Alaiyah and Anikah with our good friend

This past week we heard news that one of our friends from the tribe was not going to be able to return to the city we live in.  She is a new believer and has been studying the Bible with some of our national co-workers.  She is a new seed and growth has been happening.  Imagine our dismay when we found out she was not able to return because she had been betrothed to a young man in her village who follows the “other religion”.  She is the only believer in her family and there is no village church. She is facing a lot of pressure to convert and marry this young man.  Please pray for her to stand strong.  Pray that she will not be pulled back into what she has been freed from.

We do have a little more news about the Kodiak coming. We now are in a waiting game with the local authorities about when it can get here.  Things don’t move fast sometimes in Asia.  Our prayer is that it will be in this very hangar by March of next year.  Please keep praying for this airplane to get into the country.  Almost every month we hear of a need in some tribal location that the airplane could have helped fill.  It is needed and we feel at times there is a huge spiritual battle raging because Satan knows this tool will speed the spread of the Gospel.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.  LaNada and the girls are doing great in school.  Praise God.  We sure love and appreciate all of your emails and packages.  We got a package yesterday from some of you that lifted our spirits tremendously.  Thank you all.

Our little one room school.

School at P. Bay Academy has begun. Alaiyah is starting 1st grade and Anikah is starting kindergarten.  Talk about 2 happy little girls.  They naturally just want to learn.  Almost everyday they would ask mommy or daddy, “When is school going to start?”  For many weeks now, LaNada and the other moms have been working to get everything in our little school ready.  Our school is actually a room on the back of one of our fellow co-workers house. It is a little tight for all of us but we are so thankful.  Continue to pray for LaNada and the other moms as they teach and prepare each day. There is lots to do and lots to learn.

Thank you for your prayers for safety.  There have been no indications of problems in the city we live in.  Thank the Lord for that.  Please continue to pray though.  Safety is always something we need prayer for.  Please continue to pray for wisdom for leadership in Indonesia regarding the importation of the Kodiak.  So many areas need this airplane. It sure has been evident that Satan doesn’t want this to happen, but God is in control.

We sure do love and appreciate all of you.  You can follow us on facebook or skype us at: obeyingthecall.

Nathan Installing house power indicator light

We have been in Central Sulawesi for a little over a month and it sure has been a busy time for us.  The house we are living in is only 3 years old but has been full of surprises for us.  Nathan has been working on a lot of electrical problems as well as sealing up doors so rats can’t get in (we had a large rat who thought our kitchen would be a nice home), repairing sinks, toilets, and working on our water system.  LaNada has been busy unpacking and making our house a home.  Lots to do that is for sure.  Alaiyah and Anikah are loving making new friends both Indonesian and with the kids of our fellow NTM co-workers.

Please pray for us as we get back into the language and develop friendships.  We have found a great little church to attend and are excited about ministry opportunities there.  They are already asking LaNada to work with the kids and Nathan to occasionally preach.  Pray for us that we will be able to communicate the Gospel clearly.  Also pray for LaNada as she will start teaching Alaiyah (1st grade) and Anikah (Kindergarten) in a few weeks.  She will be working in a co-op with 2 other NTM mothers and their 5 kids.

We sure love all of you and so appreciate your support and encouragement.  We really need it right now.  We are a little discouraged by how slow things are moving with the Kodiak getting here.  Please pray for the importation of the Kodiak.  Pray that NTM leadership will know how best to import the aircraft.   Pray that we can get started on building a larger hangar for the airplane.  Pray that God will lift our spirits through ministry to those around us and to the tribal works.  Pray for Nathan as he travels into the Peleng tribe in a couple of weeks to help set up an electrical system and build a bathroom for a single German lady who is moving into work with this new unreached tribe.

Please pray for our finances.  This past month our moving and housing costs have been really high.  If the Lord would lead you to help us buy a generator (power goes out frequently) or help us pay off our house contract please let us know and we can send you more details.

With much love and appreciation,

Nathan, LaNada, Alaiyah and Anikah Tag
Serving with New Tribes Mission Indonesia

Anikah ready for the trip to Indonesia

Well…we are definitely not sending our daughter to Indonesia in a duffel bag, but our departure back to Indonesia is June 10th…Thursday. Our route of flight will be from Nashville to Detroit, across the ocean to Tokyo, then down to Singapore.  After a short stay with friends in Singapore, we go on to Indonesia.  We will be traveling for over 40 hours!!

Please pray for us. During these next several weeks we will be traveling a lot as well as re-adjusting to life back in Indonesia.  Pray that we would adapt well to life overseas again.   Pray for us as we go back to the island of Java, where we lived before, pack up a container, say goodbye to all our friends there and then move to Sulawesi, a new island, where we will minister with the Kodiak.  Pray for us to get settled in quickly, develop close friendships with those in our new village, and deal well with the many many changes.  Your prayers are so important.  Pray that amidst all the stress that we will always keep Christ as the center.

Nathan and his teammates being prayed for during the Kodiak Dedication

We sure have been traveling a lot.  LaNada and the girls traveled back to Tennessee last week so LaNada could prepare for our departure to Indonesia in June and spend more time with her parents.  Praise the Lord her father Freddie flew out to drive back with them.  Thank you Freddie.

