NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

For the past few months, I (Jonie) have been going through the book Hind’s Feet on High Places with my mentor, Gayle Hemphill. Each week we have been reading a few chapters and then getting together to discuss their contents and application to our lives.

One very significant thing the main character, Much Afraid, repeatedly does is make alters. She does this when she needs to remember what God has done for her.

Along the same lines, Jason’s mom has for years been collecting rocks from the different places we have lived and the different chapters of our lives. It is almost like milestones of where God has taken us on this journey, and we already have over a dozen rocks.

Joshua 4:3-7–Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

When hiking recently in Indonesia, I came across this rock pile and was reminded of Hind’s Feet which really gets the idea from Joshua. I think it is so important for us as believers to continually be reminded of what God has done for us.

As I stood there and gazed upon the pile of rocks, I was reminded that I never would have been there in Indonesia looking upon those rocks if it hadn’t have been for His leading.

When Joseph reveled himself to his brothers, he told them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (Genesis 50:20)

Things may be different for us now than they were when we first started out on this journey. We might not be doing what we had originally expected or even where we expected. But I want to build an alter right here and now and remember what God has done. There is no doubt in our minds that what some meant for evil, God has used for good. And we are doing exactly what He created us to do where He wants us to be doing it…worship Him by serving His people.

So the next time you see us, let us share with you how great our God is. Let us continue to remember what He has done for us and never grow weary in praising our Lord.

One day a woman, Dortina, came to the clinic with a chief complaint of a cough and shortness of breath. Pulse 68. Respirations 38. Temperature 101.2, temporal. Blood pressure 90/62. Patient is slow to respond and barely alert. Pupils equal and responsive to light. Eyelids pail, indicating anemia. No abnormal lung sounds, except rapid respirations. Patient has productive cough while listening to lung sounds. Sputum is red is color. Patient was eating beetle nut. Red is not from blood. I continue physical assessment. No palpable lymph nodes. Full ROM in all extremities. No palpable liver or spleen.

I used a translator to get more information on the patient’s illness, and discovered that she has not been feeling well and has been short of breath for several days now. I diagnosed her with pneumonia and treated with Amoxicillin for the day. And she was told to return each day for her new day of treatment.

Because the missionaries in this tribe are having difficulty getting the people to commit to taking the full treatment of medication, they ask that the tribal people leave a deposit hoping that their knife, machete or whatever is important enough for them to come back day after day to get their medication. Dortina left a knife with us and went on her way.

The next four days, Dortina came to the clinic, took her morning dose, and left with her afternoon and evening doses. Each day she commented that she was feeling better and better. Each day she came, she was more and more alert.

On the fifth day she happen to be walking by the clinic when she looked up and saw me watching her. She yelled from the path, “I’m feeling better, so I won’t take any more medication.” We replied, “You still have two more days of medication. And if you don’t come, you will lose your knife from the deposit.” She said she didn’t care and walked off.

What a frustrating day. I have the medical knowledge. I have the correct medication. I gave her the medication, and she won’t take it. If she continues to start treatment and end early, her body will begin to build up resistance to this antibiotic, thus creating a wider range of medications needed for the tribe, as well as using more expensive medications.

Please pray for the missionaries in this tribe, as they have such a difficult job of communicating the importance of finishing treatments for different diseases in a way that the people will understand. Pray the  missionaries will have wisdom when coming up with solutions to these tough problems.

Last night was special. In the darkness of night, Jason and I began to hear deep horns blowing coming from one of the tribal huts. It was quite soothing, yet the music does repeat the same notes over and over again.

Upon inspection, the village people play these horns for specific reasons. Sometimes they play to cause it to rain, and sometimes they play for it to stop raining. But the most important thing about the music, is that the people believe the music cannot stop until morning or else someone will die.

So all night long, we heard the horns being played. And they played until the sun came up.

Part of me wanted to go destroy their horns, then pray that God would protect the people that night and get some sleep. But because their playing is deeply related to their animistic beliefs, they would still live in fear that someone in their tribe would die. And I would rather they chose not to play because they trust in the one true God who is the great protector. I would want them to not live in fear of losing their life or the life of someone else, but rest in their faith in Jesus Christ.

