NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

It can be such a challenge to figure out how to sum up a year in a single page…I think I’d have to call this a year of adjustments.  Not that adjustments are necessarily a bad thing!  The past year has been one of some health challenges, some family excitement, and a morphing job description.  Overall, I look back over the last year and marvel at the grace of God.  Life can be such a challenge, (and it usually is), but my God is a faithful God Who is always there every step of the way.  He is a God of hope, and since He is always with me I am never without hope.  Through the joys and pains, laughter and tears, I am never hopeless.  This Christmas and coming year my prayer for you is that you may experience this God of hope in a fresh, new way.  Merry Christmas!

Well, I promised an update when we heard the results of the the Gospel presentation in the Dinangat tribe of Papua New Guinea.  I’m pleased to report that in this second Dinangat village several of the people have now placed their faith in Christ as Savior.  Now comes the process of discipling these new believers and working to continually clarify the Gospel for those who have not yet believed.  Please take a moment to visit NTM’s report on the testimonies from some of our new brothers and sisters…it is quite amazing to read the clarity of faith of these new believers!  Please rejoice with us in their salvation, continue to pray for the other villagers’ salvation and pray for growth for those who have believed.  Thanks for your part in prayer and in training support for this tribal work!

• Click here to read the testimonies of new believers in the Dinangat village!

The pas month has been SO incredibly busy that I don’t even know where to start!  I guess the biggest news is family related…for those of you that haven’t heard, my brother Nathan is getting married!  On July 16th he will be marrying LaShani Rios, a wonderful girl he met when he was at school out here at NTBI.  They were just friends when they were both here, but last year reconnected via Facebook, Skype, phone calls, and cross-country visits (she is from Washington state and Nathan is in school in Pennsylvania).  Oh, the wonders of technology!  My parents and I are very excited about it all, and I’m looking forward to having them out here this next year as LaShani finishes classes.  Please be in prayer for them as well as the rest of us in the craziness of planning a cross-country wedding and in getting them settled in Wisconsin.

“Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men.  We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.”

We read these words at church this morning, and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to start this Thanksgiving Day.  I’m especially thankful today that I am celebrating with friends and not at home in the midst of packing boxes!  I can’t quite say yet that all is settled and I know when and how my return to ministry will take place, but you can see from the graph to the side that God has graciously provided the needed finances.  It has been an incredible journey, and I look forward to what He still has ahead!

There are a few details that have to get straightened out before I can officially announce my return to ministry…I was hoping that could happen today, but sometimes the wheels of progress turn very slowly!  It’s all too complicated to explain, but please be in prayer that these final details will be able to be settled quickly so that I can return to full and active ministry.

Thank  you especially for your partnership in this past year and a half.  It has been an interesting time, but God has accomplished much.  To think that my support has TRIPLED in 6 months is unbelievable.  Only God could do something like that!

Looking forward to that final Thanksgiving Day when we can gather with all our brothers and sisters from every tribe, nation, and tongue around the throne.  Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

A note of prayer and praise for everyone:  this week is missions conference at my church here in WI.  Praise that the church has offered to pay for me to host dinner presentations Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights before our evening service.  I’ve sent out email invites to over 400 people (our church is 6,000+), so please pray that there will be a good turn out for these three nights.  Please also pray that people will be moved by the presentation of my ministry and step forward to help meet the $400 a month minimum that is still lacking to return to ministry.  The meetings will be from 5:30 to 6:30 pm Central Time Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Your prayers before, during, and after are much appreciated!

I was born in 1981.  It was that same year that the first missionaries went to the Higaunon Tribe in the Philippines.  Friends of mine, Lance and Laura Ostman, have been working tirelessly with their partners to see a complete translation of the New Testament finished in the Higaunon language.  Last month, the Higuanon people received their first printed New Testament.  Read what one of the women said just yesterday (from NTM News by David Bell):

Yesterday, Dag-ay, a Higaunon woman in the Philippines, had something she wanted to tell missionaries Lance and Laura Ostman.

“I want to tell you what grandfather told us,” she said. “Grandfather was a shaman and as he got older … he gathered his family around him to tell us what was on his mind before he died.”

“Now, you need to understand that we had been searching for the path of eternal life. We were sure we’d find it through the spirits who lived in grandfather. His words to us that day were both disturbing and prophetic.”

“This is what he said. ‘We have been searching for the way of eternal life but let me tell you all right now, we will never find it. At least not the way we’ve been going about it.’”

“I was young, but not so young I didn’t understand what he was talking about. But then he said something I’ll never forget. ‘We have told you never to allow foreigners into our community as they will just bring their foreign ideas. Before you know it, you’ll be wearing hats and shoes like them and that’s not good for you.

“‘However, let me tell you something that exists in the cities on the coast. There’s a book that’s there and when someone brings that book here, let me tell you, you must listen to it for it has the message of eternal life!’”

“Well, that is what grandfather told us and I’m so sad because of all those who heard his prophecy that day I am the only one who has listened to the teaching of this Book.”

Dag-ay added that there are two Higaunon villages that have recently asked for Bible teachers and that her grandson has been invited to teach in one of those villages.

Please pray that God’s Word will spread to more Higaunon villages and bring more people to place their faith in Christ.

The Semester is past the half way point, and Spring is maybe finally arriving in Wisconsin!  We were so spoiled by a late-arriving winter, but it hit hard when it finally arrived.  We are all SO glad to be seeing the sunshine and 50° temperatures again after the weeks of seeing highs never leave the single digits, wind chills of -25°, and snowfalls of 18″ at a time!

The busy season has already started to kick in as we are turning our attention to Graduation coming up on May 18th.  There are invitations to design and have printed, caps, gowns, and diploma supplies to order, not to mention keeping tabs on all the Seniors to make sure they will graduate!  This is also a very rewarding time of the year as we get to have some special events such as our Senior Banquet and really see what the Lord has done in the students’ lives in the past two years.  We had our Senior Retreat at a local camp last month, and it was such a blessing and encouragement to hear our Seniors share testimonies of what God has taught them.

I am already beginning to turn my attention to this summer.  This summer will be my opportunity to take some time off from my ministry here and spend some time visiting some of you and speaking to church groups.  This is the equivalent of a furlough for those of us who serve here in the U.S.  To that end, if your church would be interested in having me come and present my ministry, please let me know.  I am also looking to set up some home meetings to get to meet with smaller groups of people on a more personal level.  My schedule is relatively open at this point, though I hope it will fill quickly!