Posts Tagged ‘Durham’

Childcare at New Tribes Mission

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Sunday, April 15th, 2012

M and I in the nursery section

Much of my life is spent doing childcare. Okay, all of my life is childcare, but on Monday and Thursday mornings I spend half the morning looking after other people’s children at New Tribes Mission. I help look after the children of students who are training to be tribal church planters. It’s a fun time for me because I get out of the house and my kids LOVE it. Every morning Lorelei asks if we get to go to childcare and both her and Delna get extremely disappointed if we don’t end up going, usually because of sickness.

It’s a nice set-up — there are three rooms side by side so I have one of my children in each.  I’m normally in with the toddlers, but every-so-often I end up with the babies and last year I was 3 days a week with the pre-schoolers — so I’m fairly comfortable in any of the rooms.  It’s nice for the children too because when they have the same workers fairly consistently, it gives them a sense that all is right in the world.  I really enjoy getting to know the children and their parents through this ministry.  Definitely a highlight of the week!

Gain One, Lose One

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

Is there anything going on in your life that we can be praying about?

This week is Norm’s first week in the office. Norm is my new co-worker. We are sharing an office, so we appreciate your prayers as we settle into what that means.

On the weekend a co-worker in the office let everyone know they are moving on the end of May. They were tribal missionaries in North Asia, then worked in the home office. They were with NTM Canada for some 16 years I think. So they will be leaving a hole.

Tomorrow some co-workers are going to Toronto to invite some Chinese pastors and elders to an NTM informational event on April 24th. I am involved in promoting this event on the 24th. Please pray that I keep balance with all that I am responsible for. Yesterday was a little overwhelming.

Thanks for praying!

Toronto Youth Group Retreat

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Monday, February 27th, 2012

Toronto youth group

On the long weekend in February, after a lot of preparation, Jason, along with co-workers, hosted a Chinese youth group from Toronto. The group arrived late Saturday night and stayed until Sunday after lunch. Everyone had a great time.

Friday night they did some role-playing where they ate some things they didn’t recognize. Then Saturday morning they talked about the importance of communicating clearly across cultures. After a few brave souls went tobogganing Saturday afternoon, everyone spent the evening in a tribal hut around a fire talking with Pete Humphreys, a veteran missionary, about the challenges to planting a church in an isolated tribal group. The Sunday morning, Angie’s brother, Sean, wrapped up the weekend with a challenge out of Habakkuk.

All weekend long, the youth were exposed to NTM and tribal church planting!

Christmas, New Years Eve and Skating

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Friday, January 20th, 2012

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.

Myelle opening her Christmas presents in 2011

our girls like olives so much they get them in their stockings at Christmas

Myelle opening her Christmas gifts in 2011

 

We spent Boxing Day with Jason’s Mom and all his siblings.

 

Delena, Myelle, Lorelei showing off their new pajamas that they got for Christmas

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!

Jason's Dad, Gord, and Lorelei opening gifts

gathered around our third turkey in as many days

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!

celebrating New Year's Eve with family

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!

Lorelei, Benjamin, Matthew, and Delena on the bridge at New Tribes Mission of Canada

Yep, the bridge can hold their weight!

building a snowman in Jungle Camp

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 skating

Lorelei showing us how it is done. Not bad for being the first time on skates.

Delena Skating

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!

Jungle Camp 2011

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Saturday, June 18th, 2011

Jungle Camp was the highlight of our two years of tribal missionary training with New Tribes Mission. So it is with fond memories we look forward to each summer when a new class of missionaries-in-training move into the bush for 4 weeks.

As staff at the home office for NTM in Canada, we got a sneak peak at how the students are doing. The actual open house isn’t until July 2-3. I encourage everyone to plan a day trip and see for yourself how resourceful and creative the students are.

Here are some photos from the current class:

Elisabeth and Yvon from Montreal

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Here are some posts from our summer of 2007 in Jungle Camp

Round 1 of Questions about Jungle Camp

Jungle Camp 2007

Hot Water Plumbed into our Jungle Camp Home

Here are some photos from our summer in Jungle Camp:

Angie tying our counter top together

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5-year Wedding Anniversary Off To An Expensive Start

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Sunday, May 8th, 2011

“Ms. Bechtel, you were going 85 in a 50.” Our 5-year wedding anniversary was off to an expensive start.

The police officer was kind enough to knock the offense down to 60 in a 50 km/h. It was on a fairly rural road, with homes only on one side of the road. The speed limit along there kept going from 80 km/h to 50 km/h and back, so I think he knew what he was doing, waiting for us at that particular spot.

Angie’s embarrassing moment was soon over-shadowed by one of Jason’s.

