NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

March 2010 Sutton’s Monthly Update

Singapore

It is good to be home after our trip to get medical help. I made the mistake of not taking our complete e-mail address list and only had a few addresses in which to write people about Janelle’s surgery, so many of you did not receive updates from Singapore. Yes, Singapore. In our last update the plan was to go to Brisbane for the medical care. Our co-workers used to work in Singapore, so they said we should explore it as possible place to have the surgery. We made some inquiries and found an organization called Helping Hands that assists missionaries in getting medical help in Singapore. They hooked us up with the Joy Clinic for Women and found a Christian doctor to do the surgery.

Shelley, Larry and Family

Brad, Janelle’s brother had a contact that had a flat available about 5 minutes from the hospital. We also discovered that Janelle had a cousin that lives and works in Singapore (Shelley and Larry) and they met us when we arrived and assisted us the whole time we were in Singapore. What a blessing they are!

Janelle had her check up at the Joy Clinic on the 24 of February and went in for surgery on the 25th. The procedure went well. The hospital stay was just 2 days and she was up walking by the next day. Janelle still has to retrain her bladder in its new position, so we will not know to what degree of success the surgery will have for several months. Keep praying for complete recovery.

Janelle After Surgery

After surgery it was fantastic to have Brad and Carol came to visit us in Singapore. We spent some good quality time catching up on each other’s ministries.

We want to thank those of you who prayed and for those that financially gave to make this trip possible. Our needs were met in many ways. We are thankful for the Body of Christ!

Pray for us as we came back to a busy time of getting entry permits processed for all our missionaries.

Phil and Janelle Sutton

Processing Entry Permits

We are in one of our most busy times of getting Entry Permits for all our missionaries. Every 3 years we go through the process of getting Work Permits and Entry Permits that last for 3 years. The office is lined with stacks of applications ready to be lodged at the Department of Immigration. The Work Permit process, done by our co-workers, Dave and Diann, went well this time and we were able to start 3 month earlier than we ever have been able to start. So that allows us to put in boxes of applications in an order of priority. We have already received over 100 Entry Permits for our medical and pilot staff and for those traveling out of the country in late May and June. There are still about 150 priority Entry Permits that need to be processed for those traveling. Pray that these will continue to be processed in a timely manner.

Brisbane

One of the priority Entry Permits will have to be ours. When we traveled to our Highlands Center for meetings, we also had Janelle visit the Medical Clinic. She is having trouble with incontinence. Her problem was diagnosed and she needs surgery for a bladder re-suspension. This is a pretty severe surgery and the longer we wait to have the surgery the more severe the surgery gets. So we are praying that our Entry Permit will be granted soon so we can travel to Australia. There are no safe medical facilities in country that could do the operation. We would like to travel in late March or early April. This will take us away from our ministry here in Port Moresby for about a month as Janelle recovers from the operation. Much of that recovery time will be in Australia. We are making inquiries to a couple of doctors that were recommended for us in Brisbane. Please pray for the extra funds needed for travel, medical expenses and for our stay while in Australia. This was not expected nor in the budget that we normally operate on.

Prayer Needs

• Entry Permit to be issued
• Medical visa to Australia to be approved (Not necessary if we go to Singapore)
• Provision of extra expenses
• Doctors to be arranged in Brisbane (Update 17/2/10 – perhaps Singapore instead)
• Finding a place to stay in Brisbane (Update 17/2/10 – perhaps Singapore instead)

Thanks for standing with us!

Phil and Janelle Sutton

December 2009 Sutton Update
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” II Timothy 2:2

In the late 1970′s missionaries from NTM, Karo (Carol) and Edna had a student name Yunas. At Wara Brata, he was taught the Bible from these faithful missionaries. They lived at Wara Brata and worked on lessons and translation in the Yagarian tribal language. Yunas was from Manuel’s home. He hiked the 4-5 hours and stayed and listened to the teaching for about a month. Through that teaching he became a believer in Jesus Christ. He returned to his home village to teach what he had learned. Yunas started in 1978 to teach over 20 people from his village. One of those students was a young man named Manuel. At the age of about 18 or 19 (Age in this culture is not always known for sure) Manuel became a believer in Jesus Christ as well.

