Joshua and Tamara Mathew Just another weblog The Summer’s “Festivities”
It has already been a busy summer! The girls have been to VBS, the van has been in the shop, and I have been out of town for the better part of a week sharing New Tribes Mission’s vision with a WHOLE BUNCH (for lack of a more appropriately quantitative word) OF PEOPLE!
I was privileged to be part of a team of 9 “reps” at the Big Ticket Festival in Gaylord, MI over the last weekend. We were given a large ministry tent and so set up what was to be a very successful portrayal of “A day in the life of a tribal missionary…” experience. We shared the vision of NTM with many people, and saw almost as many eyes widen with the realization of the desperate need for the workers necessary for the harvest. More than 900 people experienced a short period of culture and language shock as they spent time with “Piom,” our “tribal man from the Kaulong tribe.” As they walked out of our simulated village, there was a definite realization of the difficulty of language learning. But, the reality of the completion of Bible translation with NTM’s training was equally clear. It can be done! It was so refreshing to hear the many variants of “How do I get involved in that?!” People seemed genuinely excited to hear that there IS a way to reach those that have never heard in their own language. We far underestimated the effectiveness of the experience on the hearts and minds of those who were able spend a few moments with our “tribal man.”
Would you please pray with us: that those who began to see the part they might play, in seeing the many who have never had the chance to hear and read God’s Word- hear and read it for the first time, would not be dissuaded from the course they have set upon in their minds. We truly pray that our time spent with the many attendees was not wasted. Pray also, that we would see hallways filled with students eager for the Word of God this fall.
March 2010 update
So it’s 2010 already… where’s my jet pack?
We had nearly normal amounts of snow and cold. And we have all enjoyed a fair amount of snow in the boots and cold-rosy cheeks.
Our children have all been sick at least once and made all the appropriate “noises” in the process.
Emma is in 1st grade and READING and SPELLING. Do you realize how this forces us to change our parent “code?” She is a very helpful girl. Very compassionate and seems to really understand the importance of a relationship with Jesus.
Josie is getting mentally ready (as are Mommy and Daddy) for Kindergarten in the fall. Doesn’t really seem possible that our second child is old enough (or maybe that we are old enough to have a child that old) to be going to “real” school.
Addie. That girl is the typical littlest sister. She is such a bundle of fun at this stage. She’s the one who says the goofy, little made up things that melt my heart. She calls my beard (when I have one) my “pokies.” Pocahontas (yes, we realize that they TOTALLY Disneyfied the story line) has been forever immortalized in our house as “Hunkapotus.”
Sonny (the dog, for those of you new to this Mathew Meandering stuff) has rediscovered how much he hates snow deeper than 2 inches.
Tamara has not been feeling “well” as of late. She’s been to more doctors in the last couple months, than she visited in the 9.48 years we have been married, and I have been the healthy one. The ever unfolding saga of Tamara’s health has proven very complex. The Dr.’s are still trying to figure out what is going on inside. We’ve heard a number of diagnoses that it is NOT, but what it IS still eludes us. Tamara has also had a horrible time with her teeth. Ever since Addie was born, it seems that Tamara’s tooth enamel has magically disappeared. She has been in and out of the dentist’s office to attempt to keep the teeth that she has. This has been a matter of much concern for us. I’d love to fill you in on the details if you’d like to know how to pray better…
Yet another change for Tamara’s official ministry role in the Bible School, Tamara has officially transitioned out of the Database Manager’s position (that would be a praise, for those curious as to where that bit o’ info ranks in our books…) and into a “more flexible” childcare/lower desk receptionist/paper grader/mother of three. Please keep her in your prayers, as she requires massive amounts of energy to keep up with us all.
The Business Office continues to absorb the majority of my daytime hours here at the Bible School. If you had asked me 6 years ago when we were still in the training to become tribal church planters, whether or not I might ever be serving in the Business Office, I probably would have laughed out loud. You see, higher mathematics and I never really got along so well back in school. You might say I was a “bad student” in math.
Here’s where God’s ironic side shows itself. I’ve heard many people say “God really chooses His brightest and best to do His best work.” I don’t believe this to be the case. Rather, in scripture, we see apostles refer to themselves as “jars of clay,” and we see humble service from Holy Spirit empowered believers that literally changes the world.
Now, I am not trying to convince you that I am changing the world, one Excel spreadsheet at a time, but I am telling you that I truly believe the Lord wants to use each one of His children; Tamara and I, and each one of you, too, to reflect a little bit more of God’s glory wherever we are, in whatever we do, however much we feel like we know. He has given each of us a unique personality and mentality and set of gifts that enable us to serve Him just as uniquely, if we choose to let Him work through our lives.
I am trying to convince you that we are a part of seeing people who know nothing of the Word of God (or the God of the Word, for that matter.) hear it, see it, read it and live it for the first time. We get to jump into the process at the VERY beginning. We get to take some of the raw-est ingredients and be part of the preparation process to see them become partners in the task of taking the gospel of Christ where no one else goes.
Not that you doubted, but I find that a brief reminder is usually a good thing.
We are continually challenged with the need for overseas work with in New Tribes Mission. Our classmates and friends from OUR training days are now in tribes and building houses and learning culture and language, and teaching literacy. Some of them are already in the teaching process. Some of them have already gotten to share the gospel story with people groups who have NEVER EVER heard before. These are the stories that drive us, crazy sometimes, to continue serving where we are in Jackson, Michigan, USA.
Occasionally, I catch myself echoing the question we all too often hear, “So, when are you going to the mission field?” Sometimes it seems that we aren’t really missionaries. We eat the same foods “normal” people eat. We try to wear “normal” clothes. We even get to speak English all the time.
