News arrived a few days ago that a delegation of religious leaders from another village was attempting to remove the missionary team from the area. The threat resulted in a plan of action that brought a team of NTM leaders and police to meet the delegation.

The police immediately took control. The delegation was very surprised to see them and right away said that they intended no harm. The religious leaders were given the opportunity to make their accusation and demands before the floor was given to the believers.

The police spokesman repeatedly declared that Papua New Guinea is a free country, where freedom of religion and freedom of speech are honored and absolutely cannot be denied to anyone, citizen or non citizen. He emphasized that the missionaries have every right to be in the village and the people have every right to listen to the teaching.

About 120 Dinangats were there to testify of how God has changed their lives.  “After these men heard the testimonies, one man proposed that we can stay until we finish the [Bible] translation,” Gary wrote. Please pray that God will continue to have the victory among the Dinangats and that those who have opposed the teaching of God’s Word will come to know the truth. (To read more of this story go to: http://usa.ntm.org/field-news/god-gets-the-glory)

Just wanted to send a short note to let you guys know what our plans are.  We are rushing around trying to get things done so we can leave Florida this Saturday, June 25^th.    I am helping with VBS this week and trying to finish up last minute things that need to be done before our trip out west. This time Haley will be the only one of our children traveling with us – it will seem strange not to travel looking like the Beverly Hillbillies!

We will visit relatives in Mobile, then Texas and California and finally end up at one of our supporting churches in Oregon.  We are looking forward to reconnecting and sharing with folks in Shan Creek Community Bible Church there in Grants Pass.  Then we will drive to Montana for a Burns family reunion.  We are hoping our son, Jason, and his family will be able to join us for a week at the family reunion.  We need to see that new grandson!! We will have the opportunity to share with folks at Corvallis Community Church and Victor Community Church while staying with Phil’s mom and then drive to eastern Montana and share with folks at Ulm Bible Church.  We may even stop to see Jason’s new home on the way back through Colorado and also visit relatives in Denver.  Our last 2 stops will be in Mississippi to visit Heather where she is taking flight training and to visit relatives and First Presbyterian Church in Kosciusko, Ms.   I guess we’ll be tired of traveling by then so will head back to Florida.  By the time we get home it should be about the first week in August.  We may have to turn around a few  weeks later and drive Haley up to start Bible School in Wisconsin.

VBS is half way over and has been fun.  We have seen quite a few kids make decisions to trust Christ and others who desire to grow so all the hard work has been worth it.  One little girl I counseled tonight thought she might be saved but wasn’t real sure so I was able to share 1 John 5:13 with her about how she could KNOW for sure that she had eternal life by trusting Christ as her Savior.  If she wasn’t saved before I believe she is now. Please pray for this little third grader, Brooke. 

Counseling another child who trusted Christ.

We have exciting news from our son, Jason and his wife, Tiffany.  Mason John, their second child and our second grandchild was born on May 9 in Grand Junction, Colorado.  Mason weighed in at 7 lbs. 6.5 ounces and was 20 ½ inches. Mother and baby are doing fine.  We would appreciate your prayers for them that they would have wisdom as they raise their children.

Wow!  Hard to believe we are already into April.  March passed by so quickly that I didn’t get a letter out to you so will try to bring you up-to-date with what is happening in our lives.

FAMILY NEWS:

Our son, Jason, and his wife, Tiffany, are expecting their second child in May.  Please pray for an easy delivery and healty mom and baby.  We hope to be able to see this cute little grandson if we are able to travel to Montana this summer for a Burns family reunion. Our daughter, Heather, is in Colorado learning to fly.  She is under a lot of stress as she needs to pass this 4 week period or she will not be able to continue with her pilot training.  Please pray  for widsom and peace for her to accept God’s best for her.  Cody, continues doing well with his aviation mechanics classes in Jacksonville.  He will be home next weekend to visit for his 22^nd birthday.  He is involved in helping with the youth in a local church. Pray for a consistent walk with the Lord and good grades for him.  Haley celebrated her 18^th birthday

Haley's 18th birthday!

last month.  Right now she is in a stressful time of deciding whether to go to Bible School in Wisconsin or attend Stetson University – a small, private, local university which has offered her a scholarship.  Please pray for wisdom in knowing the Lord’s will for her in this situation.  Our greatest desire is that our children will have please the Lord with their lives.

We have an “adopted daughter”, Lauren Bender, living with us these days.  Lauren was an MK from another mission who lived in our dorm while we were in Bolivia and is friends with our children.  She was seeing doctors in this area for some medical problems and has decided to live here and take some college classes.  She will also be looking for a job.

Phil and I are keeping busy as usual. The volunteers have all left so Phil is just finishing up some “loose ends” in the carpenter shop.  I, (Jackie), as part of my job, have just finished proofreading the text for Firm Foundations: Secure in Christ, the next set of lessons in the Building on Firm Foundations series.  This series is a Bible study series that centers on God’s progressive revelation of His character and plan of redemption from Creation to Christ.  It is similar to that used by missionaries with the tribal people, but written for people in our culture.  The one I was proofreading will be used to teach those who have already trusted the Lord and want to grow in their spiritual lives.

