NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Truth Trek was the material that our church used for Vacation Bible School this year.  At our church we have many evangelistic outreaches during the year, but one that we put alot of effort and attention into is VBS.  We had a lot of kids show up this week, and nearly a dozen placed their faith in Christ for salvation.  Praise God!

But where was I?  I was across the street in the "old sanctuary".  Who was I with?  I was with the "old kids" otherwise known as adults.  Our church tries to offer an adult VBS class every year, with the idea that parents who drop their kids off at church can stay and have their own class, and pick the kids up at the end.

We try to make it just like the kids class.  We sing, do crafts, play games, and have a lesson, all with an adult feel to it. 

While it may not seem very much like tribal missions, it makes sense why we are doing this when we look at the big picture of tribal missions.  We are not lone ranger Christians blazing a trail into the great unknown.  We are just regular people who used to have 9-5 jobs, an apartment, and a family pet.  We also used to be regular members of our church.  As we have stepped out by faith into this life of tribal missions, we are still a part of our church.  They are the ones, like us, who believe God would have us go to Paraguay.  And they are sending us out.

New Tribes Mission is a parachurch organization, meaning that they help facilitate our church send us out into a tribal context to preach Christ.  We are more a member of our church than we are of New Tribes. 

With these things in mind, it only makes sense for us (since the Missionary Training Center is out for the summer) to be immersed once again in the activity of the church.  We are a part of them, and they are a part of us.  It is a joy to serve in VBS or whatever else the church decides to do.

We are thanking God for a successful June, and looking forward to a very different July.  Jen and the baby-to-be are still healthy, and Jamen is our travelling trouper.  Jon has been able to stay focused on our goals and reaching them.  God remains faithful to the expanse of the Gospel.

One of my favorite places on the planet is the Okefenokee swamp.  Its only an hour from our home church area here in Georgia, and it was the destination of several childhood trips.  You hardly notice the mosquitoes and gnats covering every square inch of exposed skin when gators are crawling about in every direction you look.  

This week our church helped put on a Vacation Bible School in a local community.  The setting for the week was the hokeybadjokey swamp.  The title was Crocodile Dock.  The week focused on teaching the kids they didn’t have to fear with God.

Basically Jen and I were just adult leaders.  There were many teenager volunteers who managed the groups of kids, and there were other adult volunteers who did the bible stories and crafts etc..  So all we did was provide a little adult supervision for the teenage group leaders. 

I can’t say that we did anything spectacular, but I will just share one story.  One of the boys I was praying for looked at me randomly and unprovoked towards the end one day and said "whats a sinner?"  I’ve never had a kid pay so much attention to the answer.  Nothing came of it this week, but perhaps later understanding his state before God will bear fruit. 

The second full week back home in GA did not have anything extraordinary on the church calender.  It was refreshing for sure to have a "siesta" for a bit.  The only major change this week was that we moved from the place we were staying with a couple from our church (THANKS SO MUCH GUYS!!) to house-sit for another family in our church who are on vacation.  It’s nice to be part of a church that loves us and sacrifices for us to have a place to stay.

The relaxed church calender provided us with some time to pursue more relationships.  We had 5 get togethers this week with people to explain our future ministry in Paraguay and how they could be involved.  Very encouraging things happened in these meetings and are looking forward to the future as God grows our partnership team.

We also had a meeting this morning on our upcoming Church outreach VBS here in the community.  We are doing a VBS called "Crocodile Dock" in a community here in the area.  None of the 70 kids who are signed up are from our church.  This is all community.  We are looking forward to seeing how the week plays out, and to continue getting our hands dirty with fellow First Baptist folks.

Speaking of First Baptist we were also happy to unload our new Youth Pastor’s family U-Haul last night.  The Norris’ just moved down from NC to work with our youth, and as of last night they are officially here.  The many hands made light work, and again it put a smile on our faces being with everyone.

Thanks for your continued prayers during this busy summer.

After only 5 days home we hit the road again to help with kids camp.  We wanted to be a help with the activities going on in our church this summer and asked how we could be involved.  They decided it would be fun for the kids to have a "missionary moment" time everyday for the kids.  The kids were from 4 different churches in the area (including our church) and we went to a facility in Statesboro GA.  The camp was called gospel mystery investigators, searching the mystery of a Savior.

We decided that, rather than try to do a missionary time that wasn’t related to the camp, we should tell missionary stories as they relate to the themes of the day.  The themes were:  sin-less, servant, and sacrifice.  The last days theme was Savior.  Naturally the missionary stories I told related to the themes of the day.  That provided for a little more continuity. 

I have to admit that talking to 120 kids was out of my comfort zone.  I have talked to a group of 20 kids before, which is quite a bit easier to see how kids are tracking.  120 was a challange, and I had to adjust strategies and lessons as I went.  The last day I painted my face and put on a wig as I told the Ee-tao story from the Mouk perspective. 

Several kids made decisions for Christ, whether they believed the gospel, wanted to be baptized, or wanted to give their lives to ministry.  It was a very encouraging time, and very encouraging to serve with people from the churches.  Thanks for your prayers. 

A side note is that Jamen handled the week like a pro…even made some friends with some of the kids.  He slept good, played outside, and ate constantly it seemed.  We had one scare this week, when Jen (who is almost 3 months pregnant) nearly passed out in the kitchen while cooking Jamen’s dinner.  We were able to keep her conscious and she soon got the colour back in her face and feeling back in her fingers.  We think it may have been caused by the heat in the kitchen, but praise God momma and baby seem to be fine still 4 days later.

Pray for us this week as we are meeting with some friends in our church to share with them about our ministry in Paraguay, and also for some meetings we will be attending.