NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

I am happy to announce that I will begin ministry with New Tribes Mission this June! As most of you know,
I will be serving as an Administrative Assistant at the Home Office in Sanford, FL. I am so excited! This has been a long journey and it has stretched my faith in so many ways…
I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me during this time, everyone who has given financially, everyone who has encouraged me when I felt discouraged and everyone who has introduced me to their friends and helped get the word out about this ministry!!! You are all a VITAL part of this ministry! I feel so blessed to be partners with you in expanding the reach of the gospel to every tribe, tongue and nation!
Right now I am close to the minimum amount of support that must be raised – and I am praying to raise more than the minimum. Please, don’t underestimate the power of prayer in this. Keep praying! Also, don’t underestimate the value of your donations – no matter how much. They are adding up and making a difference!

I hope you are all doing well and staying encouraged in the Lord!

Many of you already received my ministry update last month, but for those who didn’t, I have posted it below. There has been a change in direction as far as my future ministry, but not in the purpose that it will serve: to glorify God and bring the Good News to those who’ve never heard…

I have had a lot to think and pray about over the last few months. I wanted to let you know that there is going to be a change in direction as far as my ministry is concerned.
In the last few months I have been really struggling with the idea of going to Brazil alone. However I still really wanted to go and thought that I could handle it. I have been praying, talking to my parents and seeking advice from my church and New Tribes leadership. My church and New Tribes leadership both agree that I should not go to Brazil while feeling so uncertain about it. Also, I don’t want to waste the resources God has given me through my supporters. But the desire God has put in me to reach the unreached tribes has not changed. I still want to be a part of that, even if that means staying State-side for now. New Tribes Mission is in need of more missionaries to work at their Home Office in Sanford, Florida and would like to have me join them there, serving missionaries around the world. I have wanted to serve overseas for so long, that at first it was hard for me to think of considering anything else, but I know that working at the office makes it possible for more missionaries to serve overseas and that it is also vital to reaching tribal people. So, I am now really excited about this and will be visiting Sanford in a few weeks to discuss possible ministry options there and where I would best fit in. Just like all New Tribes Missionaries, the office staff also raises all of their support from individuals and churches. This really helps the overseas missionaries, so that all of their support goes to their ministries, without any being taken out for administrative costs.
As supporters and friends, you all have been such an encouragement to me.  These decisions have been hard to make, but I feel God’s peace and know that He will still use me, just in a different way. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have about this new ministry…

I hope you all are doing well. I would apprecriate your prayers as I make this transition.

In Christ Alone,

Diana Rodriguez

LATEST UPDATE:

I have received so many encouraging notes and e-mails during this time! Thank you to everyone who is praying! I had an interview at the New Tribes Home Office and they said that they really need an administrative assistant. During the last few weeks I have been praying about it and have decided to take this position. I am very excited about the opportunity to serve missionaries who are working around the world! Maybe someday I will go overseas, but I know that God is going to use me wherever I am.

This office position with New Tribes Mission is still an unpaid missionary position, so I will need to finish raising support before I move to Sanford. I am so thankful to God and to everyone who has been giving to this ministry faithfully during the past year. Because of you I am now at 40% of my recommended monthly support!

So, when am I going to move to Sanford? I still don’t know, but I do know that God’s timing is perfect. When I have reached 70% support I will set a date and then continue to raise support until I move. Please continue to pray with me that I will find more opportunities to share about this ministry with individuals and churches and that God will lead me to the people that He wants to partner with me.

Well, the last few months have been good and hard all at the same time. I have been working part-time at a Hallmark store and really like it there. I will keep working there until I leave for Brazil.

On June 21st, my grandma, Amparo Hernandez (known as “Dee”), passed away in her sleep and went to be with the Lord. We miss her, and so in that it is sad. But I know she is having a wonderful time with Jesus now and that I will see her again. My grandma did not come from a Christian home, but she heard the gospel when she was invited by friends to hear Billy Graham preach. She didn’t really want to go, she just went because she wanted these friends to stop bothering her. But she heard that day that Jesus had died to take the punishment for her sins. She accepted Christ’s forgiveness that day and now she is with Him forever – not because she did good things, but because Jesus paid her sin debt with His own blood on the cross. After my Grandma became a believer she did many good things with her life and often witnessed to her friends and family about Christ. But that was out of love for Christ and for them, not to earn her way to God. At my Grandma’s funeral, the gospel was shared, as she would have wanted. Several people decided to accept Christ’s forgiveness that day!

