Jason and Angie Bechtel Bringing Hope to Unreached People Groups 2012 Milestones So Far
One month down in the year 2012! Wow! I think it’s true that time goes by faster the older you get and I should know since I’ve just hit the milestone of turning 30! 
Jason likes to remind me quite frequently that he’s younger than me, but I like to remind him to respect his elders!
Jason is still up in the air with his health. He has a Dr.’s appointment on February 17, so please pray that we would get some direction from the doctor. In the meantime, we suspect that Jason has Crohn’s on top of the Celiac Disease, so we’re trying to limit his fibre and his stress. He’s been doing very well at not opening his laptop at home to do office work and is taking time to read for enjoyment and I think it is helping some.
Delena recently brought home a certificate saying that she knows all her letters – upper and lower case. The teacher has also started sending home little readers. It’s so fun to see her recognize words!
Lorelei is at the age of potty-training. She’s very consistent at telling me when she has to go, but she doesn’t like to tell anyone else if I’m not around, so we’re working on that!
Myelle is SO close to walking! Just yesterday, she took her first steps!
Here she is on her way down – if you didn’t know better, you might think she knew how to dance already!
[Video] Birth of Church in Siar Tribe
Want to see someone really excited about their salvation in Jesus Christ? Then check out this video from the Siar tribe in Papua New Guinea. God is doing amazing things around the world.
There is also a list of updates on the Siar tribe on the NTM website.
Tags: Bible teaching, church planting, New Tribes, New Tribes Mission, NTM, PNG, Siar tribe
Christmas, New Years Eve and Skating
Let’s see…we’re now in 2012…what has happened in the last little while?? I guess I’ll start back at Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas break. It was fun having Delena home every day. It seemed a little strange though, I’m not sure why since it was only a couple months ago that she was home every day! We actually spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at my parents, with my sister and her family and my brother. We haven’t all been together on Christmas morning in three years probably, just because of work schedules mostly.
We spent Boxing Day with Jason’s Mom and all his siblings.
Then the 27th we were back at home in order to have Jason’s Dad over to our place. Each day came with a turkey dinner and, of course, there were lots of leftovers to follow! It was also nice that Jason could have a few days off between Christmas and New Years where we didn’t have to go anywhere or do anything!
New Year’s Eve we were home with a few family members and we managed to make it until midnight! It was a short night though with church in the morning!
The next week we had a nice surprise and my cousin was able to come for a visit with her two boys. We’ve stayed at their place a number of times, so it was nice to have them to our place for a change. I got to take them all for the winter version of the ‘Jungle Camp’ tour. I think the kids just liked building the snowman at the end of the tour. They didn’t really care too much for trudging through the snow, but at least they all slept well after that!
Yep, the bridge can hold their weight!
Julie and her boys had never been to Jungle Camp
That week there was also free skating each afternoon at the Durham Arena, so we decided we should attempt to take all the kids skating. Ever been skating with a 1, 2, 3, and 4 year old? That doesn’t even include Myelle! Jason and my brother both came with us to help and it still took us a half hour to get everyone’s skates on! That left us with a half hour to skate, but that was enough. Thankfully some friends were at the arena and one of them graciously watched Myelle on the sidelines and another one helped Lorelei out quite a bit. By the end of the time, the kids were just starting to get the hang of things and we forgot our camera, so we decided to try again the next day.
Lorelei showing us how it is done. Not bad for being the first time on skates.
eventually Delena did catch onto how to use the pilon
Our second round of skating, Jason stayed home with Myelle and just two adults took the four kids. Again, a half hour of lacing, but the allotted skating time was longer, so we could actually be on the ice for a full hour. This time we took lots pictures and the kids did a lot better!
Tags: Angie, Delena, Durham, Family, Jason, Jungle Camp, Lorelei, Myelle, New Tribes Mission, NTM, pictures
Grandma Westlake Celebrates 90 Years
This past Saturday was a big event in my Grandma’s life – she celebrated her 90th birthday! We had an open house on Saturday afternoon at her church and lots of people from far and near came to celebrate with us. It’s amazing that God has allowed us to have her in our lives for all these years, but even more amazing is that she’s the youngest of 3 and both her siblings are still going strong too! Thanks to all of you who were able to join us!
many of Grandma's children were on hand to celebrate with her
Most everyone who came to the open house had their pictures taken with Grandma Westlake.
At 90 years old, she is still the spring chicken, as seen here with her two older siblings.
Manjui believers growing through God’s Word
Here is a news story from the field of Paraguay written by Ian Fallis that I loved.
Angie and I have personal friends that worked with this unreached people group for 17 years and are now living near us. Hearing how the Bible translation is coming along is thrilling to my heart. Bible translation is a vital part of reaching the unreached with the gospel of Jesus Christ, and seeing a mature church planted and established that truly glorifies God. And to hear that pastor-elders are being appointed, this is extra special!
All the pieces are coming into place for the Manjui church to stand and grow.
The Manjui New Testament is nearing completion. Colossians and 1, 2 and 3 John were printed and made available to believers and Bible teachers in October. With that step, 24 of the New Testament’s 27 books were printed.
Last month, 2 Corinthians was checked for comprehension, to see how well the translation was understood by Manjui people. “This now leaves only a couple of checks to go for this difficult book,” wrote Gordie and Nancy Hunt, who work among the Manjui people.
The only books left to translate are Hebrews and Revelation.
Three of the Manjui Bible teachers were recognized as pastors and leaders last May, and these men have been teaching through Romans and Ephesians.
“The Manjui church is definitely growing spiritually as the pastors have been teaching,” the Hunts wrote. “We are asking you to praise God for what He is doing among these people.”
Tags: New Tribes, New Tribes Mission, NTM
2012 Calendar from NTM Canada
For the second year in a row, the NTM@work magazine in November is a calendar. You can see the Canadian version below. If you didn’t get one in the mail, I would love to send one to you. Just email to let me know!
Tags: design, Jason, New Tribes, New Tribes Mission, NTM, NTM@Work
Yearend Ministry Update
Myelle’s a Mover
Myelle is now almost 6 months old. She’s growing up way too fast. She loves to roll around on the living room floor, spin in her exersaucer and jump in the jolly-jumper. Here’s a little video of her:
For about a month now, she’s been getting up on all 4′s and rocking back and forth as though she’ll crawl away at any moment. She doesn’t even sit up yet! Last week she improved on that movement by sticking her little bum up in the air. She was so proud of herself. I took a few pictures, but I’m not sure they do it justice.
The other night she took things another step and rolled her bum to the side and put herself into a sitting position! Look out big sisters, I’m gonna be trouble soon!
Tags: Myelle
New Video from NTM: Jason’s Prayer
New Tribes missionary Jason Swanson prays for the Siawi church.
New Tribes Mission seeks to establish mature churches among people who are isolated from the gospel. After teaching chronologically in the tribes’ own language and culture, believers are discipled to lead the church and partner in the Great Commission.
Tags: New Tribes, New Tribes Mission, NTM, Video
Delena’s 1st Day of School
September 8th, Delena had her first day of school at Spruce Ridge. It’s conveniently located right across the street from us! She was very excited to start, but she was worried about how I would handle things without her! She is a big help with her two younger sisters and I rely on her a lot, but some how I am managing, but I do miss her help. I know her sisters miss her too.
She didn’t really want us to go when we dropped her off at school, but when it was time to come home, her statement was, “I want to go back right now!”
