Our 3 Precious E's

Chad and Elijah enjoying a little ‘down time’

This Email is an update on our 3 beloved “E’s”. So “Ease” yourself in your chair and we’ll fill you in…

Ellie Skees, our niece (who is the 8-year-old daughter of Chad’s sister Sarah) is still battling stage 4 neuroblastoma cancer. We know many of you are already keeping updated on her condition and the treatment she’s been undergoing for the last 5 months on her blog, which is ellieskees@blogspot.com . Everyone is really pleased that she has been getting closer and closer to her target weight of 50 lbs. going into round 5 of chemo, which includes drugs that affect her hearing. After round 5 she will need surgery to remove the tumor on her adrenal gland. We know John and Sarah would appreciate your prayers for wisdom as they make some big decisions on the next steps of Ellie’s treatment. Please pray for her, as the chemo really takes a toll on her small body. The blogspot is an excellent way to keep updated on Ellie and be able to join us in praying more specifically for our beautiful niece, and also to praise God for His incredible loving care in the lives of John, Sarah, Ellie and Ethan.

E number 2 is Ellie’s little brother and our nephew Ethan, who has been an absolute trooper during these past months, staying with grandparents, while sister is in the hospital, parents back and forth, and all of the upheaval that is so difficult for any human being, much less a boy of 4! We’ve heard that he has had a tremendous attitude (including his trademark sense of humor) through this all. We are so proud of Ethan and invite you to continue to pray for him.

Our own little E, Elijah, is now a terrific 2 years and 2 months old! E for Elijah, E for energy, enthusiasm, excitement, echo (as in he repeats so much of what we say…like, “Oh, man!” “That’s so cool!” and much much more…E is also for entertainer, excellent, extrovert, exasperating (as every 2 year old can be at times—do I get an amen, parents?), and enjoyable. Finally, every day we thank God for bringing him into our lives, so we can add one more to the list---enriching!

Thanks for Electing to read this Email of the 3 E’s. Enjoy your day, and be Encouraged! Know that you are an Encouragement to us!

Chad, Janeene & Elijah


And thanks for your continued prayers for the new Tobo believers here, that the sick ones will get better, they’ll continue to hunger for more, and continue to talk about their faith.

New life in Christ

Illness has taken several of the new believers away from the last few believers’ meetings, but we are so thankful to God to see this group of men, women and youth gather each Thursday near our local doctor’s house and clinic less than 5 minutes’ walk from our house.

While many are still shy around each other, you can’t help but see the joy and peace on their faces as we read the Word together and Jason leads us into a good discussion and time of asking and answering questions about God and His character, and the significance of what Christ has done for us.

Several individuals have continued to share with the group what their new life as a believer in Jesus has meant for them, and we stand in awe of our Lord as we hear these reports, realizing that just a few short weeks previously, these people were living in darkness and fear. Now we are hearing things like the following:

One woman stood up and shared this: “Before I heard this talk about what Jesus did for me, I didn’t understand things clearly. I was always afraid, especially at night or when I would go to the jungle. Now God has told me that I don’t need to be afraid anymore, because I’m no longer under Satan’s hand, but under God’s hand because Jesus died for me!”


Our neighbor Alis had this to say: “When I first heard all of God’s talk that the white men were teaching us, I thought, ‘This is just another story.’ I didn’t really believe. But as I kept listening, at the very end of the talk, God really put my insides in court, and I realized, ‘This is so true, Jesus died for me, because of my sin.’ I have no strength or good thing to save myself, only Jesus can do that. Before He died, He said, ‘It is finished,’ and then He died. I now know this means that it is really finished and I can’t do any more work after that because He did it completely. I believe what God’s talk says in John chapter 3 and verse 16. I believe, and my insides have turned and I am happy now.”

And several people with nervous chuckles had this to say at one point in our discussion (and the laughter was because these people would normally never openly say these things aloud in a group before now): “Yes, true, we’ve always been afraid of Satan and his spirits. Afraid of animal and bird noises at night, because of the spirits, and afraid of the darkness. But our Deliverer Jesus, he crushed Satan’s head, and Jesus won when He rose from the dead. So now we don’t have to be afraid of him anymore!”

Praise God, we are seeing firsthand His power at work in changed lives! Please continue to rejoice with us, and also pray, as these new believers grow in their faith and understanding!

Thanking God for building His church,

Chad, Janeene, & Elijah