Josh and Mandi Brower Using Technology to Expand the Reach of the Gospel About
Josh and Mandi met in Waukesha, Wisconsin at New Tribes Bible Institute. Mandi was a year ahead of Josh and they didn’t really notice each other right off. But, Josh was always the kind to want to be the center of attention, and Mandi’s first memory of him was when he got up as a volunteer in Chapel. The speaker told him and the other volunteers that they could do whatever they wanted to a worm sitting in front of them. Of course, Josh ate his worm. Mandi remembered thinking “I don’t think I’m going to like these new freshmen.”
But, as time went on, his friendly personality began to grow on her. She noticed how he would acknowledge everyone he passed in the halls and how he was always helping people with their computer problems without complaining. They began hanging out in the same circle and became good friends. After Mandi graduated, they continued to keep in contact. Come to find out, Josh had been interested in Mandi for a while, but he waited until they were in Missouri finishing up their training with New Tribes Mission before he made a move. They began dating shortly after school started. Their first date was a pancake dinner made by Josh. It didn’t take long before they knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together and they were married the following summer. (2007)
I was born in England to a Christian family, and lived there until I was six years old. Around the time we were getting to move to the United States, I remember our Pastor preaching about Heaven and Hell. After the service, I remember my dad asking me what I thought about what our Pastor had preached about that Sunday morning. After I had him explain more about Heaven and Hell, and how it mattered to me, that was when I first believed that God had sent His son to pay for the sin that I had committed. Now, at six years old, I couldn’t explain the finer points of Justification, but I do believe that I became a believer at that early age.
After we had moved to Utah, my parents decided that they wanted to go to Bible school. So when I was 11, we moved to New Tribes Bible Institute in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and that was where I first found out that there were still people who had never heard of the name of Jesus Christ. I was blown away. Ever since that time, I have known that that is what I wanted to do with my life—somehow, in some way, be involved in sharing the Good News of salvation to those who had never heard.
As a high-schooler in South Carolina, I was involved in a lot of activities—I was discipled by a local youth pastor, and was heavily involved in all things computers. Throughout my high school years, I knew that I still wanted to go with New Tribes Mission as a missionary to the unreached. After graduating high school I went straight to New Tribes Bible Institute in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where I met Mandi. After the two years there, I went on with the NTM training at the NTM Missionary Training Center.
Mandi’s Story
I was born in a Bakersfield, California and lived there with my family until I was about 12. We then moved about an hour up into the mountains where I learned to raise livestock, drive four wheelers and ride horses. I was definitely a tom boy who couldn’t wait to get her first bi-bi gun for her 13th birthday. I came to know the Lord at a very young age and understood that I was a sinner in need of a savior. I recently found an old journal of mine from when I was about 13 and it was neat to see how God was shaping my life even then and giving me a desire to know Him more.
But it wasn’t until I was 18 and my family moved out to the coast that I began to desire to be a part of taking the gospel to those who have never heard. I guess I never realized that there were people groups that had never heard the truth. We began to attend a church with good solid teaching whose pastor was a former missionary with New Tribes Mission. It was definitely clear to those in the church that our pastor had a heart to reach the unreached. There were also others in the church that were planning to head out as tribal missionaries with New Tribes Mission who took time out of their lives to get to know me and share their passion. I decided to go to New Tribes Bible Institute in Waukesha Wisconsin, and at least get the good Bible teaching that I had heard so much about.
I was struggling with what it meant to be “called” and whether or not I was. I knew that I could at least learn a lot and dig into the Word for two years and see what the Lord would do next. Throughout my time in Wisconsin, God showed me that it is clear in His Word that He wants us to be a part of making disciples of all nations whether that be at home or in the furthest reaches of the earth. I began to realize that as long as I was seeking the Lord, He would be faithful to direct me and use me wherever I ended up. So I decided to finish up the NTM training and see where I could fit in.