NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Bible Teachers ready to fly to the Citizen Teachers Training Seminar

In Matthew 28:19-20, we as believers have been given the task of making disciples.  Making disciples goes far beyond just making converts, it requires teaching training, and equipping.  Last week we had the privilege of sending 9 Dinangat men to a Citizen Teachers Training Seminar.  Bible teachers from 8 languages and 14 different churches from 3 provinces in Papua New Guinea were in attendance at the CTTS.

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Arial view of village M

Well, we want to thank you so much for your continued involvement in the desired outreach of our neighboring village.  Though reports still fluctuate somewhat, we have come to an agreement to begin our relationship with them through a literacy outreach first.  While the Bible teaching is still meeting some resistance, most of them are very willing and excited about the idea of us (or rather, the Dinangat literacy teachers) running a literacy program so that they will learn to read and write in their own language.  Usually we would not begin this program without a starting date for Bible teaching planned, but through much prayer and conversation with our leadership, we have decided to go ahead with the program and ask the Lord to use it to really begin to open hearts through pre-evangelism.  The prayer is that through the literacy teachers (who are among our strongest believers) through their testimonies and love, through their very deliberate use of questioning to stir up their thinking concerning the Lord, their personal origins, their sin and consequences thereof, through this very intentional time (as well as teaching them to read and write ) God would bring them to a point where they will long to know the Truth.

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Its always nice to see the bridge in 'good' shape

Ever feel like a yo-yo?  We have to say that after making the long, exhausting trip up to village M with soaring hopes of setting a date for an outreach, we felt like a yo-yo that had reached its peak and then suddenly hit the floor (and was then kicked, stepped on…you get the picture!)  Apparently, after meeting with the rest of the village leaders, the main leader and the group decided that they would not go against the bigger religious organization of which they are members and authorize a full scale community outreach.  What?  You invited us up here to tell us no?  Again??  You couldn’t have sent someone to tell us that message?  Honestly, we were shocked. 

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“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation,” 1 Pt. 1:3

It is with overwhelming gratitude and joy that I write to you tonight to report that there are new names written down in glory! God in His grace and mercy has reached down and snatched several precious souls from the throws of Hell, and claimed them for His own for all eternity! Praise the Lord with us, for He has answered your prayers and for the sake of His Son, enlarged His Bride this week!

Several of this small group have confessed Christ as their Risen Savior. What a joy to behold the faces of new born believer as they exclaim the elation of being Freed from their sin!

Ewoneng is a widow who is a strong voice in the village. At the presentation of the Gospel, she was beside herself with joy, clapping and laughing and rejoicing. She could not contain herself as she said these words, “ My sin was like the cloth that wrapped Lazarus in his tomb. It was all around me; it consumed me. As you have taught God’s Word from the beginning, I began to understand more and more. Now I know that Jesus took the wrappings of my sin with Him to the Cross, and completely paid for all of it.”

After the last lesson, David came and said he wanted to talk in the house with us later. About an hour later he came and wanted to share that he was believing in Jesus as his Savior. He started to cry as he talked about how he had broken God’s law, he said that he knew he was a sinner but Jesus died for him. He couldn’t contain himself he was so overwhelmed with emotion. He said he knew about Jesus dying on the cross, but he never understood that it was in payment for his sin. He said, “The law was lying to me, telling me that I could go to God if I followed the law. But Jesus is telling me now that I will go to him when I die because of what He did.” Then he thanked us for coming. Still in tears, he said, “You guys came every week, and I know how hard the road was for you to come here over the mountains. Thank you so much for coming.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the room!

Mok, David’s wife, was also full of emotion as she proclaimed that Jesus is her “Kidaak Aamna” (the man who saves)!

There were several testimonies like this. When the teachers were explaining about the veil being torn, showing that the door to God was open, Bun began laughing out loud, grinning from ear to ear with excitement. Later that night he also gave a clear testimony, praising the Lord for taking away the penalty for his sin by paying his debt in full.

We are also praising the Lord for the work He has done in the Bible teachers over the weeks. As they threw their hearts and souls into the presentation of the Gospel and the drama they portrayed of the Crucifixion, the meaningfulness of what they were doing was abundantly evident on their faces, in their voices, and in their personal testimonies. Isn’t it amazing how talking about salvation and what the Lord has done causes us individually to fall deeper in love with our Savior? It was so sweet to see their passion and discernment, even as they recognized that there are a few who by their conversations, it was clear that they still are not grasping the Message for themselves. Please continue praying for Jacob. His attitude is different, and we can see the Lord chipping away at his heart. He is more attentive and asking more questions, but not quite ready to humble himself by realizing that there is absolutely nothing he can do to save himself. Unfortunately, there are a few like him, still unsure what to think about it all.