These tribal people are still 2 to 3 years away from hearing the Gospel, as the tribal missionaries learn their language and culture. But once the missionaries are fluent enough to convey Biblical truths in the heart language of the people, they will discover they don’t have to live in fear any longer.

Please pray for the missionaries as they dedicate the next few years studying an unwritten language and learning the ways of these people, and please pray the hearts of the people will be made ready for the time when the Gospel message finally comes to them.

So far we have come across WAY more creepy crawly things than I would like. This Alaskan girl didn’t have to deal with snakes and all sorts of bugs growing up. And it has made me a wuss!

One night after seeing centipedes, millipedes, cockroaches, snakes, and scorpions, Jason says to me, “Maybe you’re not cut out for jungle living.”

I pondered this as we got ready to go to bed that night, the first night in this tribe. We crawled into bed and put the not for decoration mosquito net around the frame of the bed. This not only kept the spiders, centipedes, scorpions and rats from crawling on us at night, but it kept the malaria carrying mosquitos from biting us.

As we got the net tucked in around us, Jason began to freak out like a little girl because the net was touching him. He felt claustrophobic plus the net increased the temperature a great deal. In a loving voice I leaned over and said, “Maybe you’re not cut out for jungle living.” We laughed and fell asleep despite our circumstances that made us feel uncomfortable, knowing we can each handle these things because the cause is greater.

Jason and I couldn’t help but notice the extreme differences between one tribe to the next. Not only are they completely unique in their own language and culture from the village just over the next mountain, but their personalities are unique as well.

For example, at the arrival of our first tribe in Papua, Indonesia, the people came up to us and greeted us with warm hand shakes and finger snaps. The people followed us everywhere, carried our luggage, helped us dig ditches, cut wood, etc. They sat around the missionaries’ porch all day, every day hanging out. The people loved to watch whatever project Jason was working on. They were a very considerate, caring, and a social people group.

In comparing that experience with the another tribe, we found almost nothing to be similar. This time we were not greeted by people upon arrival. They did carry our luggage to our house, but then disappeared for the rest of the two weeks there except to show up forthe medical clinic. Jason and I kept asking ourselves, are there any people in this tribe? They were there, but just not around. One day I even went out people watching and had difficulty finding anyone before the sun went down.

Two tribes. Two very different ways of doing things. Two groups of people desperately inneed of the Gospel. Please pray for the families in each tribe as they continue to press towards an indigenous church plant.

With overwhelming thoughts of depression, I decided I didn’t want to live anymore. Not knowing the best way to take my life, I remembered the plant we give fish to make them die. I planned it all out like when I would eat the plant, where I would be, how they would find my body. Then one day I did it. I ate so much of the poisonous plant.

I began to get very sick. I wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. Some of my family members left to go tell the missionaries that I wasn’t well. When they arrived, they realized what I had done. They knew I needed to vomit the poison or I was going to die. I didn’t want anyone to save me.

The missionaries gave me charcoal to absorb the poison and make me throw up. I didn’t want to eat it, but I did anyway.

The missionaries thought I was going to die. I was so very, very sick. They reminded me why they had come to my village. It was to learn our language and culture and eventually tell us an important message from God. They asked God to help me get better. After that, I threw up the plant and got well. The missionaries told me the message from God was important. Maybe He wants me here to listen to this important message.

Please pray for Nika as she waits for the missionaries to get fluent in the language before they can begin teaching. God saved her life from the overdose. Let’s pray she will soon hear His message to her.

No matter how totally amazing the gifts that God has given Jason are, the simple fact is that if the tribal missionaries batteries are abused or something is not working right in the system, batteries can go bad. After spending a few days on rewiring everything and allowing the batteries to float and bulk, they still won’t hold a charge.

These particular types of batteries, which are gel, are supposed to be charged every three months at a minimum. They have already been sitting here longer than that amount of time, and we were told the batteries had issues even before they sat for several months.

Each night, Jason and I have eaten by candle light, not necessarily to be romantic, but out of necessity, so we could see what we were eating! After dinner we use candles to find our way around the house in cleaning up and getting other projects completed. And each night we would walk up the steps holding the candle to go to bed.