It makes me think of this verse: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.” – Ecclesiastes 7:2

While it was a day of mourning, it seemed even more a day of rejoicing; that Grandma was with God and that several other people would also be with Him someday, because of her testimony. The hope of Christ is wonderful! God is truly awesome and worthy of of our praise. And though we all sin, He freely gives forgiveness to those who will accept it through Jesus Christ – because Jesus is the only One who took our punishment for us.

How wonderful it is that we have this Good News in our country. True, not everyone wants to hear it, but it is available to nearly anyone who wants to learn more. We have churches all over the place, Christian bookstores, websites, several English translations of the Bible and many Christians who are sharing their faith with others. And we must continue to share our faith, and live lives that back it up (how many people won’t set foot in a church because they were not treated with love there?).

And yet there are still people in the world who have never once heard of Jesus Christ in their language. I don’t want you to think I am saying we don’t need to reach America – we do, more than ever! It is just so sad for me to think that we have had God’s Word for centuries and they have never even had the chance to know that it exists. This is one of the reasons I am going to Brazil. The native people there have been forgotten by so many and are living far from the cities and speaking unknown languages. How will they ever hear of Christ unless more people go to them, befriend them, learn their language and share God’s truth with them? They have waited so long, their ancestors dying without the hope of Christ, century after century. Please pray with me that this generation of Brazilian natives will finally have the chance to hear the gospel – the chance to accept or reject Christ for themselves. Not because they deserve this (because neither did we), but because God loves them and gave His own Son for them. So, please, continue to pray with me for them, that they will all hear of Christ in this generation… they have been waiting far too long. And pray for me, that I will depend on Christ’s love to love everyone I meet, here in the States and in the remote villages of Brazil. I could never do this without Him.

I am hoping to leave for Brazil by this November, as long as the finances and my visa are ready by then. I am trusting God to provide for my ministry needs through individuals, groups and churches. Since I plan on serving in Brazil for ten years or more, long-term, monthly support is also needed. You can learn more about becoming a monthly partner at this link:  http://usa.ntm.org/give/ways-to-give/eft/ .

When I am talking to people about my future ministry to Brazil, they often have a lot of questions.  Questions about missionary training, the country of Brazil, why I’m going there, how long I’ll be there, etc. Questions help me to explain this ministry better. So, I’d like to encourage you to write me with any questions you might have. In the coming weeks I’ll post answers to some of the questions. I will also respond to each person who asks a question, even if it is not posted on the website. Just click on the “contact” tab above to send your question. The more questions the better, so ask as many as you want!

Also, I’ve posted some new pictures in the “photos” section. They are from a missions conference that I went to last weekend.

So I’ve been talking to New Tribes leadership in Brazil and I will be applying for my visa in a few weeks! I will be going to the Brazilian consulate in Miami to apply and then they will send the paperwork to Brazil to be processed. Whenever they notify me that they are finished, I will be able to make more specific plans and buy a plane ticket. I hope to leave for Brazil in September or October, though it could happen sooner or later. The soonest I would leave would be  July, so I can count on at least 5 more months here with you in the States.

You are probably wondering what that has to do with recipes! Well, before I leave I am trying to compile my own cook book of favorite recipes to bring with me to Brazil. Do you have a great recipe for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert? Then send me an e-mail including your favorite recipe(s)! I’m especially interested in recipes that use simple and inexpensive ingredients. So send in those recipes – they will be much appreciated!

Well, things are going well and time is going by fast. It was nice to be home for Thanksgiving after being gone these last four years. We fried a turkey, which was delicious and spent the day at home with my parents, siblings and grandma. It was also a plus that it was not snowing! (during college up north it usually was). I began to associate snow with Thanksgiving, not Christmas. Of course the snow was beautiful, but it is so nice to be warm – I think it is one of the most wonderful things in the world! Anyway, even more than the weather, I was thankful to be with my family.

Now it is time to help decorate the Christmas tree. I am enjoying the holidays as much as possible, since I might not be here next Christmas. I’ll be applying for my visa soon… one more step closer to Brazil!