But the work is just beginning! We know the Lord will continue working on their hearts and drawing them to Himself. There is much to be done, and so much that these baby brothers and sisters have to learn! They decided that they want to continue the teaching on Sundays, thereby totally replacing the teaching they were receiving from their traditional religious leaders. As we continue to work on writing Bible lessons and prepare for our home assignment, the Bible teachers and Ralf will take turns hiking up there once a week on Saturdays, staying the night and teaching on Sundays. We are excited to watch how the Lord is going to lead and grow this new group of believers!

Rejoice with us! We are filled with thanksgiving when we think of each of you who have had a part in bringing the Good News to these dear ones! You have prayed for them, many of them by name, and you have prayed for our families, for safety, strength and endurance, you have encouraged us with your notes and gifts of love. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We can’t wait to share with you in person the stories and pictures of what the Lord has been doing in Dinangat! It’s a good day to be a missionary!

By His Grace and For His Glory!

Jeremiah, April, Jordan, Judah and Alayna

Dear Friends,

It has been our privilege and honor to be a part of taking the Gospel to the to the precious souls of this Dinangat village. We’ve been blessed by your partnership, the encouragement through prayer and correspondence has meant the world to us. We’ve been humbled and amazed to watch the growth of the Dinangat teachers through this adventure, their faith has been tried and proven in many ways. God is Good!

This week we’ve enjoyed having Jeremiah close by as Ralf went up with the teachers for this round of lessons. The teaching centred on Jesus’ deity, and Him being the only Door to Heaven; wonderful lessons, and the majority of the small crowd were thrilled to hear the hope conveyed through the Scriptures. A few of the questions were still focused on their fear of the spirit world, or determining what habits or actions are considered sin. Wouldn’t the enemy just love to get their minds totally wrapped up in issues that take the focus away from CHRIST, and put it on himself or individual works! But we are SO THANKFUL for the honesty and vulnerability of this group, to know where they are in their hearts is truly key to being able to teach well, and we praise the Lord for the insight He has given us! There was much discussion on Jesus being the ONLY way, the only “Bridge” to God, which is paramount since their traditional teaching emphasizes many different ‘logs needed to build the bridge to God.’

We will be combining the last two weeks of this initial teaching into one, so the teachers will be gone from Sunday through Friday. PLEASE PRAY!!! This final week will take us to the Cross, and as we portray Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, please pray:

· That hearts will be humbled, and the people will truly recognize their inability to do ANYTHING of themselves worthy enough to make them clean before a Righteous God

· That the focus would stay on point and they would not be distracted by past beliefs or trivial issues

· For wisdom for the teachers to discern and teach unto understanding

· For good weather, many of the believers from the home village will also go up this week to help support the teachers and talk with people after the lessons to help them understand

· For health among the village and the teachers (many have been sick this last week, including Jeremiah!), so that everyone would be there and not miss a single lesson

· Each person in the village would be able to comprehend what Jesus has done for them, what the Cross means, and BELIEVE in the name of the only Begotten Son unto Salvation!

We serve an awesome God, One who desires that NO MAN should perish! Thank you for being a part of His plan to reach the souls on this side of the globe!

By His Grace and For His Glory,

Jeremiah, April, Jordan, Judah and Alayna

Dear Praying Friends,

This was an interesting week for our friends in the outreach village, as well as the home village. As we mentioned last week, the religious leaders for the area did indeed come through and perform their services, in both villages. We were very excited to hear that many of the people here in the home village refused to even attend; that they could resist the social pressure is no small thing! In the outreach village they received the same false teaching. Many people are beginning already to see that these ‘teachers’, although they bring their Bibles and say that what they’re teaching is from the Scripture, are not lining up with what they’ve been learning through their study from Creation to Christ. Praise the Lord with us! We cannot keep these outsiders with their works doctrines (and good intentions) from teaching among our friends. Nor can we keep the villagers from attending the meetings that have been a part of their culture for decades. But He has opened the door in these places for the Word to come in. And by the Power of His Word and the work of the Holy Spirit, He is giving them discernment to see through the lies.

