NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

It was four weeks ago, today, that we arrived in Papua New Guinea.  We are so thankful for the grace of God shown to us in many ways this past month.  As you have prayed for us the Lord has encouraged and challenged our hearts and continues to stretch our faith in Him.

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After 20 days in transit we are finally at our destination!  A roller coaster of emotions describes best what we are feeling now that we are here.  Sometimes excited and confident, other times sad and apprehensive.  Overwhelmed with all that is new, but relieved that we are done traveling.  There are moments that everything seems quite normal, and others when we feel like having a good cry.  So much has transpired in the past few weeks that it is hard to know which of these feelings is appropriate.  All of them, is probably the right answer. 

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Jet lag is a strange thing.  After a full night of rest we still feel like our heads are twice their normal weight.  In our minds the past 21 hours of globetrotting seem more like a dream, but our bodies remind us that we didn’t imagine even a second of the journey.  It actually happened, and we are actually in Australia.  It just doesn’t seem real.  We are thanking God for the internet because we have already been able to Skype with our dear families.  Familiar faces in this unfamiliar landscape are so comforting.  Thank you so much for all your prayers, gifts and well wishes during the past few days and weeks.  We are very aware of your support. We’d like to share a few of the highlights from the past few days so you can rejoice with us at God’s grace, mercy and faithfulness.

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Commissioning Service

This past Sunday, October 3rd, was a momentous day for our family as we were commissioned and officially sent off by our home church, Cascades Baptist.  Our pastors, missions team, family and many church friends had so many kind words of encouragement and pledges to stand behind us in this new ministry endeavor.  We appreciate each relationship that the Lord has given us from this body of believers, and not from this church only.  The Lord has given us precious relationships with 7 other churches that have expressed their care and concern for us too.  It has just been overwhelming and we are filled with gratitude. 

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These are just some of the activities that we have been up to this past month. After we got our crates shipped off we started to sort through the rest of our belongings. We had to figure out what was going to be carried with us in our luggage and what was going to need stored here at home.  We are nearly finished with this process and what remains is going to be sold in one final garage sale.

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As we were watching our crates getting loaded into a truck today, the kids enjoyed watching this little critter nearby “praying”.   We were very aware that he was not the only one praying!  God was answering the prayers of you who have been praying for the many details of getting things bought, packed and into our crates!  Our friend, Phil, came today with his tractor and loaded our crates into the semi that will be taking them to California, where they will then be put on a ship until they arrive in Papua New Guinea.  We saw answers to prayer, even in the smallest details like getting the crates loaded safely in the truck.  After it was all finished, we sat down with the kids and just thanked God for his help and provision.  It was sweet to hear each one of the kids pray things like: “Thank you God, that the crates weren’t too big to fit in the truck.” and “Thank you God, that the crates were not too heavy” and “Thank you God for Mr. Phil who came to help us”, etc…..This really is a milestone in our preparations for going to the field.   Thank you for praying with us!  We are encouraged to keep trusting God for our future as we continue to move forward.  Please continue to pray for us in this next month or so before we leave as we wrap up some business things that need to be done and also as we spend some final moments with family and friends before saying goodbye for the next few years. 

Hit the photo tab above if you would like to see some pictures of today’s events!

Thank you for your interest in our ministry. We appreciate how the Lord is using you as we continue to move forward towards church planting among the unreached of Papua New Guinea. Important details are coming together and we’d like to share the latest with you.

Shipping Previously we shared with you an opportunity that we had to get our belongings shipped to PNG with an organization called JAARS. As far as we knew the JAARS container was the only one headed to PNG this year. But last week we heard news that another container is being sent to PNG by a family who has worked with NTM missionaries for years now. They had been taking some time off, but have decided to start up their service again.

Because of their ministry we stand to save nearly $2,000 in shipping costs. We were just days away from sending our crates to JAARS for shipping when we heard this news and were able to change our plans. God is able to do more than we could ask or even imagine.

We plan to have our crates packed and on the road by the middle of next week. Pray that we would be able to fit everything we need into the crates that we have and that we can get them safely loaded.

Airline Tickets For several weeks we had three different travel agents working on quotes for our family to get to PNG. The best quote was still $1,000 more than we anticipated paying, but just before we purchased the tickets we remembered a recommendation we were given a few months ago. We pursued this recommendation and received a quote that was $1,000 less than we anticipated paying. Just in time the Lord jogged our memories and we were able to change our plans. He is able to do more than we could ask or even imagine.

We have purchased these tickets and will be departing October 4th. Please be praying for us and our families as we anticipate this day. The reality is sinking in bit by bit and our hearts are often heavy with the thought of finally saying goodbye.

The Lord continues to provide for our needs in amazing ways. We have been the recipients of tremendous generosity that has allowed us to not miss a step in our preparation for the field. We are confident that the Lord will continue to meet our needs as He sees fit. Thank you for being used of the Lord in our lives in such a bountiful way. We are truly grateful.

Benjamin and Missy Hatton

I was enjoying breakfast at the Jackson County Airport restaurant last week with Mark, a friend from church.  We had seats by a window overlooking the runway.  It was surprisingly busy for such a small airport.  While we ate and talked we watched a number of small, single engine planes take off and land.  I related to Mark how many memories I have of trips out over the jungle in little planes just like the ones we were watching.

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On Wednesday (2/3) we put an important packet of paper work in the mail and sent it to Papua New Guinea.  Our NTM co-workers will take the paper work, which included our application for work permits and visas, and hand them in to be processed.  Everything has to be just right in order for the application to be accepted.  Pray that we would find favor in the eyes of whoever processes our applications!  We have been told that it could take as little as three weeks for our work permits to be authorized, but don’t know how long it will take for our visas to be granted.

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Oath Ceremony 8/28/2009

August 28^th marked a momentous occasion for us; Benjamin took the Oath of Citizenship at a swearing in ceremony in Detroit.  There were over a thousand people in attendance that day with 950 immigrants finishing the naturalization process.  The ceremony itself was straightforward without too much pomp and circumstance, but it was meaningful and very significant for us. 

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