This young man moved to Port Moresby about the age of 19 or 20. He moved into a settlement named Kipo. A church was started in the settlement by a man named Warewa Harito. This is the place where Manuel attended and eventually became one of the elders of the church. Just down the road from Kipo settlement, NTM had a guesthouse and needed to find someone who could work on the grounds and maintenance for the center. Manuel was hired and worked faithfully for NTM until the guesthouse was sold in 2006. When NTM acquired a new property in 2007, Manuel was hired again to work on construction and maintenance for the center. Manuel still works for us.

Each year the believers in Port Moresby send people back to their home areas to have  evangelistic outreaches into the Lufa area in the Highlands. This September 70 people flew to the Highlands and encouraged the local churches.

There are 13 local churches in the Lufa area where Yagarian is spoken. This is a story of how the faithful teaching of missionaries is still bearing fruit today.

Yunas is an old man and is still teaching today. His is assisted by a young pastor named Okawo Zachias. Manuel got at chance to preach and teach in his home village for three days. He was one of the 70 people who visited the Lufa area in September of this year.

What if Karo and Edna had not come?

You all have a wonderful Christmas. May faithful teaching continue in 2010. We never know how seeds planted can grow to produce fruit many years to come. Continue to pray for us as we minister in Port Moresby. Thanks for being a part of our ministry.

Phil and Janelle Sutton

Our address in Port Moresby is: New Tribes Mission, PO Box 747, Gordons, NCD 135, Papua New Guinea

Financial contributions to our ministry will receive a tax-deductible receipt when made payable to New Tribes Mission and sent to New Tribes Mission, 1000 East First St, Sanford, FL 32771-1487 for the ministry of Phil and Janelle Sutton or click on the following link to online giving through the NTM web site. http://www.ntm.org/phil-sutton/give.php

Work Permit Process

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Greetings from the Highlands of Papua New Guinea

We took a short trip to our center in the Highlands to get some medical checkups. Janelle’s crown on her front tooth has been giving her some trouble. It was checked out by our dentist and he said it was okay to continue to with it the way it is. Both of us got our teeth cleaned since we were already here. Those exams and cleanings showed no cavities. I also got a yearly medical exam and blood tests. The blood work shows I need to increase my exercise. I guess building and working on the house is not enough exercise. I need to get my cardio vascular output increased and that will improve my good cholesterol. Other than that the exam showed I was in good overall health.

Continue to pray for the preparation of the 3 year renewal of all the work and entry permits for our personnel. There is a three step process of submitting a 3-year training plan, applying for work permits, followed by applying for entry permits. The 3-year plan is submitted one time every 3 years. The work permits need to be applied for all the NTM missionary personnel in Papua New Guinea. Once those are approved, the entry permits are applied for. Our co-workers (Dave and Diann) are responsible for the work permit process and we are responsible for the entry permit process.

Our administrators (from the Highlands), Dave and I met with the Training Counsel and submitted our 3-year training plan. We are waiting for approval of that plan. Pray that the Training Counsel would see how we are affecting and training the “grass roots” people of Papua New Guinea. Dave, John (our national co-worker) and one of our administrators met with the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor is pleased with how NTM is submitting our new work permit applications. They gave us some pointers and tips on improving that process.

We are trying to get an appointment with the Department of Immigration to prepare for the processing of the entry permits. We need a strategy on how to get all our passports through the system. Pray as we meet with them we will be able to find a way to get the critical applications done in a timely manner. We prioritize the applications to process our doctor’s, nurses, pilots and those traveling after graduation next May to be done first.

We are enjoying our time with our cousins here in the Highlands. Hamilton celebrated his 15 birthday while we were here. He is also learning to fly a model airplane. Since they are on a school break he has been working on fine tuning his aircraft and flew it for a brief time on a hill above the center.

Continue to pray for us as we minister in Port Moresby. Thanks for being a part of our ministry.