• Please continue praying with us about this outside influence. It has been a trial for the Church here since day one. The Papua New Guinea Constitution states that its citizens do have the right of freedom of religion. But for several generations now this religious teaching has been the only “church” in this region, and in many ways it has succeeded in tying many villages together with their meetings, conferences, ‘evangelistic crusades’, etc. All of their public school teachers come in as representatives and teachers for this church as well. The government representatives that come through from time to time also do their work in the name of this church. Unlike in the States, there is not a Catholic church on one corner, a Methodist church on another, and a Baptist church on yet another, and all the towns people can choose where to attend with minimal pressure from any one source. No, here there has been one “church” for everyone, and completely unheard of that a person would not believe its teachings. It is beyond difficult to know how to help the believers break away from this dominating system which is entwined with every part of their culture. Culturally, how can they stop subjecting themselves and their children to this teaching when it is a part of their school system, their government relations, everything? We honestly don’t know the answer. But what do we know? We know that our God is the God of the impossible. We know that Christ has set them free, and He desires that they do not get tied up again in slavery to the law (Gal. 5:1). We know that God will judge those who are confusing His people with false teaching. What a horrible, regretful day that will be for them!

Meanwhile, the teaching of the Truth goes on! The Lord is answering your prayers and drawing people to Himself, and we marvel at the work His is doing in their hearts! Sawang has been intently following the lessons and says, “This talk is ‘shooting my stomach’ (really convicting me).” He heard what the outside teachers said he needed to do to take care of his sin, but he said he knew there was nothing in his own power he could do to get rid of his sin burden. Praise the Lord for the way His Word is really taking ROOT in hearts! It’s only about two weeks until the teaching of Calvary’s Cross, truly we are all chomping at the bit to get there, for the soil has been broken and turned, the Spirit has seen that the seeds have taken root, and we believe that harvest time is near! There are just a few crucial lessons left before we proclaim the truth of the FINISHED work of Christ!

We admittedly are tired, but it is a GOOD tired! We are blessed to be a part of what the Lord is doing here, we are blessed to have YOU as our faithful prayer partners in this adventure, and we are blessed to be thinking of and preparing for being home among family and supporters in just under two months! There is much to be done in that time, please pray for wisdom for us in planning, and that we would keep our relationship with the Lord FIRST, finding our rest and joy in Him!

In His Grip!

Jeremiah, April, Jordan, Judah and Alayna

Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:5

This was the 11th week of the teaching from Creation to Christ, and for the first time ever these people heard John 3:16 in their own language! At first many of the people were confused, like Nicodemus, when they first heard that they needed to be “born again,” but after some explanation the lights turned on and excitement filled the air. Pol began to laugh out loud, Bun started clapping, even a couple of people who have normally been indifferent towards the teaching were asking questions and were anxious to hear more.

Please continue to pray for all of the teachers. It’s been over 2 months of solid teaching and everyone is getting pretty tired. We have four more weeks to go of this initial teaching, where we teach 5 times a week. Please pray for Felix, Basa, Lucas, Epox, Ronny, Itiringke, Jaspa and Nonjong and also for their families as they have a lot to do to keep things going at home without their husbands.

Easter is a special time of year and the same is true for the Dinangat believers here in our home village. On Easter two of the Bible teachers will be teaching on Christ’s death burial and resurrection. I was talking with one of the teachers this morning and he told me that he and his wife were reading through Mark 14-16 the other day in preparation for teaching. As he read, his wife stopped him and said, “Jesus did all this for us.” They spent some time praising the Lord for what he has done, then decided to take Friday off and just go around and talk with different people, reminding them to think of what Jesus did for them personally. As you celebrate Easter this year, please don’t forget the reason for all those family get togethers, parties and church celebrations. Our Lord and Savior is alive, and because of what HE has done, we also get to share in HIS ABUNDANT LIFE! What Grace!

April and the kids are at our support center where the boys are “enjoying” some school testing. They will be there until next Tuesday. I would also appreciate your prayers as I’m in here alone for a while. It’s been pretty quiet, but I’ve been able to have some really good times with different people in the village.

Thank you too for standing behind our family. It’s been difficult being away so much these past months, but we rejoice knowing that the Lord is working in the hearts of our Dinangat friends. It truly is a privilege to serve Him in this way and we thank you for your partnership.

