OUCH! You would think poking each other with needles would be a bad thing, but it’s all in a days work in missionary training. Being over seas in remote areas presents certain health risks so we had an "International Heath and Wellness" class to prepare us with the basics. Things like malaria, worms, infections, and hundreds of other diseases are common in tribal locations. In the jungle quick medical action can be the difference between life and death for you or for a tribal person. We were taught practical things like how to administer injections, how to calculate dosages, use a feeding tubes, diagnose and treat illnesses, and much more. In case of an emergency we (as the missionaries) will be the first responders to treat ourselves and tribal people. That’s a big responsibility! Healthcare and hospitals are often hours away, so it is important that we are fully equiped to handle whatever situation may arise. This class equipped us to respond inemergency situations as well as basic day-to-day medical issues we will face. If nothing else, we had fun giving eachother a shot in the arm!

Click here to see more pictures of medical class!

Much has happened since 2007. For one Ciara and I were single in 2007, but it only took five days to into the new year to change that. It is hard to believe that it’s been less than a year since we got married, yet even more hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since we got married! Time likes to play with your mind that way!

       With marriage came a move. Ciara had moved to Owosso MI, to be closer to me during our engagement and now it was my turn to move to her. I packed my truck and moved the 15 miles to our new home.

       Spring brought work, lots of work. Spring time was hard with Ciara and I having different schedules, but God was good. He kept us busy throughout the summer and He provided the necessary funds for yet another move.

                       This time the move was more drastic. Ciara and I believed that God wanted us to step out in faith by quitting our jobs and moving to Roach MO, (Over 700 miles away) to finish our missionary training with New Tribes Mission. So August 1 we moved and three weeks later classes began.

                        We were here only a short time when God opened the door for us to be a part of a local church by building them a youth program. It has been a blessing to see God work in and through us in this way. Just last Friday we had an all nighter with the youth. God has taken a group of only two boys and has increased it to 8 kids!

      Tomorrow marks the end of our first semester. Over 350 hours of class and homework, 100+ hours of work detail, 40+ hours of community outreach, and countless hours invested in church later, we are one thrid of the way through our training. We will be spending the holidays in California with Ciara’s family as we rest up for the upcoming busy year.

     We are excited to see what God has around the bend for us as 2009 approaches. We are confident that God will continue to guide us as we train to be missionaries and determine what country He will have us serve in.

        It was to be our first youth meeting as the leaders of the newly formed youth program at our new church, Horseshoe Bend Baptist. The plan was to have a night of fun (bowling and a pizza party) with a short introduction to the teaching series we hoped to start the following week.                             

       With less than an hour before kickoff we were discussing postponing till the next week. We had hoped for several youth, but it looked as if there would be two at best. Other youth had planned on being there but at the last minute had backed out for various reasons. Discouragement was beginning to set in.

      The decision was made and we carried on with the party and hope for the best. So we set off on the forty minute drive to church, with one short deviation to pick up our two youth attendees. Only a few minutes into the drive I decided to make one last call to a young man, hoping to increase our number to three. I dialed the number. "Hello." An answer to prayer; he answered the phone. I invited him to the event, that was now less than forty minutes away, and ended the phone call with no idea if he was at all interested.

      We arrived at the home of the youth we were picking up and quickly loaded up the back seat of our car. My pocket vibrated. It was my voice mail. I decided to check it before getting back on the road. To my surprise it was the father of a young man whom I had invited. He assured me that his son would be there. What a blessing our number had increased to three.

     We drove off with some encouragemnt welling up inside. We arrived at church just in time at 5:00. There was a car waiting there. It must be Caleb, I thought, the pleasant voice mail surprise. We hopped out of the car and headed for the church door. Up the driveway zoomed another car. The girl we picked up had texted her boyfriend and now our number had increased to four, counting Caleb whom we assumed was inside. As i reached for the door it sprang open and out walked Caleb and Devin, the boy I called on the way. God had turned our group of two into five.

