Homeless for the Holidays (Sort of...)

Forgive us for posting our Christmas letter online, but we (meaning Laila) couldn’t resist the efficiency of communicating so easily with so many loved ones at once.

We are not really homeless, but often feel that way as we are not currently living in the home we own in Minnesota. For the detailed descriptions of the past few months you can read the individual postings on our blog, beginning with August 12, 2006. A short summary is provided here.

After a whirlwind summer of interviewing, candidating, vacationing, and putting our home on the market, Jon began his new job as Associate Pastor at Evanston Bible Fellowship in Evanston, Illinois on September 1st. Laila and the girls remained in MN with hopes of selling our home, buying a new home in Evanston and quickly joining Jon. In November, when our home had not yet sold, the all the ladies moved in with Laila's parents in Wheaton. Jon has been blessed to stay with an elder's family in Evanston. As a result, our free time has been spent commuting back and forth trying to act like some sort of family. Throughout it all, we continue to be humbled and amazed by our wonderful family who has graciously taken us in and helped ease the stress of this transition.

Needless to say, this has been a challenging time for our family. Thus, our Christmas letter this year serves as a request for prayer from our loved ones. Our most urgent requests are as follows:
-that God would provide for the sale of our home, and the opportunity to purchase a home of our own here.
-that the chaos of this transition would not prove negative for our family, but rather make our faith and relationships stronger.
-for wisdom and grace for Jon as he serves in his new role with multiple responsibilities.

Currently, God has provided a temporary place for us to live through the end of March. Being a large, 3 bedroom apartment in Evanston, we can finally all be together under one roof on a daily basis, which has not been the case for us since August. The girls refer to our new “home” as “the building”. Our apartment is on the first floor but it is a courtyard style building, with several units, so you can understand the association. We are grateful for this reminder of God's continued faithfulness in the midst of this challenging season.

We love our new church home and Jon thoroughly enjoys his new role as Pastor. All though we don’t have a physical home of our own at the moment, we feel very at home in our church and with the new friends we are making here. It remains a joy to be a part of what God is doing in His church and in the world for His glory.

The girls have been great through all this transition. Elizabeth is 6 and in Kindergarten this year. After two wonderful school experiences already this year, we have decided to home school her for the remainder of the school year and start her in 1st grade in the fall once we are finally settled into our new home here. Emma is almost 4. She’s busy at home playing and ever collecting things in bags and carrying them around the house. She insists on wearing dresses everyday, and lately is really into skirts. Evangeline is 16 months, just learned to walk and has discovered a whole new world of mischief. She loves to open drawers and cabinets and empty the contents onto the floor and carry various items around, hoping no one will notice. Potholders and plastic containers are among her favorites. All though it’s been a hectic season, we truly treasure these days with our young family.

We hope this Christmas season finds you all well, and your hearts and minds tuned to the true message of Christmas…..Jesus, the Hope for the world.

We’d love to stay in touch with you. You can contact us via email:
Jon: jonbechtle@ebfchurch.org, Laila: lailabechtle@hotmail.com,
Jon cell: 952-250-0487, Laila cell: 952-2501783
Our mailing address will be my parents address which is :
407 W Thomas Road, Wheaton, IL 60187
or before the end of March, here in Evanston:
535 Hinman Ave E1, Evanston, IL 60202

God’s richest Blessings to you and yours this Christmas and in the New Year,

Jon, Laila, Elizabeth, Emma and Evangeline Bechtle

Fall Memories

We wanted to post some photos from the past few months.....

A day at the apple orchard & pumpkin patch





















Our Halloween Princesses and Ladybug

Our First Snowfall