For His Glory,

Jeremiah, April, Jordan, Judah and Alayna

(left to right, Basa holding a green python we found on our way to the outreach village, one of the three snakes we encountered last week, Felix and Bayario acting out Gabriel and Mary, Samandeng, really excited about hearing God’s Word)

“She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Lk. 1:21

Dear Praying Friends,

It is a great day to be a missionary; we have the awesome privilege of watching God change hearts and lives right before our very eyes! Last week one of the lessons was on Zachariah’s prophecy concerning John and the Messiah. There is a different atmosphere among the group as we are shifting focus from the destitution of our souls and our sin debt to the coming Redeemer. It is the most wonderful privilege in the world to be able to tell a sinner about the Saviour who has come to rescue them! There is an excitement in their eyes that tells us they are right with us, knowing their need and anxious to hear more about Jesus! At the end of the lessons they said, “Don’t stop, we want to hear more!” Praise the Lord for what He is doing among this tiny village in the middle of nowhere!

A few more people have been coming forward and denouncing their animistic practices which rely on different spirits (and a lot of trickery.) To this, Felix replied, “That is good that you turn away from these ungodly practices of sorcery. But you need to know that your sin debt still stands- the wages of sin is death and no matter what you do or stop doing, you cannot wash that sin away yourself. Keep listening to the stories, and you will understand how to be right with God.” Praise Him for what He is doing among the Bible teachers, imparting His wisdom and strength to reach these souls!

Yet, this adventure is not without its trials. One of the literacy teachers had a major fallout with his wife which effected the whole home village. While working with him was difficult, we praise the Lord for allowing it to happen. The teacher recognized his sin and he was able to watch God do His Divine work of restoration. He also confessed his sin to the village and the other teachers, and we are grateful to be able to say that they made the right choice and forgave him (although not without some healthy lectures!) Situations like this do not always work out so smoothly, and we praise Him for this open demonstration of humility and forgiveness, for we are all fallen creatures dependent on our Father for the grace to do any good work! The home church is also being tried again by their traditional religious leaders who are wanting to come back in to the village over Easter and do their “holy work”, letting people participate in their rituals for the remission of sins, and all for a price of course. While there are still some that are not quite ‘off the fence’ yet, the majority of the village recognizes the fallacy of these doctrines and are standing firm against their former beliefs.

Thank you again for standing with us!

Because of His Grace and For His Glory!

Jeremiah, April, Jordan, Judah and Alayna

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Eph. 6:12

After this weeks’ teaching about the Israelites being healed because of their faith to look at the bronze serpent, about God’s instructions in building His temple, about the prophets being God’s messengers, even a session on prophecies concerning the coming Deliverer, most of the questions and comments were still concerning the animistic rituals/ sorcery that these folks have been steeped in for generations. It is true that the god of this world has deceived their hearts and minds and has no intention of giving them up without a fight. Imagine being taught something your whole life, believing in it, and then having some foreigners come to your home and tell you you’ve been believing a lie! God alone can convince them of the truth, for He IS the Truth and the Life! To help them settle this in their minds, we taught on Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (and some from chapter 13) to help them understand why sometimes those ‘rituals’ seem to work, and what God thinks about using those methods that Scripture does NOT teach us to do. We covet your prayers on behalf of this village!  It has been awesome to see the Lord convicting their hearts over this! Areke (pictured left) actually got up and made this confession, “I used to look after all the money for you people who collected it doing sorcery…this sin is very bad, it is Satan’s work!” He then held up a bag of coins and said he would not do that kind of work anymore, and threw the money on the ground! What a testimony! We know that God WILL build His church!

Jordan (9) got to go with Daddy this week! He did fantastic over the tough trails, only needed to be helped a few times, once over the bamboo bridge in the rain, and twice when he lost his footing walking through the swift- running river! Never complained. I’m praising the Lord for their safe return and for the wonderful experience he had!

Please also remember the ministries of discipleship, translation and teaching that are taking place in the home village. Some situations have come up recently and we find ourselves begging our Lord for wisdom, for we feel our lack, and are seeking that “generous” supply that He promises! Also, please pray for our co-workers Ralf and Elli Schlegel who are away right now at a translation workshop. Pray that the time would be valuable, and that the Lord would use their faithfulness to make the Dinangat Translation as accurate and meaningful as possible.

Next week we begin the New Testament…drawing ever nearer to the saving Message of the Cross and His Resurrection! Thank you for journeying with us in this mission for souls! It is His will that NONE should perish, please pray that EVERY ONE of these precious ones will understand and …..Believe! “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17

By His Grace and For His Glory! Jeremiah, April, Jordan, Judah and Alayna