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

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year (Nov-Dec 2017)

Here & There (Aug-Oct 2017)

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Update: Baby Kiara, Paul & Joseph

There is much news to tell! First of all thank you, thank you, thank you! We have been quite blessed by your generosity in giving and in praying for these dear families. I have been able to take 12 care packages to the families already! This includes things as small and simple as a lunch package to things like a week’s worth of groceries. Usually we don’t really engage in a lot of relief work, since the need is so overwhelming and never ending, instead we have focused on development, but in bringing these relief packages to people we have been able to really show them that they are loved and not alone.

Baby Kiara was discharged from the hospital yesterday. Her stay in the hospital went without any complications, but her burns are still healing so she will continue to go to the clinic every other day to have her bandages changed.  Her mom lost her job when the accident happened because she had to stay in the hospital with her. This family now really needs to find a stable job for Yomanda. Also pray for Kiara, she used to be a very friendly and smiley baby but since the accident she seems to be very reserved and quiet.

Baby Paul was discharged a week ago, even though his hand was still open and oozing. I took a care package with a week’s worth of food for the whole family, including loads of baby food and formula, the day after he was released. I learned after that, he was taken back to Usakos to go and stay with his other grandmother while his parents recover. You may remember that both his parents were also badly injured when their shack burned down. I don’t know if I will ever see this baby again, but he is on my heart constantly, please continue to pray for him and has family.

Baby Joseph is such a little joy! He has a great smile, and runs out the door when he hears the food cart coming! He was due to have a skin graft surgery this past Friday, but after they had him sedated in the operating room the doctor noticed that he had sores all over the inside of his mouth, these had been caused by pneumonia. His surgery was then canceled. His mom did not find out until after he had been in recovery for awhile. So she sat crying and praying, only to find out over 4 hours later that he hadn’t had the surgery. So for now he is still just in the hospital recovering from the lung infection and waiting. This family has been in the hospital for 14 weeks now, and there is no end in sight. Pray for this family!

Since Paul had been sent home a new baby filled his spot in the room. Baby Lawrence was born with water on his brain. He had surgery yesterday to put a stent in to drain some of the fluid off of his brain to relieve the pressure. His mom also is a teenager and has been through so much with her little one. He is three months old. This baby is a sweet heart, he loves to smile and chat and is a very happy baby. Please pray that he heals well from the surgery, that the stent does what it is supposed to and that his brain heals and develops well. I have interacted with many young mothers in the last few years and it really stands out to me how much this young girls loves her child. She lavishes love and attention on to him.

Again, thanks so much for all the support and prayers! In the last ten days I have seen some terrible things in that hospital, but I have also seen young mothers love and care for and fight for their babies. I have also experienced so much concern and care for these families from people all over the world. A local mom’s group has also now taken these families into their hearts and have made several care packages themselves. For now we have no further need for any more money or things, thanks so much again to all of you who have prayed and given!

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Wisdom from the Dunes

Most people don’t want to be missionaries. Most people never feel a call to be in full time vocational ministry. I am not one of those people. I wanted to be a missionary before I was even baptized. I didn’t know much, but I knew that the love of Jesus was so powerful that it changed my life and I wanted to share that powerful love with others. I was pumped to just go.

The opportunity came for me to go on a mission trip to Haiti with my youth group. They went annually, and I was going to go after I finished my senior year of high school. Actually, now that I think back I can remember being hesitant on going to Haiti because I wanted to go to Africa instead. Regardless of the hesitations I started planning for our trip. My entire senior year was spent preparing for this trip. I even skipped my senior prom because it was too expensive and I needed to save money. (Which was really more of an excuse to get out of going to prom.)

