!!

I have come to look forward to Mondays, it has become a day to take time and think of what God has done. We got back from the coast last night. The weekend was a lot of fun. On Friday David and Adam both were sick, so we decided to stay one more night hoping that they would get better. On Saturday they felt better, so we made our own sand boards and headed out to Dune 7.
The climb up the sand dune was exhausting, but the ride down was exhilarating. I screamed like a little girl. We barbecued the biggest steak I have ever seen in my life, we swam in the sea, and I got up early each morning for a jog next to the beach.
On Friday morning I was listening to “It is well with my soul” while sitting on the beach watching the waves roll. It was a peaceful morning. I could feel the arms of our Father wrap around me. I think I needed that, for what was to come. Today I had a dr’s appointment, to further investigate the cause of our infertility. The dr. is a great man and is really optimistic. It was a difficult appointment though. Please keep us in your prayers.
Tomorrow we go back to school, back to the kids. God is good, and He is moving in Namibia!

Today I am thankful for:

#21: Long jogs on the beach!
#22: Humongous steaks,
#23: Modern medicine,
#24: The bead shop. There is a tiny little bead shop in Swakopmund, it sells the most beautiful and interesting beads. We spent some hours there picking out beads, and making necklaces, bracelets and earrings. It was pretty cool!
#25: Marye. She is a God-send to me. I can not express in words what her support and friendship means to me. Today I was in tears thinking about how God knew exactly who and what I would need!
#26: The people from back home in MO, especially those we met while going to school at CCCB. This morning I received a very encouraging email from someone at CCCB. Like I said, God is good and He know what we need and when we need it 🙂

Grace flows down.

It is the long weekend.

Finally the long weekend is here. We are off to Swakopmund with the Wright’s and with Marye. This is a long awaited weekend of relaxation and rejuvenation. The weather at the coast is perfect right now! We are staying at a Finnish missionary house, which also happens to be right on the beach! This break is coming at the exact right time, it has been a crazy busy and exhausting few weeks.
We plan on having devotions on the beach, and on spending time quietly seeking God.

We hope you have a fantastic weekend!!

Love,
The Echols

Wordless Wednesday.

So many gifts.

One of my favorite scenes in Lord of the Rings is when the sun shines on the fallen head of a statue of the King. For a moment the loss and pain of Sam and Frodo are lifted as they watch the King be crowned again.
Sitting here thinking about the gifts that God has given me this week makes me feel like that. Taking a moment to think about our Heavenly Father, is like being warmed by the summer sun on a cold day. We have had an exhausting and challenging week. Posting on here about the infertility that we are struggling with is one of the biggest steps I have taken in a long time. When I put that post up my heart was pounding, and my palms were sweaty. I was scared, but I also felt liberated. Like this darkness that has been shadowing my soul can no longer stick me in a corner and intimidate me by myself. Like one of my friends said, this way I can have more people praying for us.
Anyway, as a reminder Monday is for listing gifts that God has given this week so here goes:

#15 A new church to attend, we think that we may finally have found a place that feels right.
#16 A fantastic public pool, and it costs less than a dollar!!
#17 The long weekend! We are going to Swakopmund with the Wrights and Marye. I cannot even express how much I am looking forward to this long weekend. We plan on going sand boarding, braaing, I plan on jogging on the beach (Hasselhof style), and there will be a boat load of relaxing. We found a missionary guest house that has a pretty good deal!
#18 Birthday cake!
#19 The Gym. One of our closest friends, and a dear supporter, has decided to pay for us to have gym memberships for a while year. How cool is that?
#20 This one may sound weird, but today I am thankful for Abraham and Sarah. I was reading about the long road that they were on before God blessed them with a child. It gave me hope, and reminded me that God always has a plan.

If you are reading this, and you have a blog, join the thanksgiving and list some things that God has given you this week!