February/March 2008Dear Prayer Partners,
As we sat in our house in the darkness on another night
without electricity, we heard the piercing scream come
from the outside of our house. Lisa and I immediately
ran toward our kitchen door and saw fire leaping from
our storeroom. Boniface, who was putting gasoline into
our generator, had accidentally knocked over his candle.
Flames came out from the generator, the gas container,
and the spilt gas on the floor. Boniface and his wife
were racing to get water. I grabbed a blanket and threw
it to him and told him to put it over the top of the
generator where flames were coming out of the gas
compartment. Within seconds the fire was out and we were
all safe.
This reminded me of the lost world. They are living
without the light of Christ. They are walking in the
darkness and soon without warning, will be consumed in
the fire that was prepared as a punishment for Satan and
his demons. It reinforced in my life the importance of
getting the Gospel out to as many people as possible
before it is too late. On the night of the fire, we
could have lost our friend Boniface, his wife, our
things, or even our house. It only took a second for the
fire to start, and another second to get out of control.
People are dying every day and meeting an eternity of
fire. What are we doing to tell them about Jesus?
Easter was one of those opportunities to reach out to
people and we praise God that 2 precious souls came to
know Christ on that day. We are planning our big
outreaches for the spring. We will have Friend Sunday,
Anniversary Sunday, and of course, Youth Sunday. It is
fun to plan and implement these events but we always
have to keep in mind that our purpose is to see the lost
come to know Christ. Would you please pray with us that
Kenyans will accept Jesus as their Savior and that we
would do our part to reach them?
We
are excited that Phase II of the building program at
Neema Baptist Church is almost done. We were able to
construct 3 new classrooms that serve as school rooms
for the New Life Academy and Sunday school rooms for the
church. The church has accepted their national pastor
and is helping to
raise money so that he can pay for his wedding in
August. Pray for Abraham as he leads his church and
plans for a wedding. Pastor Allan at Injili Baptist is
doing well and had over 300 at his Easter Service.
Allan’s wife, Eve is having a baby in April. Keep her in
prayer as she is having difficulties and will have to
have a C-Section which is a difficult operation here in
Kenya.
Please pray for a new project that we are starting this
year. It will be a new church plant in an area called
Mshomoroni. This area was hit hard during the political
violence and is in great need of a Christian witness.
Our dream is to start another feeding center and
eventually a Christian high school in this area. God is
in control and is opening a door for us to receive two
acres of land FREE. Pray for God’s will to be done.
Thank you for your prayers and support.
Bobby Lisa Ethan & Conner Bechtel
Missionaries to Kenya, Africa
Praise Reports:
-
Salvation and Baptism of 10 people
at Neema Baptist Church
-
Salvation of 6 people and baptism of
12 people at Injili Baptist Church.
-
Kenya in Peaceful
-
Safety during house fire.
-
$25,000 given to build 1st -3rd grade classrooms at
New Life Academy.
-
Attendance is up!
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for Pastor Allan and Eve for birth of baby.
- Pray for New Church Plant in Mshomoroni.
- Pray for Pastor Abraham and his wedding in 2008.
- Pray for more support. We are in desperate need
of more ministry funds. Gospel Feeding Center and
School is under-funded by $600 monthly.