Anyways on that trip my whole world was stirred up. When we landed it was dark, so I couldn’t see what the country was like until the next day. Because of the heat, we slept on the roof, and I woke up to the sun rising between two mountains that reflected off of a lake. It was absolutely breath taking. I felt like I was in paradise, then we left the mission compound and went into the community and it was a drastic difference from the beautiful scenery I saw that morning. Trash was everywhere, children were naked, and the dogs were boney and pathetic. It was difficult for me to take in the drastic differences from the sunrise, to the slums. I never knew the severity of poverty, and the brokenness that comes with it. I knew I wanted to be a missionary, but after seeing the desperation it felt urgent. I felt like the entire country was in living hell and that I myself could bring a ray of hope.

During this trip I was going through a rough patch in my life. I was overwhelmed with thinking of going to college. My plans were to go to Johnson University, but then I realized that there would be no way I could afford to go there. I didn’t even know how to take out a loan big enough to go there. Thoughts of future plans consumed my mind, even while in Haiti. Then I started thinking, I could just move to Haiti and be a missionary. I don’t need to go to college to be a missionary, the need is urgent and I need to be there now. I really had my mind set on going back as soon as possible, with a one way ticket.

To my disappointment, no one else seemed to be on board. I couldn’t understand why. I just wanted to work and serve, why would people discourage that? I can remember one night when the founder of the orphanage we were working with told me that I really should go to college or some kind of training, my heart was broken. Though she was telling me to wait and be trained, what I heard is that you are not good enough to serve God in this way. I was taught that God is able to use us however he wants, even when we are weak and unable. I thought that this was Gods chance to use me, and work in powerful ways, even though I was unable and young. But what I heard from her is that God isn’t big enough. After returning to the States I cried for two months straight. I cried everyday because I just wanted to be back in Haiti and it didn’t seem like it would ever happen. My heart broke because there was such a need and I was doing nothing about it.

The thing is, my paradigm was wrong in more ways than one. First of all, I thought that the country would not go on without me there. God has been at work in Haiti long before I was born, and he will continue to work there long after I am dead. I never was going to do any saving, because that is God’s job. He alone is the one able to rescue, restore, and reconcile. I was just lucky enough to witness the work of God for ten short days.

Secondly, I had tunnel vision. I thought that immediate relief and aid would solve the problems. I thought that in four years on the mission field a lot more would be accomplished than four years in Bible College. Not that everyone must go to Bible College to be a missionary, but with burn out leading to high attrition rates, perhaps the investment in ministry training is worth it. Ministry, especially in a foreign place, is not for the faint hearted. It is tough. The investment in training, for myself, I believe is God’s way of preparing me to go into lifelong foreign ministry.

In hindsight, I am so thankful for advice that hurts and for unanswered prayers. Being in Africa I have really learned the value of learning from others. Last week I was reading Simiply Christian by N.T. Wright, and somewhere in there he expands on the beauty and excellence of learning from experienced, wise, and mature Christians. Of course my mind immediately went to David and Sandy and the opportunity I have had to learn from them. I have been able to learn what it looks like to do ministry. I have learned the value of putting your family first. I have learned the value of long conversations and building relationships. I have learned that programs are not about doing, but about being. Most importantly I have learned and embraced that I can do nothing apart from Christ, and His people.

This past week I was able to go sand boarding, while we were putting on our gear, and getting a brief rundown of what the day would look like. The instructor told us that while walking up the dunes, we should step in other peoples footprints to make it easier. When you step in someone else’s footprint, they have already pushed down the sand for you so you don’t slide back as much. As soon as I heard her say that, I couldn’t help but think of all that I am learning here. I am able to step in others footprints to be able to go forward, without going backwards first. Let me testify, it is NOT easy hiking up the sand dunes. The boots are heavy, there’s sand rubbing your skin raw, the sun is hot, and the air is dry. Imagine hiking up a mountain while running in soft sand, that is what it is like going up. But having the footprints of others to walk in really does make it easier. I tried to walk off the beaten trail for about 5 steps, and ended up going further down than I went up.

