We’re Back!

Prayer Requests – April 2019

It is good to be back! Here’s how you can pray…

Please pray for:

• Praise God for providing a house that was everything we were looking for (the living room is even Broncos orange!).
• The Echols family as we continue to adjust.  Especially the boys as they miss their grandparents and other loved ones.
• Young & Pregnant, running now on Monday and Thursday afternoons.
• Pray for guidance as we seek new direction for Hope Cafe.
• Pray for the two existing Thrive communities and for opportunity to start more.
• Preparation for the God Touching the Nation outreach in June.
• Relationships at our church, that God would help us build a team.

E. Pluribus Unum

Going Back to Namibia

Prayer Requests Jan 2018

Its almost time to go back! We need lots a prayers, so thanks for checking in!

 

Please pray for:

• Our family, especially the boys, as we transition back to Namibia.
• The family we’re leaving behind here in the US.
• Good weather and safe travel as we drive to/from Kansas City for Sandy’s oath ceremony on Jan 16th.
• A home to rent in Namibia that would meet all our needs.
• Work visas in Namibia
• Support raising. We still need $596 in monthly support & roughly $5,000 in one time support for the return.
• Decisions about the kids’ schooling.
• The Namibian people, that God would continue to work in their lives as He does in ours.

GivingTuesday 2018

#GivingTuesday

Wondering how you can get involved this year?

We’re awaiting our letter with the date for Sandy’s citizenship ceremony, we were just informed that it is in the mail, so we’ll know soon! We are getting closer and closer to being back in Namibia! As the time approaches, we have some very specific needs coming up.

First, we will need some start up funds for our return. We had to get rid of much of our furniture, appliances and one of our cars before leaving last year. We’ll also have airfare & visa expenses when we get back. Our total estimated return expenses are $18,700. We have been saving toward this & have had some very generous friends and churches help already. We currently have $11,800 set aside, leaving us with a remaining one-time need of $6,900. To see the details of our return budget, you can find it here.

Next, we are still a bit short on our monthly needs, but we are getting close! We just need another $547 in monthly commitments to be at 100% support for the first time! This would mean a full ministry budget as well as the ability to begin a retirement plan. We really hope to reach this goal before returning to the field in the coming months. Email us for a detailed breakdown of our monthly budget.

Please consider how you might like to get involved this Giving Tuesday! If you would like to give a one time gift to help get us back or would like to join the team with a monthly contribution, you can give online today! Click here (you’ll be taken to YWAM-SF’s secure donation page), simply enter the amount you would like to give and our designation code: “575.” The designation code is important for it to get to us (after you enter “575” you should see a picture of our family to confirm).  Select “One Time Donation” or “Monthly Gift,” enter your information and click the “Donate” button. That’s all it takes! You’ll then receive a receipt from YWAM-SF for your tax deductible donation.

To all of you, we thank you for the support throughout the years! Your prayer and financial partnerships have been such a blessing and have allowed us all to be a part of what God is doing in Namibia!

God Bless,
David, Sandy, Reese & Avi Echols

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To Namibia and Back Again (April-July 2018)

God is at Work! (January-March 2018)

God is at Work!

Sheryl has been a key member of our first Thrive community from the beginning. From the time we met her she has shown great potential, loyal friendship & true sincerity. We have had the opportunity to share with her in her trials and tribulations, as well as in her accomplishments and triumphs. Sandy was able to guide her through her pregnancy and the birth of her beautiful daughter, Ivy. In all of this, Sheryl was slow in making a decision to surrender all to Christ.

Leaving Namibia in July was very difficult for us, even if only for a season. The fact that Sheryl had not yet made that decision made it that much more difficult. She has been on our minds quite often. One morning early in February I prayed for her and specifically asked that God would provide opportunities and people in her life to challenge her to give her life over to Him. Days later Sandy received a text message from Sheryl: “I’m getting baptized on Saturday!”