Mission News from around the world:

Akolets: In our January letter we told you a little about the Akolets beginning to hear the Word of God taught.  This is the Continuing Story—

Teaching began among the Akolet people in Papua New Guinea on January 4, 2011…Here are some exciting news clips from missionaries working with this group…

(January 26) Gelio, an Akolet man,  is trying desperately to put all the pieces together.  Each day he comes up with new questions.  But today’s question was this:
“So I’m really confused.  You’re saying that God can’t be with anything that’s not perfect.  And Adam and Eve (and all of us as well) sinned.  But that somehow there’s a Rescuer that’s going to come and rescue us.  So how is he going to rescue us?  We’re already sinners!  And we can’t be with God! How will he help us humans?”

Adam ( one of the missionaries) said, “That question is pretty much the WHOLE REASON we’ve come to live with you and bring you this message!  Keep coming, and you will learn the answer.” Then later our co-worker Ryan asked Gelio, “So what is this new teaching like to you?”  Gelio said, very solemnly, “Ryan, it’s like this.  Remember that cake you gave me one time?  This teaching is like that cake.  I’ve never tasted anything like it, and it is so delicious.”

Evangelistic Bible teaching among the Akolets was scheduled to reach the death, burial and resurrection of Christ on April 8 but because of some cultural issues the lessons were concluded earlier.  At the conclusion of the lesson Waklo and Amos, a mother and daughter, spoke: “There’s no other way!” they agreed. “It’s only belief in Jesus’ death! We can’t do anything to add to that. He didn’t ‘half’ His work. He finished it and said, ‘It’s all done!’”  On Friday, another woman, Liwa, came to see one of the missionaries, Julie. “She had this big smile on her face and said, ‘I’ve come just to tell you that I’ve realized I’m a sinner and that Jesus is the only way to be made right with God. ‘I’m not in Satan’s fence anymore! Jesus took me and put me in his fence!  I am a sinner, but He rescued me.’”

As of March 31 there were 13 Akolet believers and more have come to know the Lord since then.  There is opposition from another religious group. The opposition has caused attendance to dwindle significantly over the last two weeks but the missionaries feel this is God’s way of separating those who really aren’t interested in hearing the truth.  Please continue to pray for  the Holy Spirit to open the spiritual eyes of the Akolet people and for missionaries Adam and Julie Martin and Ryan and Sarah Warner as they continue to teach God’s Word to the Akolet. If you’d like more updates on the Akolet check out New Tribes Website: www.ntm.org or visit this site for the latest update:  http://usa.ntm.org/field-news/akolets-testify-to-gods-saving-grace?utm_source=footerslider&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=article

Thank you for your continued support and prayers! God is using you to help get the Gospel to those like the Akolet who haven’t yet heard!  Thanks for being a blessing!!

Helping Reach the Lost for Christ,

Phil and Jackie

email: phil_burns@ntm.org
personal webpage: www.ntm.org/phil_burns

It’s Exciting!! Another tribe hears the Bible taught for the first time!  Bible teaching began this week among the Akolet people of Papua New Guinea.

“Adults and children gathered together under the shade of the large blue tarp as we prepared for the lesson to begin,” wrote missionaries Adam and Julie Martin. “Adam’s ‘podium’ was an empty 55-gallon drum. The seating was planks or mats the people brought with them. The ‘sound system’ was as loud as Adam could talk.”

The first lessons are introductory. Adam started by explaining that this teaching is different from anything they’ve ever heard. “It is God’s message for all mankind and each and every one of us needs to hear and understand it,” the Martins wrote. A large inflatable globe helped Adam explain where the people of Israel lived and how God’s message spread.

“Each of our team also gave a brief testimony of how we at different points in our lives heard the truth of God’s Word and made a conscious choice to accept it as true and to follow it, that being the very reason we are here living with them today,” the Martins wrote.  The Akolets appeared to be listening attentively. Please pray that people will come faithfully, with a desire to hear the lessons.

This is exciting news for us and reminds us of why we do what we do here at our mission U.S. headquarters.  Although we aren’t overseas being a part of the Bible teaching, we are part of the team here in the States rooting them on with our prayers and sometimes mundane jobs that make it possible for missionaries like the Martins to put all their efforts into the Bible teaching.

Speaking of our ministry here – some of our volunteers are back and more are on the way.  These snowbirds come south for the winter and give us a hand with projects around the mission.  Doc Wally is back and my shop is now full of cabinets.  He is looking stronger and better than he did the last two years, and this time he is 89 years old! He is an amazing man and fun to work with.  I’ve learned a lot from him.