Out here in the middle of nowhere, where the tribal missionaries are learning language and culture in order to one day teach through the Bible chronologically, I cannot help but be drawn to the scriptures myself. Maybe it is the lack of constant nagging from a television, internet, telephone, etc, that allows me to have extra time to be in the Word. And all the use of the candles brought me to remember several scriptures that compare His people to being light:

Psalm 119:105–Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Matthew 5:14—You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

*Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for the amazing opportunity it is to be on the other side of the world in a land where there is so much darkness. You have made us the Light in this place that needs You so greatly. Whatever we are doing, let Your light shine through us. When I go to the medical clinic, light my path and give me Your wisdom and knowledge. Let me not trust in what I know, but depend on You. We need You for every decision, every moment of the day. God I ask that when we serve You and serve Your people, I pray they would see our deeds, and give You all the glory what we are doing in Your name. Afterall, You did this. It is an honor to serve You Lord here in Papua, Indonesia. Thank You for giving us the strength and ability to be here. We love You so much. Amen.*

While Jason worked diligently on generators the past week, I (Jonie) helped the missionary wife, Mio, around the house. I was like a pimbantu (Indonesian for maid/nanny) for Mio and enjoyed doing all the things I could do to help out. She works so hard day after day taking care of two children, all the while doing the daily grocery shopping to multiple stores just to get things on a simple list, cooking, laundry, dishes, cleaning, yard work, watching two kids, PLUS all those extra ministry tasks.

I kept telling her to take the break she needed and deserved so much. It was an honor to fold her families’ clothes, wash their dishes, sweep their floors, make a few meals (like tortillas) and from time to time, rock their beautiful 3 month old daughter to sleep.

While talking with some partners a few months ago, I described our ministry of going around the world and helping with tech and medical needs. And their response described our hearts and jobs so well, “It’s like you are missionaries to the missionaries.”

Yesterday we arrived in a new tribe in Papua, Indonesia. Almost immediately I noticed a woman with swollen legs and hardened skin. The nurse in me began making different diagnosis, but from looking at it, it seemed to be elephantias. Upon further investigation in my medical manual, I discovered there are two types. One caused by red soil from an old volcano and the other from worm larvae.

I learned in my medical mission class there is a checklist to go through when treating a patient. The next day she came to the clinic, and before she even arrived, I was going through the check list in my head making sure that all my bases were covered.

Step 1: Give God the glory.

Step 2: Answer if the person even needs medical care.

Step three: Keep the patient safe.

After going through these in my mind, I asked her a series of questions to determine what her condition was, remembering that the sole purpose of this whole thing is to give God the glory. I want to show her love by treating her, and in turn helping the missionaries build the relationship with the people as they begin teaching the Bible to them in their own language.

Her answers were specific enough that made me very comfortable with which condition she had. She has full blown filariasis, which has manifested itself in time as elephantias. Because her condition has progressed so long, treatment will cure the disease but not the characteristics in her feet. It is a permanent deformity. The good news is that her son, in the picture, will most likely be completely cured with immediate treatment.

Please pray for the missionaries here as they treat her and the entire village to prevent any more cases like this one.

Though there are many things to do in Indonesia at this time, the biggest reason we came here was to install a micro hydro power system in one village. Right now the tribal missionaries are using solar power, but due to the daily rain, they are unable to make enough power to use their printer except on bright days with no rain. Because of this, they are months behind on printing the lessons they are teaching. Every day there are literacy classes, initially taught by the missionaries, but now tribal men have taken over who have learned to read their own language well.

After that there is chronological Bible teaching. The missionaries have covered from Creation to the death and resurrection of Christ. The resulting believers who understand their sin and need for a Savior and have accepted Him are now going through the teaching a second time, in hopes that just like literacy, can soon teach the rest of their people in neighboring villages that message. However, the workbooks and literature they need to teach better, have not been available.

The solution was to use their small stream to make power. The tribal missionary took all the necessary measurements, and then all of the hydro equipment was built for the specific stream and prepared in America and shipped over in our luggage. The cost of excess baggage fees was more than the price of our tickets to get it to their village, but it was still cheaper than sending it freight. And we didn’t have to worry about paying extra for customs.

There were over five design changes to the system as well as the location where we would build it until we finally decided what to do. Two large logs had been cut out of a hard wood that the people said would take many, many years to rot. These were the mounts for the turbine at the bottom and then the generator at the top, both of them connected together by a drive belt. The water source was 37 feet above us, giving us plenty of pressure, and all we had to do was divert the stream down to the turbine.

