January-March 2015
Every End is a New Beginning Home Assignment Ends, A New Term Begins On February 3rd we said goodbye to people we love, loaded our family onto an airplane and furlough was over. It was a fulfilling three months and we were able to accomplish so much in that time. We want to say thank you again to all of you who gave us a place to stay, meals to eat and opportunities to speak. Thank you to all who came to hear about Three Measures, to those who offered financial and prayer support and to those of you who signed up to receive these newsletters. We are so blessed to have such a great support base and we really enjoyed the time we got to share with you. Still, as difficult as it is to say goodbye, we were also very excited about getting home to Namibia and beginning a new term! The transition has been incredible so far. The boys adjusted very quickly. Although they are still dealing with missing their grandparents (among others), they are happy to be home and seem so much more relaxed now that they are back. As for Sandy & I, we have come back with plans to help us live more intentionally here. We are keeping to a new schedule that makes room for family, ministry, time with God, personal rest, fitness and even monthly date nights! Although we are still extremely busy, the new schedule has already done wonders for us!
Prayer Needs The Shikongo family and the loss of Margret Pray for volunteers to come join us in Namibia Our intern, Melissa, will be here in May. Please pray for her preparations It's time to reapply for our work permits again. Please pray for a quick & favorable response
Special Dates
Feb 5— - Returned to Namibia
March 4— - Avi's first birthday!
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May 1— 5 Years in Namibia!
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May 20-Aug 5— Melissa Faraci interns with us
To stay up to date with the ministry or to keep track of where we'll be during furlough, keep an eye on our blog www.3measur.es/blog
David & Sandy Echols – 3940 Oberding Dr. Colorado Springs, CO 80911 –david@3measur.es
To keep up with us between these newsletters, check out our new website and blog:
www.3measur.es
A Challenge Ends, a Passion Begins As for ministry, it was so encouraging to see how well things continued in our absence. We were especially impressed with how well Raylin handled things while we were away. We left him with a Raylin & David speaking "together" in CO multitude of responsibilities; things he had never done before or even thought about doing. It was a real challenge for him and he met the challenge head on. He even helped us in the U.S. by doing communion meditation with me (via video) for Pikes Peak Christian Church. Upon our return he shared that since he began with us back in August, the mission has become more than just a job, but something he is truly passionate about. After seeing how well he's managed things, we have been able to turn a number of programs over to him. This is the ultimate goal of any program we begin, to be able to see them led by local Christians. This also frees us up to pioneer new areas of ministry.
Life Ends, Eternity Begins As you may know, we have been holding Bible studies in the home of a family in Katutura. This is intended as the beginning of another Thrive church plant. The Shikongo family has been amazing and we have grown to love them over the past several months. Margret's faith was especially impressive and, as mother and wife, also very influencial. In January we got some very sad news. Margret passed away after a fairly brief battle with her health. Our hearts are broken for the Shikongos and we would like to ask that you be in prayer for her husband, Abraham, and their daughters, Flora, Florida, Frorencia, and Florence. Thanks for your prayers and support, David, Sandy, Reese & Avi Echols
Are you interested in learning more about 3 Measures? Let us know! Email us at david@3measur.es
Support Thank you to those of you who made financial commitments during our time in the States! We are closer than we've ever been to reaching 100% of our budget. With the recent support that has been committed, we are only $55 away from our goal! That includes ministry funds, administration costs and keeping the Echols in Namibia. Full funding is well within reach and maybe you would like to help us get there. If you would like to join the work of Three Measures in Namibia through a monthly commitment or onetime gift, simply go to www.3measur.es/donate OR return the included response card OR contact us at support@3measur.es. Budget Personal (including food, housing, etc)……….$1,500 Ministry………………$1,250 Benefits (Health Insurance, Savings)………………….$500 Administration……….$150 Total Monthly Need $3,400 -Current Monthly Raised $3,345
Total Remaining Need $55 Contributions are solicited with the understanding that YWAM-SF has complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds. Please make checks payable to Youth With A Mission-Strategic Frontiers, or YWAM-SF. All gifts are tax deductable and are requested and/or received with the understanding that YWAM-SF has complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds