NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

5 June 2011
Today we went to church with our hosts. We arrived an hour later than the service actually started and were there from 10:50 am till 1:40pm. There were about 4 congregations gathered and some students from a Bible College. Each congregation had a singing group and they were told to prepare some songs before coming to the front and no one could sing if they hadn’t prepared. We had two translators sit between us to translate from Portuguese to English. The “ushers” wore luminescent, greenish-yellow, safety vests. I’ve never seen that anywhere else before. The church building had no lights so they used the natural sunlight from the doorway. They did have some electric source because they played on an electric keyboard and had a microphone and sound system but the pastor didn’t use a microphone when preaching. Since we were guests we were offered front row seats and they served us bottled water to drink and sweets (candy) to suck on during the service. The women wore skirts and blouses and the men wore collared shirts and long pants. There was a mat at the front for the children to sit on. The pastor wore a suit and tie with dress shoes. The different congregations had a giving competition to raise funds for camps and to send pastors from Zimbabwe to Mozambique for training. People would come to the front and put their money on the floor. They also had a singing and dancing competition. In the afternoon we went for a drive around town and visited the Greek Orthodox Church where my grandfather was baptized as an infant.

6 June 2011
Today we drove to Quelimane. There were LOTS of bicycles and motorcycles along the road. We stayed at the YWAM guesthouse and our hosts were Francisco and Carla. They were very hospitable people. We went out for supper with Kent and Jenny Schaffer. We had a lovely supper at a restaurant. For supper we had Grilled Chicken cooked in coconut milk, Zambezian style. It was delicious. Kent and jenny are also with Visão Integral and have been studying Portuguese and Mozambican culture.

7 June 2011
We had breakfast with our host family. For breakfast we had pão (bread) and tea with some smaller bread-like rolls. We then drove to Mocuba where we cooked our own lunch at Gus and Laura Vos’s house. We stayed with a South African lady, Burnadette, who looks after orphans and has a pre-school and clinic. We had boerewors for supper which was a special treat to eat in such a remote area.

8 June 2011
This morning Burnadette showed us around her place and showed us all the medicinal plants she grows and makes medicine as well as a room where she teaches ladies how to sew. The children have a nice playground with swings and playground equipment. On our way we stopped to visit the TWR studio in Mocuba and then stopped and Gus and Laura again to pick up some books to take with us to a Bible School up north. The trip today was about 400km. The first hour was on gravel/unpaved and not so good and the rest of the road was very good. When we arrive it took us an hour to find the Visão Integral office where we met, Fernando Mochado, Clemilda and some other staff. Fernando took us to his house where we unpacked all my belongings and we stayed there for the night. Fernando is the person I will be staying with when I return to Mozambique.

9 June 2011
This morning I woke up really early. It felt like 3:30 am but I don’t really know what time it was when I heard the call to prayer. It seemed extra long to me and I didn’t sleep very well. The water ran out during the morning but eventually it came back before lunch time. We went to DJ and Tricia Morrison for lunch at their temporary house on the SIL mission center. It was good to talk to DJ and see the literacy material and translation of portions of Genesis in the Mwinika language.

The houses here all seem to have water filters with ceramic candles in them. After lunch we went for a walk around the SIL mission center. Tim Warner, came and met us on his motorbike and we followed him home to his apartment where we had some bobotie for supper. We chatted for a long time and it was so good to catch up with them since I had not seen them since I was in the missionary training.

10 June 2011
We visited the Ethnography museum and had a look at the carvings behind the ethnography museum. When we got back to our car we discovered that the one mirror had been stolen and the other one had been broken. This put a damper on us bit we’re thankful the car was still there. We then went for lunch with Pete and Charity Rogers. Pete and Charity are learning Portuguese so that they can work with the local Mozambique churches. In the afternoon I played volleyball with the other V.I. staff. Then we played soccer. After soccer we all ate supper together. It was a taco salad potluck! After supper I played capture-the-flag in the dark with the M.K’s.

11 June 2011
We left early, around 6:30 am, to drive to Ilha de Mozambique which took us about 2.5 hours. There is a narrow 3.5 bridge to get there. The first part of the island is a village and the rest of the island is a stone village. The streets are quite narrow. The buildings are interesting. The whole island is like a museum. This is the Island that the Portuguese used to sell slaves. We visited some museums and had a tour of a fort. It was fascinating to learn about the history of the island. One thing I found difficult was that so many people wanted to crowd around us to beg for things or to ask us to buy things from them like tourist maps, necklaces, and old coins they had found. While taking a tour of the place our guide told us that the name Mozambique comes from two men: One was named Musa, from Arabia, and the other Mbique (we don’t remember where he was from). There were people living there from the 1500’s from the East, the Portuguese, and the Dutch whom the Portuguese fought, and the Germans who came to trade. After the tour we had lunch and did some geocaching. We didn’t find any geocache and while my Dad and I were looking for it my Mother was in the car and had children clamouring all over the window to persistently beg for things and money for at least 15 minutes. We then drove back to where we are staying and visited Shop rite (a grocery store that sells things that are imported from South Africa) and then went to our guesthouse.

3 June 2011

Today we drove from Maxixe to Inhasoro. We stopped at Vilanculos along the way. We stayed at a place called Casa Luna Lodge. We got there around 11:30 and unpacked our things and went for a walk along the beach where we saw about 50 people pulling in fishing nets and others waiting with their buckets to be filled with fish. Some had avocado pears. Some of the men had yellow t-shirts with m-cell (cellphone company) on them. A man was directing everyone from a little boat as they pulled in the nets. Once they pulled the nets onto the shore they separated the fish from the seaweed and sorted them by size. The fishermen whacked people who took fish from the pile. Some fish were long and narrow, some yellow and some blow-fish. We then went back to our chalet where we played Scrabble together and went for another walk along the beach before sunset. I had a 2 minute conversation with a man in Portuguese and felt quite pleased yet inadequate. About 3 flea ridden dogs followed us around. We had lovely fish and chips for supper.
4 June 2011

Today we drove from Inhassoro to Beira. It took about four hours to Inchope which is a crossroads town. To the west you can go to Zimbabwe to the North you can go to Gorongosa National Park to the East you can go to Beira and to the South you can go to Maputo. We took a detour toward Beira because that’s where my great grandfather lived and where my grandpa was born. There is only one petrol station in Inchope so we filled up there before going to Beira. Beira has a terrible road and is full of potholes. Once we arrived in Beira we took a long time to find the guesthouse next to the beach. We went for a walk along the beach and saw some people playing soccer and some people cooking sausage and other meat along the sidewalk and o a few people selling handcrafted curios alongside the road.

Today (June 2nd) we took a long trip to Maxixe. It’s on the coast of Mozambique. The first two hotels we got to were full and we in ended up staying in Pousada d Maxixe (an inn). I used my Portuguese survival guide to ask for a pansão (hotel) and they told me about quartos (rooms) across the street. We had carrot, cabbage and eggs for supper with grape juice, water and carrot cake that we had brought along with us.

On the way to Maxixe I noticed things alongside the road:
• Salons and Barber shops
• Construction
• Tudobom Vodacom (Cellphone)
• Mcell (Cellphone)
• Mosques
• Igrejas/church buildings
• People selling fresh fish that were dripping with water.
• Little houses made of woven palm leaves.
• Men weaving palm leaves to make roof/walls of a house
• Chickens
• Goats
• People selling shoes
• Ladies selling fruit to minivan taxis/chapas
• Men selling cashews
• School girls carrying hoes for gardens
• Ox carts and donkey carts carrying coconuts
• The road was paved the whole way

“For two or three hours, one and another of the visiting team preached under the starlit tropical sky, surrounded by curious villagers grouped about the great log fire. Gordon was the one to speak last, and when he had finished Chief Mahatche leaned forward and said:
“These words are good to hear. How long have you known all about the Great One?”
African nights are never really silent. The incessant humming of insects and croaking of frogs, the distant cry of a hyena, provide a background of sound to which the ear becomes so accustomed it would be almost frightening if it were not there…. The background noises continued unabated, but there was a sudden silence as the villagers and the visiting team listened to the conversation between Gordon and the Chief.
“How long have you known about the Great One?”
The question hung in the air, demanding an answer, and Gordon replied:
“Since I was a child. My parents knew it, and their parents before them. We have known it for many, many years in the country I come from.”
The Chief looked him straight in the eyes, a rather strange expression on his face. then he came out with the second challenge of that memorable day.
” Why is it you have been so long inn coming to tell me and my people about Him?” he asked.”
- Life out of Death in Mozambique, Phyllis Thompson, page 70

Does the challenge of that African Chief’s question stir you? It certainly reminds me of the urgency of the gospel. Continue to pray for me as I prepare to go to Mozambique in June.

I’m typing from Swaziland, Africa It’s been good to be with my family again before I take off to either Mozambique or Tanzania. It seems like there are enough church planters for Mozambique so the default is Tanzania.

At the moment I’m sharing with churches here in Swaziland and in South Africa about the need for Bible Translation and Church planting among unreached people groups.

It thrills my heart that people groups like the Mwinika of Mozambique and Akolet of Papua New Guinea are hearing the good news of Christ for the first time!

“Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith.But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:1-3

About 2 weeks ago I had a meeting with my missions committee and for those of you who haven’t yet heard I will be going to Mozambique instead of Indonesia. Well, actually NTM likes to call it South East Africa becasue the people groups that we work with overlap countries and NTM is doing survey work in surounding countries like Tanzania for example.

So what is the plan now? I’ll still be doing church planting with NTM just in a different location. I;ll be going to Africa on December 8th to visit family and churches and then going to Mozambique next Summer Lord Willing.

“So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you.” John 20:21
Let’s take a brief look at an aspect of God’s character that provides an authoritative basis for our ministry commitments:

God is a communicator. Therefore we are communicators.

One reason I am so excited about one day doing Bible Translation in Indonesia is that those people will be able to hear from God through His Word!
This month the Uriay in Papua New Guinea and the Wano in Indonesia will hear the gospel for the first time in their language. Praise the Lord!

I am currently in Michigan teaching English to Korean students at New Tribes Bible Institute and when they graduate they too will go on to be missionaries. Here are a couple pictures of one of my fellow co-workers teaching them phonetics:

Keith Stanton pointing at a diagram of the mouth

Keith explaining the sounds the mouth makes using the phonetic chart

While on deputation I have been studying the book of Ezekiel. It has been encouraging to read God’s word and take time to digest it. Ezekiel describes reading and understanding God’s Word like eating honey (Ezekiel 3:3). The various prophets of the Old Testament did not have a lot of people listening to them but they were faithful to what God had for them. God also asked Ezekiel to do a lot of things that seem strange and difficult to me and yet God in His grace showed Ezekiel His glory in a way that many others did not get to see. I am humbled by the way God in all His glory has decided to offer eternal life to people on the earth and is using us to reach others who have not yet heard of Him.

Pray for me as I am meeting with people in all my travels to find my Joy in Christ and not to be too stressed with all the travelling and uncertainty of what should happen from day to day.

Pray also for more opportunities for me to share with others about my ministry and need for prayer partners as well as financial partners.

So Tribal People May Know Him and make Him Known

John

“In Palawan, a wizened, almost toothless old Palawano lady, who had been sitting on the front porch of our house, finally got around to her reason for visiting. Smiling, she said, Grandchild, I am trusting in Jesus…My natural reaction was to reach out and hug her, but Palawano decorum and culture, as well as fear that such an action would seal her in a sincere but unfounded faith, restrained me. To immediately accept her testimony, without carefully questioning her, would not have been judicious…

“Grandmother, ” I answered her, “It gives me great joy to hear that you are trusting in the Lord Jesus as your Savior. But why did you trust in Him? Why do you need the Lord Jesus?

“I am a sinner,” was her immediate answer.

“But Grandmother, why do you say that? You love your family. You are kind and a very hard worker.”

“Yes, but I am a sinner before God,” she insisted.

“But Grandmother, even though you are a sinner, why is it that you need the Lord Jesus? Why did you trust Him? What has He done for you?”

“Ah, Grandchild, He was the One who died for me. He died for my sins.”

Tears of joy filled my eyes as I replied, “Grandmother, I am so very glad to hear what you have said, for God’s Word says that all those who trust only in the Lord Jesus as their Savior, believing that He died for them and then rose again, have all their sins forgiven by God and will never go to Hell. They have eternal life and will be received by God into Heaven.”

How different was the testimony of this illiterate tribal woman compared to that of my wife’s aunt, who went forward in response to an altar call at an evangelistic meeting in Australia. We were excited to think that this may be the first of Fran’s relatives, outside of her immediate family, to be converted. So while visiting her, Fran began to question her regarding her profession. It soon became obvious that her aunt was taken up with her own personal feelings and experience rather than the historical accomplishments of Christ on her behalf. In an endeavour to determine her aunt’s real grounds for assurance, Fran asked her, “Aunty, why did you go forward to the invitation of the preacher? Was it because you realized hat you were a sinner?”

“Sinner? I’m not a sinner! She exclaimed.

In spite of her lack of understanding of even the basic truths of Scripture, Christians had accepted her as having been saved simply because she had responded to the invitation…

We should do everything we can to retain the purity, simplicity, and objectivity of the Gospel message, so that people will rest in the righteousness of Christ’s actions, and not their own.”- Trevor Mc Illwain, Building on Firm Foundations, page 19-20

“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.” 1 Corinthians 3: 10

The Master Builder’s Plan

A student planning in a building class

“God is the Builder of His Church (Matthew 16:18). But He has also chosen His earthly children to be partners with Him (1 Corinthians 3:9).”- Trevor McIllwain, Building on Firm Foundations page 4

When God told Noah to build the ark he didn’t leave him to formulate his own plans. Instead, God gave Noah detailed instructions on how to build it. When God told Moses  to build the tabernacle he gave clear plans on every little detail. Both Noah and Moses were faithful in carrying out those plans. In the same way, we who are believers, have to be wise and take careful note of how we do our work as He has commanded.

“Paul refers to himself as a wise master builder (1 Corinthians 3:10). He laid the foundations of the Gospel on which the Corinthians’ faith and hope were built, and he warned the Bible teachers in Corinth to be careful on how they built on those foundations which he had laid ( 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).”- Trevor McIllwain, Building on Firm Foundations page 4

“In the construction of any building, the foundations are the first part of the structure to be prepared. The majority of Gospel preaching, however, is usually done wit very little foundational preparation. This lack has contributed to a multitude of false professions and the uncertainty of many new Christians about the foundations of their faith.”- Trevor McIllwain, Building on Firm Foundations page 6

“Many missionaries are so eager to preach the gospel that they feel it is an unnecessary  waste of time to teach tribal people too much of the historical portions of the Old testament Scriptures. Nevertheless, these Old Testament historical sections form the basis for a clear understanding of the coming of Christ and the necessity of His death, burial and resurrection. The Old Testament Scriptures, correctly taught, will prepare the heart of the believing sinner to receive the Gospel in true repentance and faith.” .”- Trevor McIllwain, Building on Firm Foundations page 7