Laura Meyers Training Future Tribal Missionaries I always wondered why God sent people to the desert…
…and last night I finally found out.
I’m currently out in McNeal, Arizona at our NTM Aviation
campus, helping out with a Partnership Development seminar we’re doing for our staff out there. If you check out the map, you’ll see that McNeal is in the very Southeast corner of Arizona, just spitting distance from the Mexican border.
Now, you have to understand, I am a city girl. I am also an East Coast girl. Now, I’ve been out in some areas before where there are very few lights, but there have usually also been clouds in the night sky. Last night this city girl stood
out in the middle of nowhere, in the desert, and looked up.
I was reduced to tears.
I have always enjoyed the stars and constellations, a heritage from my dad, but last night was a unique gift. I had gone outside to walk Pepper, and I was awestruck. At first it just brought a smile to my face as I stood enjoying the view, identifying constellations, seeing Jupiter and Neptune. Then an amazing thing happened. As my eyes fully adjusted to being outside in the dark, I suddenly saw a new layer of stars that I never dreamed existed! I’ve seen the nature photos where there are layers upon layers of stars that in areas just seem to create a blanket of white. I always thought that such photos were the unique possession of telescope and specialized photography. Last night I learned different. I wish I could even describe that experience!
Before long tears were running down my cheeks, and all I could think of was Psalm 19:1,”The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.” Story after story from Scriptures started rolling through my head of when God took people out into the desert to talk to them: Abram, Jacob, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul, etc. I’m starting to understand why! There is no way that these people went out into the desert, away from all the hubbub of their lives, away from the light of the campfires, looked into the sunset, saw the majesty of the night skies, and didn’t meet with God. It’s unavoidable!
I cannot believe, having seen the stars last night, that there is ANYONE who can look at Creation and not see an intelligent, involved Creator. I also cannot imagine the ache that must exist in the hearts of people who look into skies like that and don’t know Who to worship for it. My instinctual reaction was tears and worship. What if I didn’t know the God that created it all? Instead of leaving me with the overwhelming awe and desire to worship, I can only imagine the empty ache I would feel. I’m so excited to be a part of working to bring that knowledge of the Creator of the stars to those who don’t know. I’m really looking forward to this week of working with our staff at our Aviation center and equipping them to be more effective in their ministries.
The Moi Church reaches out
Missionaries Rich and Karen Brown, Steve and Carolyn Crockett, and Andi and Lieke Panambunan brought the Gospel to the Moi people; many believed in Christ in 2006. The past year has been spent training Moi teachers to teach the lessons to other groups of Moi who have not yet heard.
Beginning in August of 2010, more than 100 Moi came to hear the teaching of the Creator. After two months of journeying through the foundational stories of the Bible, on Friday, September 24 of 2010, more than 80 Moi placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
The video below comes to us fresh from Indonesia, less than a month old. Take a few minutes and watch it; hear the testimonies of these new believers. These are the amazing things that God is using NTBI graduates to accomplish!
NTBI Alumni at Work!
Today’s NTM Mission News Article came out and I was delighted to see it was about some very familiar faces! The very first class that came to NTBI after I joined the staff here included a newlywed couple, Travis and Renee Whitman. We developed a great friendship over their time here, and I even got to care for their first son, Canaan, as they delivered their second son, Isaiah. Now, with their third son Jordan on board, they are studying language in Paraguay in preparation for ministry there. Click Here to read a brief testimony from them on what that preparation looks like!
It is so exciting to see students that I had a part in training now on the field working to reach the tribes. Thank you for your part in their exciting adventure!
We’ve made it!
I’m proud to announce to you that this past Saturday we graduated 78 students from our Bible Institute here in Waukesha. I was so glad to be back to some of my old duties of prepping the grads in their caps and gowns, making sure everyone had their tassels straight and on the correct side, getting them all lined up properly, and the like. As much as I enjoyed just sitting and enjoying my brother Nathan’s graduation last year, it was really tough not to be part of the flurry of preparations! I’m so thankful to God and to all of you for enabling me to be back to participating in ministry again.
I have some really exciting statistics to share with you about this class too! We are always thankful for each student we have here…not one of them leaves after two years here without being changed. It’s so exciting to watch that happen! Our constant goal though is to challenge and train people for ministry. Of this class of 78 students, 81% are planning to go into full-time Christian service. A whopping 50 students are planning to be involved in tribal missions! On average, it takes ten missionaries to enable us to open a new tribal work. That means that in a few years this class has the potential to open up five new tribal locations. This is what ministry here at NTBI is all about…changing the lives of students and reaching the unreached tribes!
Graduation marks the end of our semester, and our summer is spent in some time recovering from the insanity, going through training as a staff to better equip us for ministry, and getting the campus ready for the next school year. We have 96 days from Graduation until the freshmen begin to arrive. That may seem like a long time, but it flies by with all there is to be done. The good news is that the summer affords a little more flexibility in schedules, so we as staff are more available to travel as well as take time out locally to get together and reconnect with people we know in the Waukesha area. I’m going to be headed to New Jersey for the last week of June/first week of July and North Carolina for the week after the 4th of July. I’m going to do my best to contact some of you to catch up as I travel, but if you or your church would like me to stop by, please let me know right away! I’m sure my time will fill all too quickly, but I look forward to seeing as many of you as I can. For those of you in the Wisconsin area, please give me a call! With my more flexible schedule, I’d love to go out for lunch, coffee, or whatever free time you have.
Thanks for all you’ve done to make this year’s graduation possible, and I look forward to seeing many of you this summer!
Read about the births!
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!
Please pray for new siblings!
