May-July 2010
WE HAVE ARRIVED! After nearly seven years away to study and prepare for full time mission work, we are finally back in Namibia! Thanks to God’s goodness and your generosity we were able to reach our minimum level of support just two days before our departure. On March 23rd we left Denver for Johannesburg, South Africa where we spent a month visiting Sandy’s family and searching for a vehicle. We got a great deal on a twin cab 4x4 Toyota pick-up and drove to our new home in Windhoek, Namibia on May 1st. Our first month here was incredibly busy. We found a place to stay which
Prayer Needs Getting Settled Building Relationships Quick Visa Approval Community Hope School
is exactly what we were praying for, a very nice two bedroom duplex in a decent part of town. We moved in on June 1st and are finally getting settled. The new quarter started at Community Hope School on May 26th and we
Coming Up
May 26— - Quarter begins at Community Hope School
June 1— - Move into new home
June 11— - Sandy’s Birthday
July 4 — - David’s Birthday
July 8— - The Wrights arrive in Namibia
have been enjoying getting to know the kids and teachers there. Although we have only been involved for a couple of weeks now, we are beginning to get a better picture of what our ministry will look like. We will each be teaching at the school; Sandy is teaching Health and David, Discipleship and P.E. In addition to this, we will be working to expand the school’s ministry in Katatura. This will be through home visits, after school activities, and, in the future, adult evening classes. So, things are going well; we are very excited to finally be here and get started. We have already seen God do some amazing things, we’ll tell you a little more and include some pictures on the back side of this newsletter. Thank you so much for making this possible and please keep up your prayers. With His Love, David & Sandy Echols
GOD IS FAITHFUL
F
inding a home to rent in Windhoek is not an easy feat. We spent weeks looking for a house, flat, hut, or anything to rent; but were unsuccessfull. We ended up giving our names to some realtors in the city, but they all told us finding a place to rent is a long shot; some even laughed at us. At our wits end, we saw a house advertized in the newspaper and we called the lady. She said we could take a look at it, but she had already shown the house to over 40 families that day. We drove to her house praying and, when we saw it, knew it was perfect for us. Still, we knew it was unlikely that she would pick us after seeing 40 other families. That night at six o’clock, she called to say she would love for us to take the house. We went over to her house to sign the contract and she told us it was the first time she ever decided to interview all the people who wanted to see the house and not just give it to those who came first. We knew at that moment that God had put His favor on us and that He was the only reason we found the amazing house that we are now renting. We had prayed for a two bedroom house with a shower and a bathtub, with tiles and not carpet, and that is exactly what God provided for us!
PICTURES FROM OUR FIRST MONTHS IN NAMIBIA
Support Progress
Here we are with our truck… 2001 4x4 Toyota Hilux
World Cup fever— Sandy with her South African soccer jersey
David with some kids at CHS
Our minimum need before we could come to Namibia was $2,500 monthly. Two days before our departure we received commitments that took us to $2,517! Thank you all so much! As expected, it looks like this minimum budget will be enough for our basic needs. This means, until we reach 100%, we have had to cut back on ministry and project funds. If you would like to help us reach that goal, please return the included response card or contact us at ondjima@yahoo.com. 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 $2,517
Total Remaining Need $483
Our new home!
Check out our blog at davidandsandyechols.blogspot.com