Last week we caravanned with Cody to Jacksonville.  He started school there on Monday, learning to work on aircraft.  Wish he knew more about mechanics now, because his car gave him trouble on the way up and the first day there it wouldn’t start He finally decided it wasn’t worth putting more money into so he ended up buying a used truck.  Please pray for him. It would be nice if this one would last him until he finishes school in a year and a half.

Heather graduated last month with a degree in engineering.  She leaves next month for Mississippi where she will begin flight training.  We will miss her, but we are proud of her accomplishments.

Pretty soon we will be left with just one at home!  Haley is a senor in high school.  She enjoys soccer, and will miss it when her season ends this week.  Pray that she will have wisdom as she decides what to do with her life.

We are thankful for a New Year, for more time to serve our Lord and for our blessings in Christ!  We are, also, thankful to be able to partner with you in the exciting task of taking the Gospel to a lost world!  Thank you for your part in praying and giving!  We feel so blessed to be counted worthy by our Lord to serve Him!! We trust that your New Year has started off well and that you are rejoicing with us in this New Year.

Your Missionaries to the Tribes,

Phil & Jackie

Phil & Jackie Burns
Serving with New Tribes Mission in Sanford, Florida
email: phil_burns@ntm.org
personal webpage: www.ntm.org/phil_burns
mission webpage: www.ntm.org ]]> http://blogs.ntm.org/phil-burns/2011/01/13/a-new-year-to-serve/feed/ 0 http://blogs.ntm.org/phil-burns/2011/01/07/840/ http://blogs.ntm.org/phil-burns/2011/01/07/840/#comments Sat, 08 Jan 2011 03:35:48 +0000 Phil and Jackie http://blogs.ntm.org/phil-burns/?p=840 Christmas Greetings!                                                                      Dec., 2010

It is hard to believe another year is fast grinding itself into the dust called history.  As we look back on the past 11 months we see times when we doubted God, or our trust wavered, but in every case God was faithful, and He has brought us through another year.  We do want to express our thankfulness to you, also, for standing with us by your prayers and through your sacrificial support to our lives and ministry.  May God bless you richly this Christmas season!

Remembering Christ’s birthday at this time of year is so important – where would we be without the grace and salvation that He brought!  However, all that food and all those sweets from the parties make it very hard to maintain healthy eating habits. We skipped our mission party a few days ago, choosing instead to spend those hours freezing in a cold wind as we watched our daughter, Haley, playing soccer.  Florida has been very cold the last few days with nighttime temperatures dropping to freezing or below and another cold front is coming through.  Haley will graduate from high school in May.  Please pray that she will have wisdom in what her next step in life should be.

Lord willing, our son, Cody will start A and P, or aircraft mechanics in January.  He will be going to school in Jacksonville, FL, which is about two hours from home.  Please pray for him as he starts this next chapter of his life.  He needs to find an apartment there, a job to help with expenses, and a good church.  He has a car, but sometimes it is worrisome, at least for his parents- we want him to be able to get back and forth to class everyday, and we hope he will come visit us now and then, too.  His car is a KIA with BMW emblems both front and back, compliments of the previous owner.  Sad to say, it is still like the KIA that it is!

Our daughter, Heather, graduates December 17 from the University of Central Florida with a degree in Space Systems Technology.   In February she will travel to Columbus, Mississippi, to start flight training, paid for by her Uncle Sam.  Please continue to pray for her as she enters a very secular world far from home.  She has worked so hard to get to this place in her life and we are very proud of her.

Phil continues to get things ready for the volunteers coming in January.  With their help we will complete all the kitchen remodels in the big building this year.  These apartments are lived in by the missionaries who live and work here in Sanford, whose ministries make it possible for mission work to continue in remote corners of the world.  When not at the mission school Jackie has been spending part of her time in the field ministry office.   She has recently begun helping some of our computer gurus on a project.  She is looking up Bible towns and place names in 3 different languages so they can be part of the software used by our missionaries for chronologically teaching the Bible to tribal people.   It is a slow and painstaking process but she feels like she is getting something accomplished that will be a useful tool for our missionaries.  Did you know that Bethlehem in Spanish is Beth-lehem; in Portuguese: Bete-Leém and in Indonesian: Betlehem? In any language, it is the place where our Savior came to earth in order to redeem all mankind – what a beautiful story that every tribe, nation and tongue needs to hear!

We participated in our church’s, “One Night to Remember” – a drive through nativity  that tells the true meaning of Christmas.  Though he doesn’t consider himself an actor, Phil was roped into being a Wise Man because they said he was the only one tall enough to fill one of their costumes (I think they liked his beard, too).    He did it last year and found it to be fun, so volunteered for the part again this year.  Jackie was a greeter and Cody helped out with traffic control.

Again we thank you for your prayers and support.  We pray you have a joyous Christmas season as you remember the birth of our Lord.

Your Missionaries,

Phil and Jackie Burns

Phil and Jackie

Phil and Jackie Burns
www.ntm.org/phil_burns
New Tribes Mission
www.ntm.org