    The night went well. Everyone had lots of fun and stuffed themselves with pizza, but now the real test how would our introduction to Stranger on the road to Emmaus go? Would the kids care about the real purpose for the activity? God was at work.

    The kids were very enthusiastic about the Bible study plan. They all voiced a desire to come to all the lessons and without sugestion made plans to envite their friends for next week.

    God was at work. He took our faltering hearts and showed that it was His work, not ours. He brought the kids and prepared their hearts. How awesome it is to see God do something without our help, and inspite of our doubts.

       Be in prayer for us and the kids as God works in and through us over the next year and a half, while we work at Horseshoe Bend Batist Church.

Field Fair 2008

      What country should we go to? What tribe should we live in? What way should we minister? Questions like these are not easily answered. How can you choose one need over another? How can you make just one group of people your priority when there are so many tribes hopelessly lost?

    Have you ever been to a job fair? Or been to a college fair when you were young? Imagine that, but with missionaries from around the world telling you the needs of lost people. Last Thursday and Friday we heard from representatives from 11 countries that New Tribes works in. We learned about every country, and every need. We were left with a sense of urgency for the task before us.

These are the countries represented at field fair

Pray that the stones do not return, as they likely will.

Pray for provision for the hospital bill.

        The Kodiak airpalne is on it’s way to Camdenton! So what, who cares, what’s the big deal you say? The big deal is that this plane is being developed to spread the Gospel. It is designed for the specific needs of missionaries around the world, and it will be delivering men and supplies where only this plane can take them. Hiking or canoeing could take days or weeks to reach a tribe, needs can now be met in hours. Suddenly the Kodiak is a big deal. On August 30‘th the Kodiak will make a stop at the our local Camdenton airport, just one of many stops on it’s summer tour. Here at the MTC it’s importance has not been overlooked. There has been a whole day of activity planned and the entire community has been envited to come and see what God is doing. If you’re in the area come out and join us! If you’re not in town be sure to pray for clear weather, good community responce, and most importantly pray that God’s message of hope would  expand it’s reach a little father as a result of this day.

Click here to get the whole story- watch the video and check out the pictures of missionary aviations new friend>>>>KODIAK

Also you can read about it in Camdenton’s local news paper.>>>>>>>KODIAK

•  Pray that we will be growing daily in our walk with God. without a foundation rooted in Him we will wash out when the storms come.
• Pray that we will be able to apply ourselves to our work. Phonetics and phonemics and possibly linguistics will not be easy courses and we will need to approach them with diligence.
• Pray for a real understanding of what we are learning. Not a book knowledge, but practical usable skills.

    We made it! The last few weeks have been a long and challenging journey. It has only been a short time since we pulled out of Michigan, but we’ve logged over 4,000 miles and we met some unexpected bumps in the road.

    A few days before we were set to move to the Missionary Training Center in Roach MO. we received a call informing us that Ciara’s dad had been in a motorcycle accident. We had already planned to travel out to California to spend some time with family and to visit with Ciara’s home church so we quickly bumped up our flight dates, and hit the road. The drive was long! God blessed the trip with safety and He provided us with an Auto Zone near by when Ciara’s car broke down. The Lord’s provision of the right parts and tools at the right time got us back on the road in slightly under a hour. It took us 14 hours to drive to the MTC with minimal stops. We pulled in at 11 pm and were so thankful to find that a staff family had arranged for several people to help us unload.
     The day after driving down to Missouri we drove to Kansas City to catch our flight to California.
We were able to spend 10 days with Ciara’s family. It was really a blessing to have some time with them. During our stay Ciara’s father recovered enough to be released from the hospital. We are thanking God that he has no permanent injuries. We were also able to attend several services at Ciara’s church. It was good to spend time with those who are faithfully praying for us and our future ministry. We said our goodbyes and flew home August 13 to begin unpacking and preparing for class.