Phil and Janelle Sutton

Our address in Port Moresby is: New Tribes Mission, PO Box 747, Gordons, NCD 135, Papua New Guinea. Financial contributions to our ministry will receive a tax-deductible receipt when made payable to New Tribes Mission and sent to New Tribes Mission, 1000 East First St, Sanford, FL 32771-1487 for the ministry of Phil and Janelle Sutton or follow this URL to online giving through the NTM web site.

August 2009 Phil Sutton Family Update
Many of you have asked how our children are doing. We don’t do this often, but we decided to ask each of them to write a short paragraph or two telling of what is happening in their lives.

Brock and Heidi Update
I have been adjusting to some significant changes in my life. In the last two months, in conjunction with a restructuring plan which included quite a few layoffs, my boss has left Covenant College. This is the man who had taken me under his wing, placing plenty of faith in my ability to learn on-the-fly how to do programming and be a back-up for other programmers on campus. In the process, my job description has been pretty much discarded. I am learning to tackle another previously unknown field of study: Audio/Visual work. This is a “part-time” takeover of a full-time position in addition to my original full-time programming position. A/V has to be planned around events on campus, so my schedule has gone from a steady 8:00-4:30 Monday through Friday job to a random assortment of late nights and weekends and sporadic partial days off in the middle of the week. All things considered, I am thankful that I still hold a place on staff at the college.
On the side, I have been tutoring in math for several hours per week and running an online business selling LEGO products. Every spare moment is spent sorting through piles of sets, bricks and plates to be listed in my store. This business has seen steady growth over the last two years and current inventory levels are up to about 80,000 pieces, with around another 100,000+ pieces yet to be listed. I am dreaming of the day where I can become a LEGO dealer full-time.
Heidi remains steadily employed as an x-ray technologist at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, works childcare with two-year-olds at church for Sunday school, and spends her free time reading, spoiling her puppy Penny, and cooking. Cooking to her is more than just making something to eat. It has become her passion and is an artistic outpouring. She dreams of a day that she can use her talent at cooking by serving guests at her own bed and breakfast.
This summer, Heidi and I were able to spend time in Wisconsin where Heidi’s sister, Leanne got married. While it may still be August, some cooler weather has reminded me that a new season is around the corner. School is returning to full session, which will add to an already full schedule, so pray that Heidi and I will be able to set aside time for nurturing our marriage and maintaining relationships with friends.

Kyla Update
Life is full of ups and downs right now. I’m still living in Florida and attending the University of Central Florida, but at what one would call a relaxed pace. I always get the question, What year are you? to which I respond with a sigh and long pause. I’m technically a junior, but its slow going.
Most of my time is spent at my job as a bookkeeper for Albertsons, but this is going to change soon. Our store is closing and though I’ve been offered a transfer, I’m not really sure where the future in the company is and it would require I work Sundays. Despite these nerve-racking challenges, I’ve had some encouragement from a new church I recently started attending called Crossway. The pastor and his wife have taken my roommate Jen and I under their wings and made us feel extremely welcome. It was a surreal moment walking into this church for the first time because I could tell right away that it is where God wants me to be. Since my current job is somewhat uncertain, I have applied for a position as an administrator at Crossway. I would appreciate prayer for wisdom as I determine my job future as well my future within this church where I hope to become very involved.
Another blessing is my new puppy, Bella. Fellow dog lovers can attest to the comfort an adorable companion can be (when there not chewing apart the cords to every lamp in your house).

Chad Update
Hello, my name is Chad Sutton. 2 years ago I graduated from Numinohi Christian Academy in Papua New Guinea. Since then I have been going to school in central Florida for a civil engineering degree. But, as I have seen over the last two years of being back in the USA is that I need a firmer foundation in God. I will be working this next year so that I can save up the money that is required to go to New Tribes Bible Institute. This is a 2 year school that I hope to gain a fuller understanding of the Word of God and what He wants me to do with my life. After that I have no set plans of what I should do, but I would like to go back to school and finish my degree.