Sometimes we have the privilege of watching new brothers and sisters in Christ being ushered into the kingdom. Rarely do we have the opportunity to bathe their new birth in prayer right before it happens! Beginning tonight US time, missionaries and tribal teachers will be presenting the lesson on the death and resurrection of Christ to the second Dinangat tribe.
Please pray for the missionaries, the tribal teachers, and the people of the Dinangat village that the teaching will be clear and new brothers and sisters will be added to the Body of Christ tomorrow!
The first Dinangat came to Christ last year about this time, and now believers from the first village have been working with NTM missionaries to present the Chronological Lessons in a neighboring village. You can follow the links below to follow their journey of the past few months. I will do my best to update you as more information becomes available.
- Tribal teachers prepare
- January 17th, Lessons begin
- Early February
- Late February
- March (realized sin, 10 commandments)
- March 20th
- End of March
- Easter (the first for believers in the first village)
- April 15th
Expanding Ministry Opportunities
This month especially has seen me very busy in both my school ministry and my church ministry. The beginning of March I had the opportunity to attend Awana Summit, the annual national event held in the Chicago area for more than 1,000 high school students to compete in AwanaGames, Bible Quizzing, Volleyball, and Fine Arts. It is a four day event, and two of those days include a college fair. We had a steady stream of students coming by our table the entire time. It was really encouraging to talk to these Bible focused and missions minded students, and I look forward to seeing some of them come through NTBI these next couple of years!
In my Christmas letter, I mentioned that I was doing some writing for our women’s Bible study curriculum at church. That work has continued into the new year, and I must say I was getting pretty weary of staring at my computer screen! I felt rather like an expectant mother as the volume that I had labored so hard to help produce finally went to press! It has been wonderful to get involved in this process, and to see the light bulbs come on even for long-time believers as we examine Scripture in chronological order…really focusing on the story that God orchestrated in His pursuit of relationship of man. I must say, I have never gone at it quite in this way, not ever jumping ahead in the story, but camping on what God is revealing about Himself step by step. There have been some wonderful “ah, ha!” moments for me personally this year, but I will save that for another letter! The writing opportunities also developed into some speaking opportunities as we took the women into a Passover experience. It was an incredible time to examine the beautiful pictures of Christ that God placed in this ceremony that has been observed for thousands of years. Please be in prayer with me as I consider the options for my involvement with women’s ministry at church this next year. I’ve been leading a small group this past year, but God may be directing into more of a large group teaching setting…I just need to be sure I don’t over extend myself!
Settling in to a NEW “Normal”
Those of you that know me well have probably heard me say, “Normal is just a setting on your dryer.” I’ve taken that quote from the title of a book by Patsy Clairmont, and it simply means that there really is no such thing as normal. It’s just a word on your dryer that never really applies to life. Our life’s definition of normal is constantly changing, and the sooner we accept that the better! Well, my life is finally settling into its newest definition of normal and now that I know what that is, I thought I’d share it with you.
As I shared in my Christmas newsletter, God did incredible things between May and November of 2009 (many of them through some of you!) and my minimum support came in right on schedule. By the end of 2009, my support was hovering around 82%. Now, with some changes brought by the new year, it’s around 77% ($2,133 monthly). That is such a long way from the 20% a month of less than a year ago! Please praise the Lord with me for all He has done to show Himself sufficient through this whole process. Please also continue to pray that God will provide the remaining $623/month to meet budget. That figure of $2,756/month is really the minimum recommended support for me to minister here at NTBI. I still have a ways to go, but we’re so much closer! I can never say “Thank You” enough for your part in it all. Thank you too for your prayers as the medical reports we were waiting on finally came in, and all the paperwork was finally settled for me to return to full-time, active ministry here at the school.
So, what is the “new normal” for Laura Meyers? My specific ministry at the school has quite a broad range at the moment. I work half-days at our school reception desk, answering the phones, fielding questions, greeting visitors, and talking to the students that tend to hang out in the lobby. (Some of them I know just come by to get their “doggie fix” by seeing Pepper…so many students miss their pets from home!) My spare time while I’m at the desk and the remainder of my days are spent in a variety of administrative tasks…administrative assistant for the maintenance department (imagine keeping files straight for a 100+ year old building that is a historical landmark, especially when they haven’t had a regular secretary for a few years…yikes!), organization of our school’s electronic files and media (a college tends to generate a LOT of photos…and someone has to sort through and organize them all!), and working to update our Facebook page and alumni contacts. My 18 month “furlough” to raise my support also created a new niche for me here: a resource for other staff in developing effective communication with their contacts through software, email, and internet and using these communication methods to help in raising support. I must confess that I think this last part is the most “fun” part of the job at the moment…it’s like getting paid to play! I am being asked to spend hours on my website, email, software, and the like so that I know it well and can teach others. I’m just incredibly glad that my experiences can be not only to my benefit but also help others through the process. So, bear with me in the coming months as you may be my guinea pigs for new email design, subscription techniques, website layouts, and the like! Know that when I ask for your feedback on new ideas, your input will be helping other missionaries learn how to effectively communicate with people they know and potential partners.
Keep your focus on Him, and on reaching those who don’t know Him…YET!
2009 Newsletter now Online!
Well, it took me some time to figure out how to do it on my website, but my Christmas 2009 Newsletter is finally up for your viewing pleasure! Many of you may have received a Christmas card with the newsletter enclosed…it’s the same one. For those of you who keep up on my ministry solely by email/internet, please accept my apologies for the delay. I’m still figuring out this new site!
Hope you and your family had a blessed Christmas and New Year together, and I look forward to what this year holds!
As always, thanks for your continued partnership in training tribal missionaries.
Family Excitement!
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.