Thank you for all the prayers and please, keep it up! So many people have no idea that Jesus ever came, let alone that He is coming again…

Last week Mom, Dad and I headed up to northern Florida for a missions conference I was invited to. It was great to meet people at the church, as well as other missionaries from around the world! The theme for the conference was “Forgotten Children.” That is especially true of many tribal people… They live in the middle of “nowhere” and are separated from the rest of the world by geography, language and culture. Don, a New Tribes Mission representative, gave a powerful message on the forgotten tribal people. He used an illustration that will really stick with me: If, on September 11th, anyone was trapped in the building alive, they would be calling out “I’m here! I’m here! Hurry up!” He read a few letters from  tribal villages that they had sent to New Tribes Mission. They continue to write letter after letter, saying things like, “We don’t understand God clearly. We are afraid to die. Please send a missionary to us. We have been waiting a very long time. Please, hurry up!” But the problem is we don’t have enough missionaries to send someone to all these tribes who are asking.

I hope, that when you see what I’m doing, you won’t just see a woman working for a worthy cause. I hope you see God’s heart for all people. I hope you see the people out there still waiting. I hope that God can use me to be a voice for them. They may be deep in a jungle somewhere and we can’t see them, but they are there.  I hope you can hear them calling: ” I’m here! I’m here! Hurry up. Hurry up…” We know they are there – we cannot forget them!

The conference was a great challenge to me, and I hope to many others.

Talking with people at my display table...

While we were at the conference, we stayed at a log cabin on one of the church member’s property. They were really sweet people and the cabin was a beautiful old fashioned one! We wished we could have stayed longer…

I could live here...

No, it doesn't work - but it is cool!

Our wonderful hosts

There are more pictures in the “photos” section….

Next week I’ll be going to a missions conference and will also get the opportunity to share at an elementary school. So I decided to make a display specifically for children, with pictures of people in Brazil.

I am really looking forward to the missions conference! It is at a church up in northern Florida, so we (Mom, Dad and I) will start driving Wednesday morning. Then we’ll join the church for a dinner and service. Thursday I’ll be sharing at an elementary school nearby. That night I’ll share in a home. I am looking forward to getting to know the people there and talking about God’s heart for even the most hard-to-reach people groups.

After the conference, we will be heading down to Tampa to see family from my dad’s side. It will be fun to go on a little vacation. : )

Dad and I finished painting the first coat on the roof today. We used a thick white paint that will help reflect the sunlight off the roof. This will keep the house cooler and hopefully bring down the cooling bill. It will also seal the roof , which will help to keep it from leaking or from the shingles coming off  in a hurricane. I wonder if I can use this stuff on the mission field – it is terribly hot in Brazil!

I’ve been thinking lately how God uses weak people. That means a lot to me. I am definitely not what you would call a tough girl. And I’m not very strong physically. I’ve thought before that people like me aren’t needed on the mission field – especially in a remote tribe where life is just harder. But then I am reminded of people in the Bible like Gideon and Moses … When you read those stories you know that God deserves the praise – because they were weak and scared, and even looked for excuses to get out of it, but God wanted to use them anyway. So it’s okay if we aren’t what the world would call strong. We just need to stay close to our strong God.

Some of you have asked me, “When are you heading to Brazil?” The truth is, I don’t know! Because the visa process will take an indefinite amount of time, I just have to get ready while I wait.

Because I am not quite ready to go now, I have not applied for my visa yet. If it was ready too soon, I would have to go to Brazil within a few months of approval. So I am going to wait a few more months to apply for my visa. New Tribes leadership will help me through the process.

This waiting is not a bad thing. It gives me the chance to spend time with all of you, challenge people to get involved in missions, raise enough support and get started on learning Portuguese.

So, what exactly will I be doing when I get to Brazil? For about a year I’ll go through orientation and Portuguese study in a city, before joining a team in a tribe. To learn the language & culture, share the gospel and help disciple believers can take several years. It is a long term effort. That is a basic timeline, but everything is really in God’s hands.

Hopefully that explains things a little more clearly. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me.

SOME PRAISES:

I had another get-together at my house to share about this ministry. It went really well. I am feeling more comfortable sharing what’s on my heart.

I’ve been asked to share at a mission conference in October. The church heard about me through a friend. I am looking forward to going and meeting new people there.