And then the emails come in, or the prayer letters, or the guest speaker (who sat next to me in class) and we hear the reminder… “You know, we’d never make it out here without a solid foundation in the Word. We live in the bush; we don’t get pastors. We are starting a church!” Without the time that they were able to spend being grounded in the Word of God, they would be stranded spiritually, even more than they are physically.
It is at those times that I am most keenly aware of why we are doing what we do. We GET to stay here and PREPARE those that head to the front lines to meet the darkness head on. I do… WE do, consider it a privilege to be on this team of trainers here in Jackson, MI. We have seen, literally hundreds of, students graduate from here with a SOLID Biblical understanding in the 3.5 years we’ve been here! In about two years we will be seeing co-workers that started their training with us. Some of them IN A TRIBE!
YOU have been a part of this with your finances and your prayers. Without you, we would NOT be able to continue this. We count on your support. We depend on your support. Thank you! For the part you have played, THANK YOU!
Summer 2009 update
Emma and Josie and Addie have grown up so much!
Emma is in 1st grade. She turned 6 this January! I have a 6 year old, is this possible? By the grace of God she is still alive and seems to be mostly healthy. She has learned so much in school. She’s reading little bits and writing stuff that blows my mind! She was so little not too long ago… BEST of all Emma knows that she needs Jesus and that God sent Him to die for her sins because she can’t pay for them herself. I think we’re off to a good start…
Josie is quite the 4 year old. She is ALWAYS busy playing dress-up or My Little Pony or “I’m Momma and you’re Addie, now go get ready for a nap!” She has officially decided that “vacations” are the coolest things in the world. I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to top last summer’s trip with the Munden’s… The BEST part of this year in Josie’s life (by far, whether she realizes this or not) is the fact that JoJo knows that she is a little sinner who needs Jesus. She knows that He died so she didn’t have to, and that it is hard to obey.
Addie, has been a little ball of sunshine and fun! She is at that point where everything is VERY new. She walks, she talks, she pinches her older sisters, and she is OFFICIALLY potty- trained. Also, she has blond curly? hair… it’s awesome! She has had a big year too. 3 tubes (in 2 ears, you do the math…) She broke an impossible allergy to dairy and eggs (we blame God for fixing that) and has what appear to be OCD tendencies, which definitely promise to be fun later in life… You and I should still keep praying for this little girl to be able to understand enough English for us to be able to communicate to her who the really important Person in her life will be.
Josh and Tamara have had some pretty crazy times. Our ministry “style” lends itself to near insanity fairly regularly. As you have noticed by the lack of updates from us, we don’t really seem to have much time to sit and type up notes. We realize that this is a deplorable practice and want to rectify it. Honestly, we do…
Tamara is absolutely AMAZING! I am beginning to realize that there truly is NO way I could be involved in this ministry without this woman by my side. She has proven herself of immeasurable worth over and over again in her ability to pick up the slack where I have left off, her flexibility as I make mistakes as a husband, in ministry, and she is the mother of my 3 girls. All three of whom are healthy and wear clean clothes and generally smell really nice.
Tamara’ s primary role in the ministry here is keeping me in the ministry here. Most of you reading this 1) have been married long enough to know that that is a big deal and 2) know me well enough to know that she stays pretty busy in doing so.
Since we have already shown that she has no “spare time,” I won’t glibly throw that phrase out, and instead say, “Tamara manages to spend about 15 hours a week in the school office, managing the student database, and handling transcript requests along with more minute details that I doubt that I’d even recognize if they bit me in the face, under the eye…” She also manages to be involved in the youth group ministry at Cascades Baptist Church as Sr. High small groups leader. She really enjoys this and has seen God work some really cool things out in those girls’ lives.
Josh’s primary role in the ministry here is in the Business Office (accounts payable clerk) which in itself should bring a smile to your face as you imagine Josh counting, the necessary proverbial beans for 180 students and 40 or so staff as well as the operational expenses required to keep a building of this size running. He is constantly reminded that the Lord uses the foolish things, and the cracked pots, and the timid to do His work for His glory. He is also very glad that God gave an amazing brain to the guy who invented computer based accounting…
Josh’s “secondary role” in the ministry here is the one that allows him to keep in contact with the students (read ‘future potential tribal church planters’) who are what really drew us back to Jackson, MI instead of Papua New Guinea. Josh (with Tamara, too) is the Campus Life Coordinator, we get to facilitate and (you guessed it) coordinate activities that foster student/staff involvement. Strangely enough, students from all over struggle with the idea that teachers and other staff are in Jackson, MI because they want to be able to invest in those future potential tribal church planters. Our ministry here is to design events that encourage that revelation and the ensuing relationship.
What Tamara and I really enjoy however is the evenings. We have a policy that goes like this, “If the door is unlocked, come on in. If it’s locked and you NEED us, give us a call.” What this looks like practically is that we have students at our house 5 out of 7 nights a week; doing homework, talking about classes, crying over broken relationships, watching movies, playing games, eating dinner, baking cheesecakes, you get the picture… We question our mental stability most evenings after curfew comes around, but as the semester closes and students head back to their “other” homes, we are reminded why we do this to ourselves. We have been allowed the privilege of making some incredible friendships with students that we could not have known before they arrived, students who needed to see that ministry happens in the context of relationships, which are (I believe) most truly represented in real life. “Welcome to the crazy that is my life in ministry with my family and the knowledge that every day some tribal guy somewhere is dying without ever having heard that there is a JESUS WHO DIED FOR HIM!” “Come on in and figure out how you can be involved in reaching that guy…” THAT is what we do.
So, that’s the latest from us.