The same is true for Christian life, and leadership. It is a difficult climb no matter what, but when we step in the footprint of others first, we have a boost. I can imagine myself in Haiti, metaphorically sliding down the sand dune, trying to figure it out alone. Praise the Lord that plans don’t always work out. I am thankful for all the people who have gone before me, and blazed the trail. Being in Namibia has been a journey of walking though others footprints, figuring out what works and what doesn’t, learning the challenges that come with leadership, how to respond in difficult situations, and how to honor God through it all. The past two years in Bible College have been a time of preparation and putting on gear, and I have been able to use the gear and training I have had to follow the lead of David and Sandy who are following Christ and joining in on God’s work here in Namibia.

One thing I know for sure, is that I don’t have it all figured out. Ministry is tough, and there’s lots to learn from those around me. I am especially thankful that I get to learn from the Echols.

Learning the Language

Walking down the streets of Katutura I have meet a number of interesting people, or better yet, a number of locals have meet a strange white girl. One of my tasks during the day is to walk around the township practicing my language lesson from earlier that day. It must be quite entertaining for these people, to have some random foreigner walking around trying to speak their language… emphasis on trying.

Generally there are two responses by people when I approach them; people are either confused and seemingly uninterested or they interact with me, helping me with pronunciation and learning new words. Some are so excited they even want to teach me profanity. The goal with this isn’t just for me to learn the language but also for me to learn about the people.

Languages are unique because they imply so much more than just words. Behind every language there is a people group, that are all united by one common denominator that is a foundation for building lives, relationships, business, and families. It is not merely something we learn in school, but it is something that connects people beyond a spelling test or a reading quiz.

Perhaps this is not on accident, but God has something in mind when creating the unique and profound ability for humans to communicate in a deep relational way. Perhaps he himself was planning on communicating with us, His creation. In John we see that God became tangible for humanity, because Jesus Christ became The Word. Jesus Christ, who existed beyond culture and language, entered into time for what? To become the word that gives life.

Christianity is more than a set of rules or a humanitarian movement. While there is certainly those aspect involved, I see Christianity as a language. I see being in Christ as a way to connect people. I see being in Christ as a foundation for building lives, relationships, business, and families. I see Christianity as learning the language of The Word.

When a child is learning to speak their first language they make mistakes, their grammar isn’t perfect, and generally basic concepts such as “hungry, sad, and mamma” are all that is communicated. When a foreigner is learning a new language, such as myself, the language will be broken. In the states, I love talking to foreigners, something about broken English just makes me smile. Some people have better levels of language abilities, but there is one common factor, all are striving to be connected by a common denominator.

Christianity works the same way, some people are born into it. They learn about God starting in Sunday school, and they’re not able to communicate the deep theological issues, but they know about God and they know Jesus loves them and well as everyone. Then there are people who learn later in life about Jesus, and decide they want to learn the language of hope that Jesus spoke about. Things get pronounced wrong, 1 Corinthians get confused with 1 Chronicles, but there’s a community that is there learning with them.

I saw on facebook a test you could take to see how profound your English vocabulary is. A friend of mine shared her results, saying her level of vocabulary is at the top 5% of all English speakers. I thought to myself “I am gonna do pretty good on this, I’m more than half way done with a bachelors degree, and I read a lot of books.” The test started easy, so it helped my confidence. It got harder and I had to think longer, and then I just started guessing. My results? Top 40%. Equivalent to a 12 year old, according to the test.

I definitely didn’t share my results, but the thing is even though my English vocabulary isn’t impressive, I am able to connect and communicate on a deep level with people who are so different from me. I have something in common with people all across the country I live in, and even across the world. Christianity is no different. Whatever the season of Christianity you are in, you are connected with so many people across your neighborhood and across the world. We may see different levels of spiritual maturity, but the bottom line is that we are all deeply rooted as one by the blood of Christ. Don’t allow your maturity or immaturity to prevent you from speaking the language of Christ, but allow for the Spirit of Christ to unite you with his body, who is the church.