I wish we could have been there for the baptism, but there’s something incredibly exciting about seeing pictures of a total stranger baptising our good friend. God is at work! With or without us, God is busy in Sheryl’s life. He is working in Namibia and throughout this world. Wherever we might be, He is using each of His children to His purpose and His glory.

Being away has been difficult and we find ourselves anxious to get back, but this was such an amazing reminder that God is at work and is in control!

Prayer Requests

Hello Prayer Partners!

We feel we have had a very productive seven months of Home Assignment so far. We have strengthened relationships with several supporters & made several new relationships. Our time at Central Christian College of the Bible (CCCB) has been very positive as we’ve been given an opportunity to influence a lot of young missionaries-in-training. In addition, despite all the struggles that come along with the changes and homesickness, I believe God has used this time to minister to our family as well. Our debrief in January helped us process a lot of what we had been through on the field and the environment around us here in Missouri seems to be doing wonders for our kids.

As we go into the second half of this home assignment, please pray with us for:

• Sandy’s citizenship. The process is underway , please pray with us that it will move quickly and favorably. As soon as this is complete we can make our transition back to Namibia. We need this citizenship completed before leaving so she does not lose her green card again. Our hope has been to be back by October, but this could very possibly delay us if it does not move along quickly.
• Planning our return to Namibia. We have worked out some details for our return, but still have much planning to do. We will remain with YWAM, but establish 3 Measures as a new YWAM presence in the country, separate from the YWAM base we were a part of before. We are now working out the details of how we will be received in the country as we need an official invitation back (our former YWAM base provided that before). We are hoping to work that out with our Namibian church, but would like prayer for wisdom as we seek out the best situation.
• Support Raising. The last time we made a budget was 2014. We were living in a house on the YWAM base for less than $50 per month & neither of our kids were in school. As we return we need to be prepared to spend about $1,000 per month on rent and roughly $300 per child for school fees. We’ve reworked our budget and set our total monthly need at $4,900, an increase of $1,500. So far, support raising has gone pretty well, but we would like your prayers as we still need $822 p/mo to reach that goal.
• Recruiting. One of our focuses as we spread awareness of our work in Namibia is to find others who God may be calling to serve alongside us. We have met a number of people who have expressed an interest, please pray with us that God would lead the right workers into His Namibian harvest.
• Success with CCCB. We just sent out seven teams into the world for Spring Break. We worked closely with these students to prepare them for short term service, as they return we hope to continue that work with more of a long-term focus. Pray with us that God would use us in the lives of these students during this brief time we get to pour into their lives.
• Possible summer trip to Namibia. We are looking into the possibility of me (David) taking a small team to Namibia this summer. This could help with recruiting teammates, but could also be important for making some preparations for our return and for checking in on the ministry. No decision has been made yet, pray with us as we decide whether or not to make this happen. March 23, 2018
• Family. Finally, as we continue with home assignment and our preparations to return, please pray for our family. We would ask that you pray especially for our kids as they have been uprooted and moved a number of times already. We have seen God do some great things with them and build a lot of confidence, but it has been hard and we are getting closer to our move back, which will be a whole new upheaval in their lives.

As you pray for our family during this home assignment, also pray for the ministry going on in Namibia. Here are a few things to specifically pray for there:

• Thrive communities. We left two communities behind, one is made up of young guys ages 18-19, the other is our older group of young men and women in their mid-twenties. Both groups are made up entirely of locals from Katutura. Please pray for God to continue to build them up and lead them into closer relationship with Him.
• Hope Cafe. The cafe runs on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. We lost the person who was managing the cafe (he is studying and was not able to keep up with both commitments), so there are some difficulties with managing the cafe at the moment. We’re working out a new plan, so you can pray for God to bring that all together.

Thank you so much for taking this time to pray for us, we love you all at Pikes Peak and could not do this without you on the team!

For the Kingdom,
The Echols