What a privilege to be involved in training and preparing hungry hearted believers to take the Gospel to those who have no hope unless someone gets trained and goes. We thank God for the team of prayer and financial partners who sacrifice time and invest with us in the lives of future missionaries. If you are one of them, you know how much we praise God for you. If you would like to join our team, we would rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory! There is room for you. “>)

Would you please pray for more students for our fall class? We have room for 25-30 more than the 60 or so that have applied. There is still a great need for more church planters. Over 2,000 people groups still waiting to hear of Jesus and what He has done for mankind. Thank you so much for your time and your prayers.

Blessings in Christ!

Rex and Shirley

Isa 26.3, 4

A few of our great grads!

Coming Soon! Catch the Vision at New Tribes Bible Institute, Jackson, MI. A chance for those interested in finding out more about NTBI to come and stay and experience life at NTBI for FREE. Attend classes, hang out with students and staff, see and feel the incredible atmosphere available as one studies the Word of God full time. A rare find among colleges today. Here are the details.

Hope to see you soon…or if you know of someone who might have an interest…please pass this info along. Thanks!

Isa 26.3,4

Thousands of miles west of PNG in Guinea, West Africa, the Baga Fore people are about two thirds through the chronological teaching. In just a few weeks, Gene Bacon and the team will get to present the Gospel message. Already we have heard of a “new life” among the Baga Fore. Praise God that one has already entered in the realm of light! May God grant that many more will have their eyes open and they will see Jesus for who He really is; the One and only Savior of the world. Please pray that God will be greatly glorified in what happens among the Baga Fore.

Thank you so much for your time and interest in what God is doing among the unreached of the world. Two less of them real soon! Prasie the Lord!

After the tour, our team will answer questions and encourage the participants to consider joining in the work of taking the Gospel to some of those language groups. A good first step is to attend NTBI and study the Bible for two years. Thereafter, NTM’s Missionary Training Center in Missouri will complete the preparation needed to learn a language and culture well enough to be able to teach the Bible and present the Gospel. For more information, please visit www.ntm.org.

Please join us in praying that as a result of our team serving at The Big Ticket, more students will attend New Tribes Bible Institute and be willing to go to the ends of the earth for the Lord. Thanks so much!

"Yanomami" woman with students

Strange sights, smells, people, surroundings…and especially sounds…languages only spoken by a few hundred people in two different remote villages along the biggest river in South America are the order of the day this week; we are “visiting” the Yanomami and the Hoti tribes. It is my privilege to accompany the NTBI senior class of Spring 2011, 67 graduates to NTM’s mobilization center in central Pennsylvania and go through WAYUMI (www.wayumi.com). WAYUMI is a program designed to take people through a realistic missionary experience, hosted by experienced NTM missionaries who have planted churches in the Yanomami and Hoti people groups. Participants get to meet “tribal” people and interact with them, attempting to solicit words and phrases. They are taught how to do this in advance and as a result get to see that it is achievable…it is do-able…even by ordinary people. God has used WAYUMI to convince a number of people to begin the NTM training and attend New Tribes Bible Institute. We are so excited to be a part of taking people to WAYUMI and encouraging others to go. Church groups, youth groups and individuals can go for a weekend or for 5 days. It is life-changing!!! If you know of anyone considering whether they should serve the Lord full time in missions, please let them know about WAYUMI. Contact us for more information if you want to. And please…PRAY…for God to continue to use WAYUMI to continue to raise up more laborers. Thank you so much!

 You asked, God Answered:

 Today, light again penetrated centuries-old darkness, and the Akolet people were brought to a saving knowledge of Christ! 

 [Julie reports that] many of the people who were named in yesterday’s email have given clear testimony of faith in Christ. They will be talking with many more in the coming days and are confident that more Akolet have been born again. The church in Akolet lives! Praise the Lord!

Kotme believes!  She was not her normally bubbly self today, but sat in seemingly stunned silence.  She just kept saying, “I never understood!  I never understood! But the way to be made right with God is just Jesus!  There’s no other way!” Then I asked her, “So do we need to do good ways now above and beyond what Jesus did so that he will save us?”  She said, “Well no, he didn’t ‘half’ His work!  He finished it and said ‘Done now’ when He died!  There’s nothing we can do to add to that!”

Amen Kotme! What marvelous and simple understanding! Praise God! Please be praying for these, our new brothers and sisters in PNG. May they grow strong in their new faith in Christ!

We are so privileged to serve at NTBI and be able to bring you this kind of news! Thank you for your time and for praying for us and with us as God continues to bring laborers like the Martins and Warners our way. They started their training for this at New Tribes Bible Institute Jackson just a few years ago. :>)

Start well...finish well!

After giving out a few prizes, the grand prize being a whole semester’s worth of textbooks, Rex Gutwein welcomed the entire student body back tonight at the semester kickoff. He challenged them to take be taking their time at NTBI seriously. It is a common comment by upper classmen and women, that the time really flies by and they should have been more focused on the important while here at NTBI.

Dan Falls followed Rex with an admonition to start well and finish well, quoting no other than the Apostle Paul several times.  Tomorrow is the first day of class…the freshmen will be adjusting for the next few days. The returning students will get back in the swing of things rather easily and are quite excited to be able to study the Word full time again. Your prayers for both groups and for us the staff are very much appreciated! Thank you for praying.

As we approach the end of our 28th semester at NTBI we would so appreciate your prayers for the following:

• That Graduation will go well and be a great encouragement to our students and their families and friends attending. Many will be traveling quite a distance to come and be with their son or daughter. We want to honor them for what they have accomplished the past two years.
• We have two seminars to attend shortly after graduation; “Ministry Partnerhsip Development” and  “Conflict Equals Opportunity”. These are ongoing training for NTM staff. Pray that we will be attentive and benefit from both.
• Shirley and I will be traveling to FL about June 1 to go and help clean and take care of my Dad’s house. No doubt it will be a challenging time as we go through much of my parent’s belongings and wrap up things in the house I grew up in. We would really appreciate your prayers for us to remain focused on the Lord and be a blessing to my brother and sister and their families.
• We will then travel to Branson to meet our children for a July 4th reunion. We are really looking forward to having time together, our first time since Dad’s funeral.
• Thank you so much for praying for us in these things. Please feel free to email us or call anytime we can pray for you. rex_schaffner@ntm.org or shirley_schaffner@ntm.org or 517-795-7490.       

-Shirley has a number of senior student reports to finish up this semester before they graduate. She needs wisdom and time with the girls.

-She will be traveling to see Megan out in CA later this month. Please pray for safety and a good time of mutual encouragement. Mike and Rachel will visit her while she is there too. How cool is that? I will be using google video chat :>) to talk with them all.

-For all the details of the field trip, the senior retreat and graduation to go well. Lots of little things that need to be taken care of.

-Continued healing and working through the grief of losing my Dad in Feb. As many of you know it can be tough at times. I opened up a letter from the IRS the other day that  just acknowledged that Dad had died and WOW, did that bring on the finality of everything again. Many people cry when they get letters from the IRS but not for the reasons tears ran down my face that day.

Thank you so much for praying for us. What an encouragement you are!