When we got to the hotel, we realized that when we had dropped Delena and Lorelei off at the sitter’s, that Jason had unpacked a little too much. Myelle’s bag was no longer with us. No clothes. No diapers. No snugli. Thankfully Angie had two outfits in Myelle’s diaper bag, which was still with us, and we were able to buy some diapers.

Embarrassing moments out of the way, we had a really relaxing two nights away in Wallaceburg, ON. Co-workers of ours, Wes and Brenda Dyck, were so kind to keep Delena and Lorelei for us.

While Angie’s favourite part about the hotel was the extremely large pool, Jason liked that our room came with supper one night, and breakfast both mornings!

On the way home to Durham, we were able to stop in and wish our mother’s a “Happy Mother’s Day” and do a little bit of shopping! Both Delena and Lorelei were thrilled to see us too! All said and done, it ended up being a very restful weekend, once we got beyond the shaky start.

New NTM@work Magazine

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Friday, February 4th, 2011

Done. Out the door. Finally. Today I sent the files to the printer for the next edition of NTMC’s quarterly magazine, NTM@work. Monday I still have to work on the envelope it will be mailed in, but at least the biggest part of the mailing is done! I know you will enjoy the stories in this magazine.

What does Jason do?

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Wednesday, December 29th, 2010

What does Jason do?Over Christmas we saw a lot of extended family. One question I heard a couple of times was, “What does Jason do?”

This is an interesting question, because the answer has been in constant flux since April of 2010. The week before Christmas I revisited my list of current responsibilities.

So here it is, in no particular order:

Help Missionaries serving with NTM:

  • designing, editing, proofing, and printing of ministry updates
  • designing prayer cards and business cards
  • publishing e-news bulletins for Canadian missionaries with NTM
  • oversee the development of internal manuals, reimbursement forms, etc

Preparing a New Website

  • coordinating the content for a new public-facing NTM website
  • planning a campus blog for our new website
  • researching companies to help with online donations

Promoting NTM on Canadian Radio

  • Oversee the mailing of promotional CDs to 70+ radio stations across Canada
  • Oversee followup calls to each of the radio stations

Assist in Mobilization Co-ordination

  • Setup and implement salesforce.com
  • Oversee the design of new literature and DVDs for promoting NTM, such as Awayo
  • Ensure that representatives across Canada have the literature and DVDs they need to be successful
  • Help plan how to best follow-up with Canadians who have gone to NTM’s Bible colleges or otherwise been involved with NTM in the past
  • Oversee the designing of new retractable banners for our representatives

Helping donors/churches know the impact they are having

  • Oversee the thanking of donors to the operations and development funds, both through written notes and phone calls
  • Develop a welcome package for first time donors to NTM of Canada
  • Continue to develop a “support report” service for churches and donors asking for an update on their missionary’s financial needs

Help with NTM’s social networking efforts internationally

  • Oversee the NTM international twitter account, which includes:
    • Daily tweets
    • Thank new followers and engage
    • Listen for mentions of our ministry and engage

Oversee the Canadian version of the NTM@work

  • Fine-tune the content of  NTM@work magazine for Canadian donors
  • Oversee the printing and mailing across Canada

Teach in the Missionary Training Centre

  • I help teach a module/class on “Ministry Partnership Development”. This class is about building and maintaining a team that will pray for you and support you financially. Everyone within NTM has to raise their own support.

I am sure there are things that I do that are not coming to mind right now. And there are things I have taken off my list, such as coaching  graduates of the Missionary Training Centre as they raise their support. I can’t do it all. Technically this list falls into two separate departments: Communications and Media, and Mobilization. The more I get a handle on what my new ministry is, the more my work blends together into “promoting what God is doing in tribal missions across Canada.”

I am thrilled that I don’t have to do this all alone. This last fall I had two interns, and two mom’s (Angie being one of them) helping as they could as well. One of the things on my personal prayer list is a full-time graphic designer, and a full-time administrative aid. Do you know anyone who may be interested in volunteering for a year or two?

New NTM@work Magazine: Canadian Calender Edition

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

Have you got your new NTM@work magazine/calender yet? Did you notice anything different?

Previously the NTM-USA head office sent their quarterly magazine to all Canadian donors. The November edition of NTM@work is the very first one where Canadian donors will receive a Canadian version of the magazine. And as an added twist, this edition of the magazine is a calendar.

Jason is super excited to oversee the “Canadianizing” of this fantastic publication. Right now one of his biggest prayer requests is for a graphic designer to join the Communication and Media Department. There is so much to do and someone with experience in design would be a huge asset!

A printed copy of this calender has been mailed to everyone that has supported our ministry financially in the last 12 months.

First Snow

Posted by Jason and Angie Bechtel on Sunday, October 31st, 2010

Last week we had our first snow. Here are some photos of our yard:

Our neighbour's beautiful maple

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