NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

In preparing to leave for Mozambique we have been taking advantage of being able to sit under godly teaching.  This last Sunday we started a series on the marriage relationship and one of the focuses was our desires vs. our expectations.

God gives us healthy desires like hunger, thirst, desire for companionship, love, respect and the list goes on.  Many times we change those desires to expectations; believing that others owe us or that we deserve something.  This can have terrible consequences.

I was trying to think of practical ways that this plays out in my life.  It brought me back to my relationship with the Lord.  Most of us know that our marriage relationship reflects our relationship we have with our creator.

I desire to have a stable place to live.  I can only imagine what it is like to live in one place for more than two years at a time.  When I begin making that desire an expectation that I have of God; I become dissatisfied, grumpy filled with unthankfulness and can potentially miss an incredible blessing that the Lord has in store for me.

PS 37:4 says "Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart." Do I truly know the heart of God?  Am I treating Him like He owes me something?  God desires that all men come to know Him.  What is that worth to me?

In being a missionary to those that are unreached with the gospel, I have had to give many of my desires to the Lord.  In return, He has blessed me in ways that I had not even imagined.

Dear Friends,

We have enjoyed our time on home assignment alot.  We have gotten to see many of you and had the privilage of visiting many churches throughout the U.S. 

We miss our friends that we are having to leave in Venezuela, especially considering that we may never have the opportunity to see them again.  We continue praying  for the people in the village where we worked before, that they will soon have the opportunity to hear the gospel.  A piece of our hearts remain with them.

Our bodies and spirtis have been able to rest and be refreshed.  We have  an incredible church here in Western Washington that has helped us grow to know the Lord even more. 

Now our time here is coming to an end.  God is directing us to the country of Mozambique, Africa.  Please pray for our family during this final month here in the U.S.  that we will be focused on Him and not overwhelmed with all the packing and little details involved in moving our family overseas. 

Once we get there, pray for our time of language and culture learning.  Pray also for the kids as they adjust to a new land and experience barriers in communication with those around them.  Pray that we, as parents, will have wisdom in helping them during this time of transition. 

MAPUTO, Mozambique: With hearts open to God’s will, missionaries Michael and Jessica Richardson saw two closed doors as His direction.

The Richardsons were part of a team that pioneered a work among the Shiriana people of Venezuela. But a Venezuelan government resolution ordered NTM missionaries out of tribal areas, so they had to move out. They explored ministering among the Shirianas across the border in Brazil, and this week found out that was not going to happen.

"There is no way for us to even visit the area, never mind work there," they wrote.

Their hearts ache as they think of the relationships they built with the Shirianas.

"We worked so hard preparing the soil of their hearts for the Gospel," they wrote. "We dreamed of planting, watering, and watching God grow new believers to maturity in Christ. Now we must trust that God will do His work in His time."

But their service to God is not done. Back in October, as it appeared the doors were closing on their ministry among the Shirianas, Michael suggested to Jessica the possibility of serving God in Mozambique.

"At that time her response was an emphatic, ‘I couldn’t go there!’ … A few weeks ago, Jessica came to me and said that the Lord had changed her heart: ‘If He leads us to Mozambique, I am willing to go.’"

After talking with missionaries who have served in Mozambique, and fasting, praying and seeking Godly counsel, the Richardsons believe the Lord is leading them to Africa.

Please pray for the Shirianas, who are now without a Gospel witness. Pray also for the Richardsons as they adjust to many changes — not only geographically, but in culture and language.