We had 40 meters of 4 inch pipe to carry the water and we simply had to dig a trench to bury the pipe. We also had to build a little shed around the system to keep the kids and pigs from messing with the valves and electrical components. Burying the posts was going to be a challenge with only a square tipped shovel, but I was thinking like a westerner. In these situations, you need to think tribal; wet the ground, take a 50 pound hardwood pole, sharpen the end and pound it over and over into the dirt until it buries itself as deep as it can before either your arms turn to jelly or the pole hits a rock. Now do that 7 times, cut off the excess and nail the boards to the finished frame. Unless, of course you don’t have boards, which was our case.

Part of the deal with making our own boards was to fix the chainsaw that hadn’t been run for 5 years and needed a carb overhaul and a few adjustments, and we were ready to haul that beast of a saw up the mountain, find the largest tree, cut it down, cut it into 6 foot pieces and then cut those into slightly crooked and sort of misshapen boards. Within a few hours, we had enough wood for walls, and soon the pipes were connected. The shed was built, and we were ready to run the wire.

One of the issues with a micro hydro power system is that once the batteries are charged there needs to be some sort of load. If there isn’t a place for the electricity to go, the turbine will begin to spin faster and faster until it destroys itself. The only way to prevent this is to give the power somewhere else to go, in our case a hot water heater. However, we have a 12 volt system and a 220 volt hot water heater, which required me to disassemble and remove the electrical components and replace it with 12 volt pieces. After a day and a half, we were ready for water.

So as to not blow up the pipe with the weight of the water shooting down the hill, we slowly filled the 125 feet of pipe until all the air had bubbled out the intake. Now with full pipes, we were ready to break our dam and send all the water towards making us about 20 amps of 12 volt power.

Talking back and forth on the radios, we quickly realized that things were not as they should be. Apparently we had just enough water to make an amp and a half of power. That is almost enough to charge a AA battery over several hours, and basically useless to us. We needed more water.

After the Bible teaching the next morning, we rounded up 5 or so men to join us hiking 1000 feet up the mountain in a search for more water. It was certainly no picnic hacking our way through the jungle. The village was already at 4900 feet elevation, so my sea level lungs and heart were having a hard time. It was even more annoying that while I’m sucking wind and clawing at the roots to haul myself up the slippery path, the guy behind me is playing his flute and has his kid on his shoulders. But soon I was grateful when we began digging the ditch through the rocks and roots. Those guys worked tirelessly and within four hours we had five separate streams diverted into one.

Though the water was very dirty from all the digging, we couldn’t wait to see what the difference would be in output until it cleaned itself out. The result was only 10 amps. Well, not quite what we wanted, but we’re halfway there. We still needed more water. We could use another $2,000 worth of pipe to bring water over the valley from the next ridge, but since we didn’t have any pipe, or $2,000, we’re going to have to work with 10 amps.

Since the water was so dirty, we had to clean the intake screen every 20 minutes or so. But over dinner it went a full 40 minutes without a cleaning, and I went up to check it again. With that much water going down that much of a slope creates quite a vacuum when the screen clogs up and no water is available. In the time it took me to eat dinner, the 55 gallon drum we used for our intake totally imploded, crushed under air pressure like a soda can.

In the morning, we dug up the destroyed barrel, and with our one remaining drum, we built another intake, making a few modifications as we went. We made tighter seals to keep water from leaking, changed the way the water flowed over the barrel, and most importantly we made a vent sticking 2 feet out of the barrel so that if the screen ever plugged up again, there would be a place for air to get in and prevent another catastrophic failure. Trial three went off without a hitch and now as I write this, has been working at 10-12 amps consistently for a week now. Now that I’m out of the village in some resemblance of a town, I’m getting materials together to make a pre-filter, to try to cut down on the junk getting stuck in the intake. The problem is, I have to charter a helicopter to take 3 pounds of screen into their tribe. The pilot agreed to drop it off if he’s flying in the area for no charge, which is very good news. However, it just might take several weeks before it gets in there. In the meantime, the tribal missionaries’ batteries are fully charged and there are no problems running their printer to get those materials to the hands of the people, and that’s what’s most important!