Nathan left on the 9th with three other pilots to fly to Florida in the Kodiak. New Tribes had a great opportunity to promote their work in tribal areas and exhibit the Kodiak at Sun ‘N Fun (the second largest fly-in airshow in America). All last week he visited with people from all over the world and had many chances to share about NTM and how God will use the Kodiak in Indonesia to reach the Buru and Taliabo tribes. It was a really great time.

Yesterday Nathan and the other NTMA pilots were able to attend a dedication for the Kodiak near the NTM home office in Sanford,FL. This was an amazing time of praising God for the Kodiak Airplane and how it will be used as a tool in Indonesia.

We sure would value your prayers in the next few weeks. There is so much to do before our return to Indonesia in mid June. We will be traveling to Virginia and also Alabama to visit with many of you. LaNada will be going down to Florida in mid May for one of her best friends weddings. In between all that traveling we will have a lot of packing to do. Lots of packing. Please pray that we will be able and keep our sanity during all the traveling. Pray that we will be able and keep our eyes on Christ through all the stress of getting ready to return. Also pray for our arrangements for a house in Indonesia once we get back. Pray that we will smoothly be able and move our stuff from where we studied language to our new home and not have any problems. Pray for us as we adjust back to life in Indonesia after our 9 months in the USA for Kodiak training.

Wow only 5 months until we depart for Indonesia. Every day we think of something else we need to buy, pack or put on a list for our first term in Indonesia-so much to do.

We continue to speak in churches and meet with friends and I must say God has used so many of you to encourage us. Thank you. A week ago we got a letter of encouragement from a ladies group in Montana, and another letter from someone just sharing what was happening in their life. Thank you. That meant the world to us and gave us ways we could pray. Our support level is still around 70% of what we need to depart for Indonesia. We thank God for each of you who support us and pray for us. We appreciate you all.

Nathan is leaving for Oklahoma in March for a 2 week maintenance course on turbine engines. He will be at Covington aircraft engines just south of Tulsa. They are a Christian run aircraft repair facility that is offering free training to any NTMA personnel. The Wilson’s have offered their trailer as a place for him to stay while he is there, so he only needs to pay for food, gas and transportation to and from the course. What a huge blessing. He will also go to California in April for another maintenance course but this time he will be working on helicopters. We are so thankful he has the opportunity to get this additional maintenance training which is needed on the field to help the spread of the gospel to the unreached people of Indonesia. Thank you God!!

Here are a few prayer requests we would ask you to lift up for us:

1. Pray for the raising up of dedicated prayer partners. People who will lift us up and pray for this journey of obedience to God.

2. Pray for more financial partners. People who will join us in taking the good news to Indonesia. We can’t do it without partners.

3. Pray for our packing. So many decisions of what to take, what not to take. Packing for 4 years at a time is a huge challenge.

4. Pray for our little van. It is in need of repairs and is feeling all those miles we have put on it in the last 3 years.

5. Pray for Nathan’s maintenance training in March and also in April. Pray that God would prepare him for what is needed in Indonesia.

6. Pray for the meeting of our travel expenses to Indonesia. We are overwhelmed at times with the cost of airfares, shipping and visas. Pray God would calm our hearts and keep the focus on HIM and HIS purposes.

Thank you for the part you are playing. Write us if you get the chance and let us know how you are and what is happening in your life.

In service together,

Nathan, LaNada, Alaiyah and Anikah Tag

Correspondence:
130 Turkey Scratch Road.
Spencer, TN 38585
Phone: 406-531-5838
nathan-lanada_tag@ntm.org

Contributions:
New Tribes Mission
1000 East First Street
Sanford, FL 32771
www.ntm.org/give/2250

We have been back in Tennessee for a few weeks now. Christmas and New Years with family here was great. Of course Alaiyah and Anikah miss their grandpa, grandma, cousins and family in Montana, but have had so much fun with nana and papa and family here.

It has been overwhelming at times with the amount of things that have to be done between now and July when we leave for Indonesia. Imagine having to plan and pack for 4 years overseas. There are supplies to buy and ship, Visas to complete, airplane tickets to get, churches and friends to visit and so many other things sometimes we feel that our head is just above water. Praise the Lord that He is here with us. We are daily reminded that our strength lies in Him and without Him all this would seem too much.

We would ask for your prayers for us as we seek to partner with churches and individuals in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Pray that God would lead us to those who want to join us. We are at around 72% of our needed monthly support to live and serve in Indonesia and thank God for his provision so far. He is faithful.

We would also ask for your prayers for our Visas. As we mentioned before we sent our first packet out 2 months ago and are waiting for the Indonesian field to send an OK for us to apply for our Visa through the Indonesian Consulate in Washington D.C. Pray that everything would go smoothly and we would hear back from them real soon.

Thank you for your support and prayers. Every day we are reminded of the faithfulness of God and his direction in our lives. If you would like us to speak in your church, small group or just come see you before we leave, please send us an email or give us a call.