January – February 2010
The time has come! On the last day of 2009 we purchased our tickets and it’s official, we depart for Africa on March 23! We have one week left at our home in Missouri; then we begin our move by heading to Colorado Springs, CO. We cannot begin to tell you how excited we are to be on our way. As you can imagine, this has been a busy month for us. Packing up our house into two suitcases each, final preparations, visa processes, training, and saying goodbye to friends, churches and loved ones throughout Missouri. Now we’ve got another busy month in front of us. More preparation, more goodbyes, and some last minute support-raising. We have 35 days before we leave the country and still need monthly commitments totaling at least $235 before we reach our minimum need ($735 to our full support). We also need one-time donations for our start up costs. In order to make the move, get set up in a home, and buy a vehicle, we need at least $12,000 in hand when we leave. We are nearing that goal, but are still short. Please pray and consider joining with us in this mission by making a monthly, annual, or one-time donation. To those of you who are already supporting us, THANK YOU so much, we could not do this without you. This will be our last newsletters from the US… from now on (until further notice) our address Stateside will be 3940 Oberding Dr. Colorado Springs, CO. Feel free to contact us there, via e-mail (david@davidandsandy.org), by Facebook or Skype, or (before March 24th) at 719-238-5457. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! With His Love, David & Sandy Echols
Prayer Needs Support Raising Final Preparations Quick Visa Approval Community Hope School The Ministry
Coming Up Feb 24— - Colorado Springs, CO
March 23— - Depart for South Africa
May 1— - Enter Namibia!
COMMUNITY HOPE SCHOOL
C
ommunity Hope School is a primary school for orphans and other vulnerable children in Namibia. It was started in 2005 by John and Suzanne Hunter. The school exists to fulfill the spiritual, academic, and physical needs of the children. When the school opens in May it will have 90 students. We originally contacted John and Suzanne about helping us obtain our visas for Namibia, not knowing the plan that God had in store for us. After some discussion we agreed to partner with the Hunters for two years, developing and running an after school program for the kids. At the end of these two years, we will have better established ourselves in the country and will seek out what God would have us do next in Namibia. At first, working in a school did not seem like what we had in mind, but we were unprepared for the passion that has grown in our hearts since agreeing to this partnership. We find ourselves daydreaming about the things we will do with the kids and have a longing in our hearts to reach out and love them. We can't wait to get there!
COMMUNITY HEALTH EVANGELISM (CHE)
E
arlier this month we finished our CHE training, and we are finally certified community development educators. CHE is a holistic mission strategy that focuses on the physical, economic, social, and spiritual health of a community. The end goal is for people to live the lives that God intends. One key concept is based on Matt 13:31-33 where the Kingdom of God is likened to yeast. Yeast permeates the whole piece of dough, changing it completely. When we bring the Gospel to a new community it should change all of it for the better. CHE is based on six principals: Holistic ministry (spiritual and physical) Multiplication Local ownership Teaching methodology Prevention (not just relief) Use of local resources. We are convinced that CHE is perfect for ministry in Namibia and are so excited to implement it in our work there.
Support Progress Once again, we have seen this month that God is good & so are His people. Since our last newsletter we have received another $220 in monthly commitments. Thank you all so much! As we mentioned on the front, this means we need to receive a minimum of another $235 monthly before March 23rd. If you have any questions about this budget, know of any opportunities for us, or would like further information about supporting our work in Namibia, please contact us at ondjima@yahoo.com or 1-719-238-5457. Projected Budget Personal (including food, housing, etc)……….$1,450 Ministry………………$1,100 Benefits (Health Insurance, Savings)………………….$300 Administration……….$150 Total Monthly Need $3,000 -Current Monthly Raised $2,265
Total Remaining Need $735
Check out our blog at davidandsandyechols.blogspot.com